Early Christian Voluntary Martyrdom: A Statement for the Defence
Many studies of early Christian martyrdom have noted the phenomenon of voluntary martyrdom. However, most scholars, drawing on criticism of the practice found in the Martyrdom of Polycarp and Clement of Alexandria, dismiss those who provoked their own arrest and death as deviant, heretical, or numer...
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| Tipo di documento: | Elettronico Articolo |
| Lingua: | Inglese |
| Verificare la disponibilità: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Pubblicazione: |
Oxford University Press
2013
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| In: |
The journal of theological studies
Anno: 2013, Volume: 64, Fascicolo: 2, Pagine: 556-573 |
| Accesso online: |
Accesso probabilmente gratuito Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Edizione parallela: | Elettronico
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| Riepilogo: | Many studies of early Christian martyrdom have noted the phenomenon of voluntary martyrdom. However, most scholars, drawing on criticism of the practice found in the Martyrdom of Polycarp and Clement of Alexandria, dismiss those who provoked their own arrest and death as deviant, heretical, or numerically insignificant. This article argues instead that the earliest Christian martyrologies celebrate voluntary martyrdom as a valid mainstream Christian practice, which faced only isolated challenge in the first three centuries. Furthermore, pagan sources support the view that voluntary martyrdom was a significant historical as well as literary phenomenon. As there is no reason to conclude voluntary martyrdom was anything other than a valid subset of proto-orthodox Christian martyrdom, more attention should be paid to this phenomenon by early Christian historians. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
| Comprende: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/flt123 |