Ritual, Emotion, and Materiality in the Early Christian World

Soham Al-Suadi is Professor of New Testament Studies and Dean on the Faculty of Theology at the University of Rostock (Germany). She is a member of the steering committee of the Society of Biblical Literature’s Seminar on Meals in the Greco-Roman World.Richard S. Ascough is Professor of Religious Studies at Queen’s University (Canada) and has published widely on the social dynamics of early Christ groups as well as Greek and Roman associations. His most recent book is 1 and 2 Thessalonians: Encountering the Christ Group at Thessalonike.Richard E. DeMaris is a Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University (U.S.A.). His recent publications include Early Christian Ritual Life, co-edited with J. T. Lamoreaux and S. C. Muir (Routledge, 2017) and The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Ritual, co-edited with R. Uro, J. J. Day, and R. Roitto.

• List of figures; List of tables; List of contributors; Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Introduction, Soham Al-Suadi; 1 Theorizing ritual, emotion, and material, Sharday C. Mosurinjohn; 2 Emotional display in the necropoli at Roman Thessalonike, Richard S. Ascough; 3 Water Rites in the world of the New Testament: Archaeological Highlights, Klaus-Michael Bull; 4 Water rites in Greek and Roman associations, Richard S. Ascough; 5 Water rites, emotions, and epiphanic encounters in the literary and material record of the Roman east, Richard E. DeMaris; 6 Ritual experience and emotions: The right place for water rites in Luke-Acts, Soham Al-Suadi; 7 Early Christian ritual from the perspective of affect and emotion studies, Richard E. DeMaris; 8 Precious, powerful, and pernicious: The polyvalence of water and water symbolism in early Christianity, Peter-Ben Smit; 9 Scared disciples: Emotions of fear in Mark 4:35–41 and 6:45–52, May-Britt Melzer; 10 "Let the children be fed first" (Mark 7:27): Rituals, emotions, and identity in the Synoptic tradition, Soham Al-Suadi; 11 Water rites as structuring elements in ancient meals: An examination of foot washing in John 12 and 13, Henrike Dilling and Frank Krüger; 12 Physical affect and ritual as starting points of Pauline paranaesis, Peter-Ben Smit; Conclusion, Richard S. Ascough; Indices, Modern authors, Subject index, Ancient sources

"The book’s topic well deserves serious attention, and this volume brings the appropriate mix of theoretical insight and specific case studies to the task ... The editorial team represented here are leading scholars in the field of ritual studies." - Jonathan Schwiebert, Lenoir-Rhyne University, USA "Ritual, Emotion, and Materiality in the Early Christian World is a successful starting point for further research. For theologians and historians interested in affect- and emotion-studies, the essays offer valuable input for further research that moves beyond a narrow focus on water rites in the New Testament." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review