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This volume brings together seven seminal papers by the great radical historian Geoffrey de Ste. Croix, who died in 2000, on early Christian topics, with a special focus on persecution and martyrdom. Christian martyrdom is a topic which conjures up ready images of inhumane persecutors confronted by Christian heroes who perish for the instant but win the long-term battle for reputation. In five of these essays Ste. Croix scrutinizes the evidence to reveal the significant role of Christians themselves, first as volunteer martyrs and later, after the triumph of Christianity in the early fourth century, as organizers of much more effective persecutions. A sixth essay pursues the question of the control of Christianity through a comprehensive study of the context for one of the Church's most important and divisive doctrinal decisions, at the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451); the key role of the emperor and his senior secular officials is revealed, contrary to the prevailing interpretation of Church historians. Finally the attitudes of the early Church towards property and slavery are reviewed, to show the divide between the Gospel message and actual practice.
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CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION, MARTYRDOM, AND ORTHODOXY
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Christian Persecution, Martyrdom, and Orthodoxy G . E . M . D E S T E . C RO I X
Edited by Michael Whitby and Joseph Streeter
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3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With oYces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York ßThe Estate of G.E.M. de Ste. Croix 2006 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data De Ste. Croix, G. E. M. (Geoffrey Ernest Maurice) Christian persecution, martyrdom, and orthodoxy/G. E .M. De Ste. Crox; edited by Michael Whitby and Joseph Streeter. p. cm. ISBN-13: 978–0–19–927812–1 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0–19–927812–1 (alk. paper) 1. Persecution. 2. Martyrdom–Christianity. 3. Church history–Primitive and early church, ca. 30–600. I. Whitby, Michael. II. Streeter, Joseph. III. Title. BR1604.23.D4 2006 272’.1–dc22 2006011789 Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Biddles Ltd., King’s Lynn, Norfolk ISBN 0-19-927812-1
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Preface After the death of GeoVrey de Ste. Croix in February 2000, his widow Margaret passed a mass of academic papers to David Harvey and Robert Parker. Among these was a group of essa