Books by Theodore S de Bruyn
Making Amulets Christian: Artefacts, Scribes, and Contexts examines Greek amulets with Christian ... more Making Amulets Christian: Artefacts, Scribes, and Contexts examines Greek amulets with Christian elements from late antique Egypt in order to discern the processes whereby a customary practice—the writing of incantations on amulets—changed in an increasingly Christian context. It considers how the formulation of incantations and amulets changed as the Christian church became the prevailing religious institution in Egypt in the last centuries of the Roman empire. Theodore de Bruyn investigates what we can learn from incantations and amulets containing Christian elements about the cultural and social location of the people who wrote them. He argues for ‘conditioned individuality’ in the production of amulets. On the one hand, amulets manifest qualities that reflect the training and culture of the individual writer. On the other hand, amulets reveal that individual writers were shaped, whether consciously or inadvertently, by the resources they drew upon—by what is called ‘tradition’ in the field of religious studies.
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The ancient writer dubbed Ambrosiaster was a pioneer in the revival of interest in the Pauline Ep... more The ancient writer dubbed Ambrosiaster was a pioneer in the revival of interest in the Pauline Epistles in the fourth century. His commentaries were used by later Latin writers such as Pelagius and Augustine and were subsequently passed on mostly under the name of Ambrose. Ambrosiaster's work had a long afterlife in the biblical commentaries, theological treatises, and canonical literature of the medieval and the early modern periods. His writings offer unique perspectives on facets of Christian life in Rome, from the emergence of clerical celibacy to the development of liturgical practices to the subordination of women. This translation of the commentary on Romans is accompanied by notes identifying important revisions that Ambrosiaster made to the commentary. Introductory essays offer discussion and analysis of Ambrosiaster's historical context, exegetical method, and theological orientation, accompanied by a complete bibliography. This is an essential reference for scholars and students of the early church and biblical interpretation.
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The Pelagian controversy has secured an enduring place for Pelagius in the history of Western Chr... more The Pelagian controversy has secured an enduring place for Pelagius in the history of Western Christian thought. Few of Pelagius' writings, however, have been preserved, and until recently none was available in English translation. This volume presents Pelagius' commentary on Romans for the first time in English. The commentary, one of thirteen on the Pauline epistles, dates from the time when Pelagius was active in Rome, before he became embroiled in controversy, but already there are adumbrations of the later debate and signs of different currents of thought in Italy and beyond. In his introduction Theodore de Bruyn discusses the context in which Pelagius wrote the commentary and the issues which shaped his interpretation of Romans. He also takes up questions about the edition of the commentary. The translation is annotated with references to Pelagius' contemporaries, and a new recension of Pelagius' text of Romans is presented in an appendix.
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Papers on amulets by Theodore S de Bruyn
Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum 18 (2013): 120–33, https://doi.org/doi: 10.1515/zac-2014-0008, 2014
Among the spells with Christian elements published in Papyri Graecae Magicae is a charitesion or ... more Among the spells with Christian elements published in Papyri Graecae Magicae is a charitesion or “good luck charm,” Pap. Wessely Pragens. Graec. no. 1 (PGM P21). The spell concludes with an acclamation to Jesus Christ that is remarkable for its long series of epithets. These have thus far eluded satisfactory explanation. Several of the epithets recall language used in Valentinian writings to express the relationship between Father and Son in Valentinian protology and soteriology. The paper presents evidence to support reading the acclamation as an expression of Valentinian devotion, and discusses the significance of such an acclamation in a spell that may have been written in the fifth century, taking into account the scribal features of the papyrus.
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Archiv für Religionsgeschichte 16 (2015): 31–50, https://doi.org/doi: 10.1515/arege-2014-0005., 2015
This paper traces continuity and change in the structure and formulation of Demotic, Greek, and C... more This paper traces continuity and change in the structure and formulation of Demotic, Greek, and Coptic charitêsia (“good luck charms”) in Roman Egypt. Drawing on the theoretical work of Roy Rappaport and Catherine Bell, it argues that the producers of these charms created a sense of tradition by echoing and modulating pre-established forms of incantation. The resulting products combined both elasticity and specificity so as to be at once recognizable in a broad cultural context and relevant to specific audiences.
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From Logos to Christos: Essays in Christology in Honour of Joanne McWilliams, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 3-18, 2010
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The Reception and Interpretation of the Bible in Late Antiquity, Brill, 65-81, 2008
One of the intriguing aspects of the study of Christianity in late antiquity? a period extending,... more One of the intriguing aspects of the study of Christianity in late antiquity? a period extending, roughly, from the third to the seventh centuries? is the process whereby Christian narratives, beliefs, and norms emerge and develop in the discourse and the practices of the population. This chapter examines how can one situate the appropriation of this particular passage?Matt 4:23/9:35?for this specific practice?the preparation and application of amulets for healing and protection?within the broader field of the reception and interpretation of scripture? In short, among Greek papyri amulets that incorporate Christian motifs, Jesus? power to heal is often epitomized in the language of Matt 4:23/9:35. Finally, the use of formulaic expressions from scripture in amulets, like the phrase from Matt 4:23/9:35, highlights the role of ritual actions in the reception of scripture.
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Presbeia Theotokou: The Intercessory Role of Mary across Times and Places in Byzantium (4th - 9th Century), Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 115-129, 2015
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Rediscovering the Apocryphal Continent: New Perspectives on Early Christian and Late Antique Apocryphal Texts and Traditions, Mohr Siebeck, 153-174, 2015
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Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists, 48 (2011): 163-216, 2011
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Studia Patristica 92 (2017): 317-337, 2017
The year 2015 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Association Internationale d’... more The year 2015 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Association Internationale d’Études Patristiques (AIEP) / International Association of Patristic Studies (IAPS). It is an opportune moment to reflect on the intersection of scholarly disciplines and approaches in the field of patristics today. To do so, I shall draw on my current research programme, an investigation of the ways in which the customary practice of making and wearing amulets became ‘Christian’. At first glance, it may appear that the practice has little to do with patristics, except in so far as it elicited comment or disapproval from ancient church authorities. However, the material record reveals a more complex dynamic, since scribes who prepared amulets were familiar with Christian prayer, liturgy, and scriptures. The evidence presses one to reflect on what it meant to ‘Christian’ in Late Antiquity and on how purveyors of amulets received and modulated institutional modes of expressing what it meant to ‘Christian’. The evidence also obliges one to draw on the many disciplines or sub-fields that currently constitute the field of patristics, illustrating how indispensable they are to the interpretative process.
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Early Christian Manuscripts: Examples of Applied Method and Approach, Brill, 145-189, 2010
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Journal of Theological Studies, 57 (2006): 94-109, 2006
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Studia Patristica 40 (2006): 15-20, 2006
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Christians Shaping Identity from the Roman Empire to Byzantium: Essays Inspired by Pauline Allen, Brill, 64-82, 2015
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Papers on Ambrosiaster by Theodore S de Bruyn
Augustine and Tradition: Influences, Contexts, Legacy, Eerdmans, 351-379, 2021
Ambrosiaster, the anonymous Christian expositor living in Rome in the mid-fourth century, and Aug... more Ambrosiaster, the anonymous Christian expositor living in Rome in the mid-fourth century, and Augustine are incommensurate in many respects: in ability, position, oeuvre, and significance. Yet they have been forever linked in Augustinian scholarship because of Augustine’s reference to Ambrosiaster’s work in his anti-Pelagian writings to support his interpretation of Rom. 5:12. It is likely that Augustine read at least some of Ambrosiaster’s commentaries on the Pauline letters when he himself began commenting on them. However, despite the echoes of language and ideas from Ambrosiaster in Augustine’s early writing on Romans and Galatians, Augustine’s approach to Paul’s Letter to the Romans is very different than Ambrosiaster’s. The difference emerges not merely in specific points of interpretation but more fundamentally in the narrative that underlies or motivates the reading of the letter. Underlying Ambrosiaster’s interpretation of Romans is an overarching soteriological drama: the story of how God rescues humankind from its subjugation to the devil. According to this narrative, the devil gained lawful dominion over humankind by successfully inducing the first human beings to transgress God’s command and lost that dominion by unjustly seeking to kill Jesus and hold him in the realm of the dead. Ambrosiaster refers to this narrative repeatedly as he seeks to make sense of Paul’s language in the Letter to the Romans. Augustine was familiar with this narrative; he summarizes it succinctly and eloquently in the third book of De libero arbitrio (lib. arb.), which he wrote between 391 and 395 CE. But this is not the prevailing narrative in Augustine’s early works, composed between 386 and 396 CE. As is well known, in these works Augustine is preoccupied with his spiritual and intellectual pursuit of ways to return, or ascend, to God. Whereas Ambrosiaster read the Letter to the Romans as a narrative of the history of humankind, Augustine read it as a narrative of the history of each human being, especially as he himself experienced that history. In addition, Augustine was more of a philosopher than Ambrosiaster, and his manner of thinking was more syllogistic and, arguably, more incisive. These qualities of the interpreter and his interpretation led Augustine to conclusions that Ambrosiaster would probably have been unwilling to accept. The paper illustrates the difference in approach and outcome by selectively comparing Ambrosiaster’s and Augustine’s reading of passages in the Letter to the Romans.
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Vigiliae Christianae 65 (2010): 463-483, 2010
Scholarly discussions of patristic interpretations of Romans 1:26-27 have overlooked the fact tha... more Scholarly discussions of patristic interpretations of Romans 1:26-27 have overlooked the fact that Ambrosiaster revised his reading of the passage. In the first version of his commentary on Romans, Ambrosiaster understands verse 26 to refer to “unnatural” sexual relations between women and men, whereas in the second and third versions he understands the verse to refer to “unnatural” sexual relations between women. The paper examines the differences between the three versions, explains Ambrosiaster’s remarks, and situates his interpretation within the moral outlook and exegetical tradition of Latin Christian writers.
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Revue d'études augustiniennes et patristiques 56 (2010): 45-68, 2010
Ambrosiaster’s Commentary on Romans exists is three apparently sequential versions (alpha, beta, ... more Ambrosiaster’s Commentary on Romans exists is three apparently sequential versions (alpha, beta, and gamma). In alpha and beta Ambrosiaster modifi ed the comments on Romans 1:3 and 8:26-27 to emphasize that the Holy Spirit is divine (against the Pneumatomachians) and that Christ is fully human (against Apollinaris). These changes are examined in light of contemporary Roman synodal letters from the 370s and early 380s. The comments on Romans in alpha appear to belong to a period before 375 and possibly before 371, the changes introduced in beta correspond to theological developments in Rome in the second half of the 370s, and the changes introduced in gamma appear to belong to the early 380s. However, there are still difficulties in the dating of the versions that remain to be resolved.
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Papers by Theodore S de Bruyn
PATRISTIC STUDIES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
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Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity, 2023
This paper investigates a crisis in leadership in the Christian church after changes in imperial ... more This paper investigates a crisis in leadership in the Christian church after changes in imperial policy made it more acceptable socially and more advantageous financially to occupy clerical positions. For several decades in the early 5th century, Isidore of Pelusium and his network of friends reproached and lamented the venal conduct of Eusebius, bishop of Pelusium, and several clerics he had appointed. But their efforts to alter the situation had little effect. To understand why this was so, the paper considers the types of people who wrote letters lamenting the situation in order to understand the nature of their response in relation to their social or political position, and it explores reasons why Eusebius and the other clerics were not dislodged by the censure and even derision of their critics. The conflict, it is argued, exposes the limitations of παρρησία as a means of altering the actions of the powerful and qualifies the role of ascetic authority in the de facto exercise of episcopal office in Late Antiquity.
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Books by Theodore S de Bruyn
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Papers by Theodore S de Bruyn