Religious Studies

Inter-congregational connections profoundly shaped the Pauline mission. Christoph W. Stenschke provides the first comprehensive analysis of these connections in the seven generally acknowledged authentic Pauline letters. He examines their various forms as well as their rhetorical function and historical plausibility within the epistolary context.

How did Christian communities across time and space engage with religious others? Informed by current debates on global history, the studies in this volume cover Eastern and Western Christian traditions stretching from the second to the twentieth century and portray Christianity as a fluid, relational, and globally entangled religion.

In this epigraphical commentary, the author examines the apostle Paul's first Epistle to the Thessalonians in the light of ancient inscriptions. He proposes new interpretations to better appreciate the significance of the letter in its socio-historical and epigraphic context.

Social interaction is shaped by both positive and negative emotions. The norm of μακροθυμία (long-suffering), which constitutes and defines interpersonal interaction, intervenes precisely in this complex of emotionality and relationships. Kerstin Reussner investigates what characterizes μακροθυμία, what it means in ancient texts, in which contexts it is relevant and how it is theologically substantiated.