Inscribing the Saints in Late Antique Anatolia by Paweł Nowakowski (review)

• Autores: Julien M. Ogereau
• Localización: Journal of early Christian studies: Journal of the North American Patristic Society, ISSN 1067-6341, Nº. 3, 2019, págs. 508-510
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The author in any case primarily intended to examine "the usage of inscriptions in the religious practice," paying special attention to the "characteristics of the patterns which ruled the epigraphic production," and not the "diffusion of the cult of saints in all its aspects" (3). In particular, the observations that (1) inscriptions became "commonly used instruments of the veneration of saints" only in late antiquity (if indeed these inscriptions have been dated accurately), (2) that merely "a small range of saints" (those deemed higher up in the heavenly hierarchy and the most effective intercessors) were invoked or mentioned using uniform language, and (3) that saints and their cults were unevenly distributed throughout Asia Minor along a southwest-northeast axis (this is the "most important conclusion," according to the author, 316), do offer valuable insight into the phenomenon. Whatever other misgivings readers might have with some of Nowakowski's editorial decisions and blemishes (e.g., the inclusion of inscriptions mentioning archangels or the Virgin Mary might leave some perplexed, though the author admits they are "ontologically different" saints, 200; cf. 162, 211, 214), no future discussions on the topic can afford to ignore the material gathered in this collection.