After the Fig Tree: The Literary and Cultural Structuring of the Monastic Curse in the Narratives of Syrian Monks by Theodoret and John of Ephesus

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how the early Christian curse tradition, which we find as early as Jesus’s cursing of the fig tree, developed in the early Christian hagiographical literature of late antique Syria and Mesopotamia, with reference, specifically, to Theodoret of Cyrus and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: De Wet, Chris L. 1982- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2021
In: Neotestamentica
Year: 2021, Volume: 55, Issue: 2, Pages: 259-282
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Curse / Acts of the Apostles / Syria / Mesopotamia / Mediterranean area
IxTheo Classification:HC New Testament
KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Summary:The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how the early Christian curse tradition, which we find as early as Jesus’s cursing of the fig tree, developed in the early Christian hagiographical literature of late antique Syria and Mesopotamia, with reference, specifically, to Theodoret of Cyrus and John of Ephesus. The study begins by providing some background of the issues and authors, after which the various monastic curses in the texts are analysed and brought into conversation with the social, cultural, and religious contexts. It is shown that, like the curses we find in Acts, for instance, these early Christian monastic curses represent a highly developed curse tradition that fits in firmly and comfortably in the ancient Mediterranean cultural and religious world.
ISSN:2518-4628
Contains:Enthalten in: Neotestamentica
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1353/neo.2021.0030