Document Type
Article
Date
2013
Keywords
speech acts, Gregory of Nazianzus, oaths, early Christianity, autobiography, religious studies, bishops, late antiquity
Language
English
Disciplines
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity | Christianity | Classical Literature and Philology | Religion
Description/Abstract
Gregory of Nazianzus’s Poemata de seipso as a group are labeled “autobiography” erroneously. 2.1.2 provides a strong case study: it is formally structured as an oath, to be sworn by a bishop but with no definitive identification of speaker. As an oath it is well suited to the application of speech act theory, which allows for interpretations with Gregory and/or any orthodox bishop as speaker. When further considered in light of other oaths as compositional models—professional (e.g. Hippocratic), magisterial, imperial loyalty, biblical— the poem’s scope expands beyond the “autobiographer” to encompass the episcopate and fourth-century culture more broadly.
Recommended Citation
Abrams Rebillard, Suzanne, "The Speech Act of Swearing: Gregory of Nazianzus’s Oath in Poema 2.1.2 in Context" (2013). School of Information Studies - Post-doc and Student Scholarship. 3.
https://surface.syr.edu/ischoolstudents/3
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Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Christianity Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons
Additional Information
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(c) 2013 The Johns Hopkins University Press and the North American Patristics Society. This article first appeared in the JOURNAL OF EARLY CHRISTIAN STUDIES, Volume 21, Issue 2, 2013, pages 177-207.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/earl.2013.0011.