The Good, the Bad, and the Body: Body Part Imagery as Patristic Metaphor for Vice and Virtue
Body parts, and their veneration as relics, were an important devotional focus in late antique Christianity. These body parts were seen as a locus of power and sanctity which continued to exert influence over the world in their vicinity. Patristic authors used images of various body parts (hair, right hands vs. left hands, genitalia, gender, old age) as metaphors for both good and evil, virtue and vice. The inner reality of a person's spirit would not always be obvious in this world but would be revealed in the world to come, often by the condition of these various body parts when the body was resurrected at the Last Judgment.
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The Good, the Bad, and the Body: Body Part Imagery as Patristic Metaphor for Vice and Virtue
Body parts, and their veneration as relics, were an important devotional focus in late antique Christianity. These body parts were seen as a locus of power and sanctity which continued to exert influence over the world in their vicinity. Patristic authors used images of various body parts (hair, right hands vs. left hands, genitalia, gender, old age) as metaphors for both good and evil, virtue and vice. The inner reality of a person's spirit would not always be obvious in this world but would be revealed in the world to come, often by the condition of these various body parts when the body was resurrected at the Last Judgment.
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The Good, the Bad, and the Body: Body Part Imagery as Patristic Metaphor for Vice and Virtue

The Good, the Bad, and the Body: Body Part Imagery as Patristic Metaphor for Vice and Virtue

by Stephen Morris
The Good, the Bad, and the Body: Body Part Imagery as Patristic Metaphor for Vice and Virtue

The Good, the Bad, and the Body: Body Part Imagery as Patristic Metaphor for Vice and Virtue

by Stephen Morris

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Overview

Body parts, and their veneration as relics, were an important devotional focus in late antique Christianity. These body parts were seen as a locus of power and sanctity which continued to exert influence over the world in their vicinity. Patristic authors used images of various body parts (hair, right hands vs. left hands, genitalia, gender, old age) as metaphors for both good and evil, virtue and vice. The inner reality of a person's spirit would not always be obvious in this world but would be revealed in the world to come, often by the condition of these various body parts when the body was resurrected at the Last Judgment.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781466257276
Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date: 11/11/2011
Pages: 30
Product dimensions: 5.24(w) x 7.99(h) x 0.06(d)

About the Author

Stephen Morris has studied with John Meyendorff, Alexander Schmemann, Aidan Kavanaugh, and Jaroslav Pelikan at both Yale and St. Vladimir's. His academic work examines Christian response to Byzantine and Late Antique social contexts, including sexuality and gender.
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