Macarius, Apocriticus (Paperback)

Jeremy M. Schott

ISBN 10: 1781381305 / ISBN 13: 9781781381304

Published by Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, 2015

About this Item

Paperback. The Apocriticus purports to be the record of a four-day public debate between a pagan philosopher, whom the text calls simply the Hellene, and the author, Macarius, a Christian rhetor. The text is a rich, though often neglected, source for the history of intellectual and cultural conflict between Christian and Hellene intellectuals in the fourth century CE. While the Apocriticus has frequently attracted the attention of scholars as a possible source of fragments from Porphyrys Against the Christians, the text as a whole is significant in its own right. Macarius defends the allegorical reading of scripture and presents interesting discussions concerning ascetic practice and the cult of the martyrs. The philosophical and theological eclecticism of the text should also be of interests to scholars of early Christianity and later ancient philosophy. The fictitious dialogue weaves together philosophical and theological arguments, often in a popularized form. The text thus represents an interesting contrast to more formal high philosophical and theological texts of the period. As well as a new English translation of an important text, this volume includes notes and introductory essays setting the work in its historical and intellectual contexts. A new English translation of The Apocriticus of Macarius, with notes and introductory essays. This important text purports to be the record of a debate between a pagan philosopher, and Macarius, a Christian rhetor, and is a rich, but neglected, source for the history of intellectual and cultural conflict between Christian and Hellene intellectuals. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781781381304

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Macarius, Apocriticus (Paperback)
• Publisher: Liverpool University Press, Liverpool
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1781381305
• ISBN 13: 9781781381304
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The Apocriticus purports to be the record of a four-day public debate between a pagan philosopher, whom the text calls simply the “Hellene,” and the author, Macarius, a Christian rhetor. The text is a rich, though often neglected, source for the history of intellectual and cultural conflict between Christian and Hellene intellectuals in the fourth century CE.

While the Apocriticus has frequently attracted the attention of scholars as a possible source of fragments from Porphyry’s Against the Christians, the text as a whole is significant in its own right. Macarius defends the allegorical reading of scripture and presents interesting discussions concerning ascetic practice and the cult of the martyrs.

The philosophical and theological eclecticism of the text should also be of interests to scholars of early Christianity and later ancient philosophy. The fictitious dialogue weaves together philosophical and theological arguments, often in a “popularized” form. The text thus represents an interesting contrast to more formal “high” philosophical and theological texts of the period.

As well as a new English translation of an important text, this volume includes notes and introductory essays setting the work in its historical and intellectual contexts.

About the Authors

Jeremy M. Schott is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. His previous publications include Eusebius of Caesarea: Tradition and Innovation (with Aaron Johnson, 2013) and Christianity, Empire and the Making of Religion in Late Antiquity (2008)

Professor Mark J. Edwards is Tutor in Theology at Christ Church College, Oxford. His previous publications include Catholicity and Heresy in the Early Church (2009), Image, Word and God in the Early Christian Centuries (2012) and Christians, Gnostics and Philosophers in Late Antiquity (2012)