Priests of My People

Levitical Paradigms for Early Christian Ministers

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Bible & Bible Studies, Criticism & Interpretation, Judaism, History
Cover of the book Priests of My People by Bryan A. Stewart, Peter Lang
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Bryan A. Stewart ISBN: 9781454193654
Publisher: Peter Lang Publication: March 26, 2015
Imprint: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers Language: English
Author: Bryan A. Stewart
ISBN: 9781454193654
Publisher: Peter Lang
Publication: March 26, 2015
Imprint: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Language: English

This book offers an innovative examination of the question: why did early Christians begin calling their ministerial leaders «priests» (using the terms hiereus/sacerdos)? Scholarly consensus has typically suggested that a Christian «priesthood» emerged either from an imitation of pagan priesthood or in connection with seeing the Eucharist as a sacrifice over which a «priest» must preside. This work challenges these claims by exploring texts of the third and fourth century where Christian bishops and ministers are first designated «priests»: Tertullian and Cyprian of Carthage, Origen of Alexandria, Eusebius of Caesarea, and the church orders Apostolic Tradition and Didascalia Apostolorum. Such an examination demonstrates that the rise of a Christian ministerial priesthood grew more broadly out of a developing «religio-political ecclesiology». As early Christians began to understand themselves culturally as a unique polis in their own right in the Greco-Roman world, they also saw themselves theologically and historically connected with ancient biblical Israel. This religio-political ecclesiology, sharpened by an emerging Christian material culture and a growing sense of Christian «sacred space», influenced the way Christians interpreted the Jewish Scriptures typologically. In seeing the nation of Israel as a divine nation corresponding to themselves, Christians began appropriating the Levitical priesthood as a figure or «type» of the Christian ministerial office. Such a study helpfully broadens our understanding of the emergence of a Christian priesthood beyond pagan imitation or narrow focus on the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist, and instead offers a more comprehensive explanation in connection with early Christian ecclesiology.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book offers an innovative examination of the question: why did early Christians begin calling their ministerial leaders «priests» (using the terms hiereus/sacerdos)? Scholarly consensus has typically suggested that a Christian «priesthood» emerged either from an imitation of pagan priesthood or in connection with seeing the Eucharist as a sacrifice over which a «priest» must preside. This work challenges these claims by exploring texts of the third and fourth century where Christian bishops and ministers are first designated «priests»: Tertullian and Cyprian of Carthage, Origen of Alexandria, Eusebius of Caesarea, and the church orders Apostolic Tradition and Didascalia Apostolorum. Such an examination demonstrates that the rise of a Christian ministerial priesthood grew more broadly out of a developing «religio-political ecclesiology». As early Christians began to understand themselves culturally as a unique polis in their own right in the Greco-Roman world, they also saw themselves theologically and historically connected with ancient biblical Israel. This religio-political ecclesiology, sharpened by an emerging Christian material culture and a growing sense of Christian «sacred space», influenced the way Christians interpreted the Jewish Scriptures typologically. In seeing the nation of Israel as a divine nation corresponding to themselves, Christians began appropriating the Levitical priesthood as a figure or «type» of the Christian ministerial office. Such a study helpfully broadens our understanding of the emergence of a Christian priesthood beyond pagan imitation or narrow focus on the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist, and instead offers a more comprehensive explanation in connection with early Christian ecclesiology.

More books from Peter Lang

Cover of the book Litanic Verse II by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Redeemed at Countless Cost by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Johann Adam Moehlers «Beleuchtung der Denkschrift» by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book African-American History by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Privacy and Philosophy by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book The Politics of Dubbing by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Sepharad as Imagined Community by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book New Visions of the Child in Italian Cinema by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Grundlagen der Textsortenlinguistik by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Political History of Guinea since World War Two by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Liberale Europapolitik 19491989 by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Die Produkthaftung im deutschen und US-amerikanischen Recht by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Digitalization and Society by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Der Pfaendungsschutz der privaten Altersvorsorge nach den §§ 851c und 851d ZPO by Bryan A. Stewart
Cover of the book Poetics of the Antilles by Bryan A. Stewart
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy