There Is No Crime for Those Who Have Christ: Religious Violence in the Christian Roman Empire (Transformation of the Classical Heritage)

415 Pages·2005·1.47 MB·English

by  Michael Gaddis

The Joan Palevsky Imprint in Classical Literature
In honor of beloved Virgil—
“O degli altri poeti onore e lume . . .”
—Dante, Inferno
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous
contribution to this book provided by the Classical Literature
Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Associates,
which is supported by a major gift from Joan Palevsky.
There Is No Crime for Those Who Have Christ
transformation of the classical heritage
Peter Brown, General Editor
There Is No Crime
for Those Who Have Christ
Religious Violence in the Christian Roman Empire
michael gaddis
University of California Press
berkeley los angeles london
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2005 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gaddis, Michael, 1970–.
There is no crime for those who have Christ : religious violence
in the Christian Roman Empire / Michael Gaddis.
p. cm. — (The transformation of the classical heritage ; 39)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0-520-24104-5 (alk. paper).
1. Persecution. 2. Violence—Religious aspects—Christianity.
3. Church history—4th century. 4. Church history—5th century.
5. Martyrdom. I. Title. II. Series.
br1604.23.g33 2005
270.2—dc22 2005005288
Manufactured in the United States of America
14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on New Leaf EcoBook 60, containing 60% post-
consumer waste, processed chlorine free; 30% de-inked recycled fiber,
elemental chlorine free; and 10% FSC-certified virgin fiber, totally
chlorine free. EcoBook 60 is acid-free and meets the minimum
requirements of ansi/astm d5634-01 (Permanence of Paper).
For Constantina, my inspiration
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments ix
List of Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
1. “what has the emperor to do with
the church?”
Persecution and Martyrdom from Diocletian to Constantine 29
2. “the god of the martyrs refuses you”
Religious Violence, Political Discourse, and Christian Identity
in the Century after Constantine 68
3. an eye for an eye
Religious Violence in Donatist Africa 103
4. temperata severitas
Augustine, the State, and Disciplinary Violence 131
5. “there is no crime for those who have christ”
Holy Men and Holy Violence in the Late Fourth and Early
Fifth Centuries 151
6. “the monks commit many crimes”
Holy Violence Contested 208
7. “sanctify thy hand by the blow”
Problematizing Episcopal Power 251
8. non iudicium sed latrocinium
Of Holy Synods and Robber Councils 283
Conclusion 323
Bibliography 343
Index 369