The cult of stephen in jerusalem : inventing a patron martyr / Hugo Méndez.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Méndez, Hugo, author.

Series:

Oxford Academic.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jerusalem--In Christianity.

Jerusalem.

Early Christian studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (176 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, [2022]

Summary:

As the site of only a small and obscure Christian population, Jerusalem witnessed few instances of anti-Christian persecution between 135 and 313 CE. This fact became a source of embarrassment to the city in late antiquity-a period when martyr traditions, relics, and shrines were closely intertwined with local prestige. At that time, the city had every incentive to stretch the fame of its few apostolic martyrs as far as possible-especially the fame of the biblical St. Stephen, the figure traditionally regarded as the first Christian martyr (Acts 6-8). What Jerusalem lacked in the quantity of its martyrs, it believed it could compensate for in an exclusive, local claim to the figure widely hailed as the "Protomartyr," "firstborn of the martyrs," and "chief of confessors." This book traces the rise of the cult of Stephen in Jerusalem, exploring such historical episodes as the fabrication of the saint's relics, the construction of a grand basilica in his honor, and the multiplication of his feast days. It argues that local church authorities promoted devotion to Stephen in the fifth century in a conscious attempt to position him as a patron saint for Jerusalem-a symbol of the city's Christian identity and power.

Contents:

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

1. The Prestige of Stephen

2. The Early Cult

3. A Celestial Patron

4. The Bones

5. More Numerous Feasts

6. A Very Great Sanctuary

Epilogue

Bibliography

Index Locorum

Topical Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on Publisher website; title from home page (viewed on September 26, 2022).

Other Format:

Print version: Méndez, Hugo The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem

ISBN:

0-19-193940-4

0-19-266248-1

0-19-266249-X

OCLC:

1348484143

Publisher Number:

10.1093/oso/9780192846990.001.0001 DOI