| Description |
1 online resource (xii, 399 pages) : illustrations |
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illustration |
| Series |
Oxford studies in Byzantium |
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Oxford studies in Byzantium.
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| Contents |
Introduction: Gregory the Great and the saints' cult in late antiquity -- 1. Gregory the Great and Eustratius of Constantinople : the Dialogues on the miracles of the Italian fathers as an apology for the cult of the saints -- 2. The fourth dialogue of Pope Gregory the Great : the early Byzantine context of a Latin disquisition on the soul -- 3. Contesting the saints' miracles : the witness of early Byzantine lives and miracle collections -- 4. The saints' inactivity post mortem : soul sleep and the cult of saints east of the Euphrates -- Conclusion: Debating the saints' cult in the age of Gregory the Great and Muhammad -- Epilogue: Visualizing the God-guarded empire with the Sinai icon of the virgin and child |
| Summary |
"This book argues that the Dialogues on the Miracles of the Italian Fathers, Pope Gregory the Great's (590-604) most controversial work, should be considered from the perspective of a wide-ranging debate about the saints which took place in early Byzantine society. Like other contemporary works in Greek and Syriac, Gregory's Latin text debated the nature and plausibility of the saints' miracles and the propriety of the saints' cult. Rather than viewing the early Byzantine world as overwhelmingly pious or credulous, the book argues that many contemporaries questioned and challenged the claims of hagiographers and other promoters of the saints' miracles. From Italy to the heart of the Persian Empire at Ctesiphon, a healthy, sceptical, rationalism remained alive and well. The book's conclusion argues that doubt towards the saints reflected a current of political dissent in the East Roman or early Byzantine Empire, where patronage of Christian saints' shrines was used to sanction imperial autocracy. These far-reaching debates about religion and authority also help re-contextualize the emergence of Islam in the late ancient Near East" -- Publisher |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Gregory I, Pope, approximately 540-604.
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| SUBJECT |
Gregory I, Pope, approximately 540-604 fast |
| Subject |
Christian saints -- Cult -- History -- To 1500
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RELIGION -- Christian Theology -- Angelology & Demonology.
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Christian saints -- Cult
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Heiligenverehrung
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Byzantinisches Reich
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| Genre/Form |
History
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
Gregory I, Pope, approximately 540-604.
Dialogi.
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| ISBN |
9780191626371 |
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0191626376 |
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9780199949939 |
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019994993X |
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