Architects of piety : the Cappadocian Fathers and the cult of the martyrs

251 Pages·2011·1.8 MB·English

by  Vasiliki M. Limberis

Architects of Piety
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Architects of Piety
The Cappadocian Fathers and the
Cult of the Martyrs
.
VASILIKI M LIMBERIS
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Limberis, Vasiliki, 1954–
Architects of piety : the Cappadocian Fathers and the cult of the martyrs / by Vasiliki M. Limberis.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-973088-9
1. Martyrdom—Christianity. 2. Cappadocian Fathers I. Title.
BR1601.3.L56 2011
272 ′ .1—dc22 2010016757
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To my brothers,
Paul Nicholas Limberis
and
†Chris Aris Limberis (1958–2005)
Chris is our Caesarius.
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Preface
I fi rst became interested in Christianity’s process of sacralizing
matter, but especially geography, in 2000, when Helmut Koester,
Dan Schowalter, and Steve Friesen asked me to participate in the
conference, “Urban Religion in Roman Corinth, Interdisciplinary
Approaches,” at Harvard Divinity School, held in 2001. In the course
of writing the paper I fi rst grappled with the importance of
martyrologies and calendars for the Christians of Corinth, and
discovered that the martyrological calendars function as neat
summaries for what the Christians of the region promote as holy
1
and uniquely their own.
A few years later I was able to combine my newfound interest
with further research in an academic area with which I had much
more familiarity: the Cappadocian Fathers. When Derek Krueger
invited me to contribute an article to the volume Byzantine
Christianity, in the series A People’s History of Christianity , the topic
was initially rather loosely defi ned as “popular piety in the
Cappadocian Fathers.” To my great joy when I began the research,
I discovered that popular piety in the Cappadocian Fathers was
thoroughly focused on the cult of the martyrs and was highly
developed in ways that had been relatively little explored by
1. Vasiliki Limberis, “Ecclesiastical Ambiguities: Corinth in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries,”
in Urban Religion in Roman Corinth, Interdisciplinary Approaches, eds. Daniel Schowalter and Steven
Friesen, Harvard Theological Studies 53 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005), pp. 443–457 .
viii PREFACE
2
scholars. Justifi ably, the Cappadocians’ profound expositions on the Trinity,
their clarity at successfully merging contemporary philosophical categories and
Orthodox theology, their superb expositions on the mystical life, and fi nally
their inroads at advancing the monastic life have made them famous and have
dominated scholars’ research on them in almost every era and on every conti-
nent. My research complements these more theological perspectives on the
Cappadocian Fathers, since it intentionally builds on Raymond Van Dam’s
groundbreaking trilogy and on the work of Philip Rousseau, all of which
opened up the entire world of the Cappadocians’ social context.
B ecause the research has proved to be so interdisciplinary, thanks to the
Cappadocians’ texts themselves, I have ventured into some new areas; and I am
indebted to the following scholars for their help and direction. I am deeply
grateful to both James Skedros and Nicholas Constans (now Fr. Maximos at
Simonpetra, Mt. Athos) for their unwavering friendship and scholarly support
over the years, but with this book in particular. I thank Jaś Elsner for his thor-
ough critique of my second chapter on ekphrasis; his collegiality is exceptional,
and the suggestions he gave me greatly improved my argument. My colleague
at Temple University, Betsy Bolman, provided me with an astute audience
when she invited me to present the same chapter to her graduate seminar in
early Byzantine art history. I also appreciate Betsy’s valuable insights. At Bryn
Mawr College, Elaine Beretz’ critique improved the manuscript immeasurably,
and I cannot thank her enough for her reading, her bibliographic suggestions,
our animated lunches, and her friendship. I also owe thanks to Maureen Tilley,
David Frankfurter, and Ann Matter for their generous time with my project.
Robert Kraft gave me the opportunity to present different chapters of my book
on three different occasions at the Philadelphia Seminar on Christian Origins
at the University of Pennsylvania, and I thank him for his support. Temple
University generously awarded me two sabbaticals for research on the book, a
Mid-Career Fellowship in 2006, and a University Study Leave in 2009.
Year after year, my graduate students at Temple and I have held our weekly
Greek readings group. During the years we have read many of these texts by the
Cappadocians, and our discussions, their comments, and our mutual interests
have enriched my research. I thank Dacy Boyd, Jared Bryant, Anna Chrysosto-
mides, Elizabeth Goodine, Sandy Haney, and Matt Mitchell especially.
2. Girardi’s book is a thorough study of the cult of the martyrs in Basil of Caesarea. See Mario Girardi,
Basilio di Cesarea e il culto dei martiri nel IV secolo, Scrittura e tradizione, Quaderni di “Vetera Christianorum” 21
(Bari: Instituto di Studi classici e cristiani, Università di Bari, 1990); Vasiliki Limberis, “The Cult of the Martyrs
in the Cappadocian Fathers,” in A People’s History of Christianity: Byzantine Christiantiy, ed. Derek Krueger (Min-
neapolis: Fortress Press, 2006), pp. 39–58 .
PREFACE ix
M uch of what I have learned from designing and teaching the undergrad-
uate class “Sacred Space” has played a signifi cant role in my research for this
book. The class is part of the newly constructed General Education program for
undergraduates at Temple University. Classes are deliberately interdisciplinary.
I am grateful to my colleagues Karen Hersch and Martha Davis from Classics
and Jane Evans from Art History, whose collaborative efforts and disciplinary
conventions expanded my methods of approaching both the texts and the s acra,
whether extant or not.
G athering the permissions and the photos for the book was an adventure
this summer, and I am grateful to several people for their assistance. Professor
Attilio De Bernardi graciously granted me permission to use all of his beautiful
drawings of the reconstruction of St. Philip martyrium in Hierapolis. His son,
Mauro De Bernardi, sent all of them via zip drives last summer. I also thank
Professors Cyril Mango and Marcell Restle for their correspondence and per-
missions. Without Charles Vesley at the Graphics Media Center at Temple Uni-
versity none of the photos would have been ready for publication. The map and
the drawings were professionally realized by Michael Villegas, an architecture
student at Temple University; and I thank him for his expertise. Above all I am
indebted to Thomas Xenakis, the iconographer who “wrote” the illumination
of the scene of Gregory of Nyssa’s life for the cover. The quality of the iconog-
raphy and his understanding of the episode are exceptional. I also extend sin-
cere thanks to Rita Karagianis, Ourania and Kyriakos Kontopoulos, Kathy and
Peter Karamolengos, and Linda and Harry Pappas.
S everal libraries have consistently provided me a quiet space in winter and
summer to work and quick responses to endless requests for resources and
books. Canaday Library at Bryn Mawr College has become my home-away-
from-home, and the staff there has my unequivocal appreciation for my carrel
and their services. I also extend my thanks to Paley Library, Temple University;
Wilkens Library, Cape Cod Community College, Barnstable, Massachusetts;
the Brewster Ladies’ Library, Brewster, Massachusetts; and Andover-Harvard
Theological Library at Harvard Divinity School.
I deeply appreciate the suggestions of the two anonymous readers at
Oxford University Press whose comments were quite helpful in the revision
process. I must explain my reasons for retaining two items in my book. The
fi rst concerns the naming of Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa. First,
any scholar of the Cappadocians knows that there simply are too many Grego-
ries to deal with and to keep straight (there are at least six Gregories in the two
families). In much older scholarship Gregory of Nazianzus is often referred to
as “Nazianzen,” from the Greek transliteration. Though some readers may
wince, I have chosen not only to refer to him often as “Nazianzen” but also to