History of Christianity

Oi Christianoi - Sezione antica, n. 26 ----- Su Ipazia di Alessandria e su Sinesio di Cirene molti hanno già scritto: Ipazia, una nota antica scienziata e filosofia, Sinesio, un nobile, suo allievo e poi vescovo cristiano; Ipazia, da alcuni presa in considerazione unicamente come vessillo del femminismo, Sinesio, spesso trascurato a fronte di più famosi Padri della Chiesa. La peculiarità del libro, che è frutto di un accurato studio critico delle relative fonti primarie e secondarie, consiste nel tipo di approccio: le due figure e le loro opere sono esaminate sullo sfondo dei differenti ambiti culturali in cui si sono sviluppate le vicende della loro vita, pur nella contemporaneità: la differenza di ambiti culturali consente di evidenziare di questa donna e di questo uomo non solo la validità del loro lungo rapporto amicale, testimoniate da alcune lettere di Sinesio a noi pervenute, ma anche l'alto valore interculturale di tale rapporto.

This is my masters’ thesis – it examines the various intellectual forces at work in the years leading up to Schleiermacher, and the Enlightenment’s challenge to orthodox Christianity.  This provides a proper context for understanding Romanticism’s emergence as both a reaction to, and an interaction with the Enlightenment.  An overview of Schleiermacher’s work evidences his conscious attempt to re-formulate the Christian faith in a manner immune to the rationalistic criticisms of the Enlightenment and, at the same time, constructed in such a fashion as to make it acceptable to his Romanticist contemporaries. 

Subsequently, there occurs an analysis of the contextual model employed by Schleiermacher for interaction with those persuaded of Romanticism’s validity.  As foil to Schleiermacher’s model, I employ relevant biblical passages to formulate a biblical model for contextualization.  Further employed is a philosophical evaluation of contextualization to judge the logical consistency of the concept.  I next examine Schleiermacher as a nexus for the 19th century thought that led to postmodernism by demonstrating both the pervasiveness of his influence and the presence in seminal form of many elements of postmodernism in his various works.  An analysis of Schleiermacher’s thought in each of these areas will demonstrate how his views function as an antecedent paradigm for postmodernism, and further, demonstrate the import of Schleiermacher’s role in a major shift in thought which, laid the foundation for postmodernism’s emergence in the latter part of the 20th century.

This approach enables the identification of parallels between Romanticism and postmodernism and examine the present day phenomenon whereby many Christians attempt to contextualize the Gospel in a manner similar to Schleiermacher’s.  The problematic nature of his contextualization will serve as a benchmark for evaluating present efforts to contextualize Christianity within postmodernism.

Introduction et traduction en français de l’Histoire des Mongols de Jean de Plancarpin, accompagnée d’une traduction de documents ayant trait au voyage dans l’empire mongol de Jean de Plancarpin (lettres et privilèges missionnaires rédigés par Innocent IV, Histoire des Tartares du frère C. de Bridia, compte-rendu de Benoît de Pologne, extraits de la chronique de Salimbene de Adam avec la réponse au pape du grand-khan Güyük).

This essay was published in The Bible and Early Trinitarian Theology, edited by Christopher A. Beeley and Mark E. Weedman, for the CUAP Studies in Early Christianity (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2018); this is the uncorrected proofs. Exploring the humanity and divinity of Jesus, the Son's relation to the Father, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, it is one of five essays suggesting Johannine contributions to trinitarian discussions in the early church.

This paper addresses the iconographic origins of the Virgin Annunciate spinning in both text and visual culture during late antiquity.  Further, this paper promotes the original thesis that the earliest images of Mary were based on an idealized matron type as opposed to the inaccessible, semi-divine Theotokos, a title that became central to codified Orthodoxy by the fifth-century.

La nascita di Cristo ha sconvolto la storia dell’umanità con l’idea che un Dio, nel pensiero delle grandi religioni trascendente e diverso, può diventare un uomo come gli altri. La teologia e l’arte, la liturgia e la pietà hanno dato ampio spazio al dogma cardine del cristianesimo. A un mondo che a tutte le latitudini celebra ormai il Natale come una festa di cui spesso dimentica, o addirittura ignora, il significato originario, si contrappone il plurisecolare discorso per immagini dell’arte cristiana. Il volume riflette sul tema spaziando tra la solenne iconografia degli Orienti cristiani e i capolavori dell’Occidente. La più antica immagine raffigurata risale al IV secolo e la più recente al 1975. Ogni opera è riprodotta a piena pagina, arricchita da un commento descrittivo, che valorizza il contesto storico, le risorse dell’esegesi e i commenti patristici, oltre alla storia dell’arte e della teologia. I due autori, un’équipe consolidata sui rispettivi temi e che collabora su svariati progetti, si sono impegnati per rendere la scoperta sulla natività di Cristo nell’arte un affascinante viaggio tra estetica e teologia.

Available now from Penn State University Press, with a foreword by Pat J. Gehrke. Order here: https://www.amazon.com/Metanoia-Rhetoric-Authenticity-Transformation-Self/dp/0271085924/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DL9ENJNF09HO&keywords=ellwanger+metanoia&qid=1581529316&sprefix=ellwanger%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-1

What did it mean to be a Christian in the Roman Empire? In one of the inaugural titles of Oxford's new Essentials in Biblical Studies series, Harry O. Maier considers the multilayered social contexts that shaped the authors and audiences of the New Testament. Beginning with the cosmos and the gods, Maier presents concentric realms of influence on the new religious movement of Christ-followers. The next is that of the empire itself and the sway the cult of the emperor held over believers of a single deity. Within the empire, early Christianity developed mostly in cities, the shape of which often influenced the form of belief. The family stood as the social unit in which daily expression of belief was most clearly on view and, finally, Maier examines the role of personal and individual adherence to the religion in the shaping of the Christian experience in the Roman world.

In all of these various realms, concepts of sacrifice, belief, patronage, poverty, Jewishness, integration into city life, and the social constitution of identity are explored as important facets of early Christianity as a lived religion. Maier encourages readers to think of early Christianity not simply as an abstract and disconnected set of beliefs and practices, but as made up of a host of social interactions and pluralisms. Religion thus ceases to exist as a single identity, and acts instead as a sphere in which myriad identities co-exist.

The current paper discusses Luther’s theological concept of justification by faith based on two of his works: The Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans and The Schmalkald
Articles. In the first part of the article we will define the theological concept of justification by faith and show the importance of this concept for the Christian faith. In
The Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Luther puts faith and works in a correct relationship; righteousness before God is not based on good works; rather, because the believer is justified by faith, his works are of value to God. An important aspect in Luther’s teaching is “grief.” The believer is at the same time upset about evil works, but humble and confident that he is justified before God through faith. In The Schmalkald Articles, Luther mostly depicts concepts such as: the importance,
value and mode of justification by faith; these concepts appear in many other writings of the great German reformer.

The twelfth century was a period of significant development and change in the religious and secular world of Western Europe. One area of transition occurred in depictions of Christ’s crucifixion. In both writing and art, the triumphant living Christ of the early Middle ages, was transformed into the dying, suffering, and yet majestic savior of the twelfth century.  This essay examines images and written sources from the fourth to the twelfth centuries, and seeks to determine how the twelfth century renaissance and reformation—based on the discovery of the individual— influenced this evolution.

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel offer a three-fold thematic scheme that supports the central claim of the Pentateuch, the claim found in Deuteronomy 6:4 and known to the Jews as “the Shema,” a verse that declares the God of Israel is one, true and living God, a theme that undergirds all of the historical books as well. Thus, the foundational theme of 1 and 2 Samuel is the central claim of the Pentateuch, a theme shared by all books of the Holy Scriptures. The secondary, structural theme of the book of 1 Samuel supports the primary theme of the historical books by offering the testimony that God has called out David to establish the Davidic lineage to bring about Israel’s redemption as supporting evidence that YHWH is the true and living God. The secondary, structural theme of the book of 2 Samuel supports the primary theme of the historical books by offering the testimony that God has justified David in his role as king. The third, imperative theme of the books of 1 and 2 Samuel states that Israel loved the Lord their God with all of their strength by accepting the one whom God called and justified as their king and redeemer. The application of this third theme for today’s reader is to believe that God has called and justification the Lord Jesus Christ as King of Kings in the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven. The New Testament believer should trust in Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecies concerning the Messiah coming from the Davidic lineage who will reign eternally over all nations. As believers, we have been called to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven, and we are justified as members of this Kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ.

Available now from Penn State University Press, with a foreword by Pat J. Gehrke.

Order here: https://www.amazon.com/Metanoia-Rhetoric-Authenticity-Transformation-Self/dp/0271085924/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DL9ENJNF09HO&keywords=ellwanger+metanoia&qid=1581529316&sprefix=ellwanger%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-1

For my talks and debates on the resurrection of Jesus and other topics, see my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK7fMevhmEe8hR_S0aTsV1Q

"One of the best Analytic Philosophy ebooks of all time" - BookAuthority .
‘By the end of Andrew Loke’s excellent book, he concludes that the most rational viewpoint is that the original percipients saw Jesus himself…. Loke is to be commended for an accessible and systematic approach to the resurrection of Jesus that helps the reader understand the full range of available options in considering the epistemic warrants for believing in the foundational claim of the Christian faith.’ –The Journal of Theological Studies (Oxford University Press)

This book provides an original and comprehensive assessment of the hypotheses concerning the origin of resurrection Christology. It fills a gap in the literature by addressing these issues using a transdisciplinary approach involving historical-critical study of the New Testament, theology, analytic philosophy, psychology and comparative religion. Using a novel analytic framework, this book demonstrates that a logically exhaustive list of hypotheses concerning the claims of Jesus’ post-mortem appearances and the outcome of Jesus’ body can be formulated. It addresses these hypotheses in detail, including sophisticated combinations of hallucination hypothesis with cognitive dissonance; memory distortion; and confirmation bias. Addressing writings from both within and outside of Christianity, it also demonstrates how a comparative religion approach might further illuminate the origins of Christianity. This is a thorough study of arguably the key event in the formation of the Christian faith, and the basis of the Christian hope of eternal life.

King David is one of the most colorful, complex, and controversial, personalities in Jewish lore. While numerous studies have focused on David's centrality to biblical literature and late antiquity, to date no comprehensive scholarly attempt has been made to investigate his image in the kabbalistic literature. This study contributes to the understanding of the connection between messianic thought, gender and mysticism. By focusing on the centrality of the figure of King David in Jewish culture the book discusses psychoanalytic perception of the self, and illuminating issues of identity, sexuality, and gender fluidity in Medieval kabbalistic literature.

Seven years, and a bibliography of over 100 pages: that is what Detlev Koepke invested in researching the gospel of Thomas.
Over 600 carefully worded pages disclose in great detail his intricate study and findings on Jesus in the gospel of Thomas as well as in the New Testament, and Q.
Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist and James are discussed in a separate chapter each, and we are presented with a full translation from Coptic, and a commentary on the gospel of Thomas.

The second half of this book focuses on the New Testament and history of Christianity: its historical background, Josephus, Paul, the Roman Empire and Christian persecution are some of the highlights.
Detlev Koepke passed away in 2015, leaving behind a truly majestic piece of work on the gospel of Thomas, its relation to Christianity, and the historical Jesus. A most complete work on the combination of these topics.

Detlev Koepke was fluent in 4 languages, and learned ancient Greek and Coptic specifically for and during his research. Most of his research was conducted utilising Harvard Divinity School library as well as his own extensive personal library: "no stone has been left unturned".

2021 edition, republished with permission from his son, David Koepke

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Includes Discussion content (92 pages) - see https://www.academia.edu/57161277/Publication_List_and_Discussion_Content_access

Luego del políptico de La comunidad de los espectros, un nuevo comienzo se torna necesario. Un giro en el filosofar atento al espesor metafísico de la subversión epocal en curso en todo el orbe. Esa misma crisis revela ahora como insuficientes los métodos más osados de las Humanidades del siglo XX. Un punto de partida: el relato acerca de un supuesto proceso judicial por vampirismo acaecido en un remoto cantón de Hungría a principios del siglo XVIII.
Con el discurrir de las hipótesis aquí propuestas, las relaciones con la licantropía se volverán centrales y ambos fenómenos deberán ser objeto de una minuciosa ultra-historia que acompaña al lector hasta los tiempos paleolíticos del culto de la Gran Madre. Pero esto es sólo el comienzo de un viaje metafísico que, bajo las formas de la sangre, el sacrificio y la metamorfosis, nos conduce hasta el origen mismo de la vida-muerte sobre la Tierra como estación necesaria para una meditación sobre el futuro cosmológico de los seres hablantes. El Vampiro y el Hombre lobo son las figuras filosófico-conceptuales que, una vez desentrañadas, nos muestran la vía regia hacia una forma completamente nueva de rehabilitación del pensamiento especulativo bajo la forma de una “ontología analéptica”.
Desde los inmemoriales rituales del sacrificio antiguo, hasta la teología política inversa del vampirismo, pasando por una inédita filosofía de los virus, se delinea ante nuestros ojos el subsuelo a partir del cual se revelan las condiciones de posibilidad de todo pensamiento acerca del Ser y la actual obsolescencia de todas las formas en las que este último ha sido previamente mentado. De este modo, un tenebroso y enjundioso proceso judicial, hoy caído en el olvido, nos muestra que custodiaba, sin saberlo, los secretos supremos de todo lo existente que la inveterada tradición ha dignificado con el nombre de Cosmos. Se anuncia, así, el comienzo de la Segunda Era Metafísica.
Publicado por Miño y Dávila Editores, Buenos Aires / Barcelona, 2022.
www.minoydavila.com [envíos a todo el mundo]

Abstract - Roma Triumphans by Biondo Flavio represents the first treatise offering a systematic investigation of the religious, civic and political institutions of ancient Rome, evaluating data from a historical-comparative viewpoint. Observations on the religious structures of ancient Rome show Biondo’s original aptitude for noticing some specific aspects of Roman Paganism, civic meaning of some of its rituals and values, their evolution and influence on Christian ceremonies. reflecting nonetheless a critical position on Paganism and his profoundly Christian perspective influenced by Eusebius of Caesarea and Augustin. Key words: Biondo Flavio, Pagan Rome, religious institutions, critical position on Paganism, Eusebius of Caesarea
Key words: Biondo Flavio, Pagan Rome, religious institutions, critical position on Paganism, Eusebius of Caesarea - Augustin. ---

Sintesi - La Roma Triumphans di Biondo Flavio costituisce il primo trattato che offre una ricognizione sistematica delle istituzioni religiose, civili e politiche dell’antica Roma, valutando i dati dal punto di vista storico-comparativo. Le osservazioni sulle strutture religiose dell’antica Roma mostrano l’inclinazione originale di Biondo nel rilevare alcuni aspetti specifici del Paganesimo romano pur riflettendo una posizione critica nei riguardi del Paganesimo e la sua prospettiva strettamente cristiana, influenzata da Eusebio di Cesarea e Agostino.
Biondo Flavio, Roma pagana, istituzioni religiose, posizione critica nei riguardi del paganesimo, Eusebio di Cesarea - Agostino

A.J. Deus’s paper investigates the historicity of Prophet Muhammad and the Koran as well as the Prophet’s possible relationship with the Umayyads. By limiting the evidence to pre-692 documents and artifacts, Deus brings forth a hypothesis that Prophet Muhammad did not appear in the primary evidence until after 631 AD. He is connected to a sermon based on Mosaic Law that cannot be identified in the Koran. His first and isolated sign of having passed away appears in 691 AD in Egypt. He may indeed have still been alive in the 650s, if not in the 680s, and no evidence exists of a prophet Muhammad that died in 632 AD. In that timeframe, a shift from a MHMT institution to an individual MHMD can be observed, and the two could be distinct. There seems to have been a progression from Elijah bar Kabsha, the chief of the Tayyi’ MHMT, to Muhammad being the spiritual leader of the Mhaggraye, and later to the Tayyi’ Mhaggraye, through the MHMD Mahdi, and finally to Islam.

Nevertheless, in the 680s, the ‘adversaries’ of the Byzantine Orthodox Church were viewed as a like-Arian form of Judaic thought that reintroduced Jewish Messiahnism from an expanding territory of the Tayyi’. The Byzantines neither recognized Muhammad nor Islam.

The earlier Saracen and Ishmaelite incursions must have been unaware of Islam and the Koran. It appears that the Jews from Edessa carried the seed (Sebeos), and the Tayyi’ represent the sprout of what eventually evolved into Muhammadeans. Their goal seems to have been to occupy Jerusalem, as was of other groups, certainly also in the first wave of attacks. However, the temple building activities in Jerusalem were attributed first to Saracens from the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region, or in Sebeos to Jews who were driven away by the Ishmaelites. The next temple that went up was in Fusted under Amr, but from Mecca there was no sign of activity.

The traditional narratives might contain several parallel “histories” and perhaps more than one Muhammad or a chain of Muhammads.

The primary evidence also suggests, according to Deus, that the Muslim timescale may be connected to Heraclius’s advances and later alliance with three Persian rebel factions, establishing a growing confederation in competition with the Persian Empire.

Deus makes a case that primary evidence should not be incorporated into traditions since the latter may have been inserted into real history with an agenda. In order to avoid circular arguments, contemporary primary evidence must take precedence, and tradition can only help to support it or clarify certain aspects.

This Overview is from the book 'Pliny The Younger: His Words & Phrases' (Pliny As The New Testament Paul), by Roman Piso. This work details the way in which the Letters (Epistles) & Panegyricus of Pliny The Younger should be studied (in contrast to how it had been studied in the past and is still being studied currently).

Abstract: during the building in Don Belogorsky Resurrection Monastery a cave which was earlier unknown was found. There were the items of the religious cult and the culture of the founders of the cave that dates from the end of the XVIII century (a crucifi xion, a pendent in the form of a heart, an adze, shoes, a silicic fl ake, candles, a coin etc.). Such fi ndings didn’t occur earlier among numerous chalk caves. Not only do they allow to present the work of the caves’ founders, but also to elicit new aspects that highlight a spiritual quest of the folk eastern orthodox
traditions in the zone of contact of the russian and ukrainian ethnies.

""Archaeologist, Teacher, Friend. Nicolai Telnov’s Anniversary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

MONOGRAPH INSIDE THE JOURNAL
N. V. Zhilina (Moscow, Russia). Stamped Jewel Attire Reconstructed Based on Old Rus Hoards of 10th — 13th Centuries (from the ornamental stamping to the emblem of the princely power). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS
V. Ivanišević (Belgrad, Serbia), M. Kazanski (Paris, France). Justinian’s Heruli in Northern
Illyricum and Their Archaeological Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
N. D. Russev (Kishinev, Moldova). North-Eastern Possessions of the First Bulgarian Kingdom in 7th—10th cc.: History and Burial Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
A. V. Kurbatov (St.-Petersburg, Russia). Raw materials for leather crafts, technical means
for leather processing and assortment of leathers in Mediaeval Rus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

JEWELLER’S CRAFT
A. G. Shpilev (Kursk, Russia). Adornments of Romny Time from Kursk Oblast
(second half of 8th — late 10th cc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Y. V. Stepanova (Tver’, Russia). Temple Rings from Ancient Russian Rural Archaeological Sites in the Upper Volga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
S. S. Ryabtseva (St.-Petersburg, Russia — Kishinev, Moldova), N. P. Telnov (Kishinev, Moldova). A Hoard from Alcedar and Centers of Jewellery Industry in Eastern Europe in late 9th — early 11th Centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
А. Boldureanu (Kishinev, Moldova). The Byzantine and Islamic Coins from Alcedar Hoard . . . 301

ARCHAEOLOGY OF REPRESENTATIONS
Y. V. Mysko, S. V. Pyvovarov (Chernivtsi, Ukraine). Finds of Knives with Curls on the Handles in the Region of the Upper Prut and the Middle Dniester . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 309
I. Berdzenishvili (Tbilisi, Georgia). Early Christians in Abkhazia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
References Transliterated from Cyrillic into Latin Alphabet 329
Requirements to contributions to Stratum plus. 345

Содержание

AD GLORIAM 

Р. А. Рабинович (Кишинев, Молдова), С. С. Рябцева (Санкт-Петербург, Россия — Кишинев, Молдова)
Археолог. Учитель. Друг. К юбилею Николая Петровича Тельнова 15

МОНОГРАФИЯ В ЖУРНАЛЕ 

Н. В. Жилина (Москва, Россия)
Тисненый убор по древнерусским кладам X—XIII вв. (от орнаментального рифления до эмблемы княжеской власти) 23

ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ И ПУБЛИКАЦИИ 

В. Иванишевич (Белград, Сербия), М. Казанский (Париж, Франция)
Герулы Юстиниана в Северном Иллирикуме и их археологические следы 147
Н. Д. Руссев (Кишинёв, Молдова)
Северо-восточные владения Дунайской Болгарии VII—X вв.: история и погребальные памятники 159
А. В. Курбатов (Санкт-Петербург, Россия)
Кожевенное сырье, техническое обеспечение его выделки и сортамент кож средневековой Руси 169

ЮВЕЛИРНОЕ ДЕЛО 

А. Г. Шпилев (Курск, Россия)
Украшения роменского времени из Курской области (вторая половина VIII — конец X вв.) 221
Ю. В. Степанова (Тверь, Россия)
Височные кольца из древнерусских сельских памятников Верхневолжья 275
С. С. Рябцева (Санкт-Петербург, Россия — Кишинёв, Молдова), Н. П. Тельнов (Кишинёв, Молдова)
Алчедарский клад и центры ювелирного производства Восточной Европы конца IX — начала XI вв. 285
А. Болдуряну (Кишинёв, Молдова)
Византийские и исламские монеты из Алчедарского клада 301

АРХЕОЛОГИЯ ПРЕДСТАВЛЕНИЙ 

Ю. В. Мысько, С. В. Пивоваров (Черновцы, Украина)
Находки ножей с волютообразными навершиями в Верхнем Попрутье и Среднем Поднестровье 309
И. Бердзенишвили (Тбилиси, Грузия)
Раннее христианство в Абхазии 317

ДОПОЛНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ИНФОРМАЦИЯ 

Список сокращений325
References Transliterated from Cyrillic into Latin Alphabet327
Требования к материалам, предоставляемым в редакцию журнала «Stratum plus»
Требования 341