Authors
Middleton, PaulAffiliation
University of ChesterPublication Date
2013-09-02
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Many studies of early Christian martyrdom have noted the phenomenon of voluntary martyrdom. However, most scholars, drawing on criticism of the practice found in the Martyrdom of Polycarp and Clement of Alexandria, dismiss those who provoked their own arrest and death as deviant, heretical, or numerically insignificant. This article argues instead that the earliest Christian martyrologies celebrate voluntary martyrdom as a valid mainstream Christian practice, which faced only isolated challenge in the first three centuries. Furthermore, pagan sources support the view that voluntary martyrdom was a significant historical as well as literary phenomenon. As there is no reason to conclude voluntary martyrdom was anything other than a valid subset of proto-orthodox Christian martyrdom, more attention should be paid to this phenomenon by early Christian historians.Citation
Journal of Theological Studies, 2013, 64(2), pp. 556-573Publisher
Oxford University PressJournal
Journal of Theological StudiesAdditional Links
http://jts.oxfordjournals.org/Type
ArticleLanguage
enDescription
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Theological Studies following peer review. The version of record, 2013, 64(2), 556-573 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jts/flt123ISSN
0022-5185EISSN
1477-4607Sponsors
This article was submitted to the RAE2014 for the University of Chester - Theology & Religious Studies.ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1093/jts/flt123
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