Reading in Christian Communities: Essays on Interpretation in the Early Church

The essays in this book honor and extend the work of Rowan A. Greer, Walter H. Gray Professor Emeritus of Anglican Studies at Yale University Divinity School, by exploring the connections between textual interpretation and the formation of religious identity. A diverse and prestigious group of biblical scholars, church historians, and theologians study the function that scripture plays in the creation and maintenance of faith communities and the ways that communal locations in turn shape the interpretation of scripture. The first part of the book examines specific examples of ancient biblical interpretation as a means of creating, maintaining, and challenging Christian identity in the pluralistic ancient world. Authors study acts of interpretation in the Martyrdom of Polycarp, the Physiologus, Gnostic literature, the fifth-century mosaic of the Church of Hosios David in Thessaloniki, and in the works of Irenaeus, Origen, Augustine, John Chrysostom, and Porphyry of Tyre. Reading scripture emerges as a strategy for locating the reader and his or her community with respect to other Christians, Jews, and pagans. Part 2 of the volume considers the general problem of interpretation within Christian communities, whether ancient or modern, as they face the task of maintaining a coherent identity in a multicultural environment. Contributors to this book—all students, colleagues, and friends of Rowan Greer—are Charles A. Bobertz, David Brakke, Mary Rose D'Angelo, Stanley Hauerwas, Martha Meeks, Wayne Meeks, Frederick Norris, Richard Norris, Alan Scott, Arthur Bradford Shippee, Michael Bland Simmons, and Frederick Weidmann.

About the Author :
Charles A. Bobertz is professor of theology at St. John's University School of Theology and Seminary, Collegeville, Minnesota. David Brakke is the Joe R. Engle Chair in the History of Christianity at Ohio State University.

Review :
"An unusually rich and nuanced set of essays celebrating and enacting the current renaissance and reconceptualization of the field of patristic biblical engagement that Rowan Greer has done so much to instigate. A must-read for those who wish to be a part of this vibrant conversation." —Margaret M. Mitchell, Associate Professor of New Testament and Chair, Department of New Testament and Early Christian Literature, The University of Chicago "This is a wide-ranging collection of essays providing a fitting tribute to the work of Rowan Greer. The combination of detailed studies and more general methodological discussion works well because there is good feed across from one to the other. The key theme is both theological and hermeneutical, focusing on interpretive communities and their vital role in reading scripture. The historical dimension of these studies illuminates the current situation. This is a timely work, as well as a fascinatingly varied collection." —Frances Young, Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology, University of Birmingham "In their focus on reading and exegesis as means to create communities these essays, each in their own way, contribute much to the 'contexts' they seek to illuminate, both the historical ones of early Christianity and late Antiquity as well as the modern, or perhaps post-modern, Christian contexts of their authors. The most striking among the many things that connects these essays is, however, at least for this reader, the sense of deep affection for Rowan Greer the person and teacher, which permeates all of them and which is perhaps the most precious contribution of all." —Journal of Ancient Christianity "...[A] substantial contribution to the post-modern theological conversation." —Perspectives in Religious Studies "...a very fitting tribute.... The scholarly authors of these essays are all colleagues, students, or friends of Greer, and the essays are intended as a tribute to him and a continuation of his work. Both with regard to the content of the essays and the reflections on the modern hermeneutical problem, this is a welcome addition to the ever growing literature on the subject." —The Heythrop Journal "A stimulating engagement of postmodern hermeneutics and the field of patristics, Reading in Christian Communities assists theologians and historians in understanding the ways in which the interpretation of texts develops out of particular cultures and, in turn, influences those cultures." —Journal of Early Christian Studies "This book will be of interest for those concerned with patristic exegesis and the contemporary discussion of how that exegesis, and texts generally, are to be interpreted." —Journal of Ecclesiastical History