Call for papers - the XVII Conference on Patristic Studies Oxford 10-14 August 2015

Today it is a pleasure to invite you to the next, the XVII Conference on Patristic Studies Oxford (10-14 August 2015), to visit our newly designed website (http://www.oxfordpatristics.com), to register and to submit your abstract there. Hopefully, it should be much easier to do this than last round, but if you encounter problems, please don't hesitate to send me an email and I will do the best I can that you can get registered and submit your abstract. All deadlines - especially for the early bird discounted fees, you will find on the website (http://www.oxfordpatristics.com).

As you will see, the website looks different - but we would like to improve it even more. It would be wonderful, if you could send me a few photographs of previous conferences, as we could create a small archive on the site that presents such photos to recreate memories.

Again, you can also visit our blog (http://oxfordpatristics.blogspot.co.uk/) where we are going to publish the abstracts, as soon as they are accepted. Please note, we are also publishing reviews on our blog, call for papers, conferences and others - if you wish your book to be reviewed please ask the publishers to send the book to my King's College London address.

While we are preparing for the next Conference, let me also update you on the progress of the publication of the proceedings of the 2011 Conference. All papers that have been accepted (we had more than one third more submissions compared to 2007), have been layouted, and all authors should have received these layout proofs in the meantime. If you have not seen these proofs, please get in touch with me (and attach your original submission), so that we can trace, if anything had gone lost in the process. Despite much care, I still discover some correspondence which has gone astray.
To give you an insight into the publication of the proceedings, I attach the latest version of the distribution of articles to volumes - as you will see, it is planned that we are publishing the proceedings in around 20 volumes - and, for the first time, we will start these volumes with a number of special volumes (partly edited by special editors), often derived from workshops of the 2011 Conference. I hope, this innovation will meet with colleagues approval and serves as an invitation to suggest your own workshop for the 2015 Conference.
As work has well progressed, we are confident that the volumes will come out sometime in summer of this year 2013, hence barely 2 years after the close of the last Conference. Let me thank you and all colleagues for your tremendous support (delivery, fine pre-editing according to the Style Guide, quick returns and correspondence, your kind reminders, generous understanding and the immense work our peer reviewers have done - thanks to all).

THE EIGHTH BIRMINGHAM COLLOQUIUM ON THE NEW TESTAMENT

“The Tradition of the New Testament: Treasures New and Old”
University of Birmingham 5th-6th March 2013
Provisional Programme (as of 30.1.2013)
Monday 4th March
4.00 pm IGNTP committee meeting (provisional)
7.30 pm Social event for participants arriving on Monday (provisional)
Tuesday 5th March
9.30 am Conference registration (Room G-06, OLRC)
10.00 am Dr Stephen Carlson – Did Scribes Really Corrupt the Text of the New Testament? A Look at the Textual History of Galatians
10.30 am Ulrike Swoboda – The Gospel of John and its Original Readers
11.00 am Coffee
11.30 am Dr Jan Krans – New Testament Conjectural Emendation and the Church Fathers
12 noon Rebekka Schirner – Augustine as a Textual Critic of the Old and New Testament
12.30 pm Lunch
1.15 pm Coach departs for excursion to Leicester (provisional)
10.00 pm Coach returns to Woodbrooke
6.00 pm University of Birmingham Cadbury Lecture Professor Gavin D'Costa (University of Bristol)
Distinctive voices require distinctive universities. The case for theology and a Christian
university. (Separate event: see www.birmingham.ac.uk/cadburylectures)
Wednesday 6th March
9.00 am Dr Satoshi Toda – The Eusebian Canons
9.30 am Oliver Norris – Evidence of an unusual Gospel harmony in the Carmen Paschale of Sedulius
10.00 am Extended coffee break
11.00 am Prof. Tom O’Loughlin – Divisions as Exegesis in the Book of Revelation as found in the Book of Armagh
11.30 am Dr Simon Crisp – “Dear Dr Nestle...”: The Correspondence of Erwin Nestle with the BFBS and the ‘Nestle-Kilpatrick’ Greek New Testament Edition of 1958
12 noon Lunch
2.00 pm Dr Hans Förster – The Text of the Gospel according to John
2.45 pm Dr Toan Do - Ἁμάρτητε or ἁμαρτάνητε? Reading 1 John 2:1b with the CBGM
3.15 pm Dr Amy Anderson – Family 1 in Mark: Preliminary Results
3.45 pm Concluding round table
4.00 pm Break
7.00 pm Conference Dinner (Michael Tippett Room, University Staff House)

“The Tradition of the New Testament: Treasures New and Old” Abstracts (in order of papers)
Dr Stephen Carlson – Did Scribes Really Corrupt the Text of the New Testament? A Look at the Textual History of Galatians
Ever since the publication of Bart D. Ehrman’s Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, many textual critics have been interested in how textual variants reflect the theological controversies alive during the transmission of the text. Specifically, Ehrman charged that the proto-Orthodox scribes who
copied the text changed it to conform it to their Christological preconceptions about what it must
have meant. Ehrman’s book has been widely influential, and several scholars have extended his
thesis to apologetic and other theologically charged variants. On the other hand, his critics have
claimed that Ehrman’s approach is ahistorical, overgeneralizing his conclusions from
disembodied readings rather than looking at the tendencies of individual manuscripts and textual
families.
In my 2012 dissertation from Duke University, I have examined the textual history of Paul’s
Epistle to the Galatians, with particular attention to Ehrman’s claims about the Orthodox
corruption of the New Testament text, and to what extent his claims hold in the transmission of
the Byzantine and Western texts of Galatians. This paper will summarize my results, showing
that there is no uniform tendency of theological textual corruption throughout the transmission
of Galatians, although one can see an anti-Judaic tendency in the early transmission of the
Western text, particularly with regard to Paul’s statements about the Law.
Ulrike Swoboda – The Gospel of John and its Original Readers
The project P24649-G15 “The gospel of John and its original readers”, financed by FWF (The
Austrian Science Fund), deals with the question of the intended reader of the Gospel of John. The
evidence in the Gospel seems to be contradictory, which makes this a puzzling and controversial
question for scholarship. By using two methods in combination, textual criticism and collocation
analysis, it might be possible to provide additional evidence for this question. The basis for the
research will be foremost the Greek text and the Latin and Coptic versions with their variants.
The comparison of the translations and their respective variants might provide information
about the presupposed knowledge, which the author implied for his intended readership.
Through the collocation analysis of the Greek text it might be possible to show what kind of
details are explained in the Gospel of John and what details are omitted because they are assumed
to be known by the original readers. It is assumed that there is a certain method behind what it is
explained and where an explanation is omitted. Therefore the aim of the project is – after first
collecting the data, using these two methods – to discuss whether the collected data prove to give
additional insight for the debate about the original / intended readers of the gospel of John.
Dr Jan Krans – New Testament Conjectural Emendation and the Church Fathers
Church Fathers, when working with biblical texts, dealt with manuscripts and their difficulties.
While many on occasion mentioned variant readings, some were even engaged in textual
criticism in that they consciously collected information and tried to evaluate it. On some rare
occasions, patristic writers practised conjectural criticism. This paper explores patristic textual
criticism in order to weigh the importance of conjectural emendation. It will review previous
scholarship, list the key players and passages, and finally put the issue of patristic conjectures in a
wider perspective.
Rebekka Schirner – Augustine as a Textual Critic of the Old and New Testament
No one would deny that Augustine, whose life and writings have had a major influence on the
development and understanding of theology and philosophy, is one of the most outstanding
personalities of Late Antiquity. But while the focus of research interest has mainly been on his
methods of biblical exegesis, his basic use of biblical manuscripts and his attitude towards textual
variants of biblical verses (Old and New Testament) have been largely neglected.
Although Jerome is usually presumed to be the greatest philologist among Latin church fathers,
there are many passages throughout Augustine’s writings which exhibit a certain degree of
awareness of manuscripts as historical artefacts as well as some kind of philological sensitivity for
various textual readings: In his De doctrina Christiana he emphasizes the importance of accurate
copies of the Bible for exegetical purposes – a condition which can be obtained through collatio
and emendatio of codices ex uno interpretationis genere. Thus he defines textual criticism, or rather
criticism of translations, as a basic step towards the interpretation of biblical texts itself.
It is therefore not surprising that indeed a number of passages can be found in Augustine’s works
where he applies several principles which are also relevant regarding the methods of modern
textual criticism (like the consideration of the number or age of manuscripts containing a certain
reading) – an approach which leads to the favouring of one reading over the other(s). There is,
however, an even larger number of passages where the church father compares Latin variants of
biblical verses and, with or without the Greek text as reference point involved, accepts the
different Latin renderings, as each of them can – in his opinion – contribute to a broader meaning
of the respective biblical text. Nevertheless, the church father occasionally rules out a certain
reading of a manuscript or group of manuscripts, since it can – according to Augustine – be
ascribed to an error or misunderstanding of either the translator or the scribe or to an
intentional alteration of the text or rather translation.
In my paper, I will take a look at Augustine’s method of evaluating codices and their texts to
answer the questions of if and to what degree theological considerations outweigh philological
criteria.
Dr Satoshi Toda – The Eusebian Canons
Eusebius of Caesarea is one of the best scholars among those who are called Church Fathers, and
his erudition covers not only historiographical areas, but also what is concerned with the Bible
(the Old as well as New Testaments). This paper will pay special attention to the so-called
“(Evangelical) Canons of Eusebius”, and explore various implications they contain; and in the
course of the presentation, some problems relevant to the textual criticism of the Gospels will
also be discussed.
Oliver Norris – Evidence of an unusual Gospel harmony in the Carmen Paschale of Sedulius
Identification of the Gospel text that lies behind Sedulius’ Carmen Paschale, a 5th century Latin
hexameter poem on the miracles of the Old and New Testaments, has long resisted the efforts of
those scholars who have worked on the poem. Mayr's 1916 study, which was the first to examine
the question in detail, concluded that Sedulius was using a 'Vulgate' text; Van der Laan's 1990
study, the most recent attempt at finding an answer, concluded that Sedulius used an Old Latin
version of the Gospels as his source text. Between these two, Moretti Pieri's 1969 study compared
Sedulius' text with the Latin Diatessaron found in the Codex Fuldensis and Ciasca's Latin
translation of the Arabic Diatessaron. Her findings were inconclusive, but she opened a door
through which this paper proceeds. Contrary to the Fuldensis and the Arabic Diatessaron,
Sedulius' account of the Temptations of Christ follows a Lucan, rather than a Matthean order.
Such an order is unusual for Diatessaronic witnesses but is found in the Persian Diatessaron, the
Pepysian Gospel harmony and the as-yet-unpublished Gospel harmony of Clement of Llanthony.
This paper compares Sedulius' account of the Temptations against the accounts found in these
three Gospel harmonies and examines whether Sedulius' Carmen Paschale could be considered a
witness to a 5th century Old Latin Gospel harmony tradition.
Prof. Tom O’Loughlin – Divisions as Exegesis in the Book of Revelation as found
in the Book of Armagh
In the text of Revelation in this codex (Dublin, Trinity College 52) there is a rare division system
of this book into thirteen sections. The headings for each division are then repeated in a piece of
triangular 'word-art' at the end of the text and presented as a summary of the text. When this is
examined in conjunction with the map of the New Jerusalem (which was an existing item of
exegesis used in this codex: it depends on a Vetus Latina version of Revelation whereas that in this
codex is Vulgate), it can be demonstrated that a very definite way of understanding this text was
being embedded in its lay-out in the manuscript.
Dr Simon Crisp – “Dear Dr Nestle...”: The Correspondence of Erwin Nestle with
the BFBS and the ‘Nestle-Kilpatrick’ Greek New Testament Edition of 1958
At the end of the Second World War the British and Foreign Bible Society turned its thoughts
towards revision of its 1904 edition of the Greek NT, which was based on the Stuttgart edition of
Eberhard Nestle. BFBS contacted Nestle’s son Erwin, who had taken over responsibility for the
Stuttgart editions, with a view to instigating cooperation in preparing a new edition for the
English-speaking world. Erwin Nestle turned out to be a prolific correspondent, and the BFBS
archives preserve a series of letters stretching over more than a decade, which provide
fascinating insights into the preparation of an edition of the Greek NT, in both its technical and
its human aspects. The paper will introduce this correspondence and draw some conclusions for
contemporary editorial practice.
Dr Hans Förster – The Text of the Gospel according to John
The full textual evidence of the Gospel of John including the early versions will be accessible in
the Editio Critica Maior. It is already obvious – and will become even more obvious – that the text is
astonishingly stable if compared as well to the text of the Hebrew Bible and its versions as to
other texts from the early time of Christianity. This raises the question whether the stability of
the text is of importance for the evaluation of possible levels of redaction which have been
detected by literary criticism.
Dr Toan Do - Ἁμάρτητε or ἁμαρτάνητε? Reading 1 John 2:1b with the CBGM
For 1 John 2:1b, the eighth-revised edition of Nestle-Aland 27 (1994) lists three variants for
ἁμαρτάνητε in place of ἁμάρτητε. Since then more manuscripts have been added to the list. The
2003 Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior (ECM and recently NA28) provides twentythree variants, plus lacunae, for ἁμαρτάνητε. Since the difference between these subjunctive
moods occurs in the purpose clause (here the ἵνα-clause), the meaning of each variant has little to
do with the tense (the factual time) of the verb, but rather with its aspect. Each variant has the
potential to affect and nuance its theological interpretation: It questions the authorship or
editorship of the text; it alters the aspectual types of action in the purpose clause. These variants
obviously call for different interpretations of the entire verse 2:1, in that the grammatical and
theological distinctions between ἁμάρτητε and ἁμαρτάνητε can only be fully appreciated through
a careful examination of the contexts of the text. This distinction, while subtle, calls significant
attention to the kinds of action or Aktionsarten perceived through the aspect of the present and
aorist subjunctives.
Applying the criteria in the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM) compiled with the
MSS in the ECM, this paper evaluates the different readings of 2:1b in the textual tradition to see
whether ἁμάρτητε or ἁμαρτάνητε is most likely to be the initial text. A text-critical analysis,
backed by the CBGM, suggests that ἁμάρτητε is the better reading in accordance with the textual
tradition for 2:1b. Thus, the variant ἁμαρτάνητε (in 614 1832 and rell) is probably due to scribal
error.
Dr Amy Anderson – Family 1 in Mark: Preliminary Results
This paper is a report on work in progress on the members of Family 1 in Mark. It will present a
full comparison of the three core members, which are likely to give us the reading of the
archetype as nearly as it can be done. One focus will be on the question of whether 1582 or 2193
is the better representative of the archetype.
The registration form can be found here.

Thomas L. Brauch, Review of Studia Patristica. Volume LI

Studia Patristica. Volume LI. Including papers presented at the Conference ‘The Image of the Perfect Christian in Patristic Thought’ at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine, under Taras Khomynch, Oleksandra Vakula and Oleh Kindiy in 2009. Edited by A. Brent, T. Khomych, O. Vakula and M. Vinzent. Leuven, Paris and Walpole, MA.: Peeters, 2011. I-XV, 216 pages.

Studia Patristica 51

 

This volume presents selected papers from an international conference held on September 11-12, 2009, at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine. The conference was jointly organized by the Departments of Theology of the Ukrainian Catholic University and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA. The topic of the conference was patristic notions of Christian perfection. The presentations discussed all epochs of patristic thought and literature or explored the use of patristic ideas of perfection in modern ecumenical dialogue and church social teachings. Contributors came from the USA, Europe, the Ukraine, and Russia.

            Fourteen papers from this conference appear in this volume. They concern Christian texts and authors from the early Christian through the late Byzantine eras. The presentation is divided chronologically into five sections: the first two centuries (the Didache and the Martyrdom of Polycarp), the third century (Clement of Alexandria and Origen), the fourth century (Gregory of Nazianzus and the Syrian Fathers), the fifth century (Augustine, Leo the Great, and Pseudo-Macarius), and the sixth century and Byzantium (Maximus the Confessor, Theodore the Studite, Gregory Barhebraeus, and Theophanes of Nicaea). Each essay features an abstract, a discussion, and a summary, is documented with footnotes, and varies in length from seven to nineteen pages. This aim of this review is to provide a summary or an idea of the contents of each contribution.

Many patristic authors discussed in these essays see Christian perfection as a process.

In her study (pp. 45-59), Oleksandra Vakula argues that Origen of Alexandria considers Christian perfection to be the return of the individual to God through Christ and the scriptures. Self-knowledge of the logos is the beginning of this process which is continuous and never-ending. The only ‘perfect Christian’ is a ‘disciple of Christ’ who has grown spiritually more than other Christians and who can teach Christ to them. Dariusz Zagórski in his contribution (pp. 63-75) shows that Gregory of Nazianzus carefully outlines in his writings a process for Christian perfection that is based on his own attempt to balance the active and the contemplative lives. This process is divided into three stages: praxis negativa, or the renunciation of sin and false belief about God; praxis positiva, or the practice of virtue; and contemplation of God, which brings union with Him. Although few Christians attain full perfection, Gregory believes that pastoral direction, the sacraments, and charity advance a Christian through the stages of perfection.

            Patristic Syrian commentators also consider Christian perfection to be a process. Sebastian P. Brock in his essay (pp. 77-94) discusses two Syriac authors who describe a process toward Christian perfection: the creator of the late fourth century Book of Steps and the early fifth century author John of Apamea. The first writer provides a bipartite and the second a tripartite system of Christian perfection; both are based on New Testament notions of spirituality. In her contribution (pp. 149-70), Mariya Horyacha presents the method of Pseudo-Macarius which begins with baptism and continues through various degrees by asceticism and by the grace of God. For this Syrian author, Christian perfection involves the creation of a new Adam and ultimately full union with Christ.

            Other Christian authors discussed see Christian perfection as mystical union with God. Herman Teule’s essay (pp. 195-203) argues that Gregory Barhebraeus considers Christian perfection to be based on intimate knowledge of and union with God rather than ascetic preparation. Dimitry Makarov in his study (pp. 205-16) demonstrates that Theophanes of Nicaea believes in a three stage process of union with God: practice, which consists of prayer, the Eucharist, and the exercise of virtue that prepare humans for union with the divine; synergy, which involves a transcendent union with God through divine grace; and interpenetration, which is the everlasting experience of God’s glory. All humans have access to practice and synergy, but the only human to achieve interpenetration in this life is the Theotokos.

            Many contributors to this edited collection discuss an aspect of Christian perfection. In his study (pp. 95-111), Boudewijn Dehandschutter outlines fourth and fifth century Syrian writers’ views on the expulsion of lust from the Christian on his or her way to perfection. For Aphrahat, Ephrem Syrus, and the author of the Book of Degrees, lust should be overcome by a moderate asceticism and by the restoration of the purity that Adam enjoyed before his sin. In her essay (pp. 115-32), Marcela Andoková sets forth the view of Augustine of Hippo as presented in his sermones ad populem that Christian perfection involves toleration of sinners within the Christian community until the Day of Judgment. Krzysztof Tyburowski presents in his paper (pp. 133-47) the importance that Leo the Great gives in his sermons to fasting and almsgiving in attaining Christian perfection. George C. Berthold in his communication (pp. 173-9) explains the role of the Lord’s Prayer in the thought of Maximus the Confessor on Christian perfection. For Maximus, this prayer helps Christians overcome temptation and establish the proper relationship to the Father which ultimately admits humans to the mystery of deification. 

            The author of the first paper in the collection (pp. 3-13), Taras Khomych, finds two aspects of Christian perfection in the Didache. The first, found in Did. 1.4 and 6.2, concerns ethical admonitions, while the second, appearing in Did. 10.5 and 16.2, relates to the holiness of the eschatological community of the faithful. Khlomych contends that this second meaning of perfection should be understood in the sense of John 17:23 that the perfected Christian community represents Restored Israel. Since both aspects of perfection are based on ethical personal behavior and proper relations between community members, the two views of perfection are compatible.

Some of the included essays develop subtle aspects of Christian perfection. Jan M. Kozlowski argues in his contribution (pp. 15-22) that the author of the Martyrdom of Polycarp presents Polycarp as the ideal Christian gymnosophist who, like contemporary Indian gymnosophists, overcame a painful death by fire. This is a variation of the ideal of the martyr as the perfect Christian. For Kozlowski, this presentation is a device to win the text’s pagan readers to Christianity. Oleh Kindiy’s essay (pp. 25-43) examines the views of Clement of Alexandria on Christian service. Through a semantic study, Kindiy establishes two categories of service in Clement’s writings: menial, or regular physical service based on ethical attainment, and theological, which involves biblical vocations such as preaching, the three regular divisions of the church’s ministry between the deacon, priest, and bishop, and a soteriological understanding of Christ’s ministry. For Kindiy, service is an aspect of Christian perfection (p. 25). Thomas Cattoi’s paper (pp. 181-94) outlines Theodore the Studite’s theology of icon veneration. This concerns the understanding of the nature of Christ and the Incarnation upon which the perfection of human nature is based.

These papers are worthy additions to patristic studies. But some stand out as having special interest. Taras Khomych’s description of the eschatological aspect of Christian perfection in the Didache is an important argument for the existence and importance of this aspect of the text that often is not recognized. Oleh Kindiy’s discussion of Clement of Alexandria’s views of service is an original contribution to understanding early Christian notions of service; the essay’s footnote references to Clement and other early Christian topics also make this essay valuable. Sebastian Brock’s paper continues his decades-long research of Syriac literature and culture. The second half of Brock’s contribution discusses imagery found in Syriac sources touching on Christian perfection. A virtue of Boudewijn Dehandschutter’s discussion is its overview of earlier Christian views of lust and the passions with appropriate documentation before the essay’s discussion of Syrian authors’ views. Mariya Horyacha’s essay on Pseudo-Macarius is a well-structured presentation of the identity of the writer (a Syrian ascetic who wrote in Greek c. 375 A.D.) and his views of anthropology, Christian perfection and its attainment, and false notions of Christian perfection. The essay’s footnotes provide excellent bibliography on Pseudo-Macarius and topics associated with him. A particular interest of Herman Teule’s study of Barhebraeus is the author’s argument that the Syrian scholar borrowed from Islamic sources for his notions of mysticism (pp. 196, 202). Thomas Cattoi’s essay on Theodore the Studite and Dimitry Makarov’s essay on Theophanes of Nicaea are good introductions to Middle and Late Byzantine theology. 

Thomas Brauch, Mount Pleasant, MI

 

PhD studentship “The Fourfold Gospel and its Rivals”

The AHRC-funded project on “The Fourfold Gospel and its Rivals” has a
PhD studentship attached that will provide three years worth of home
fees (or equivalent) and living expenses in 2013-16. The double focus
of the project is on early Christian gospels (canonical and
noncanonical) and on gospel reception in the patristic era, which
should cater for applicants wishing to work primarily in the New
Testament field or in patristics – although some overlap would be
likely. I’d be most grateful if colleagues would draw this opening to
the attention of current or recent students who may be interested in
pursuing a PhD in this area.

The following suggestions illustrate the kind of PhD topic that would
fit the terms of the project, but many others are equally possible:

(1) The Protevangelium of James in its relationship to Matthew and
Luke, and its later historical and theological significance.
(2) Patristic views on gospel origins, from Papias to Augustine.
(3) The relationship between selected “gnostic” gospels (e.g. Mary,
Judas, Philip, etc.) and the canonical ones.
(4) The construction and purpose of either Marcion’s Luke or Tatian’s
Diatessaron.
(5) Revelatory discourse in John 14-16 and selected “gnostic” gospels.
(6) The role of writing in the transmission of the early Jesus
tradition: how far back does it go?
(7) Tradition, reception, and the “historical Jesus”.
(8) Factors involved in the construction of the four-gospel
collection.
(9) The hermeneutical significance of the four gospel collection.
(10) Public responses to publication of newly discovered gospel
literature, c.1890-2012.

Applicants should have a good first degree in theology/religious
studies, a completed or a current MA, and experience in the study of
the Greek New Testament. Applications will be submitted in the normal
way (for which see the Durham Department of Theology and Religion
website), specifying the AHRC project studentship. A detailed research
proposal will not be essential, although it may be an advantage.
Preliminary enquiries may be addressed to Prof Francis Watson
(francis.watson@dur.ac.uk). The closing date for applications for this
position will be Monday, 25 February 2013, and the successful
applicant will be notified in early March.

PAGANS AND CHRISTIANS IN THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE: NEW EVIDENCE, NEW APPROACHES (4th-6th centuries)

CALL FOR PAPERS

 

PAGANS AND CHRISTIANS IN THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE:  NEW EVIDENCE, NEW APPROACHES  (4th-6th  centuries)

 

Budapest, 7-10 March 2013

 

Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

www.ceu.hu

 

An International Conference organized by the

  Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest

in cooperation with the University of Pécs and the Hungarian Patristic Society

 

After a successful conference that focused on the city of Rome in September 2012 (“Pagans and Christians in Late Antique Rome”), we invite papers for a second conference devoted to examining pagan-Christian interactions across the Roman Empire.   This conference seeks to consider new evidence and new approaches to the material and textual remains that bear on the value of these categories in the Roman Empire between the fourth and the sixth centuries.  Did these labels – pagans and Christians - matter in the daily lives of late Romans?  Or are they only relevant in moments of conflict or for historians? To what degree does geography make a difference in assessing the nature of pagan-Christian relations?  And, how does the presence of other religious groups – Jews and heretics, Manichees and schismatics – affect our understanding of pagan-Christian interactions  in different times and places across the empire?

 

To facilitate a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary conversation, we encourage scholars working in any discipline – history, archaeology, art history, religious studies, classical studies - to submit abstracts for papers that address the issue of pagan-Christian relation across the empire. The organizers are particularly interested in papers that focus on new material evidence, new interpretations of texts or new interpretive paradigms with which to approach relations between pagans and Christians in the fourth - sixth centuries of the Roman Empire. The proceedings of the conference will be published.

Participants whose papers are accepted for presentation will be offered accommodation in Budapest and a field trip along the Danube limes to Pécs, with a visit to the late fourth-century Roman cemetery. We cannot, however, underwrite travel expenses.

 

Please send proposals of 400 words for 20-minute papers

in English

by 25 November 2012

to saghym@ceu.hu

 

Marianne Sághy                  Rita Lizzi Testa                   Michele Salzman   

CEU Budapest                                   Università di Perugia       University of California Riverside          

 

The Eighth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament will be held in Birmingham from 4-6 March 2013

The Eighth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament will be held in Birmingham from 4-6 March 2013

The general theme is "The Tradition of the New Testament: Treasures New and Old".

Proposals are invited for papers of around 20 minutes. (It may also be possible to accommodate longer presentations.) Suggestions for workshops, presenting work in progress, are also welcome. Titles and short abstracts should be sent to H.A.G.Houghton@bham.ac.uk by the end of December 2012 (all submissions will be acknowledged).

A provisional programme and booking form will be made available in early 2013.

David Parker and Hugh Houghton
Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing,
School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion
University of Birmingham
www.birmingham.ac.uk/itsee

Researcher in Ancient History of Religion

The Max Weber        Center at the University of Erfurt invites applications for the        position of a

Researcher in            Ancient History of Religion 
65 % (26            h/week)


within the          research project „Lived Ancient Religion“ (directed by Prof.          Dr. Jörg Rüpke). The position is to be filled from 1st December 2012          onwards. The initial contract is for two years. The salary is          according to TV-L E 13 (starting from brutto 24855,56 € p.a.).


„Lived            Ancient Religion“ takes a              completely new perspective on the religious history of              Mediterranean antiquity, starting from the individual and              “lived” religion instead of civic religion. “Lived              religion” suggests a set of experiences, of practices              addressed to, and conceptions of the divine, which are              appropriated, expressed, and shared by individuals in              diverse social spaces, from the primary space of the              family to the shared space of public institutions and              trans-local literary communication. The member of the team              we are looking for has to work on the formation of              literary and expert discourse about religion and ritual              (e.g. in the field of divination) and individual              appropriations of such discourses in the Imperial period              and thus to contribute to the analysis of the interaction              of individuals with the agents of traditions and providers              of religious services in the Mediterranean world. The              group's methodological approach is defined through the              notions of religious experience, embodiment, and “culture              in interaction”. For          further information see http://www.uni-erfurt.de/max-weber-kolleg/projekte/kooperationsprojekte/lived-ancient-religion/.          The project is financed by the European Research Council.


As a member of the          team, the researcher is obliged to also share into the          research tasks of the team, e.g. in preparing workshops,          conferences, and publications. 
.
The ideal candidate needs to
 have an excellent MA or comparable degree in              History of Religion, Classical Philology or Ancient              History

 should aim at a doctoral degree based on her or              his research project

 have a very good knowledge of English

 have excellent knowledge of the relevant ancient              language(s)

 have substantial experience in analysing literary              texts

 fulfil the general admissions rules of § 84 Abs.              4 Thüringer Hochschulgesetz.



Any admission to          the doctoral program of the Max Weber Center presupposes the          participation in interdisciplinary colloquia.


For further          information please contact joerg.ruepke@uni-erfurt.de


The University of          Erfurt is an equal opportunity employer and encourage in          particular applications by women. Ceteris paribus seriously          handicapped people will have preference. 


Deadline
Please send your application with CV, copies of your          final school and university degrees, a copy of your MA thesis,          and an outline of the research project you would like to          pursue puntil 14 October 2012 to


 University of Erfurt • Max Weber Centre • PO Box 900 221 • D-99105 Erfurt • Germany or to 
 ursula.birtel-koltes@uni-erfurt.de


As the University cannot refund any costs incurred by          applying, your applications will not be resent. Please use          photocopies or pdf files.