Macarius, Apocriticus - (Translated Texts for Historians) (Paperback)

About the Book

A new English translation of The Apocriticus of Macarius, with notes and introductory essays. This important text purports to be the record of a debate between a pagan philosopher, and Macarius, a Christian rhetor, and is a rich, but neglected, source for the history of intellectual and cultural conflict between Christian and Hellene intellectuals.

Book Synopsis

The Apocriticus purports to be the record of a four-day public debate between a pagan philosopher, whom the text calls simply the "Hellene," and the author, Macarius, a Christian rhetor. The text is a rich, though often neglected, source for the history of intellectual and cultural conflict between Christian and Hellene intellectuals in the fourth century CE.

While the Apocriticus has frequently attracted the attention of scholars as a possible source of fragments from Porphyry's Against the Christians, the text as a whole is significant in its own right. Macarius defends the allegorical reading of scripture and presents interesting discussions concerning ascetic practice and the cult of the martyrs.

The philosophical and theological eclecticism of the text should also be of interests to scholars of early Christianity and later ancient philosophy. The fictitious dialogue weaves together philosophical and theological arguments, often in a "popularized" form. The text thus represents an interesting contrast to more formal "high" philosophical and theological texts of the period.

As well as a new English translation of an important text, this volume includes notes and introductory essays setting the work in its historical and intellectual contexts.

Review Quotes

'Such use of this affordable book is undoubtedly illuminating and enjoyable and will lead to the widespread distribution of this extensive ancient text, especially since the English-speaking readership far outnumber those of the readers who are fluent in Greek, French and / or German.'
Ulrich Volp, Zeitschift für antikes Christentum (Translated from German)

'This affordable book is undoubtedly enlightening and enjoyable, and will lead to widespread use of this vast ancient text.' (Translated from German) Ulrich Volp, Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum

About the Author

Jeremy M. Schott is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. His previous publications include Eusebius of Caesarea: Tradition and Innovation (with Aaron Johnson, 2013) and Christianity, Empire and the Making of Religion in Late Antiquity (2008).

Professor Mark J. Edwards is Tutor in Theology at Christ Church College, Oxford. His previous publications include Catholicity and Heresy in the Early Church (2009), Image, Word and God in the Early Christian Centuries (2012) and Christians, Gnostics and Philosophers in Late Antiquity (2012).