© 2018 Michael J. Brinks
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
© 2018 Michael J. Brinks A COMMUNITY OF PREACHERS: THE NORTH ITALIAN EPISCOPACY, 397-451 BY MICHAEL J. BRINKS DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2018 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Ralph W. Mathisen, Chair and Director of Research Professor Danuta R. Shanzer Professor Megan L. McLaughlin Associate Professor Richard A. Layton ABSTRACT This dissertation is a study of Christianity in northern Italy from the end of the fourth century to the middle of the fifth. It builds upon two important trends in recent scholarship on Late Antiquity. The first is the emphasis on the fragmentation of the Roman world along regional lines as the authority of the Roman emperors was weakened, particularly in the west. The second is the emergence of the bishop as the key cultural and political figure in the cities of the later empire. The fact that the western Roman emperors spent most of their time in northern Italy in the period covered by this study means that the churches of northern Italy temporarily enjoyed greater prominence within the broader Christian world than it probably would have otherwise. During the early part of this period, Milan and Ravenna were important ecclesiastical centers that could briefly rival Rome for prestige and influence within the church as a whole. Ambrose of Milan is the best-known Italian bishop of this period, but this study focuses mainly on the contributions of figures who are less famous. Chromatius of Aquileia, Vigilius of Trent, Gaudentius of Brescia, Maximus of Turin, and Peter Chrysologus of Ravenna were all bishops. Rufinus of Aquileia was an ascetic scholar who lived much of his life in Italy. All but Peter and Rufinus knew Ambrose personally, and all of them were influenced by the bishop of Milan to such a degree that it is possible to speak of north Italian Christianity’s “Ambrosian” outlook. This distinct perspective was expressed in writings of a variety of genres, but most of all in these bishops’ sermons. It is most apparent in the way that they thought about issues of authority— both episcopal as well as imperial—as well in their approach to the purely theological questions that were being dealt with throughout the Christian world during their lifetimes. ii To Teng-Lin, Samuel, and Lucy iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I approach the writing of an acknowledgments page with some trepidation, not wishing to overlook anyone who has helped me along the journey toward completing this dissertation. But it is easy to decide where to begin. I would first of all like to thank my advisor, Ralph Mathisen. When I entered the Ph.D. program in the History Department at UIUC almost nine years ago, my C. V. probably did not look like that of the typical student who pursues graduate studies in ancient history. As an undergraduate, I had majored not in history, but modern languages. From there, I had gone to seminary. Only after being in ministry for several years did I decide to go to grad school, and when I did it was for a degree in Medieval Studies. In all this peregrination, I had not yet had the chance to take any Roman history, and I was still quite new to the field of Late Antiquity. But I am thankful that Professor Mathisen nonetheless took me under his wing and quickly put me on the right track. His courses on Roman history and his graduate seminars on Late Antiquity have served me very well as preparation for undertaking research in this field, which had interested me for years before I came to study it formally. When I was a junior at Hope College and read my roommate’s church history textbook, I found myself enchanted by the story of the councils and debates of the fourth and fifth centuries, as well as by the church’s transformation from a marginal sect to an imperial church. By then, it was too late to declare a major in history or religion. But I took advantage of every opportunity I had to learn more about this period, and I am profoundly grateful for all the ways in which Professor Mathisen’s encouragement and counsel has made me a better historian and guided me to a deeper and more mature understanding of this period. I am also happy to report that its allure has not died. I am no less grateful to my other committee members, whose expertise has also benefited me immensely. The two seminars in Late Latin I was able to take with Danuta Shanzer in Fall iv 2009 (Hagiography) and Spring 2011 (Late Antique Latin Poetry) were the baptism by fire that I needed to take my Latin to the next level. Professor Shanzer also provided me with valuable feedback on several of the chapters of this dissertation as it was taking shape. More recently, she has coordinated a late antique Latin reading group during her brief stays in Champaign-Urbana. In these meetings, she has shared her insights into several of the texts that are discussed in this study, and I would like to express my appreciation for the time she has freely spent helping History grad students improve their Latin. This dissertation is mostly about bishops, and that is why I am grateful that Megan McLaughlin agreed to be on my committee. Her research on the use of gendered rhetoric by reforming bishops in the eleventh century certainly heightened my sensitivity to the ways in which the bishops in this study presented themselves and talked about their authority in the fourth and fifth centuries. Professor McLaughlin was also kind enough to allow me to sit in on her seminar on Gender and Christianity in Spring 2014, and has also given me encouragement at various times as this project slowly coalesced. I would also like to thank Rick Layton, whose seminars on early Christianity and the history of exegesis have been a fruitful source of ideas, many of which have given birth to various parts of this dissertation. It was in his seminar on Genesis in History in Spring 2010 that I first seriously encountered the writings of Origen and learned about his disciple Didymus the Blind. Chapter 7 is the outgrowth of an idea that was originally conceived in his seminar on Augustine in Fall 2012. Chapter 4 was originally a paper written for his seminar on Early Christian Thought in Fall 2014. Professor Layton has also looked over other parts of this project at various stages of development and has guided me through the ins and outs of the Origenist controversy of the late fourth century. v My pilgrimage through the Ph.D. program has been aided by countless others, as well. The History Department gave me eight years of funding, including fellowships in my first year, seventh year, and another unexpected fellowship for Spring 2017. In my final year, appointments in Religion and Classics helped me cross the finish line, and I am grateful for them. I would also like to mention the professors in all three departments who have supervised my work as a teaching assistant. Teaching is a skill that is learned by both observing and practicing, and I am grateful for the many opportunities I have had to learn from gifted teachers. They are Carol Symes, Ralph Mathisen, Jim Barrett, Clare Crowsten, and Mark Micale (all in History); Rick Layton and Michael Dann (in Religion); and Jon Solomon (in Classics). Thanks goes also to David Suryk for inviting me on several occasions to give talks of a historical nature at the Graduate Christian Fellowship. One of the greatest amenities enjoyed by students and scholars who call UIUC home is, of course, the university’s fantastic library. Bruce Swann and David Morris, the Classics librarians whose tenure has overlapped with my time here, deserve a special note of thanks for helping to maintain the fantastic collection without which this dissertation could never have been written. Stuart Albert has also helped me track down numerous items that have turned up in unexpected places as a result of the Classics Library’s move to the second floor of the Main Library. I am also grateful to my fellow Mathisen advisees David Harris and Kent Navalesi. David helped to seal my decision to come to UIUC by giving me an informal tour of the Classics Library during my campus visit in March 2009, and I have appreciated his perspective and advice over the years. Kent, for his part, conceived the idea of organizing a Medieval Latin Reading Group, which I am happy to have been a part of for I forget how many years now. vi Next, I would like to thank the people of Hessel Park Christian Reformed Church for all the ways they have cared not only for my wife and me, but also for our two children. I treasure the memory of their baptisms, and am grateful for the network of relationships the church has provided us. I would especially like to thank Chichi Cheng for the constant companionship and support she has given my wife ever since moving here from Taiwan with her husband Hsien- Chih in August 2012. She loves my children as if they were her own, and continues to do so even now that she has one of her own. I am grateful to Priscilla Christians for faithfully teaching the children’s Sunday school class ever since my son was old enough to join it. In addition, I would like to offer two special words of thanks to our church family.