Christodoulos Papavarnavas

Open access - the entire book can be downloaded for free via: https://www.degruyter.com/document/isbn/9783110725780/html

Dieses Buch behandelt die literarische Darstellung des Gefängnisses als Schwellenraum in den früh- und mittelbyzantinischen Märtyrerakten. Dabei wird das Gefängnis als Übergangsraum aufgezeigt, in dem sich körperliche Ausdauer und spirituelle Reife der Protagonisten zu deren Identität als Märtyrer herausbilden. Zentrale Untersuchungsaspekte sind: Terminologie, Erzählstruktur, Gender und Empfindungen.

This volume investigates the literary depiction of prison as a liminal space in early and middle Byzantine martyrs’ Passions. Prison proves to be a transitional space where both the formation of corporeal endurance and the spiritual maturation of the protagonists take place, contributing to their identity as martyrs. The aspects examined here include terminology, narrative structure, gender, emotions and the senses.

The goal of this article is to study the nexus between motherhood and martyrdom through a close reading of two early and middle Byzantine narratives whose protagonists are mothers and martyrs: the Passion of Perpetua and Felicity (BHG 1482, translated from the Latin original), and the Passion of Pistis, Elpis, Agape, and their mother Sophia in its pre-Metaphrastic and Metaphrastic versions (BHG 1637z and 1638). A literary-critical approach to these martyr narratives will show two seemingly opposed perceptions of motherhood: being a mother as a serious obstacle to martyrdom and sainthood, and being a mother as a prerequisite for achieving holiness. In both cases, the separation of the mother from her child proves to be a sign of spirituality. Overall, the investigation of these examples from Greek Passions contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the concept of motherhood in a Christian religious and literary context.

Open access here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/emed.12643

This article investigates stories of holiness which have ascetics or monastics as their hero(in)es and which develop based on a careful interlocking of two concepts: wanderings in urban or desert environments and self-confinement in enclosed or secluded spaces. Through a close reading of two saints’ Lives (i.e., the Life of Mary of Egypt and the Life of Matrona of Perge) dating to the early and middle Byzantine periods, the present analysis uncovers the tripartite relationship between movement, confinement, and spiritual advancement from a literary-narrative point of view, thus deepening our understanding of asceticism and monasticism in Byzantine contexts.

Open access here: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/bz-2021-0061/html [De Gruyter]

Abstract: This paper shows that the protagonists of Byzantine Passions are often depicted as attaining holiness while on the move: after their arrest by pagan soldiers, Christian martyrs are subjected to travels for legal reasons. Drawing on the anthropological concept of liminality (Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner), I will suggest that such inflicted travels or transfers in Byzantine Passions serve as liminal phases between interrogation, torture, imprisonment, and execution, by which the protagonists ascend to the state of holiness. The paper, structured in three major sections, focuses on scenes of ‘imprisoned martyrs on the move’ as delineated in both pre-Metaphrastic and Metaphrastic martyrdom accounts (fourth–tenth centuries). After a concise introduction to the theoretical background and the text corpus of this study, the main sections explicate the motif of imposed movement in conjunction with the literary construction of holiness, the spiritual formation of the audience, and the structure of a martyrdom narrative.

En examinant quatre Passions de martyrs antérieures au Xe s. – la Passion de Pistis, Elpis, Agape et leur mère Sophie (BHG 1637z), la Passion des dix martyrs de Crète (BHG 1196), la Passion des quarante martyrs de Sébaste (BHG 1201) et la Passion de Juliana de Nicomédie (BHG 962z), cet article entend jeter une lumière nouvelle sur la réception de la littérature hagiographique par son public, à savoir l’auditeur et le lecteur byzantins. Pour déterminer les effets des Passions sur l’audience, une comparaison littéraire est établie entre le public intratextuel et extratextuel. En effet, en considérant de près les personnages secondaires dans les différentes narrations, il semble possible de retracer la manière dont ces personnages ont pu être interprétés comme des modèles inspirant la réaction du public extratextuel. Selon cette approche, le texte devient spectacle et le lecteur ou l’auditeur se mue en spectateur. Cette analyse des Passions peut conduire non seulement à une meilleure compréhension de chaque texte, mais aussi à préciser la relation entre le texte et son public au fil du temps.

Abstract: Hagiographical martyrdom accounts constitute one of the most extensive corpora of Byzantine literature. Given the fact that these texts mostly delineate stories of male martyrs, it is not surprising that aspects of motherhood, such as pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, in connection with the concepts of martyrdom and sainthood remain insufficiently explored by modern scholarship. The goal of this paper is to study the literary dimension of motherhood, especially “painful motherhood”, through a close reading of two early and middle Byzantine accounts that have female martyrs as their protagonists: the Passion of Perpetua and Felicity (BHG 1482, translated from the Latin original), and the Passion of Pistis, Elpis, Agape and their mother Sophia in its pre-Metaphrastic (BHG 1637z) and Metaphrastic versions (BHG 1638). A literary-critical analysis of these martyr narratives will show two seemingly opposed perceptions of motherhood: being a mother as a serious obstacle to martyrdom and sainthood, and being a mother as a prerequisite for achieving holiness. Yet in both cases, the separation of a mother from her child proves to be a sign of spirituality. Overall, the investigation of these examples from Greek Passions will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the concept of motherhood in a Christian religious context.

International Conference, 15–17 November 2023 (hybrid)
Spaces Make Saints: Experiencing Confinement in Byzantine Hagiography
Austrian Academy of Sciences

Organised in the framework of the project ‘Spaces that Matter: Enclosed and Secluded Places in Early and Middle Byzantine Hagiography’, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF no. P34478-G)

Programme and Abstracts: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/imafo/research/byzantine-research/language-text-and-script/language-use-and-literature/spaces-that-matter

--Abstract auf Deutsch:

Diese Arbeit behandelt zum einen die Rolle des textuellen Publikums, also der Zuschauer des Martyriums, in sechs Märtyrerakten, die aus der Zeit vor der Abfassung des Menologiums Symeons des Metaphrasten (10. Jh.) stammen und als seine Vorlagen gelten, und zum anderen die Wirkung der genannten Texte auf das außertextuelle Publikum (Leser/Zuhörer) in der byzantinischen Zeit. Untersucht werden drei Gruppenmartyrien (Das Martyrium der Pistis, Elpis, Agape und ihrer Mutter Sophia, BHG 1637z; das Martyrium der zehn Märtyrer von Kreta, BHG 1196; das Martyrium der vierzig Märtyrer von Sebaste, BHG 1201), zwei Doppelmartyrien (Das Martytium von Eulampios und Eulampia, BHG 616; das Martyrium von Sergios und Bakchos, BHG 1624) und schließlich ein Einzelmartyrium (Das Martyrium der Juliana von Nikomedien, BHG 962z). Die Interpretation dieser Märtyrerakten anhand der Rolle des textuellen Publikums und seines Kontextes kann nicht nur zum vollständigeren Verständnis jedes einzelnen Martyriums, sondern auch zur Rekonstruktion des Verhältnisses des Textes zum außertextuellen Publikum führen.

Schlagwörter auf Deutsch:

Publikum / Rezeption / byzantinische Hagiographie / Literatur / Märtyrerakten / Martyrien / handschriftliche Überlieferung

--Abstract in English:

This thesis discusses, on the one hand, the role of the textual audience, namely the spectators of the martyrdom, in six Passions dated from the time before the composition of the Menologion of Symeon the Metaphrast (10th century) and considered as his textual sources (“Vorlagen”). On the other hand, it deals with the impact of these texts on the extra-textual audience (reader/listener) throughout the Byzantine era. I examine three Passions of groups of martyrs (the Passion of Pistis, Elpis, Agape and their mother Sophia, BHG 1637z; the Passion of the Ten Martyrs of Crete, BHG 1196; the Passion of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, BHG 1201), two Passions of two individuals (the Passion of Eulampios and Eulampia, BHG 616; the Passion of Sergios and Bakchos, BHG 1624) and finally, one individual Passion (the Passion of Juliana of Nicomedia, BHG 962z). The interpretation of these Passions based on the role of the textual audience and its context can lead not only to a better understanding of each Passion, but also to the reconstruction of the relationship between the text and the extra-textual audience.

Keywords in English:

Audience / Reception / Byzantine Hagiography / Literature / Passions / Martyrdoms / Manuscript tradition