Authority and the Sacred: Aspects of the Christianisation of the Roman World / Edition 1

by Peter Brown

Overview

The Christianization of the Roman world lies at the root of modern Europe. Peter Brown's fascinating study examines the factors that proved decisive and the compromises that made the emergence of the Christian conception of existence possible: how the old gods of the Roman Empire could be reinterpreted as symbols to further the message of the Church. Peter Brown also shows how Christian holy men were less representative of a triumphant faith than negotiators of a working compromise between the new faith and traditional ways of dealing with the supernatural worlds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521595575
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/28/1997
Series:	Canto original series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	108
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 5.71(h) x 0.28(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Christianisation: narratives and process; 2. The limits of intolerance; 3. Arbiters of the Holy: the Christian holy man in late antiquity; Notes; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'A brilliant book, by a scholar to whom church historians are already deeply indebted, providing ample material for further debates.' The Expository Times

' ... the treatment is fresh and independent'. The Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher