Article,
“Defining Sacred Boundaries”
Zeitschrift für antikes Christentum/Journal of Ancient Christianity, 17 (3): 526–559 (2014)
DOI: 10.1515/zac-2013-0026
Abstract
The present paper examines the criteria by which the Christian communities of Syria demarcated themselves from the pagan society, on the basis of the Didascalia Apostolorum, a „church order” of the third century. The article shows that the theoretical Christian monotheism had countless practical consequences for the daily lives of the early Christians. The ban on idolatry, which had initially led Christianity into isolation, became an important pillar of the new Christian identity. From this perspective, the following areas of delimitation are examined: baptism as a criterion of delimitation from the pagan world; the rejection of pagan literature; the mixed marriages between Christians and pagans; balnea mixta etc. The touchstone of the delimitation criteria is the Bible with its provisions against idolatry and immorality. The boundary between the two antique religions appears in daily life to be an area in which common life was possible, rather than a very sharp line.
