There is no crime for those who have Christ : religious violence in the Christian Roman Empire /
Michael Gaddis.
- Berkeley, Calif. ; London : University of California Press, 2005.
- 1 online resource (xiv, 396 pages).
- The transformation of the classical heritage ; 39 .
- Transformation of the classical heritage ; 39. .
"A Joan Palevsky Book in Classical Literature." Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Princeton University, 1999.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
What has the emperor to do with the church?" : persecution and martyrdom from Diocletian to Constantine -- "The God of the martyrs refuses you" : religious violence, political discourse, and Christian identity in the century after Constantine -- An eye for an eye : religious violence in donatist Africa -- Temperata severitas : Augustine, the state, and disciplinary violence -- "There is no crime for those who have Christ" : holy men and holy violence in the late fourth and early fifth centuries -- "The monks commit many crimes" : holy violence contested -- "Sanctify thy hand by the blow" : problematizing Episcopal power -- Non iudicium sed latrocinium : of Holy Synods and robber councils.
There is no crime for those who have Christ," claimed a fifth-century zealot, neatly expressing the belief of religious extremists that righteous zeal for God trumps worldly law. This book provides an in-depth and penetrating look at religious violence and the attitudes that drove it in the Christian Roman Empire of the fourth and fifth centuries, a unique period shaped by the marriage of Christian ideology and Roman imperial power.
Persecution. Violence--Religious aspects--Christianity. Church history--4th century. Church history--5th century. Martyrdom. Church history. Violence. RELIGION--Christian Church--History. RELIGION--Christianity--History. HISTORY--Ancient--General. Church history. Martyrdom. Persecution. Violence--Religious aspects--Christianity.