This paper is an update of the documents we have concerning the Acts of the Christian martyrs, focused on three main aspects: 1) the kind of acts we know of and their classification from the point of view of their historic value; 2) the versions or editions of the texts that are most accepted by scholars; 3) the relevance of the different parts that make up these documents in order to discern the original text from passages that were rewritten or underwent later variations. In this way, the article offers an exhaustive list of the documents for use in researching Christian martyrs in the Roman period.

This comment concerns above all the existing relationship between the Greek text that has reached us and the ancient Latin translation of Origen’s Commentary on Matthew, analyzing two passages from the XVII book; that is, the interpretations of Mt. 21,23-27 and Mt. 22, 15-22. The Greek and Latin texts are not always consistent with one another: in most cases the Latin version abbreviates or omits some passages from the Greek, but at times it reveals typical exegetical minutiae from the origenian ratio interpretandi and absent from the incomplete Greek text available to us today, as the Author clearly points out in this study.

This article offers a series of reflections on the relationship that should exist between the Church Fathers and dogmatic theology. In order not to underplay the indispensable function performed by the Fathers, a function understood in theological and not in historical terms, the dogmatic theologian must stand before them – as Irenaeus stood before the elderly Polycarp – listening and receiving from them the message that, in harmony with the Scriptures and guided by the grace of God, they ought to deepen and con-temporize.

This article explores Augustine’s response to the Pelagians who claimed that if one truly desired to be sinless, one could be. The standard scholarly view, as articulated by Gerald Bonner, was that Augustine’s thought during the Pelagian controversy did not change over time. However, Augustine’s thoughts on sinlessness changed over a very brief period of time. He initially admits the possibility that, through grace, some may not have sinned (in De peccatorum meritis et remissione et De baptismo parvulorum); he later retracts this view (in De perfectione iustitiae hominis), only to assert in De gestis Pelagii that he unsure. Finally, he returns to his original position (citing the canons of the Council of Carthage of 418, and arguing that all have sinned).

A thread runs through Augustine’s s. 188 that first moves from the spiritual realm via the physical realm to man, and then from man via the physical realm to the spiritual realm. This descending and ascending movement is a perfect depiction of God’s plan with man, which is to become humble himself in order to exalt man. The traditional division of s. 188 ignores the high level of symmetry that one finds in the sermon, and consequently obscures its splendid balance. It is not a help to the reader, but an obstacle. This article has therefore proposed a different solution: a division in three parts.

Traditionally attributed to Didymus the Blind, this anonymous work on the Trinity found in the Cod. Rom. Angel. gr. 116, has no certain authorship. The article throws light on the numerous parallels among the so-called De Trinitate and passages from Basil, the two Gregorys, Athanasius, the pseudo-Basilian books IV and V of the Adversus Eunomium, as well as from some writings of Cyril of Alexandria. Even though the question of the paternity of De Trinitate is still destined to remain clouded, the parallels pointed out by the Author tend definitely to exclude Didymus as the author of this anonymous theological tract.

The Historia monachorum Syriae, written by Theodoret of Cyrrhus in 444 AD, contains a large quantity of sports metaphors in which the ascetic was presented as the “athlete of God”. The origin of this metaphor goes back to the epistles of Paul of Tarsus. Afterwards, there were many Christian writers who included it in their writings, although Theodoret undoubtedly exploited it in a much more intense way than other authors. His abundant use of this metaphor was due to the great popularity enjoyed by athletic contests in the eastern Mediterranean well into the fifth century. Moreover, the partially profane education of Theodoret allowed him to give a specific terminology to his sports metaphors hardly documentable in other writers of Christian antiquity.

Ministers of the Church, whose characters were well defined in the second half of the fourth century, were more and more identified as the perfect believers. In the texts of John Chrysostom several models of “spiritual man” emerge on the basis of his personal experience and the evolution of his works: the monk, the presbyter, and the bishop. One notes that the relation of the Church to secular institutions is of greater importance in the works of Chrysostom, paying as he does particular attention to the autonomy of the Church. In an original way he refrains from criticizing political institutions, preferring to express a balanced view. He holds that a coexistence with political authorities is possible, and he urges a moral conver-gence with them. Ecclesial ministries find a more solid basis in the Chrysostom’s complex and sometimes pained statements, both in their ideal expressions and in their concrete effects on the society of the fourth century.

Irenaeus of Lyon is a landmark in the reception history of the Shepherd of Hermas, as he seems to consider it scriptural, while being the earliest author to quote its text. The present article reconsiders the presence of the Shepherd of Hermas in the works of Irenaeus of Lyon, offering a fresh assessment of the rather differing stances on the matter in modern scholarship and some new considerations, with relevance for better understanding the circulation, function and use of authoritative texts in early Christianity.

The Doctrina ad Antiochum ducem, incorrectly attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria, owes its importance to the transmission of extensive extracts from the Shepherd of Hermas. Doctrina is transmitted in Greek in two recensions, a brevior (in 11 chapters) and a longa (in 21 chapters); however the same recensio longa has been subject to a number of redactional phases. A Latin version edited only recently, the object of this present study, sheds light on these later redactions. Stylistic and historical-literary considerations prompt a dating in the 40’s of the sixth century and assign paternity to Paschasius of Dumium, a monkwho lived in a monastery of the same name in northwest of Braga (Portugal) that was founded at the same time by Martin of Braga (ca. 510 — 579). The dating of the Latin version also entails a more precise dating of the original Greek, assignable to the beginning of the sixth century.

The intention here is to propose a new critical edition of the so-called Epistula synodalis (CPG 3243) a text traditionally attributed to Amphilochius of Iconium, but which the Author considers to be spurious. Alongside the Italian translation of the letter, based on a comparative commentary with the writings of Basil (and also of the two Gregories), a strong dependence of this text on Cappadocian Fathers’ Trinitarian theology and pneumatology is brought to light. However, its origin is probably an anonymous work, only subsequently associated with Amphilochius.

In Letter 108, Jerome describes the itinerary of Paula from Rome to Bethlehem (108:7-14). This section introduces hagiographic and exegetical elements: the route becomes the celebration and memory of exemplary pietas while the places consent once more to the teaching of the Scripture and the inalienable principle “from letter to spirit”.

Orosius is generally considered Augustine’s companion in the debate with Pelagius; however, a careful analysis of his Liber Apologeticus shows that Orosius shares the main features of Jerome’s polemic against Pelagius, thus moving away from Augustine’s approach. Orosius and Jerome used the same source (Pelagius’ Liber Testimoniorum), unknown to Augustine. They depicted Pelagius as the heir of Christian heretics, such as Origen, Priscillian and Jovinian; they both employed offensive language; and, finally, they agreed on the main theological problems involved in the controversy (grace and free will, instead of original sin and infant baptism). All of these issues are at odds with what Augustine believed was the right approach against Pelagius. At the end of his Palestinian experience, Orosius was no longer Augustine’s disciple, but rather Jerome’s companion in the struggle against Pelagius.

Liber pontificalis records that, during the disputed Roman episcopal election, which started at the end of 418 and lasted several months, between Eulalius and Boniface, the latter took up residence in the cemetery of Felicity when the two candidates were expelled from the city. It also records Boniface, after his ultimate victory as legitimate bishop, refurbishing this cemetery and eventually being buried there. Although Liber pontificalis is wrong on a number of points withregard to the disputed election, as revealed through letters preserved in the Collectio Avellana, there is no reason to doubt Boniface’s attraction to this martyrial complex on the via Salaria nova. This paper considers the catacomb and Boniface’s connection with it in the context of what we know about Roman episcopalburials of the early fifth century.

Because of a strong similarity between two passages in Philo Judaeus, Cher. 37 and Her. 206, and the verb ejpikhrukeuvomai which is used in both loci is almost always completed by a dative. The Author proposes to read bivw/ instead of bivou at Cher. 37.

In the region of Asia Minor and above all in Smyrna up to the third and fourth centuries the tension between Jews and Christians is palpable. In the Martyrdom of Polycarp and in the Martyrdom of Pionius, it is clear that the social ascendency of Judaism in Smyrna was exploited on various occasions until it became a co-protagonist in the persecution against the Christians. Despite the gradual separation and differentiation between Jews and Christians, both the New Testament and subsequent Christian literature in Smyrna report that no self-understanding of Christianity in relation to its deepest roots escaped its necessary confrontation with Judaism.

This article studies the organization of Christian Rome − which encapsulated not only the city inside the walls, but also the suburban area replete with sanctuaries dedicated to the many Roman martyrs. These sanctuaries required a careful management that was entrusted to the titular churches (the old parishes). Their particular classification respected their singular dignitas that was bestowed upon them according to the importance of their functions. The titlesreflected the fabric of the seven ecclesiastical regions into which the city inside the walls had been divided. A second part of this study presents an exploration of the most ancient titles from the fourth to the sixth century, and some problematic cases, as well as the development and proper peculiarities of each ecclesiastical region, beginning with the seventh region: Trastevere (Transtiberina) and Tiber Island, on account of its odd history and also due to the interference of the Portuense diocese.

The article presents some critical remarks on the recent book by Sabino Chialà: La perla dai molti riflessi. La lettura della Scrittura nei padri siriaci, Magnano 2014.

This note analyzes two recently published volumes: G. Di Palma, Cristo primizia dei morti e la risurrezione dei credenti. Studio su 1Cor 15, Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, Bern 2014, and A. Bizzozero, Una catechesi sulla risurrezione dei morti. Analisi dei Sermoni 361 e 362 di Agostino di Ippona, Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, Frankfurt am Main 2014. In it, the Author highlights the merits and the shortcomings of both volumes.

The present article concerns the problem of the different endings of the Gospel of Mark according to Eusebius of Caesarea, Quaestiones ad Marinum, 1, 1-3 and Severus of Antioch, Homily 77, 16, 1, which is largely based on Eusebius’ Quaestiones ad Marinum. The author proposes a new interpretation of Eusebius’ passage by comparing it with what Severus of Antioch says in his Homily. The final chapter deals with a possible allusion to a lost Quaestio ad Marinum in Severus’ Homily.