The End of Ancient Christianity

ISBN-13: 9780521339490 / Angielski / Miękka / 1991 / 280 str.

R. A. Markus

Opis

This study is concerned with one, central historical problem: the nature of the changes that transformed the intellectual and spiritual horizons of the Christian world from its establishment in the fourth century to the end of the sixth. Why, for example, were the assumptions, attitudes and traditions of Gregory the Great so markedly different from those of Augustine? The End of Ancient Christianity examines how Christians, who had formerly constituted a threatened and beleaguered minority, came to define their identity in a changed context of religious respectability in which their faith had become a source of privilege, prestige and power. Professor Markus reassesses the cult of the martyrs and the creation of schemes of sacred time and sacred space, and analyzes the appeal of asceticism and its impact on the Church at large. These changes form part of a fundamental transition, perhaps best described as the shift from "Ancient" toward "Medieval" forms of Christianity; from an older and more diverse secular culture towards a religious culture with a firm Biblical basis.

Recenzje

'The appearance of this book, by one of the most distinguished scholars in the field, is an event to be welcomed …'. Journal of Religious History

Spis treści

Preface; Abbreviations; Part I. The Crisis of Identity: 1. Introduction; 2. A great multitude no man could number; 3. Conversion and uncertainty; 4. Augustine: a defence of Christian mediocrity; 5. 'Be ye perfect'; Part II. Kairoi: Christian Times and the Past: 6. The last times; 7. The martyrs and sacred time; 8. Secular festivals in Christian times?; 9. The christianisation of time; Part III. Topoi: Space and Community: 10. Holy places and holy people; 11. City or Desert? Two models of community; 12. Desert and City: a blurring of frontiers; 13. The ascetic invasion; 14. Within sight of the end: retrospect and prospect; Sources referred to; Secondary literature referred to; Index.