What Makes a Church Sacred?: Legal and Ritual Perspectives from Late Antiquity

by Mary K. Farag

Overview

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org.

What is the purpose of a church? Who owns a church? Mary K. Farag persuasively demonstrates that three groups in late antiquity were concerned with these questions: Christian leaders, wealthy laypersons, and lawmakers. Conflicting answers usually coexisted, but from time to time they clashed and caused significant tension. In these disputes, juridical regulations and opinions mattered more than has been traditionally recognized. Considering familiar Christian controversies in novel ways, Farag’s investigation shows that scholarship has misunderstood well-known religious figures by ignoring the legal issues they faced. This seminal text nuances vital aspects of scholarly conversations on sacred space, gift giving, wealth, and poverty in the late antique Mediterranean world, making use not only of Latin and Greek sources but also Coptic and Arabic evidence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520382008
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	11/02/2021
Series:	Transformation of the Classical Heritage , #63
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	346
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Mary K. Farag is Assistant Professor of Early Christian Studies at the Princeton Theological Seminary.