Violence in Ancient Christianity: Victims and Perpetrators

261 Pages·2014·1.418 MB·English

by  Albert C. Geljon, Riemer Roukema

ViolenceinAncientChristianity
Supplements
to
Vigiliae Christianae
texts and studies of early christian life and language
Editors
J.denBoeft
B.D.Ehrmann
J.vanOort
D.T.Runia
C.Scholten
volume 125
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/vcs
Violence in Ancient Christianity
VictimsandPerpetrators
Editedby
AlbertC.Geljon
RiemerRoukema
leiden|boston
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ViolenceinancientChristianity:victimsandperpetrators/editedbyAlbertC.Geljon,RiemerRoukema.
pagescm.–(SupplementstoVigiliaeChristianae,ISSN0920-623X;VOLUME125)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-90-04-27478-5(hardback:alk.paper)–ISBN978-90-04-27490-7(e-book)1.Violence–Religious
aspects–Christianity.2.Churchhistory–Primitiveandearlychurch,ca.30-600.I.Geljon,AlbertC.,editor.
BT736.15.V4942014
270.1–dc23
2014013687
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Contents
Abbreviations vii
ListofContributors viii
Introduction 1
1 ReligiousViolencebetweenGreeks,Romans,ChristiansandJews 8
JanN.Bremmer
2 ViolenceagainstChristiansandViolencebyChristiansintheFirst
ThreeCenturies:DirectViolence,CulturalViolenceandtheDebate
aboutChristianExclusiveness 31
DannyPraet
3 Eusebius’ViewonConstantineandHisPolicy 56
FredLedegang
4 AvengingJulian.ViolenceagainstChristiansduringtheYears
361–363 76
HansC.Teitler
5 AttractionandHatred.RelationsbetweenJewsandChristiansinthe
EarlyChurch 90
F.J.ElizabethBoddensHosang
6 ViolenceintheEarlyYearsofCyrilofAlexandria’sEpiscopate 108
HansvanLoon
7 PriscillianofAvila’sLiberadDamasum,andtheInabilitytoHandlea
Conflict 132
JoopvanWaarden
8 Quiddicamdevindicandovelnonvindicando?(Ep.95,3).Augustine’s
LegitimationofCoercionintheLightofHisRolesofMediator,Judge,
TeacherandMystagogue 151
PaulvanGeest
vi contents
9 RepressionvonHäretikernundanderenreligiösenGruppierungenim
späterenAltertum,inderSprachewiderspiegelt 185
GerardBartelink
10 ReceptionandInterpretationofJesus’TeachingofLoveforEnemiesin
AncientChristianity 198
RiemerRoukema
IndexofReferences 215
IndexofNamesandSubjects 235
IndexofGreekandLatinWords 243
IndexofModernAuthors 245
Abbreviations
Generally the abbreviations of biblical books and ancient texts follow the
guidelinessetoutinTheSBLHandbookofStyle(PeabodyMass.1999).
ACO ActaConciliorumOecumenicorum
AGLB AusderGeschichtederlateinischenBibel
ANRW AufstiegundNiedergangderrömischenWelt
AQDGM AusgewählteQuellenzurdeutschenGeschichtedesMittelalters
BAug Bibliothèqueaugustinienne
CCSL CorpusChristianorumSeriesLatina
CSCO CorpusScriptorumChristianorumOrientalium
CSEL CorpusScriptorumEcclesiasticorumLatinorum
EKK Evangelisch-katholischerKommentarzumNeuenTestament
FaCh FathersoftheChurch
FKDG ForschungenzurKirchen-undDogmengeschichte
GCS DiegriechischenchristlichenSchriftsteller
JCPS JewishandChristianPerspectiveSeries
JThS JournalofTheologicalStudies
LCL LoebClassicalLibrary
MGH.AA MonumentaGermaniaeHistorica.AuctoresAntiquissimi
MGH.SRM MonumentaGermaniaeHistorica.ScriptoresrerumMerovingicarum
NPNF NiceneandPost-NiceneFathers
OECT OxfordEarlyChristianTexts
PG Patrologiaecursuscompletus:seriesGraeca
PL Patrologiaecursuscompletus:seriesLatina
SC SourcesChrétiennes
TTH TranslatedTextsforHistorians
YPR YalePublicationsinReligion
List of Contributors
GerardJ.M.Bartelink
ProfessorEmeritusinAncientChristianGreek,AncientChristian,Vulgar,and
MedievalLatin,RadboudUniversity,Nijmegen
F.J.ElizabethBoddensHosang
PhD Tilburg University, Religious Education Advisor to Catholic Elementary
Schools,Leiden
JanN.Bremmer
ProfessorEmeritusofReligiousStudies,UniversityofGroningen
FredLedegang
PhDRadboudUniversity,Nijmegen,PastorEmeritusoftheProtestantChurch
intheNetherlands
DannyPraet
ProfessorofAncientPhilosophyandEarlyChristianity,GhentUniversity
RiemerRoukema
ProfessorofEarlyChristianity,ProtestantTheologicalUniversity,locationGro-
ningen
HansC.Teitler
SeniorLecturerEmeritusinAncientHistory,UtrechtUniversity
PaulJ.J.vanGeest
ProfessorofChurchHistory,TilburgUniversity,andProfessorofAugustinian
Studies,VUUniversity,Amsterdam
Johannes(Hans)C.vanLoon
PhDProtestantTheologicalUniversity,locationKampen,CentreforPatristic
Research,TilburgUniversityandVUUniversity,Amsterdam
Johannes(Joop)vanWaarden
PhDUniversityofAmsterdam,ResearchAssociateinLatin,UniversityofAms-
terdam
Introduction
Onthe7thand8thofOctober2011,theDutchFoundationforAncientChristian
Studies(StichtingvoorOudchristelijkeStudiën)celebrateditsfiftiethanniver-
sarywithaconferenceon‘ViolenceinancientChristianity:victimsandperpe-
trators’.Therelationshipbetweenreligionandviolencenowadaysoftenfigures
ontheagendaofpoliticians,journalists,andscholars.Althoughthisinterestis
alsoreflectedinthethemeoftheconference,thesubjectassuchisnotnewin
thedomainofAncientChristianStudies,witnessthenumerousarticles,books,
andeditionsofrelevantancienttextsconcerningmartyrdomandpersecutions,
whichhavebeenpublishedinthepast.
In the opening lecture on ‘Religious violence between Greeks, Romans,
ChristiansandJews’,JanBremmer(UniversityofGroningen)offeredsomeelu-
cidating considerations. Although the expression ‘religious violence’ occurs
in the title of his contribution, he argues that it is neither a neutral nor an
accurate term, because in late antiquity the roles of violence and religion
were very different from their present-day understanding. He takes a criti-
calstancetowardtheviewthatpolytheisticreligionsaremoretolerantthan
monotheisticones,andgivesseveralexamplesofviolentintoleranceofpoly-
theistsinbothancientandmoderntimes.Heconcludesthatbeforethevic-
tory of Christianity no pagan author would plead religious tolerance. Con-
cerning pagan violence against Christians, Bremmer underlines Tertullian’s
remark that not all Roman governors were bloodthirsty. Regarding the pol-
icy of emperor Decius, he maintains against other scholars that his edict of
249ce,accordingtowhichallinhabitantsoftheRomanempirehadtoofferto
thegods,wasineffectdirectedagainsttheChristians,becausetheywerethe
real victims; yet Christians most likely exaggerated the numbers of martyrs.
After Christianity had become the dominant religion, testimonies to Chris-
tianviolenceagainstpagansandtheirtemplesdoexist,butBremmerpoints
to those scholars whose critical analysis of the literary and archaeological
sources contests their historical reliability. In his view, cases of destruction
ofpagantemplesbyChristianswereexceptions.Hearguesthatinthefourth
andfifthcenturiesmanyofthesetempleswerenotvisitedanymoreandafair
numberofthemweretransformedtochurches.Withoutdownplayingrhetor-
icalandphysicalviolencebyChristiansagainstJewshenotesthatsometimes
the sources are less clear than one might wish, as his example of the tombs
of the Maccabean martyrs in Antioch demonstrates. He concludes that in
any case such violence was less terrible than in the Middle Ages and later
times.
© koninklijkebrillnv,leiden,2014 | doi:10.1163/9789004274907_002