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This thesis explores the philosophical and theological motivations for early Christian celibacy prior to the appearance of monasticism. This thesis will challenge recent scholarly positions that portray early Christian celibacy only in light of the emergence of monasticism in the fourth century, and which argue that celibacy as an ascetic practice was motivated primarily by resistance to the dominant social structures of antiquity. The practice of celibacy was a significant movement in the early church well before the appearance of monasticism or the development of Christianity as the dominant social force in the empire, and although early Christian sexual austerity was similar to the sexual ethics of Greco-Roman philosophical constructs, early Christian sexual ethics had developed in relation to uniquely Christian theological and cosmological views. Moreover, a segment of the early Christian community idealized celibacy as an expression of the transformation of human nature amidst a community that continued to remain sexually austere in general. / vi, 267 leaves ; 29 cm.

The early Christian text known as the 'Letter to the Hebrews' has presented a riddle to scholarship. Its anonymity and anomalous form are puzzling. Scholars like Norman Perrin and Barnabas Lindars also-find Hebrews enigmatic because it does not appear to represent the views of any early Christian community. / This thesis contends that the riddle of Hebrews' lack of community-fit is due to a conceptual flaw. Beginning with Franz Overbeck (1882), there has been a tendency to assess early Christian texts as nonliterary, unlike later Patristic texts. Deemed nonliterary, they are thereby thought to document the situation within which they were written. For Hebrews, this has resulted in numerous reconstructions of its historical setting. None, however, has proven satisfactory. This lack of consensus casts doubt on the appropriateness of ruling out Hebrews' essential literary character. Moreover, the explanations used to justify the unique nonliterary character of early Christian literature are not compelling. Thus, the probability of Hebrews' literary character increases. / The literary texts written by Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian, are more likely comparable to Hebrews. These Patristic texts were produced in the late second century before the shape of orthodoxy became fixed. A survey of representative scholarly literature shows a low expectation of retrieving from these early Patristic texts an unambiguous profile of the author's ideological community, of the text's occasion, or of its audience. Thus, it would be unwarranted to expect Hebrews to be more representative of its situation. / Given the probability of Hebrews' literary character, the thesis demonstrates that it is inappropriate to assume that Hebrews represents ideas that extend beyond those of the author to a specific community or to a particular situation. The burden of proof is reversed. Without evidence to the contrary, Hebrews is best explained as a persuasive literary effort by an idiosyncratic author directed to a general Christian audience. / Thus, the riddle of Hebrews' lack of community-fit dissolves. Furthermore, questions are raised regarding the contemporary scholarly expectation that other early Christian writings (Matthew, James, etc.) were shaped by and for ideologically distinct communities.

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The aim of this thesis is to examine and critically evaluate the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, with special reference to baptism and to the question of whether Jesus practised a baptising ministry in Galilee. This involves us taking a fresh look at the Gospel texts on John and Jesus and considering the possible relevance of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Part I provides a preliminary examination of our sources. Part II focuses on possible links between John, the Essenes and the early Church. We argue: (i) that after his birth into a priestly family, John was probably brought up by the Essenes at Qumran, whom he later left to conduct an independent prophetic and baptising ministry by the Jordan; (ii) that the Qumran immersions provide the matrix to John's baptismal rite; (iii) that the affinity between the Essenes and the early Church in ideology and praxis may be owing to the influence of the former upon the latter, with John as the mediator between the two. Against this background, John and Jesus are directly related to each other in Part III. We conclude: (i) that after his baptism by John, Jesus remained a follower of John for a time, and practised a baptising ministry concurrent with that of John in Judea (John 3.22-26; 4.1-2); (ii) that Jesus continued this ministry in Galilee; (iii) that the synoptists' silence about Jesus' baptising (e.g. Mk 6.7-13 and par; Matt 10.5-16; Q=Matt 9.37-38//Lk 10.1-12) may indicate that they took it for granted, or that they were embarrassed by it; (iv) that unlike fasting, sabbath observance, tithes and offerings, purity, etc, baptism was not among the contentious issues relating to Jewish law; (v) that the emphasis on baptism in the post-Easter context of the Church was necessitated by its redefinition in the name of Jesus (Acts 2.38; 19.1-7; Rom 6.3; Gal 3.27; cf. the Trinitarian formula in Matt 28.19 [cf. Mk 16.15-16]); and (vi) that perhaps the strongest argument for John as mediator between the Essenes, Jesus and the early Church is precisely the ambivalence of the New Testament writers' attitude toward him.

Christian ethics are ecclesial. The aim of this study is to sustain this conviction in the case of St John Chrysostom. The pastoral concern "The Counsel against Despair" provides the interpretative key to his ethics. The full spectrum of his works, most of which are homilies, are examined in this study. The thesis begins with an account of the wider theological issues involved. This is particularly necessary because pastoral ministry has generally been regarded as peripheral to theology proper, and homiletical material has usually been dismissed as an improper source for understanding patristic ethics. In the main body of the thesis, the problem of despair is situated in Chrysostom's overall theological vision. The intrinsic connection of ethics to ecclesiology is explored through an analysis of the pivotal role which a community in mutual consolation and exhortation plays in the overcoming of moral impotence and moral confusion. The implications for the moral commitments of an individual are also examined. Attention is given throughout the analysis to the crucial points of departure between Chrysostom and those among his predecessors and contemporaries who maintain a more rational and volitional interpretation of ethics. A concluding chapter reflects on Chrysostom's contribution to the understanding of the nature of pastoral ministry in the modern age. An Augustinian and a post-Vatican II Roman Catholic approach to the problem of ecclesiastical discipline are analysed and found unsatisfactory. Chrysostom's line of reasoning offers a way to situate pastoral ministry in a wider moral framework. The thesis aims to show that homiletical material and the place of the affections in theological ethics should receive more attention from patrologists and systematic theologians.

Did the women of the First Four Christian Centuries have any influence upon the roles they were permitted to follow in the Early Church, or use the institution to increase their worldly consequence? The sources indicate that many used their new "spiritual" status of virgin or widow to free themselves from the normal social function expected of them as women. This thesis seeks to explore these and other methods of "self-realization" which Catholic authors, hereseologists and polemicists claimed were open to Christian women; namely active participation in the variety of non-orthodox Christian movements which sprang up in the Patristic Period, and in the "acceptable routes" of the Catholic ministry, chastity and continence. A preoccupation with the problems of femininity may be found in both orthodox and heretical writers. This emphasis takes - several forms: investigations into the role of Eve in the original Creation myth and an apportioning of blame to the chief characters of the Fall drama; a cosmological theorising which equates femininity with the created world order and masculinity with the realm of the spiritual; and delineations of the limits established to the participation of women in such fields as the ministry of the Church. It will emerge from this discussion that many Church leaders had a somewhat ambivalent attitude to womankind. Women would find themselves spurned for their bodily femaleness yet encouraged to abandon their spiritual weakness (which was of necessity- linked to their physical state) and to reach for eternal heights. Once these heights were achieved a woman was spiritually equal- to a man, yet her physical characteristics continued to limit the roles she could play in the institution of the Church. In order to understand these differing attitudes to women, which could be held simultaneously by Church leaders, this work investigates the influence of such factors as social pressure, varying cultural influences, and theological study upon the formulation of the doctrines of womanhood and their position in society. What was the stance of the non-orthodox movements on these aspects of belief and practice? Their foes derided those movements which appeared to place undue emphasis upon the teachings or ministry of women, yet further investigation of those sects most often named as "guilty parties" indicates that the majority had as traditional a view of women as did their orthodox opponents.

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The common template in Gospel scholarship places the key hermeneutical principle for interpretation as the quest for the community that each Gospel represents. At present the study of the Gospel text is almost a secondary concern; the primary effort is spent attempting to unveil the Gospel "community" which, it is claimed, is to be found within the collection of Jesus material we call a Gospel. In light of the Gospel community debate, this thesis will argue that such a hermeneutical approach is both internally inconsistent and does not match well with external data. By attempting to provide further definition to various aspects of the Gospel community debate, and by using the Fourth Gospel as a test case, we will argue that the Fourth Gospel was never intended for a local, geographic "community" or network of "communities." The conclusion of this thesis, then, is that both the use and concept of "community" in the historical depiction of the Gospel audiences and as the beginning assumption in the interpretation of the Gospel narrative be abandoned. Not only is the term very ambiguous, but it carries a conceptual meaning that has been found to be inaccurate. The current concept of a Gospel "community" is an inappropriate model of the Gospel audience. The interpreters who reconstruct the Gospel "community" have been misreading the Gospel narrative. Furthermore, the application of a general audience reading strategy to the Fourth Gospel reveals further aspects of the purpose and function of the Gospel of John.

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