Death and Rebirth in Late Antiquity

Memorialized in art, sculpture, epigraphy, and of course texts, the theme of death and rebirth became a central focus of the Christian religion as it developed in late antiquity. This book provides a deep examination of the theme of death and rebirth from various points of view to see how deeply ensconced it was in religious piety.

Death and rebirth was of vital importance to early Christians in late antiquity. In late antiquity, death was all encompassing. Mortality rates were high, plague and disease in urban areas struck at will, and one lived on the knife’s edge regarding one’s health. Religion filled a crucial role in this environment, offering an option for those who sought cure and comfort. Following death, the inhumed were memorialized, providing solace to family members through sculpture, painting, and epigraphy. This book offers a sustained interdisciplinary treatment of death and rebirth, a theme that early Christians (and scholars) found important. By analysing the theme of death and rebirth through various lenses, the contributors deepen our understanding of the early Christian funerary and liturgical practices as well as their engagement with other groups in the Empire.

Introduction

Lee M. Jefferson

1. Death and Rebirth within North African Montanism

William Tabbernee

2. The Church as the Locus of Miracles: Santa Sabina and Revisiting the Staff of Jesus in Early Christian Art

Lee M. Jefferson

3. Wearing the Cross: Macrina, the Cross, and Co-Crucifixion

Felicity Harley-McGowan

4. Altar-ed Arks: Form as (Theological) Function in Late Antique and Early Medieval Reliquaries

Jennifer Awes Freeman

5. Marriage and Martyrdom in Roman North Africa: Augustine and Crispina of Tebessa

David G. Hunter

6. “Bring Out Yer Dead”: A Funerary Ritual Koine and Its Christian Dialects from Little Traditions to a Great Tradition

Jacob Latham

7. Apostolic Posture: Mary Magdalene as Witness to Death and Resurrection in Art

Michael Peppard

8. Reuniting after Death, Defining Familial Piety in Life: A Case of Rhetoric in Word and Image

Mark D. Ellison

9. Undead Apostles and The Development of Cultic Practices

David L. Eastman

10. To Die for God: Sacrifice, Eucharist, and Martyrdom in Ignatius of Antioch

Andrew McGowan

11. Crosses, Snakes, and Tunics: St. Lawrence and Other Martyrs

Annewies van den Hoek and John Herrmann, Jr.