Thesis advisor: Brian Dunkle / Thesis advisor: Catherine M. Mooney / Every generation encounters moral problems. Thus, designing an ethical standard or a moral guide for any generation has been a major concern for great minds who believe in a genuine pursuit of happiness through virtuous life. Ancient philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics debated on this in their time by acknowledging essential virtues such as wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance as moral principles. Marcus Aurelius Cicero followed the moral principles of these ancient Greek philosophers and, to encourage young Romans aspiring for leadership positions, wrote a book titled De Officiis, a handbook on duty and responsibility. Ambrose of Milan, a statesman turned churchman, who also studied the pagan virtues of these Greek philosopher and the work of Cicero, wrote De Officiis Ministrorum, a handbook on duty for clergy, religious, and Christians of his diocese. Ambrose adopted and adapted the pagan virtues into Christian virtues. The virtues of prudence and courage are critical virtues among the cardinal virtues that Ambrose analyzed in his work using biblical exemplars as models for Christians of his time. The current situation in Nigeria needs a reconsideration as corruption and other moral vices have occupied the central stage in Nigeria. Highlighting Ambrose's virtue theory and teaching on prudence and courage as part of daily catechesis and homily will be necessary for the development of moral consciousness and values among the Christians and non-Christians in Nigeria. This work traces the historical development of virtue theory from ancient times to the time of Ambrose. It uses historical analysis to bring forward the Christian virtues taught by Ambrose and their exemplars, and argues for emulation of these tremendous biblical exemplars and suggests modern and local exemplars from the Nigerian perspective and Africa at large. / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Thesis advisor: Brian P. Dunkle / The reception of the Mosaic Law was a source of perplexity for ancient Christians. The New Testament cites several of the laws set forth in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (Mt 5:27, Lk 10:25-27, and 1 Cor 9:9-10). Yet the New Testament also suggests that the Mosaic legislation has been mitigated or abrogated (Acts 10, Rom 7:14, and Heb 10:1). Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyon recount second century debates with Marcionites and Valentinians concerning the status of the Mosaic Law in ancient Christianity. This dissertation analyzes how similar debates played out in third and fourth-century interpretations of Psalm 118, an alphabetical acrostic whose 176 verses praise God’s laws (νόμος), commandments (ἐντολή), ordinances (δικαίωμα), testimonies (μαρτύριον), and judgments (κρίμα). Judith Lieu’s question – “Whose Marcion?” – provides a critical point of departure for this study, which focuses on how patristic authors conceptualized and attacked their own conceptions of “Marcion,” rather than on Marcion as an historical figure. Thus, Origen’s extant fragments from his commentary on Psalm 118, the earliest that survives, should be read within the context of his anti-Marcionite, Caesarean, exegetical homilies on the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Using hermeneutical methods that systematize his attacks on Marcion, Origen inaugurated the anti- Marcionite tradition of interpretating Psalm 118 by emphasizing the figurative interpretation of the Mosaic Law, God’s role in teaching it, and the possibility of spiritual progress through understanding and acting on it. Origen, drawing on Philo of Alexandria’s figurative interpretations of the Pentateuch, responds to the Marcionite challenge by describing the contemplation of the Mosaic Law as a foundation for Christian ethics. During the fourth century, two western bishops – Hilary of Poitiers and Ambrose of Milan – received and developed Origen’s anti-Marcionite interpretation of Psalm 118. This study argues that both Hilary and Ambrose retain the anti-Marcionite orientation of Origen’s commentary and respond to the emergent threat posed by the Manichaeans, who in turn received and developed the Marcionites’ antinomian challenge. Hilary builds on Origen’s exegesis of Psalm 118 by describing divine law as a remedy for infirmitas. Hilary’s Tractatus on Psalm 118 recapitulates the main themes of Origen’s interpretation while giving greater emphasis to themes of theological anthropology. Rather than contemplation, Hilary calls for “exercise” (μελέτη/exercitiō) in the law as a means of Christian formation. Unlike his predecessors, Ambrose explicitly attacks Marcion in his Expositio on Psalm 118, unveiling the anti-heretical bearings of the tradition inaugurated by Origen. Ambrose comments on Psalm 118 within the liturgical context of offering post-baptismal catechesis to neophytes. Ambrose builds on Origen’s exegesis of Psalm 118 by describing David – the author of the Psalter – as an exemplary exegete of the figurative sense of the Mosaic Law. For the benefit of the neophytes, Ambrose contrasts David’s understanding of the Mosaic Law with the misunderstandings of the Marcionites, Manichaeans, and Jews. This study shows that the anti-Marcionite tradition of commenting on Psalm 118 was ultimately overshadowed in the fifth century and afterwards by Augustine’s anti-Pelagian Enarratio in Psalmum 118. Yet the anti- Marcionite tradition – which teaches Christians to read and profit spiritually from the Mosaic Law – is worthy of recovery. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

This study corroborates theories that ordinary representation of narrative time as a linear series of "nows" hides the true constitution of time and that it is advantageous for us as readers and critics to consider alternatives to progressive reality and linear discourse in order to comprehend many of Ambrose Bierce's stories, for his discourse is fluid and metonymic and defies explication within traditional western language concepts. The Hebraic theory of intertextuality encourages limitless considerations in textual analysis since language is perceived as a creative and dynamic force, not merely mimetic. As such it offers a means for reconsideration of fundamental theories concerning the natures of language and time in Bierce's stories.

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Thesis (PH. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1927. / "Select bibliography": p. xiii-xv.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1930. / "Select bibliography": p. xi-xiv.

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This thesis was written with two purposes: first, to consider the practice of foot-washing as a sacrament/al; and, second, to apply what was learned in order to appropriate the practice of foot-washing for contemporary worship services. Several methodologies advanced the work. A theological approach enabled a comparison of the definitions of “sacrament,” “sacramental,” and “sacramentality,” which led to a demonstration of foot-washing as a “sacramental” insofar as it has the capacity to reveal the divine and possibly to be a means of grace. Historical and socio-contextual approaches undergirded the examination of three Christian traditions that regarded foot-washing as a sacrament or sacramental: the Johannine community of John 13; Ambrose of Milan’s community and its post-baptismal practice; and the Mennonites. With the tools of liturgical analysis, examination was made of foot-washing as it appears in liturgical texts for several current Christian denominations in the United States and Korea. The themes inherent in these newer uses of foot-washing were compared with those of the three historical Christian traditions. The research disclosed that, in terms of contemporary usage, foot-washing is primarily located in rites for Maundy Thursday, while marginalized or absent in other worship contexts. This limitation called for the development of a “sacramental” foot-washing rite for ordinary worship services. The proposed foot-washing rite not only provides an opportunity to meditate on Jesus’ death and sacrificial love in connection with the Triduum, but also accentuates themes such as Jesus’ humility, God’s reconciliation with humanity, forgiveness of sin, and the consolidation of the church community.

<p>Ambrose, bishop of Milan, was one of the most outspoken advocates of Christian female virginity in the fourth century C.E. This dissertation examines his writings on virginity in the interest of illuminating the historical and social contexts of his teachings. Considering Ambrose's treatises on virginity as literary productions with social, political, and theological functions in Milanese society, I look at the various ways in which the bishop of Milan formulated ascetic discourse in response to the needs and expectations of his audience. Furthermore, I attend to the various discontinuities in Ambrose's ascetic writings in the hope of illuminating what kinds of ideological work these texts were intended to perform by the bishop within Milanese society and beyond.</p> <p> In the first part of this dissertation, I consider the mechanisms of language and rhetoric promoting virginity in context of the Nicene-Homoian debate, highlighting the fluidity and flexibility of ascetic language in the late fourth century. While in his earliest teachings Ambrose expounds virginity in ways that reflect and support a Nicene understanding of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, his later ascetic writings display his use of anti-Homoian rhetoric in order to support his virginal ideals when they are challenged by Jovinian and others. In the second part, I examine some of the various ways in which the bishop formulated his teachings of virginity in response to the complaints and criticisms of lay members of the Christian community in Milan and elsewhere. I scrutinize the bishop's rhetorical expositions of Biblical figures such as Mary, Eve, the bride of the Song of Songs, and the Jews as a means of furthering his ascetic agenda, and consider his adaptation of a female voice to avoid incurring further criticism. Finally, I consider the role that the bishop's ascetic interests may have played in the so-called Altar of Victory controversy of 384. Largely at stake in Ambrose's dispute with the Roman senator Symmachus, I argue, were the rights and privileges of the Vestal Virgins, a well-established pagan ideology of virginity whose continued prominence and existence was largely unconscionable to the bishop. Ambrose's involvement in the controversy was partly attributable to his interest in ensuring the restriction of Vestal privileges as he perceived the cult to be in direct social and ideological competition with Christian virginity. Together, these three parts attempt to demonstrate the highly fluid and flexible nature of virginity discourse in the late fourth century and to draw attention to some of the socio-theological negotiations that took place as the cult of virginity gained increasing prominence in the Christian church.</p> / Dissertation