Durham E-Theses Baptismal exegesis in abator's historia apostolica Hillier, Richard John How to cite: Hillier, Richard John (1990) Baptismal exegesis in abator's historia apostolica, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6077/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail:
[email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk RICHARD HILLIER: 'BAPTISMAL EXEGESIS IN ABATOR'S H1STORIA APOSTOL1CA' Ph.D. Thesis submitted 1990 The aim of this thesis is to examine the Historia Apostolica (AD 544) not as an example of 'biblical epic' nor as a literary paraphrase but as a commentary on The Acts of the Apostles, and in particular to signal Arator's concern to explain the text in terms of its baptismal significance. The opening chapter reviews previous approaches to the H.A. and is followed by a survey of Arator's interpretation and interpolation of baptismal material, showing both how those episodes in Acts which deal specifically with baptism are given extended exegetical attention, and how baptismal significance is frequently divined in passages which have no obvious baptismal connection.