Blake Leyerle's Books

Christians at Home

John Chrysostom and Domestic Rituals in Fourth-Century Antioch

By: Blake Leyerle

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Christians at Home

John Chrysostom and Domestic Rituals in Fourth-Century Antioch

By: Blake Leyerle

What did it mean for ordinary believers to live a Christian life in late antiquity? In Christians at Home, Blake Leyerle explores this question through the writings, teachings, and reception of John Chrysostom—a priest of Antioch who went on to become the bishop of Constantinople in AD 397. Through elaborate spatial and ritual recommendations, Chrysostom advised listeners to turn their houses into churches. Influenced by New Testament descriptions of the Pauline communities, he preached that prayer and chant, scriptural discussion and hospitality, and even domestic furnishings would have a transformational effect on a home’s inhabitants. But as Leyerle shows, Chrysostom’s lay listeners had different views. They were focused not on personal ethical change or on the afterlife but on the immediate, tangible needs of their households. They were committed to Christianity and defended the legitimacy of their views, even citing precedents from scripture in support of their practices By reading these perspectives on early Christian life through one another, Leyerle clarifies the points of disagreement between Chrysostom and his lay listeners and, at the same time, highlights their shared understanding. For both the preacher and his congregations, the household formed a vital ritual arena, and lived religion was necessarily rooted in practice. Elegantly written and convincingly argued, this study will appeal to scholars of theology, classics, and the history of Christianity in particular.

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Page Count

206

Publisher

Penn State Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0271097884

ISBN 13

9780271097886

The Narrative Shape of Emotion in the Preaching of John Chrysostom

By: Blake Leyerle

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The Narrative Shape of Emotion in the Preaching of John Chrysostom

By: Blake Leyerle

John Chrysostom remains, along with Augustine, one of the most prolific witnesses to the world of late antiquity. As priest of Antioch and bishop of Constantinople, he earned his reputation as an extraordinary preacher. In this first unified study of emotions in Chrysostom’s writings, Blake Leyerle examines the fourth-century preacher’s understanding of anger, grief, and fear. These difficult emotions, she argues, were central to Chrysostom’s program of ethical formation and were taught primarily through narrative means. In recounting the tales of scripture, Chrysostom consistently draws attention to the emotional tenor of these stories, highlighting biblical characters’ moods, discussing their rational underpinnings, and tracing the outcomes of their reactions. By showing how assiduously Chrysostom aimed not only to allay but also to arouse strong feelings in his audiences to combat humanity’s indifference and to inculcate zeal, Leyerle provides a fascinating portrait of late antiquity’s foremost preacher.

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Page Count

228

Publisher

University of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520345177

ISBN 13

9780520345171

Theatrical Shows and Ascetic Lives

John Chrysostom's Attack on Spiritual Marriage

By: Blake Leyerle

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Theatrical Shows and Ascetic Lives

John Chrysostom's Attack on Spiritual Marriage

By: Blake Leyerle

This book provides an original and rewarding context for understanding the prolific fourth-century Christian theologian John Chrysostom and the religious and social world in which he lived. Blake Leyerle analyzes two highly rhetorical treatises by this early church father attacking the phenomenon of "spiritual marriage." Spiritual marriage was an ascetic practice with a long history in which a man and a woman lived together in an intimate relationship without sex. What begins as an analysis of Chrysostom's attack on spiritual marriage becomes a broad investigation into Chrysostom's life and work, the practice of spiritual marriage itself, the role of the theater in late antique city life, and the early history of Christianity. Though thoroughly grounded in the texts themselves and in the cultural history of late antiquity, this study breaks new ground with its focus on issues of rhetoric, sexuality, and power. Leyerle argues that Chrysostom used images and tropes drawn from the theater to persuade religious men and women that spiritual marriage was wrong. In addition to her analysis of the significance of the rhetorical strategies used by Chrysostom, Leyerle gives a thorough discussion of the role of the theater in late antiquity, particularly in Antioch, one of the gems among late antique cities. She also discusses gender in the context of late antique religion, shedding new light on early Christian attitudes toward sexuality. Throughout Leyerle weaves an ongoing conversation with contemporary theory in film and gender studies that gives her study an important analytic dimension.

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Page Count

270

Publisher

Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520921631

ISBN 13

9780520921634

Imagining the Death of Jesus in Fourth-Century Mesopotamia

A Study of Ephrem of Nisibis

By: Blake Hartung

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Imagining the Death of Jesus in Fourth-Century Mesopotamia

A Study of Ephrem of Nisibis

By: Blake Hartung

In this volume Blake Hartung explores the place of the passion and death of Jesus in the writings of Ephrem of Nisibis (ca. 307–373). The book argues that the genre of Ephrem’s works (usually short poems for public performance), is key to understanding his unsystematic approach. Ephrem drew widely upon the Passion narratives and traditional motifs related to Christ’s death and deployed them differently in distinct settings. Each chapter explores a key theme in Ephrem’s discourse about the death of Christ in context (including anti-Judaism, the defeat of death, and economic imagery). Ultimately, Hartung urges further consideration of the role of Christ’s death in early Christian thought and practice beyond the traditional confines of atonement theology.

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Page Count

272

Publisher

BRILL

Published Date

ISBN 10

9004680241

ISBN 13

9789004680241

Theatrical Shows and Ascetic Lives

John Chrysostom's Attack on Spiritual Marriage

By: Blake Leyerle

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Theatrical Shows and Ascetic Lives

John Chrysostom's Attack on Spiritual Marriage

By: Blake Leyerle

Leyerle puts John Chrysostom's rhetoric neatly into context, discussing the place of theater in the urban life of Antioch, describing contemporary social and sexual mores and roles, and warmly defending the practice and practitioners of spiritual marriage.

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Page Count

261

Publisher

Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520215583

ISBN 13

9780520215580

Christians at Home

John Chrysostom and Domestic Rituals in Fourth-Century Antioch

By: Blake Leyerle

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Christians at Home

John Chrysostom and Domestic Rituals in Fourth-Century Antioch

By: Blake Leyerle

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Page Count

165

Publisher

Penn State Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0271097892

ISBN 13

9780271097893

Book's by Blake Leyerle

Christians at Home

Christians at Home

The Narrative Shape of Emotion in the Preaching of John Chrysostom

The Narrative Shape of Emotion in the Preaching of John Chrysostom

Theatrical Shows and Ascetic Lives

Theatrical Shows and Ascetic Lives

Imagining the Death of Jesus in Fourth-Century Mesopotamia

Imagining the Death of Jesus in Fourth-Century Mesopotamia

Theatrical Shows and Ascetic Lives

Theatrical Shows and Ascetic Lives

Christians at Home

Christians at Home

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