Historians, Bishops, Amulets, Scribes, and Rites: Interpreting Christian Practice

Abstract

The year 2015 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Association Inter-nationale d’Études Patristiques (AIEP) / International Association of Patristic Studies (IAPS). It is an opportune moment to reflect on the intersection of scholarly disciplines and approaches in the field of patristics today. To do so, I shall draw on my current research programme, an investigation of the ways in which the customary practice of making and wearing amulets became ‘Christian’. At first glance, it may appear that the practice has little to do with patristics, except in so far as it elicited comment or disap-proval from ancient church authorities. However, the material record reveals a more complex dynamic, since scribes who prepared amulets were familiar with Christian prayer, liturgy, and scriptures. The evidence presses one to reflect on what it meant to be ‘Christian’ in Late Antiquity and on how purveyors of amulets received and modulated institutional modes of expressing what it meant to be ‘Christian’. The evidence also obliges one to draw on the many disciplines or sub-fields that currently constitute the field of patristics, illustrating how indispensable they are to the interpretative process.