Early Christianity in Macedonia: From Paul to the Late Sixth Century

✍ Scribed by Julien M Ogereau

• Publisher: Brill
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 468
• Series: Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

In this volume Julien M. Ogereau investigates the origins and development of Christianity in the Roman province of Macedonia in the first six centuries CE. Drawing from the oldest literary sources, Ogereau reconstructs the earliest history of the first Christian communities in the region and explores the legacy of the apostle Paul in the cities of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Beroea. Turning to the epigraphic and archaeological evidence, Ogereau then examines Christianity's dissemination throughout the province and its impact on Macedonian society in late antiquity, especially on its epigraphic habits and material culture.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents
Preface
Maps, Charts, and Figures
Abbreviations
Chapter 1 Introduction
1 Beyond Harnack’s Mission und Ausbreitung des Christentums
2 History of Research
3 Sources and Methodological Considerations
4 Chronological and Geographical Boundaries
5 Outline of Study
Chapter 2 Macedonia in Roman Antiquity
1 Introduction
2 Geographical Setting
3 Urban Infrastructures and Transportation Network
4 Ethnic and Socio-cultural Outlook
5 Religious Context
6 Summary
Chapter 3 Christian Beginnings in Macedonia
1 Introduction
2 Sources
3 The Foundation of the First Christian Communities in the AD 50s
4 The Consolidation of the First Christian Communities in the AD 50s–60s
4.1 Introduction
4.2 First Thessalonians
4.3 Second Thessalonians
4.4 Philippians
5 Macedonian Christianity in the Second Century
5.1 General Overview
5.2 Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians
6 Summary
Chapter 4 Early Christianity in Eastern Macedonia
1 Introduction
2 Philippi and Its Territory
2.1 The Basilica of Paul and the Octagon Complex
2.2 Fourth-Century Funerary Epigraphy
2.3 Late Antique Epigraphy from the Eastern Necropolis and the Colony’s Territory
2.3.1 Inscriptions from the extra muros Cemetery Basilica
2.3.2 Inscriptions from the Eastern Necropolis and the Basilica B
2.4 Apotropaic Inscriptions
2.5 Christian Monumental Architecture
2.6 Inscriptions from the Philippian Territory
3 The Strymon Valley: Amphipolis, Serrai, and Parthicopolis
3.1 Amphipolis
3.2 Serrai
3.3 Parthicopolis
4 Summary
Chapter 5 Early Christianity in Central Macedonia
1 Introduction
2 Thessalonica
2.1 Third- and Fourth-Century Christian Inscriptions
2.2 Inscriptions Related to the Clergy
2.3 Inscriptions Related to Martyrial Cults
2.3.1 St. Demetrios et alii
2.3.2 The Martyrs in the Rotunda
2.4 Inscriptions Related to the Laity
2.5 Christian Monumental Architecture
3 Chalcidice
4 Summary
Chapter 6 Early Christianity in Western Macedonia
1 Introduction
2 Edessa
2.1 Third- and Fourth-Century Funerary Epigraphy
2.2 Fifth- and Sixth-Century Funerary Epigraphy
3 Beroea
4 The Bottiaean Plain
5 Dium and the Pierian Plain
6 The Western Macedonian Frontier
7 Summary
Chapter 7 Early Christianity in Northern Macedonia
1 Introduction
2 Stobi
2.1 Theater-Seat Graffiti as the Earliest Christian Evidence?
2.2 Episcopal Epigraphy and Monumental Architecture
2.3 Basilicas along the via sacra
2.4 Christian Funerary Epigraphy
3 Heraclea Lyncestis
4 Northern Rural Territories
5 Summary
Epilogue
Bibliography
Concordance
Index of Ancient Sources
General Index