Patronage in Early Christianity

by Alan B Wheatley

Overview

How did the community we glimpse in the New Testament become an institution quite willing to have the emperor Constantine as a primary public partner? By tracing the use of resources, titles, and functions of leaders and patterns of honor giving, Wheatley traces from a wide variety of sources both acceptance and revision of Roman patronage in this countercultural community. Along the way, it is possible to see dissident groups like the Montanists and Marcionites more clearly and sympathetically, and to ask ourselves some pertinent questions about how a Christian community might function in the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597525879
Publisher:	Pickwick Publications
Publication date:	04/14/2011
Series:	Princeton Theological Monograph , #160
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Alan B. Wheatley is Associate Professor of History and chair of the Department of History and Political Science at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations vii

1 Patronage: The Heart of Roman Life 1

2 The Challenge to Traditional Patronage in the New Testament 9

3 Early Church Order Documents 43

4 The Christian Communities at Rome 52

5 The Work of Irenaeus of Lyons 78

6 The Christian Communities around the Aegean 85

7 The Christian Communities of Syria and Osrhoene 101

8 The Christian Communities in Alexandria and Southern Palestine 129

9 The Christian Communities of Northwest Africa 155

10 Conclusion: An Overview of the Patristic Project 178

Appendix 1 189

Appendix 2 191

Bibliography 195

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Once you've read this excellent book, you may wonder why long ago no one called your attention to this subject, so critically important for understanding the interpersonal challenges faced by the developing Christian movement. Without the knowledge about patronage and benefaction that Wheatley makes so accessible, students of both the New Testament and early Christian history miss perceiving the depth of Jesus' dynamic reversal of social values and the subsequent struggles of his followers to follow him."
—S. Scott Bartchy
Professor of the History of Religion, UCLA

"Alan Wheatley's book is a fine elucidation of how the reciprocity of ancient Greco-Roman patronage is continued, challenged, and transformed in the world of the early Christians. Wheatley's study not only treats the Pauline texts but most valuably continues his investigation of the ideology of Christian patronage through the end of the third century CE."
—Ronald Mellor
Distinguished Professor of History, UCLA

"Ideals associated with Jesus and Paul challenged the systems of patronal honor and benefaction long entrenched within Greco-Roman society. This learned and provocative book examines the revolutionary nature of those ideals and their impact on writers and authorities of the early church. The result is a refreshing assessment of the influence and vitality of radical Christian social teachings in the age before Constantine, and an important starting point for future scholarship."
—Daniel F. Caner
Associate Professor of History & Classics
University of Connecticut

Editorial Reviews

"Once you've read this excellent book, you may wonder why long ago no one called your attention to this subject, so critically important for understanding the interpersonal challenges faced by the developing Christian movement. Without the knowledge about patronage and benefaction that Wheatley makes so accessible, students of both the New Testament and early Christian history miss perceiving the depth of Jesus' dynamic reversal of social values and the subsequent struggles of his followers to follow him."
—S. Scott Bartchy
Professor of the History of Religion, UCLA

"Alan Wheatley's book is a fine elucidation of how the reciprocity of ancient Greco-Roman patronage is continued, challenged, and transformed in the world of the early Christians. Wheatley's study not only treats the Pauline texts but most valuably continues his investigation of the ideology of Christian patronage through the end of the third century CE."
—Ronald Mellor
Distinguished Professor of History, UCLA

"Ideals associated with Jesus and Paul challenged the systems of patronal honor and benefaction long entrenched within Greco-Roman society. This learned and provocative book examines the revolutionary nature of those ideals and their impact on writers and authorities of the early church. The result is a refreshing assessment of the influence and vitality of radical Christian social teachings in the age before Constantine, and an important starting point for future scholarship."
—Daniel F. Caner
Associate Professor of History & Classics
University of Connecticut

From the Publisher