Encountering the sacred [[electronic resource] ] : the debate on Christian pilgrimage in late antiquity / / Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910783668703321
• Autore: Bitton-Ashkelony Bruria
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Berkeley, : University of California Press, c2005
• ISBN: 1-282-35752-2; 0-520-93112-2; 9786612357527; 1-59875-925-6
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (269 p.)
• Collana: The transformation of the classical heritage ; ; 38
• Disciplina: 263/.0425694/09015
• Soggetti: Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages - Palestine - History of doctrines - Early church, ca. 30-600; Palestine in Christianity - History of doctrines - Early church, ca. 30-600; Palestine In Christianity History of doctrines Early church, ca. 30-600
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Front matter -- Contents -- Preface -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1 Basil of Caesarea's and Gregory of Nyssa's Attitudes toward Pilgrimage -- 2 Jerome's Position on Pilgrimage -- 3 Augustine on Holy Space -- 4 Pilgrimage in Monastic Culture -- 5 Local versus Central Pilgrimage -- Bibliography -- General Index -- Index of Places -- Index of Biblical Citations
• Sommario/riassunto: This innovative study sheds new light on one of the most spectacular changes to occur in late antiquity-the rise of pilgrimage all over the Christian world-by setting the phenomenon against the wide background of the political and theological debates of the time. Asking how the emerging notion of a sacred geography challenged the leading intellectuals and ecclesiastical authorities, Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony deftly reshapes our understanding of early Christian mentalities by unraveling the process by which a territory of grace became a territory of power. Examining ancient writers' responses to the rising practice of pilgrimage, Bitton-Ashkelony offers a nuanced reading of their thinking ; on the merits and the demerits of pilgrimage, revealing theological and ecclesiastical motivations that have been overlooked, and questioning the long-held assumption of scholars that pilgrimage was only a popular, not an elite, religious practice. In addition to Greek and Latin sources, she includes Syriac material, which allows her to build a rich picture of the emerging theology of landscape that took shape over the fourth to sixth centuries.