Hospitality, not Honors: Portraits and Patronage in the Acts of John (original) (raw)
Related papers
1992
This thesis treats Greco-Roman social conventions regarding social reciprocity and the extent to which the apostle Paul accepted or rejected these conventions. Special attention is given to Paul's financial relationship with the Philippians as seen in Phil. 4.10-20. Several other passages are studied In light of the conclusions drawn from the Philippian material. Chapter One is introductory. Here we refer to the basic elements of social reciprocity, justify such a study of Paul's relationships, introduce the texts for discussion, present working assumptions regarding canonical Philippians, and set forth our methodology. Chapters Two and Three illustrate the conventions of giving and receiving with texts from the Old Testament and selected Jewish literature as well as from Greco-Roman literature, respectively. These chapters demonstrate that the conventions of social reciprocity have Jewish as well as Greco-Roman roots and also that these conventions were basic to the society...
One Form of Social Exchange or Two? “Euergetism,” Patronage, and Testament Studies
Biblical Theology Bulletin: Journal of Bible and Culture, 2001
Researchers usually understand ancient Roman patronage and Greek “euegetism” as one and the same social exchange relationship, the difference being one of form rather of substance. In view of a brief investigation of primary historical data, ranging from Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, to honorary inscriptions, to Seneca's De beneficiis, the present scholarly status quo is challenged in this essay. A more nuanced view of ancient Mediterranean reciprocity in general, and “euergetism” and patronage in general, is presented. Finally, some implications of these findings are spelled out in terms of the interpretation of the Second Testament.
Carlà, Filippo, and Maja Gori, eds. Gift Giving and the ‘embedded’ Economy in the Ancient World. Heidelberg: Universitätsverslag Winter, 2014., 2014
Since Finley’s ‘World of Ulysses’ gift-exchange has been widely used by classicists to explain social relations and interactions in Greco-Roman society. It has been interpreted as the underlying rationale of Greek philia and Roman amicitia, of ritualized guest-friendship, patronage, inter-state relations, political alliances, credit and sureties, and so forth. In this paper, I argue that the explanatory force of the concept has been overstretched. Although gift-exchange was important both morally and practically it was not the only or even the dominant principle of interpersonal relations in Greco-Roman society. In many cases it was no more than a symbolic frame of reference actively used to justify social claims and actions that had little to do with gift-exchange as such.
Buying Imperial Favour: Cyril of Alexandria’s Blessings
Gaining and Losing Imperial Favour in Late Antiquity, 2019
To gain and hold imperial favour for his theological party in the aftermath of the Council of Ephesus in 431, Cyril of Alexandria bestowed blessings on high-ranking courtiers in Constantinople. His theological adversaries aimed to reveal that these blessings were nothing less than ordinary bribes and that, consequently, Cyril’s victory in the Christological controversy was won through corruption. This paper analyses Cyril’s use of a terminology of “blessings” to show that it legitimised and enhanced his gifts as a resource to exercise influence on the imperial court. The late-antique world, where gifts and fees were becoming increasingly important as (institutionalized) instruments to gain access to power, posed a problem to clerics who wanted to partake in these political transactions. Their authority was based on their independence from worldly rulers, which the exchanging of gifts would compromise; nor was the Bible (or the exegetic tradition) particular approving of gifts as a means to further even the good of the church. Yet, the Gospels also provided a solution, which allowed Cyril to redefine his material means to secure imperial favour into “blessings”. The paper concludes by considering a parallel case around the inauguration of Flavian as bishop of Constantinople that shows how the openness of the term “blessing” could also be exploited to disqualify the legitimacy of the opposing party.
"Patronage Avoidance in the Epistle of James," Hervormde theologiese studies 55(4) (1999): 755–94.
James 2:1-13 takes the form ofa rhetorical "elaboration on a theme" described in Ps-Cicero's Rhetorica ad Herennium 2.18.28, and is directed not merely at the abstract issue of partiality or the issue of rich versus poor, but at the practice of patronage and its attendant effects on social interaction. James attacks the practice of patronage and reliance on the stereotypes of patronage as demeaning pseudo-friendship as well as the client, and contrasts this with true friendship from God. 1. I TaTIOV LTpaTUlIlO5 TOU 'Ev I TTEOUlVOS' TOV olKOV Kal TOV ITTEPljX>AOV TOU uTTal9pou KaTaaKEU I aaaaa EK TW[V iOJIUlV I ExaplaaTo [olc;'lo]uoaIOtc;. In auvayUlYTl E[TEI~I1] aEV TWV 'louoallUlV TaTtOV L[TpaTJUlVOC; TOU 'EVTTE I c5UlvOS' xpua~ aTEcpa~ I Kal TTPOEOpICjl. Originally publisbed in Reinach 1886, the most recent edition is found in Engelmann 1976, no 45. For earlier editions, see cun no. 738; Lifshitz 1967,21-22 (no 13). In this paper I employ the epigraphical abbreviations proposed by Horsley and Lee 1994. 2 Both the bestowal of a golden crown and the assigning of the privilege of the 1TPOE~P I a are conventional in civic honorific inscriptions, where the honoree is given the 1TpoE~pla at the games. For example IMagnMai 90.21-26 (Magnesia ad Maeander; rum BCE):~E) I [OOXl9al TWI Orl~UlI Mayvl']Tas ~ev cpiAOUS oVTas e[TTat]I [vEo]al ETTI TWI CPIAOTI~119Tival civopa KaAov Kal ciya9[ov]I [clTTooT]EiAat, nu90c5oTUlI oe [uTTjapXElv TTOAtTEiav Kai [TTavTUlvll [~EToulalav KOI TTPOEOpiov EV Tois ciYWotv ois (, o~OS' (Ti]l[9l']Clt, alTEcpavUl9i)vol Of OUTOV KOl xpuawl aTEcpavUl[t. ... (Kern 1967, no. 90).
RBL, 2022
Chris Seglenieks’s first monograph, a revised version of his doctoral dissertation, poses an essential but often overlooked question of how the Gospel of John portrays and, by implication, demands the ideal type of response to Jesus. Alongside the traditional Johannine approach to Jesus’s identity as the Christ and the Son of God (20:31), Seglenieks gives special attention to an extensive analysis of the complicated and prevalent aspects of response to Jesus. On the assumption that the majority of the audience of the Gospel of John was more gentile than Jewish, Seglenieks also attempts to investigate Johannine belief as a form of devotion in the Greco-Roman religious settings, particularly in terms of cognitive, relational, ethical, ongoing, public (and ritual) aspects.
Towards a Miraculous Economy: Christian Gifts and Material ‘Blessings’ in Late Antiquity
Journal of Early Christian Studies, 2006
This study explores the origin, use, and idealization of gifts called “blessings” and their role in the church and monastic economies of late antiquity. Inspired by Paul’s definition of a donation in 2 Cor 9.5–12, a “blessing” designated any gift considered to be a product of God’s bounty, that made no demand on its receiver, that was used to support holy people, or conferred holiness when given. Conceptually distinct from alms, “blessings” gained further definition by contrast to secular gifts given for self-promotion and advancement. They therefore provided the basis for a religious economy that supported Christian professionals, while implying charitable responsibilities.