Richard DeMaris - Early Christian Ritual Life

EARLY CHRISTIAN RITUAL LIFE

Scholars across many fields have come to realize that ritual is an integral element of human life and a vital aspect of all human societies. Yet, this realization has been slow to develop among scholars of early Christianity. Early Christian Ritual Life attempts to counteract the undervaluing of ritual by placing it at the forefront of early Christian life. Rather than treating ritual in isolation or in a fragmentary way, this book examines early Christian ritual life as a whole. The authors explore an array of Christian ritual activity, employing ritual theory critically and explicitly to make sense of various ritual behaviors and their interconnections. Written by leading experts in their fields, this collection is divided into three parts:

Interacting with the divine

Group interactions

Contesting and creating ritual protocols

This book is ideal for religious studies students seeking an introduction to the dynamic research areas of ritual studies and early Christian practice.

Richard E. DeMaris is a Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University, USA, and a specialist in New Testament studies.

Jason T. Lamoreaux is an Adjunct Professor at Texas Christian University, USA. His research focuses on the social contexts of early Christianity.

Steven C. Muir is a Professor at Concordia University of Edmonton, Canada, and a specialist in early Christianity in the GrecoRoman world.

Framed by a clear discussion of theories and definitions of ritual, Early Christian Ritual Life is a set of essays probing the rituals of early Christianity. The questions pursued by the editors and authors are valuable for advancing critical reflections on ritual.

Ronald L. Grimes , Emeritus Professor of Religion and Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada.

This book consists of a rich collection of essays, each of which combines theoretical discussion with careful analysis of textual and/or material evidence. The contributions illustrate how members of Christ groups copied, adapted, transformed, or in some cases transgressed aspects of ritual life present in their respective environments. Together the essays underscore how important ritual practices, in all of their diversity, were for the formation and maintenance of ancient Christ groups.

Alicia J. Batten , Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo, Canada.

A truly major contribution to the study of early Christian ritual in the context of Mediterranean religion, society, and culture during the first three centuries ce. It contains substantive guidance toward major theories about ritual in personal lives, social groups, and small and large institutions, along with very helpful applications of selected theories to particular issues and texts. A major strength is its significant coverage of issues beyond the New Testament into the second and third centuries ce.

Vernon K. Robbins , Emory University, USA.

This volume is deeply infused with ritual theory and understanding of the quest for divine knowledge in the ancient world. The study of ritual in Early Christianity is a crucial area of scholarship which has not received the attention it deserves. This valuable collection of essays makes an important contribution in addressing the gap. Early Christian Ritual Life is sure to stimulate many new conversations and

investigations.

Margaret Y. MacDonald , Dean of Arts, Saint Marys University, Halifax, Canada.

This new collection of studies introduces wonderful insights into a fundamental element of human society, tracing it from home to temple, from dealing with divinity to negotiating community, and situating early Christians firmly within their social world. It challenges many traditional assumptions of older scholarship and paves the way for new understandings of thinking so different from ours, and yet so much the same.

Carolyn Osiek , Charles Fischer Professor of New Testament Emerita, Brite Divinity School, USA.

The study of Christian origins has tended to center on ideology and rhetoric while sidelining more enactive features of religious movements. This volume helpfully shifts the center of gravity to ritual action by exploring how concrete behaviors help to instantiate such abstract concepts as honor, personal transformation, power, marking and maintaining social boundaries, and managing death; as well as practical matters of how rituals are generated, revised, and rejected. A valuable reconsideration of the field.

Colleen Shantz , St. Michaels College, University of Toronto, Canada.

The contributions to this volume merge social-scientific and ritual studies in a novel attempt to illuminate how groups and group boundaries were defined, maintained and protected in early Christianity. Issues that vary from baptism and funerary rituals to dietary and dining practices are analysed in a creative and innovative merging of insights.

Pieter F. Craffert , University of South Africa.

EARLY CHRISTIAN RITUAL LIFE

Edited by Richard E. DeMaris, Jason T. Lamoreaux, and Steven C. Muir

First published 2018

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2018 selection and editorial matter, Richard E. DeMaris, Jason T.

Lamoreaux, and Steven C. Muir; individual chapters, the contributors.

The right of Richard E. DeMaris, Jason T. Lamoreaux, and Steven C. Muir to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: DeMaris, Richard E., editor.

Title: Early Christian ritual life / edited by Richard E. DeMaris, Jason T.

Lamoreaux, and Steven C. Muir.

Description: 1 [edition]. | New York: Routledge, 2017. | Includes

bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017031924 | ISBN 9781138653054 (hardback) |

ISBN 9781138653061 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315623832 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Rites and ceremoniesHistory. | Church history

Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600.

Classification: LCC BV185 .E27 2017 | DDC 264.009/015dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017031924

ISBN: 978-1-138-65305-4 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-65306-1 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-62383-2 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo

by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India

In memory of our beloved colleague Dietmar (Diet) Neufeld (19492015), friend, scholarly brother, and raconteur par excellence

CONTENTS

Richard E. DeMaris

Jonathan Schwiebert

Steven C. Muir

Ritva H. Williams

Agnes Choi

Erin K. Vearncombe

Nicola Hayward