ONE
1.The Nature of Leadership in Late Antiquity
Previous Scholarship on the Role of Bishops in Late Antiquity
A New Explanatory Model: Spiritual, Ascetic, and Pragmatic Authority
2.Pragmatic Authority
1 Timothy 3 and Its Interpretations
Treatises on Ecclesiastical Leadership
3.Spiritual Authority
Carriers of the Gifts of the Spirit
Spiritual Leadership and Prayer
Carrying the Burdens of Others’ Sins
4.Ascetic Authority
The Importance of the Desert
Moses as the Biblical Model of Leadership
Monks as Bishops and Bishops as Monks
PART TWO
5.Bishops in Action
Synesius of Cyrene and Theodore of Sykeon
The Episcopate: Work or Honor?
6.Social Contexts
Bishops of Modest Background
Education
Bishops of Curial Background
Bishops of Senatorial Background
Family Traditions of Ecclesiastical Officeholding
The Correlation of Wealth and Ecclesiastical Office
The Permeability of Civic and Ecclesiastical Office
7.Cities
The Bishop’s Residence
Bishops and Wealth
Episcopal Expenditure
8.Empire
Constantine’s Legacy
The Manumission of Slaves (Manumissio in ecclesia)
Episcopal Courts (Episcopalis audientia)
Ecclesiastical Asylum
Access to the Emperor: Parrhēsia of Bishops and Holy Men
9.The Bishop as a New Urban Functionary
From Model Christians to Model Citizens
Bishops and the Curia
Epilogue
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources
Secondary Literature
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book has been long in the making, and it is a pleasant duty to acknowledge my debts of gratitude, which are considerable, as they reach back to the early days of my academic life. In Berlin, the late Paul Speck taught me how to read hagiography, and Ralph-Johannes Lilie how to think like a historian. In Oxford, Cyril Mango’s erudition and wisdom provided guidance during the dissertation writing process and beyond, while James Howard-Johnston’s inspiring direction and Michael Whitby’s tough dialectic made me understand that research is hard—and enjoyable—work. My parents, Edeltraud and Friedrich Rapp, supported me through it all.
Many other friends and colleagues, both in the United States and in Europe, have contributed to the shape of this book, even if they may not recognize their contributions on the following pages. Without the inspiration, sustained interest, and persistent encouragement of Peter Brown, this book would not have been written. I will never be able to adequately express my gratitude to him. Many others have been helpful in a myriad of different ways. The following deserve to be singled out: Clifford Ando, Glen Bowersock, Wolfram Brandes, Averil Cameron, Daniel Caner, Patricia Crone, Harold Drake, Susanna Elm, Michael Gaddis, Sharon Gerstel, John Haldon, Paul Halsall, Judith Herrin, Jennifer Hevelone-Harper, John Langdon, J. H. W. G. Liebeschuetz, Michael Maas, Ralph Mathisen, Neil McLynn, Michele Salzman, Andrea Sterk, Alice-Mary Talbot, Tim Vivian, and Mary Whitby.
At the University of California, Los Angeles, I am grateful to my colleagues for many stimulating conversations about issues of religion and power, especially Michael Cooperson, Patrick Geary, Bariša Krekiá, Gail Lenhoff, Michael Morony, and Kathryn Morgan. Many graduate students, past and present, have acted as sounding boards and, in some instances, provided research assistance; they include Elizabeth Goldfarb, Scott McDonough, Maged Mikhail, Jason Moralee, Daniel Schwartz, Boris Todorov, Julia Verkholantsev, and Cynthia Villagomez. Several undergraduate students have also been research assistants: James Brusuelas, Natalie Esteban, Benjamin Kang, and Cindy Le. The ever-patient staff of the Young Research Library at UCLA, and especially its Interlibrary Loan department, were of invaluable help. The team at University of California Press accompanied the publication process from the beginning, and I am grateful for their professionalism and expertise: Kate Toll, Cindy Fulton, and, last but not least, Marian Rogers, who turned copy editing into an art.
I was fortunate to be able to jump-start this project as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton during 1997–98, with additional support from a UC President’s Fellowship in the Humanities. The serene surroundings of the Institute offered the concentration that was necessary to make this book become a reality. I dedicate it to the memory of my mother, who did not live even to see its inception.
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
The Nature of Leadership in Late Antiquity
The emperor, the holy man, and the bishop. These were the most powerful and evocative figures in late antiquity. They provided practical leadership, moral guidance, and the dispensation of favors. Their important position in society is illustrated by artistic representations such as the seventh-century mosaic from St. Demetrius in Thessalonike on the frontispiece of this book, which shows the youthful saint flanked by the bishop
