From the Passion to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: Memories of Jesus in Place, Pilgrimage, and Early Holy Sites Over the First Three Centuries

by J. Ryan

Publisher:

T&T Clark

, 2021

Since the early 4th century, Christian pilgrims and visitors to Judea and Galilee have worshipped at and been inspired by monumental churches erected at sites traditionally connected with the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. This book examines the history and archaeology of early Christian holy sites and traditions connected with specific places in order to understand them as interpretations of Jesus and to explore them as instantiations of memories of him.

Ryan's overarching aim is to construe these places as instantiations of what historian Pierre Nora has called “lieux de mémoires,” sites where memory crystallizes and, where possible, to track the course and development of the traditions underlying them from their genesis in the Gospel narratives to their eventual solidification in the form of pilgrimage sites. So doing will bring rarely considered evidence to the study of early Christian memory, which in turn helps to illuminate the person of Jesus himself in both history and reception.

Features

Examines data and evidence that has very rarely (if at all) been considered for the study of Jesus and early Christian memory
Uses approaches from both archaeology and exegesis across a large time period
Builds a much-needed bridge between the first and fourth centuries of Christian memory in Judea and Galilee

Contents

List of Figures
List of Translations Commonly Used
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
1. Introduction
2. Remembering Golgotha: Memory and Interpretation of the Place of Crucifixion from the First to the Fourth Centuries
3. The Tomb of Jesus in Christian Memory and Interpretation
4. Locating a Memory: The Architecture of the Constantinian Church of the Holy Sepulchre as Jesus-Memory
5. Bethlehem and the Mount of Olives
6. Galilee: “Th ere Th ey Will See Me”
7. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Praise for From the Passion to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

In this informative study, Jordan J. Ryan analyzes a number of Christian sites in the Holy Land, paying special attention to how, with the construction of the early commemorative churches, the memory of Jesus was transformed into 'a kind of experiential gospel'. A frequent visitor to the Holy Land and someone with a deep appreciation of these sites, the author writes from experience and puts his mastery of the relevant literary sources to good use. What could have easily ended up as a collage of personal experiences and disjointed observations is given a strong and coherent framework, with the author maintaining focus on the reception and interpretation of 'key life-of-Jesus events' [...] This monograph is a labor of love, written by someone with a deep investment in the subject. In the introductory chapter, Ryan sets out the principal agenda: to examine the commemorative churches 'as instantiations of reception and memory'; to consider how these spaces 'were experienced by worshippers and pilgrims'; and to pay attention to the roles they 'played in Jewish-Christian relations and in the intersection of Jewish and Christian traditions and concerns'. All of these objectives, and much more, are accomplished in this remarkable book.

Product Details

• Title: From the Passion to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: Memories of Jesus in Place, Pilgrimage, and Early Holy Sites Over the First Three Centuries
• Author: J. Ryan
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9780567677488, 9780567697745, 0567697746, 0567677486
• Resource ID: LLS:9780567677488
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-05-12T03:55:57Z

About the Author

Jordan J. Ryan is Visiting Assistant Professor of New Testament and Archaeology at Wheaton College, USA.