The Date and Authenticity of the Ignatian Letters: An Outline of Recent Discussions
This article examines recent studies of the date and authenticity of the letters of Ignatius of Antioch. Although the debate has a long history, this article focuses on the most recent period of this debate—from roughly 1997 through 2018. While not wanting to diminish the differences between contrib...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2020
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| In: |
Currents in biblical research
Year: 2020, Volume: 19, Issue: 1, Pages: 88-114 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Polycarpus Smyrnaeus -156
/ Lindemann, Andreas 1943-
/ Ignatius, Antiochenus -110
/ Eusebius of Caesarea 260-339
/ Authenticity
/ Letter
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article examines recent studies of the date and authenticity of the letters of Ignatius of Antioch. Although the debate has a long history, this article focuses on the most recent period of this debate—from roughly 1997 through 2018. While not wanting to diminish the differences between contributors to this debate, three general views can be adduced. This article begins by highlighting the major players and formative contributors to each view. Of particular note in this most recent phase of debate is the separation of the date of the letters from the question of their authenticity. The article next turns to consider the primary pieces of evidence that are utilized when considering Ignatius’s date: the historical value of the Eusebian evidence, the possibility of interpolations within Polycarp’s Philippians, and Ignatius’s interactions with Second Sophistic rhetoric. The conclusion inquires about whether there is other evidence that might be utilized to aid scholars in dating and evaluating the Ignatian letters more securely. |
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| ISSN: | 1745-5200 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Currents in biblical research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/1476993X20914798 |