Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online

Charm comes into English via French from Latin carmen (“song,” “poem,” “incantation”), which is linked with canere (“sing,” “recite,” “say in a sing-song voice”) and cantare (“sing,” “declaim,” “chant”). The Latin words refer to chanting or speaking words rhythmically, and hence to the recitation of verse, and then to singing. In essence, therefore, a charm is a verbal utterance spoken in a sing-song fashion and is intended to have a magical effect, that is, to cause preternatural change in the natural order o…

Cherubs (or cherubim) are described as a class of heavenly or angelic beings. In Jewish and Christian cosmologies, cherubs are associated with the presence of God, either directly or indirectly, as they are depicted as having active or symbolic presences in diverse theophanic circumstances. Cherubs are among those celestial beings differentiated on the basis of function, as are their frequent counterparts seraphs (or seraphim). They are therefore set apart from and even above other angels, based on their special relationship to the presence of God.Origin of the Word and ConceptCheru…

Chiliasm/Millenarianism (or Millennialism) refers to a set of ideas and takes its inspiration from Rev 20:1–6, where the saints who had been beheaded for their testimony to Christ (Christ, Jesus, 01: Survey) reign with him for a 1,000 years (Bietenhard, 1955). During this period Satan (Devil) is confined so that he would not deceive the nations. What is crucial about this passage is that it looks forward to a messianic reign on earth. This was a widely held view that early Christianity inherited from Jewish eschatology (Scholem, 1971; Saperstein, 1992). Arguably,…

The origins of Christianity in China seem to go back to the first centuries CE, but it is very difficult to establish an exact date or even a period, since much depends on the interpretation of the relatively few sources (literary, archaeological, iconographic) at our disposal. A rather safe indication seems to be offered by Arnobius of Sicca, who around 300 CE states that the Christian message had been preached in China by that time, which points to the presence of at least some seeds of …

Chorbishop (Gk χωρεπίσκοπος, επίσκοπος τῆς χώρας; Lat. chorepiscopus, episcopus vicanus) is the term designating a bishop who had authority over rural (Gk χώρα or κώμη; Lat. pagus or vicus) Christian communities, whereas a bishop was the religious leader of an urban community (πόλις). This ministry emerged, as can be inferred from documents, in the East between the 2nd and the 3rd centuries CE, in both mainstream Christianity and Montanist and Novatianist milieus (Eus. Hist. eccl. 5.16.17; 7.30.10); the term is mentioned in Christian writings and conciliar documents …

The reception of classical culture in early Christianity was complex and diversified, depending on times, areas, authors, and the many aspects of the classical heritage that were absorbed and transformed, to various degrees, in Christian culture. The most interesting facets of this reception surely concern literature and philosophy. Most ancient Christian intellectuals who received a thorough literary and philosophical education belonged to the clergy and were presbyters, bishops, monks, …

When and why the ways of Jews and Christians parted is one of the most debated questions among New Testament scholars. In particular, insights about the pluriformity of early Judaism have set new benchmarks in the last decades.Early Jewish PluriformityIn earlier publications, it became customary to refer to “pharisaic-rabbinic Judaism” (Judaism) around the beginning of the Common Era as “normative Judaism.” Such ideas reflect the ideal of the later rabbis, who tried to date their roots back to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah and saw th…

When and why the ways of Jews and Christians parted is one of the most debated questions among New Testament scholars. In particular, insights about the pluriformity of early Judaism have set new benchmarks in the last decades.Early Jewish PluriformityIn earlier publications, it became customary to refer to “pharisaic-rabbinic Judaism” (Judaism) around the beginning of the Common Era as “normative Judaism.” Such ideas reflect the ideal of the later rabbis, who tried to date their roots back to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah and …

Only limited information about the birth and childhood of Jesus can be historically verified, and the earliest narratives have been embellished with elements from the Old Testament and contemporary Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions about events surrounding the birth of famous figures. The oldest references to and narratives of Jesus’ birth and childhood are in the New Testament: in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians; the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John; the Letter to the Hebrews; and…

The belief in Christ’s descent into hell developed quickly in early Christianity. The descent is usually thought to have taken place between Christ’s death and his resurrection (with exceptions such as Clem. Exc. 18). Hell, in this context, is most often an underground world where the dead arrive after death and where they may be subject to torment. However, in so-called gnostic texts (e.g. Trim. Prot. 36; 43–44; Teach. Silv. 103–104), hell is the created world, as Irenaeus of Lyon pointed out (Iren. Haer. 5.31.2).The descent into hell is part of the undisputed stock of belief…

Matthew and Luke in their Gospels have given us the genealogy of Christ differently, and many suppose that they contradict each other. Since as a consequence every believer, in ignorance of the truth, has been zealous to invent some explanation to explain these passages. (Eus. Hist. eccl. 1.7.1)Early Christian commentators have put forth interpretative strategies to harmonize the two very different accounts of Jesus’ genealogy. Conversely, modern exegesis sees each genealogy as a theological and literary construct that serves specific purposes in Matthew and Luke’s Gospels:1.  J…

Matthew and Luke in their Gospels have given us the genealogy of Christ differently, and many suppose that they contradict each other. Since as a consequence every believer, in ignorance of the truth, has been zealous to invent some explanation to explain these passages. (Eus. Hist. eccl. 1.7.1) Early Christian commentators have put forth interpretative strategies to harmonize the two very different accounts of Jesus’ genealogy. Conversely, modern exegesis sees each genealogy as a theological and literary construct that serves specific purposes in Matthew and Luke’s Gospels: 1.  J…

The term “Quest of the Historical Jesus” has been in use since 1910 when A. Schweitzer had his 1906 book on the subject translated into English under this title (Schweitzer, 1906a; ET: 1910). It was chosen for marketing purposes, and the fact that the term “quest” is still in use indicates that it was a successful choice. The expanded version of A. Schweitzer’s work was published in German in 1913 under the epoch-making title Geschichte der Leben-Jesu Forschung, and this was not translated until 2001 (Schweitzer, 1913; 2001). In the field of research into the historical…

Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ. The day of the feast is called repeatedly by Augustine of Hippo  natalis ( Domini), and the day of the birth nativitas ( Christi/Domini nostri Iesu Christi); for a compilation of places where Augustine uses the respective terms to denominate the festival see M. Klöckener (2012, 151). These two Latin words are generic words used for celebrations and birthdays, respectively. There exists no proper name in antiquity to name the feast Christmas. Despite its popularity (attempts to abo…