The body was of
principal concern to Christians and non-Christians alike in late antiquity.
Care for the body was a core aspect of care for the soul, and spiritual
discipline demanded the training of perilous appetites, habits, and desires.
Scholarship has in recent years devoted much attention to the practices and
processes involved in this self-care, observing in particular that early
Christian concern for the body echoed ancient medical dietetics. As such,
experts on the care of the Christian body followed in the footsteps of medical
experts—in particular those of the Hippocratic tradition.
The shared goal of
medical and Christian dietetics was the health of body and soul. How Christian
leaders chose to use medical language, strategies, and techniques in their
pastoral care for the health of their congregants reflects their understanding
of the body-soul relationship and the role of bodily health in securing
spiritual well-being.
This panel is
concerned with the care of the body as articulated by early Christian leaders:
Basil of Caesarea; John Chrysostom; Dorotheus of Gaza; and Sophronius of
Jerusalem. Juxtaposing naturalistic and religious healing practices, we will
examine the strategies employed by different spiritual doctors in addressing
the condition of the body within their communities. Exploring their discussions
about the body, its sicknesses, and its healing, our papers will point toward
the intersections of spiritual and bodily health, as our subjects set out the
terms and the stakes of spiritual intervention in the care of the body.
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