The DOI matches its Crossref record; 28 of the 29 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Canon Formation and Social Conflict in Fourth-Century Egypt: Athanasius of Alexandria's Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter
Abstract
In histories of the formation of the Christian biblical canon, the thirty-ninth Festal Letter of Athanasius of Alexandria, written for Easter 367, holds a justifiably prominent place. Not only is this letter the earliest extant Christian document to list precisely the twenty-seven books that eventually formed the generally accepted canon of the New Testament, but Athanasius is also the first Christian author known to have applied the term “canonized” (κανονιςόμενα) specifically to the books that made up his Old and New Testaments. Athanasius's canon is explicitly closed: “In these books alone,” the bishop declares, “the teaching of piety is proclaimed. ‘Let no one add to or subtract from them’ (LXX Deut 12:32).” The significance of this document goes beyond these formal and terminological issues, however, for the extant fragments of the letter provide a glimpse into the social and political factors that accompanied the attempted formation of a closed canon of the Bible in one ancient Christian setting. Christianity in fourthcentury Egypt was characterized by diverse and conflicting modes of social identity and spiritual formation: study groups led by charismatic teachers, Melitian communities centered around the veneration of martyrs, and the emerging structure of imperial orthodoxy headed by Athanasius all presented themselves as legitimate expressions of Christian piety. Within this complex setting, the formation of a biblical canon with a proper mode of interpretation was an important step in the formation of an official catholic church in Egypt with its parish-centered spirituality.
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“during these early centuries, both Jews and Christians were only beginning to come to grips with the notion of canon.”
From The Book of Tobit in early Christianity: Greek and Latin interpretations from the 2nd to the 5th century CE (2020) · cites this paper as Brakke 1994
In the citing paper
“There is also a development, albeit opaque at times, from what was initially considered sacred 'Scripture' to the later formal notion of a delimited 'canon'”
From The Book of Tobit in early Christianity: Greek and Latin interpretations from the 2nd to the 5th century CE (2020) · cites this paper as Brakke 1994
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Metadata
- Authors
- Brakke, D.
- Affiliations
- Indiana University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Brakke, David
- Venue
- Harvard Theological Review
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 1994-10
- Volume
- 87
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 395-419
- ISSN
- 0017-8160 (ISSN-L)
- 1475-4517
- OpenAlex
- W1992334562
- Cited by
- 82
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 17.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Harvard Theological Review (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Biblical Studies and Interpretation
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Classics › Byzantine Studies and History
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Augustinian Studies and Theology
- Keywords
- Athanasius of Alexandria, New Testament canon formation, biblical canon, social conflict, Catholic Church
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