Author Biography

Ilaria Ramelli is Professor of the Early Church at Sacre Cuore Milan, and at the Angelicum Rome, Italy.John A. McGuckin is the Nielsen Professor Emeritus of Early Christian History at Union Theological Seminary, USA.Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King's College London, UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction: On studying the early church Rowan Williams (Cambridge University, UK)Part 1: Emerging Christian identity 1st century CE.1. Jewish-Christian relations – A painful split, Markus Vinzent (King's College London, UK)2. Graeco-Roman culture and Christians: Good neighbours? Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski (King's College London, UK)3. What was the role of women in the churches? Ilaria Ramelli (Catholic University, Angelicum, Princeton, USA)4. To what extent were children and slaves welcomed in the early church? Ville Vuolanto (University of Tampere, Finland)5. Disability in the early church, Monica Tobon, (Franciscan Study Centre, UK)6. Eschatology in the early Christian thought-world, John A. McGuckin (Union Theological Seminary, USA)Part 2: Diversity and unity in the second century7. Christianity and Christianities, Mark Edwards (Oxford University, UK)8. The church's unity around the bishop: Ignatius of Antioch and Irenaeus of Lyons, Allen Brent (King's College London, UK)9. Unity around a teacher: Clement and Origen, Ilaria L. E. Ramelli (Catholic University, Italy)10. Diversity around a prophet: The case of Montanism, William Tabbernee (Theological Seminar in Tulsa, USA)11. Unity around a martyr: Perpetua and Felicity, Sarah Parkhouse (University of Durham, UK)Part 3: Worship and faith13. Community and liturgy: Emerging of the Trinitarian formula baptism, Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski (King's College London, UK)14. The community's commemoration of Jesus in the Eucharist, John A. McGuckin (Union Theological Seminary, USA)15. Prayer and poetry in the early Christian community, Paul Bradshaw16. The Christian community and its structure: Deacons, priests and bishops, Paul van Geest (Tilburg University, the Netherlands) and Bart J. Koet17. Dismissal from the clerical state and its consequences in the early church, Henryk Pietras (Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, Italy)18. Graeco-Roman and Christian art in late antiquity, Jas Elsner (University of Oxford, UK)19. The community's hope: Soteriology in the early church, Robert Daly SJ (Boston College USA)Part 4: Under Christian emperors20. From the community of martyrs to the church of the empire, Giulio Maspero (University of the Holy Cross, Italy)21. Doctrine: Why were Christians obsessed with dogmas? Ilaria L. E. Ramelli (Catholic University, Italy)22. Councils: The path towards an agreement in faith, Henryk Pietras (Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, Italy)23. 'Light from light': The metaphysics of light of the early church, Isidoros Charalambos Katsos (Cambridge University, UK)24. The oigins of monasticism, Tim Vivian (California State University, USA)25. Persecution of heretics, Marcin Wysocki (KUL, Poland)26. The Western church and its thought-world (major Latin Fathers), John A. McGuckin (Union Theological Seminary, USA)27. The Eastern church and its thought-world (major Greek Fathers), John A. McGuckin (Union Theological Seminary, USA)28. The Coptic church: Faithful to its roots, Mark Sheridan (Collegio San Anselmo Rome, Italy)29. The Syriac Orthodox Church, Saliba Er Akhsenoyo (Salzburg University, Germany)Part 5: The early church and systematic theology30. Does Jerusalem still need Athens? George Geréby (Central European University, Hungary)31. Is the Canon of the Scriptures closed? Recent interest in the Nag Hammadi Codices, Paula Tutty (Oslo University, Norway)32. The early church's developing theology of (new) creation, Paul Blowers (Milligan University, USA)33. Suffering of Christ: Suffering of people, Stefano Salemi (King's College London, UK)34. The Church: One, holy, catholic, apostolic, Nicolas Sagovsky (King's College London, UK)GlossaryBibliographyIndex

Review

This exciting handbook of the Early Church will intrigue laypersons, clergy and scholars alike. It departs from the traditional "history of doctrine" to focus on the struggles of early Christian communities to organize themselves, to sort out the roles of women, slaves, children and the differently abled and to create forms of unity within the remarkable diversity they embraced. -- Karen Jo Torjesen, Claremont Graduate Union California, USA
This Handbook is a breath of fresh air: it breaks free of the usual history of doctrine approach to the early Church to give an account of the wide range of different contexts in which Christian self-understanding and practice were formed. It will enable those who study this extraordinary period to learn with and within the early Church; to have their thinking and actions shaped and informed by it. -- Carol Harrison, University of Oxford, UK
This is a wonderfully rich collection of essays exploring many different aspects of the early centuries of Christian history, theology, spirituality, and so much more. It is sure to become the standard go-to handbook for scholars, students, and all those interested in early Christianity. -- John Behr, Aberdeen University, UK

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Offers a thorough examination of key theological subjects relevant to the Early Church (2nd-5th CE) with practical guidance on advanced study and research in the field.

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This is a wonderfully rich collection of essays exploring many different aspects of the early centuries of Christian history, theology, spirituality, and so much more. It is sure to become the standard go-to handbook for scholars, students, and all those interested in early Christianity.

Promotional "Headline"

Offers a thorough examination of key theological subjects relevant to the Early Church (2nd-5th CE) with practical guidance on advanced study and research in the field.

Feature

Explores the influence of the Early Church on the systematic theology today

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