Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Late Ancient Theories of Angels: Evagrius of Pontus and
Augustine of Hippo Compared
2. Locating Christ in Scripture: Angels in the Development of
Theological Reading
3. Angels as Equipment for Living: The Companion Angel Tradition in
Evagrian Christianity
4. Crossing Over: The Companion Angel Tradition in Exemplary
Lives
5. Defining Others: Asceticism and the Discourse of the Angelic
Life
6. Bringing Angels into the World: Training the Christian
Imagination with Catechesis
Conclusion: The Limits of Angelology
Bibliography
Index
Ellen Muehlberger is Associate Professor of Christianity in late antiquity in the Near Eastern Studies and History Departments at the University of Michigan.
"This is a valuable contribution to a generally neglected area of
Christian study, particularly in its stress on the importance of
taking historical context into consideration." --The Journal of
Theological Studies
"[This] book will be of use to those curious as to how Christians
thought about angels, and the author's focus on Christian discourse
will also make it useful to those interested in Christian rhetoric
and self-representation following the Peace of the Church...The
author's overall argument is clear and compelling...A well-written
and original discussion of Christian writers' discourse on angels."
--Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"[Muehlberger's] methodologically astute work transcends the
doctrinal approaches of previous monographs... and successfully
integrates social history and historical theology... elegantly
written." --CHOICE
"An engaging study of how the discourse on angels both
differentiated and linked diverse groups of Christians-desert
ascetics and urban bishops-in late antiquity. Muehlberger argues
persuasively for the importance of these discourses in the
construction of late ancient Christianity and for the ways in which
they differed from the angelologies of later eras."--Elizabeth A.
Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor of Religion, Duke
University
"Dionysius the pseudo-Areopagite, John Milton, and now Ellen
Muehlberger have said, among them, most of what there is to be said
about angels. Dionysius and Milton relied on scripture and
imagination, but Muehlberger has the advantages of broad erudition,
a keen intellect, and a habitual insistence on rooting what can be
said about angels in history and fact. Her angels manage to be, if
anything, more fascinating-and certainly more diverse-than those of
the old
orthodoxy. They are indebted to Ellen Muehlberger for rescuing the
most exciting and exotic years of their history from historical
oblivion. Her study shows how they became a fixed and
surprisingly
important part of the Christian imagination in the early centuries
of Christianity's triumph."--James O'Donnell, author of Augustine:
A New Biography
"Ellen Muehlberger explores the role that thinking about angels
played in the development of early Christian doctrine and practice.
Muehlberger shows that Christian views about these beings changed
in many ways in late antiquity. She uses the role that
conceptualizing angels played in the early Christian communities as
a lens through which to see how and why the theology of the church
evolved as it did, how various institutions were justified, and how
social
roles were construed. In this way Muehlberger is able to offer a
unique and important perspective on how the once-persecuted
Christian community became an established presence in the late
Roman
world."--Elizabeth Digeser, Chair, Department of History and
Professor of Roman History, University of California, Santa
Barbara
"As 'high' theology became increasingly focused and polemical, the
wilder stretches of Christian thought and practice--such as the
movements and character of angels--could still be freely imagined,
apart from the uniformity requisite for other instances of
Christian teaching and practice such as the celebration of Easter
or the treatment of heretical books. Ellen Muehlberger has brought
the angels back into view. And we, her readers, can be pleased that
they
have refused to fade away." --Marginalia
"Muehlberger's book is a welcome and fascinating exploration of the
Christian
archive of thinking on the nature and function of angels between
the third and sixth centuries... an incredibly helpful resource and
now stands as the book to read on the role of angels in early
Christianity."--Journal of Early Christian Studies
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