Holy Bishops in Late Antiquity. Claudia Rapp

Treatises on Ecclesiastical Leadership

      3.Spiritual Authority

       Carriers of the Gifts of the Spirit

       Spiritual Leadership and Prayer

       Carrying the Burdens of Others’ Sins

      4.Ascetic Authority

       The Importance of the Desert

       Moses as the Biblical Model of Leadership

       Monks as Bishops and Bishops as Monks

      PART TWO

      5.Bishops in Action

       Synesius of Cyrene and Theodore of Sykeon

       The Episcopate: Work or Honor?

      6.Social Contexts

       Bishops of Modest Background

       Education

       Bishops of Curial Background

       Bishops of Senatorial Background

       Family Traditions of Ecclesiastical Officeholding

       The Correlation of Wealth and Ecclesiastical Office

       The Permeability of Civic and Ecclesiastical Office

      7.Cities

       The Bishop’s Residence

       Bishops and Wealth

       Episcopal Expenditure

      8.Empire

       Constantine’s Legacy

       The Manumission of Slaves (Manumissio in ecclesia)

       Episcopal Courts (Episcopalis audientia)

       Ecclesiastical Asylum

       Access to the Emperor: Parrhēsia of Bishops and Holy Men

      9.The Bishop as a New Urban Functionary

       From Model Christians to Model Citizens

       Bishops and the Curia

      Epilogue

      NOTES

      BIBLIOGRAPHY

       Primary Sources

       Secondary Literature

      INDEX

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      This book has been long in the making, and it is a pleasant duty to acknowledge my debts of gratitude, which are considerable, as they reach back to the early days of my academic life. In Berlin, the late Paul Speck taught me how to read hagiography, and Ralph-Johannes Lilie how to think like a historian. In Oxford, Cyril Mango’s erudition and wisdom provided guidance during the dissertation writing process and beyond, while James Howard-Johnston’s inspiring direction and Michael Whitby’s tough dialectic made me understand that research is hard—and enjoyable—work. My parents, Edeltraud and Friedrich Rapp, supported me through it all.

      Many other friends and colleagues, both in the United States and in Europe, have contributed to the shape of this book, even if they may not recognize their contributions on the following pages. Without the inspiration, sustained interest, and persistent encouragement of Peter Brown, this book would not have been written. I will never be able to adequately express my gratitude to him. Many others have been helpful in a myriad of different ways. The following deserve to be singled out: Clifford Ando, Glen Bowersock, Wolfram Brandes, Averil Cameron, Daniel Caner, Patricia Crone, Harold Drake, Susanna Elm, Michael Gaddis, Sharon Gerstel, John Haldon, Paul Halsall, Judith Herrin, Jennifer Hevelone-Harper, John Langdon, J. H. W. G. Liebeschuetz, Michael Maas, Ralph Mathisen, Neil McLynn, Michele Salzman, Andrea Sterk, Alice-Mary Talbot, Tim Vivian, and Mary Whitby.

      At the University of California, Los Angeles, I am grateful to my colleagues for many stimulating conversations about issues of religion and power, especially Michael Cooperson, Patrick Geary, Bariša Krekiá, Gail Lenhoff, Michael Morony, and Kathryn Morgan. Many graduate students, past and present, have acted as sounding boards and, in some instances, provided research assistance; they include Elizabeth Goldfarb, Scott McDonough, Maged Mikhail, Jason Moralee, Daniel Schwartz, Boris Todorov, Julia Verkholantsev, and Cynthia Villagomez. Several undergraduate students have also been research assistants: James Brusuelas, Natalie Esteban, Benjamin Kang, and Cindy Le. The ever-patient staff of the Young Research Library at UCLA, and especially its Interlibrary Loan department, were of invaluable help. The team at University of California Press accompanied the publication process from the beginning, and I am grateful for their professionalism and expertise: Kate Toll, Cindy Fulton, and, last but not least, Marian Rogers, who turned copy editing into an art.

      I was fortunate to be able to jump-start this project as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton during 1997–98, with additional support from a UC President’s Fellowship in the Humanities. The serene surroundings of the Institute offered the concentration that was necessary to make this book become a reality. I dedicate it to the memory of my mother, who did not live even to see its inception.

      PART ONE

      CHAPTER ONE

      The Nature of Leadership in Late Antiquity

      The emperor, the holy man, and the bishop. These were the most powerful and evocative figures in late antiquity. They provided practical leadership, moral guidance, and the dispensation of favors. Their important position in society is illustrated by artistic representations such as the seventh-century mosaic from St. Demetrius in Thessalonike on the frontispiece of this book, which shows the youthful saint flanked by the bishop of the city and a civic dignitary as representative of the emperor. Emperors, bishops, and holy men also occupy center stage in the literary production of late antiquity. The ancient genre of panegyric in praise of emperors flourished on an unprecedented scale, the writing of church history where bishops were the protagonists was a new, pioneering effort, and various forms of hagiographical writing, especially saints’ Lives, were created to extol the virtues of holy men and women.

      The interaction of emperor, holy man, and bishop can be seen in the Life of Daniel the Stylite. Inspired by the example of Symeon the Stylite, whose reputation as an exceptional ascetic and miracle worker attracted large crowds to his pillar near Antioch, Daniel established himself in a suburb of Constantinople in the mid-fifth century. The local priests reacted with resentment and jealousy to the presence of this stranger from Syria, whose decision to take up residence in an abandoned temple, and later on top of a pillar, seemed to generate a great deal of interest and admiration among the local population. In response to their complaints, the archbishop of Constantinople looked into the matter. In a personal meeting, he recognized Daniel’s spiritual strength and then convinced the clergy that their suspicions were groundless. The popular local cult of the holy man thus received the stamp of approval from the highest ecclesiastical authority.

      Over the following years, the Life explains, Daniel became something like a personal saint for Emperor Leo I (457–474) and for his successor, Zeno (474–491), who depended upon Daniel to soothe restless crowds on the verge of rebellion, to predict the outcome of imperial initiatives, and to quell heretical stirrings. Leo rewarded Daniel’s cooperation with public gestures of recognition, especially by donating a large pillar, topped by an enclosed platform, on which Daniel would live. The holy man was, quite literally, put on a pedestal, so that his extraordinary ascetic stamina—his motionless stance on the small platform, his exposure to the elements—was visible even from afar. To express his gratitude for Daniel’s efficacious prayers, Leo also instigated Daniel’s