In The Catechumenate in Late Antique Africa (4th-6th centuries) Matthieu Pignot explores how individuals became Christian in ancient North Africa. Before baptism, converts first became catechumens and spent a significant time of gradual integration into the community through rituals and teaching. This book provides the first historical study of this process in African sources, from Augustine of Hippo, to canon of councils, anonymous sermons and 6th-century letters. Pignot shows that practices varied more than is generally assumed and that catechumens, because of their liminal position, were a disputed and essential group in the development of Christian communities until the 6th century at least. This book demonstrates that the catechumenate is key to understanding the processes of Christianisation and conversion in the West.

The recent retranslation and US adaptation of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults can be seen as the work of the Second Vatican Council continuing to unfold, fulfilling the council’s mandate to draw up texts and rites so that they “express more clearly the holy things that they signify” (Sacrosanctum concilium, 21). In this present volume, A Pastoral and Theological Commentary on the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, fourteen authors—all scholars and pastoral ministers steeped in the Church’s living liturgical tradition—help us appreciate this unfolding more deeply by presenting the historical development and theological significance of the OCIA rites and texts, thus enriching our pastoral practice. Introductory essays present a contextual foundation, including discussion of historical and theological roots and an exposition of Christian Initiation: General Introduction Then, following the structure of the OCIA, eight chapters of commentary concentrate on each stage of Christian initiation, from acceptance into the Order of Catechumens through the Period of Mystoagogy, including chapters on the Rites for Particular Circumstances. Further commentaries on the musical enrichment of the rites and on the newly revised National Statues for the Catechumenate round out this panoramic, yet accessible, view of the rites of the OCIA. “This book is for anyone ministering in or studying Christian initiation. We believe it offers a deep understanding of the rites for both those long familiar with this process and those fairly new to it. For those who wish to pursue further study, either casual or in-depth, a vast array of endnotes and bibliographies offer plenty of suggestions” (editor Victoria Tufano, from the introduction).

An Open Access edition will be available on publication thanks to the kind sponsorship of the libraries participating in the Jisc Open Access Community Framework OpenUP initiative. Desire and Disunity explores the struggles of Christianising late ancient sexuality in the late Roman West. Through an examination of fourth to sixth century sermons, letters, laws, and treatises in Latin-speaking communities, the difficulties of late antique clerics in moving ascetically influenced sexual ideals into wider practice become evident. Western clerics faced challenges on several fronts: the dedication and devoutness of lay Christians varied, while the military-political upheavals of the fifth century created new challenges and opportunities for influencing one’s flock. Furthermore, Roman sexual norms continued to inform the thinking of many clerics and lay figures alike, even when in opposition to more scripturally based moral reasoning. Problems of bigamy, concubinage, sex work, incest, homosexual acts, adultery, and more troubled western Christian communities, with contradicting rules and traditions on what was acceptable and what was not. What reach did elite clerical perspectives on sexual norms have amongst the non-elite? How did clerics navigate tensions between the idealisation of Christian communal purity and the actions of congregants that fell short of these ideals? What influenced clerical perceptions of sex and how did they articulate these ideas to their audiences? Clerical sources of this time reflect these challenges as well as varying church attempts to reform the sex lives of their congregants – and, indeed, church failure in doing so.

Presents a new history of the rise and development of catechesis in Latin Patristic Christianity that foregrounds core questions of knowledge, faith, and teaching. This book focuses on the critical relationship between teaching and epistemology

This study offers new insights into early medieval Christianity, exploring how religious diversity and politics shaped post-Roman Europe.

This second volume delves into the intricate dynamics that surrounded the use of Scripture by North African Christians from the late-fourth to the mid-seventh century CE. It focuses on the multivalent ways in which Scripture was incorporated into the fabric of ecclesial existence and theological reflection, as well as on Scripture’s role in informing and supporting these Christians’ decision-making processes. This volume also highlights the intricate theological and philosophical deliberations that were carried out between and among influential North African Christian leaders and scholars—in diverse cultural and geopolitical settings—while paying attention to the complex manner in which these Scripture-laden discourses intersected the wide variety of religious opinions and ecclesiastical and/or theological movements that so clearly marked this region in this era.

This history of early Christian creeds contains an up-to-date account of their origin and development from the credal texts in the New Testament to the fully fledged classical formulae of the 4th century. It includes the creeds’ use and alteration in subsequent periods until the time of Charlemagne and the beginnings of the filioque controversy. In addition, the author provides a scholarly commentary on the most common ancient confessions: the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed. Going beyond previous studies, the book contains chapters dedicated to the use of creeds in law, art, music, everyday life and even magic. Recently discovered source texts, such as a new Ethiopic version of the Roman Creed and a short recension of the Creed of Nicaea-Constantinople, receive extensive treatment. Credal developments in the eastern churches beyond the borders of the Roman Empire complete this comprehensive overview. This volume is intended both as a textbook for advanced students of theology and cognate disciplines and as a reference book on the creeds in a wide range of contexts. All source texts are accompanied by modern English translations. Winner of the Alberigo Award 2024 awarded by the European Academy of Religion.

Listening to the Philosophers offers the first comprehensive look into how philosophy was taught in antiquity through a stimulating study of lectures by ancient philosophers that were recorded by their students. Raffaella Cribiore shows how the study of notes—whether Philodemus of Gadara's notes of Zeno's lectures in the first century BCE, or Arrian recording the Discourses of Epictetus in the second century CE, or the students of Didymus the Blind in the fourth century and Olympiodorus in the sixth century—can enable us to understand the methods and practices of what was an orally conducted education. By considering the pedagogical and mnemonic role of notetaking in ancient education, Listening to the Philosophers demonstrates how in antiquity the written and the spoken worlds were intimately intertwined.

In 11 in-depth essays and over 500 encyclopedia entries, a cast of experts provides fresh perspectives on an era marked by the rise of two world religions, unprecedented upheavals, and the creation of art of enduring glory. 79 illustrations, 16 in color.

Ambrose of Milan is famous above all for his struggle with, and triumph over, 'Arian' heresy. Yet, almost all of the evidence comes from Ambrose's own writings, and from pious historians of the next generation who represented him as a champion of orthodoxy. This detailed study argues instead that an 'Arian' opposition in Milan was largely conjured up by Ambrose himself, lumping together critics and outsiders in order to secure and justify his own authority. Along with new interpretations of Ambrose's election as bishop, his controversies over the faith, and his clashes with the imperial court, this book provides a new understanding of the nature and significance of heretical communities in Late Antiquity. In place of rival congregations inflexibly committed to doctrinal beliefs, it envisages a world of more fluid allegiances in which heresy - but also consensus - could be a matter of deploying the right rhetorical frame.