Proxenia as a Model for Early Christian Host-Leaders
To mitigate the costs and risks of travel, Greek communities utilized the formal social institution of proxenia. The honorific title of proxenos (“public host”) was bestowed upon someone in another community who provided travelers with hospitality services, such as physical accommodation, social acc...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2024
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| In: |
Biblical theology bulletin
Year: 2024, Volume: 54, Issue: 2, Pages: 120-129 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Proxenos
/ Director
/ Hospitality
/ Journey
/ Itinerary
/ Charitable works
/ Phöbe, Biblical person
/ Philemon, Biblical person
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| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity |
| Further subjects: | B
Travel
B Hospitality B Phoebe Biblical character B Leader B Philemon B proxenos B itineration B Benefaction B Patronage |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | To mitigate the costs and risks of travel, Greek communities utilized the formal social institution of proxenia. The honorific title of proxenos (“public host”) was bestowed upon someone in another community who provided travelers with hospitality services, such as physical accommodation, social access, and legal protections. This social institution of proxenia, similar to but more specific than ancient patronage or benefaction, offers a fruitful heuristic model for interpreting travel among early Christians and the role of host-leaders within the emerging movement. Itinerant Christians would have utilized the proxenos-paradigm and cultivated proxenos-like relationships with prominent Christian hosts. This paper examines how Philemon and Phoebe functioned as proxenos-like hosts for Christians traveling through their respective cities. We conclude with discussions regarding the prominence and authority of proxenia-like host-leaders within early Christian social networks. Such people with the capacity to facilitate travel and grant social inclusion amassed significant power, as they became the centralized nodes enabling social connectivity. |
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| ISSN: | 1945-7596 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Biblical theology bulletin
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/01461079241252669 |