Encountering the sacred : the debate on Christian pilgrimage in late antiquity / Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bitton-Ashkelony, Bruria.

Series:

Transformation of the classical heritage ; 38.

The transformation of the classical heritage ; 38

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages--Palestine--History of doctrines--Early church, ca. 30-600.

Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages.

Palestine in Christianity--History of doctrines--Early church, ca. 30-600.

Palestine in Christianity.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (269 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This innovative study sheds new light on one of the most spectacular changes to occur in late antiquity-the rise of pilgrimage all over the Christian world-by setting the phenomenon against the wide background of the political and theological debates of the time. Asking how the emerging notion of a sacred geography challenged the leading intellectuals and ecclesiastical authorities, Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony deftly reshapes our understanding of early Christian mentalities by unraveling the process by which a territory of grace became a territory of power. Examining ancient writers' responses to the rising practice of pilgrimage, Bitton-Ashkelony offers a nuanced reading of their thinking on the merits and the demerits of pilgrimage, revealing theological and ecclesiastical motivations that have been overlooked, and questioning the long-held assumption of scholars that pilgrimage was only a popular, not an elite, religious practice. In addition to Greek and Latin sources, she includes Syriac material, which allows her to build a rich picture of the emerging theology of landscape that took shape over the fourth to sixth centuries.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

1 Basil of Caesarea's and Gregory of Nyssa's Attitudes toward Pilgrimage

2 Jerome's Position on Pilgrimage

3 Augustine on Holy Space

4 Pilgrimage in Monastic Culture

5 Local versus Central Pilgrimage

Bibliography

General Index

Index of Places

Index of Biblical Citations

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612357527

9781282357525

1282357522

9780520931121

0520931122

9781598759259

1598759256

OCLC:

475969677