Dean of the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies at Yale Divinity School.My academic work focuses on ancient Christianity, with particular interests in the 2nd-3rd centuries, in early liturgical practice (and related issues of food and meals) and on aspects of contemporary Anglicanism and its liturgy. I have been involved in collaborative research with the Society of Biblical Literature's 'Meals in the Greco-Roman World' Group, and earlier with the American Academy of Religion's 'Practice of Christianity in Roman Africa' Seminar.I also write and blog on contemporary Anglicanism, Liturgy, and higher education. I was formerly editor of the Journal of Anglican Studies.
Philo has often been said to "spiritualize" sacrifice. I argue here not only that this conception... more Philo has often been said to "spiritualize" sacrifice. I argue here not only that this conception is misleading but that Philo can be said to "materialize" sacrifice, in that despite assumptions to the contrary "sacrifice" was not an obvious or stable concept in antiquity. Philo is also dedicated to the material practice of the cult, and his work assumes and theorizes the value of this ritual performance
What can we learn from an ancient Church for a modern world? This book explores our most pressing... more What can we learn from an ancient Church for a modern world? This book explores our most pressing challenges, drawing on the resources of ancient Christianity. It demonstrates how the Bible, and ancient authors such as Augustine and Athanasius, speak to contemporary issues of environment and restorative justice, racism and education.
Never before has there existed a more diverse set of possibilities for understanding the canonica... more Never before has there existed a more diverse set of possibilities for understanding the canonical texts of the New Testament, other early Christian literature, and the history of the emergent Christian movement that was to become the church. Harold W. Attridge has contributed authoritatively to many of the disciplines that underlie approaches to these questions: textual criticism, exegesis, comparative literary and historical studies, and numerous other areas. In honor of his work, this volume seeks to draw many of these methodological threads together. Readers will find discussions of both new and traditional methods of New Testament study, with numerous examples indicating how these approaches work and what insights they yield.
The contributors are Gary Anderson, David Aune, James Charlesworth, Adela Yarbro Collins, John Collins, James Elliot, Eldon Jay Epp, Philip Esler, Craig Evans, Everett Ferguson, Sean Freyne, Gabriela Gelardini, Mark Goodacre, Rowan Greer, Richard Horsley, Judith Lieu, Francisco Lozada, Edgar McKnight, Elaine Pagels, Pheme Perkins, Richard Pervo, David Rhoads, James Robinson, David Runia, Thomas Stegman, Thomas Tobin, Joseph Tyson, and James C. VanderKam.
The early Eucharist has usually been seen as sacramental eating of token bread and wine in carefu... more The early Eucharist has usually been seen as sacramental eating of token bread and wine in careful or even slavish imitation of Jesus and his earliest disciples. In fact the evidence suggests great diversity in its conduct, including the use of foods, in the first few hundred years.
Eucharistic meals involving cheese, milk, salt, oil, and vegetables are attested, and some have argued that even fish was used. The most significant exception to using bread and wine, however, was a 'bread-and-water' Christian meal, an ancient ascetic form of the Eucharist.
This tradition also involved rejection of meat from general diet, and reflected the concern of dissident communities to avoid the cuisine - meat and wine - characteristic of pagan sacrifice. This study describes and discusses these practices fully for the first time, and provides important new insights into the liturgical and social history of early Christianity.
These essays use particular issues, thinkers and texts to engage the question of God in early Chr... more These essays use particular issues, thinkers and texts to engage the question of God in early Christianity. They include studies of doctrine, and of understandings drawn from liturgy, art, and asceticism, and regarding the social order and nature.
Forthcoming in "On Earth as in Heaven" (Lit. Press)
MS. This paper from the 2023 Yale ISM Liturgy conference reviews some controversies about euchar... more MS. This paper from the 2023 Yale ISM Liturgy conference reviews some controversies about eucharistic bread with particular focus on the background to contemporary Roman Catholic insistence on the presence of gluten in the host.
This editorial piece considers the implications of Scriptural Reasoning, a method of inter-religi... more This editorial piece considers the implications of Scriptural Reasoning, a method of inter-religious exchange that is the subject of the present number of the journal, for contemporary Anglicanism. It suggests that the character of Scriptural Reasoning as a conversation held across and despite religious difference offers a challenge to contemporary Anglicans to maintain their own conversation about Scripture. Whoever then appears to understand the divine Scriptures or any part of them in such a way that by their understanding does not build the twin love of God and of our neighbour, does not yet understand. Anglicanism has rarely been well served by introspective quests for its own identity. The great movements and moments in Anglican history, contested as they may be – the Reformation, the Oxford Movement – have been to do with the character of the Church catholic, of Christian faith, of the sacraments, of Scripture – not of Anglicanism. Current quests for Anglican renewal, unity a...
Africa is not only a geographical region but an idea which Westerners, including modern Anglicans... more Africa is not only a geographical region but an idea which Westerners, including modern Anglicans, have used ‘to think with’. This includes how accounts of recent Christian growth and decline used by Westerners and Africans alike, and which may require nuance in themselves, have been used questionably in debates about other issues. The real diversity of African Anglican thought and experience offers more complex and enriching possibilities, and should be engaged more directly and fully.
The Church of England is experiencing a significant decline in membership and in other forms of i... more The Church of England is experiencing a significant decline in membership and in other forms of influence and engagement, whose implications may have consequences for the Anglican Communion as a whole. The qualitative as well as quantitative changes suggest the need for a renewal of Anglican public theology that maintains a positive account of the relationship between church and world while letting go the expectation of privilege and power. Articles in this issue of theJournal of Anglican Studiesaddress the public character of Christianity in Britain after Christendom.
The martyr Perpetua's declaration, “I am a Christian”, is a point of departure for the invent... more The martyr Perpetua's declaration, “I am a Christian”, is a point of departure for the invention of religion in the familiar sense of beliefs and practices chosen, rather than as the ritual and piety characteristic of, and universal in, ancient Mediterranean societies. By implication this means the appearance of the secular also. This study explores early Christian evidence from Perpetua and Tertullian and, after the Constantinian revolution, Augustine. This history of reflection on the relationship between belief and identity has interpretive significance for the changing character of religion, and of the secular, in Australian society today.
Accounts of Eucharistic origins have usually been driven by concern to establish the genealogy of... more Accounts of Eucharistic origins have usually been driven by concern to establish the genealogy of later liturgical practices, and reflect broader narratives of early Christian history as either smooth transition or radical fall from primitive ideals. A more comprehensive account of early Eucharistic practice must give attention to Greco-Roman meal conventions, acknowledge the diversity of form and meaning in early Christian meals, and be more cautious about grand narratives. It would allow for consideration not only of the explicit theologies of prayer texts, but of implicit meanings involved in ritual, foods and other elements of meals. Such an emerging new paradigm may provide both a more adequate narrative of the development of the Christian Eucharist in classical historical terms, and richer interpretations of meals as a key aspect of early Christian practice.
Philo has often been said to "spiritualize" sacrifice. I argue here not only that this conception... more Philo has often been said to "spiritualize" sacrifice. I argue here not only that this conception is misleading but that Philo can be said to "materialize" sacrifice, in that despite assumptions to the contrary "sacrifice" was not an obvious or stable concept in antiquity. Philo is also dedicated to the material practice of the cult, and his work assumes and theorizes the value of this ritual performance
What can we learn from an ancient Church for a modern world? This book explores our most pressing... more What can we learn from an ancient Church for a modern world? This book explores our most pressing challenges, drawing on the resources of ancient Christianity. It demonstrates how the Bible, and ancient authors such as Augustine and Athanasius, speak to contemporary issues of environment and restorative justice, racism and education.
Never before has there existed a more diverse set of possibilities for understanding the canonica... more Never before has there existed a more diverse set of possibilities for understanding the canonical texts of the New Testament, other early Christian literature, and the history of the emergent Christian movement that was to become the church. Harold W. Attridge has contributed authoritatively to many of the disciplines that underlie approaches to these questions: textual criticism, exegesis, comparative literary and historical studies, and numerous other areas. In honor of his work, this volume seeks to draw many of these methodological threads together. Readers will find discussions of both new and traditional methods of New Testament study, with numerous examples indicating how these approaches work and what insights they yield.
The contributors are Gary Anderson, David Aune, James Charlesworth, Adela Yarbro Collins, John Collins, James Elliot, Eldon Jay Epp, Philip Esler, Craig Evans, Everett Ferguson, Sean Freyne, Gabriela Gelardini, Mark Goodacre, Rowan Greer, Richard Horsley, Judith Lieu, Francisco Lozada, Edgar McKnight, Elaine Pagels, Pheme Perkins, Richard Pervo, David Rhoads, James Robinson, David Runia, Thomas Stegman, Thomas Tobin, Joseph Tyson, and James C. VanderKam.
The early Eucharist has usually been seen as sacramental eating of token bread and wine in carefu... more The early Eucharist has usually been seen as sacramental eating of token bread and wine in careful or even slavish imitation of Jesus and his earliest disciples. In fact the evidence suggests great diversity in its conduct, including the use of foods, in the first few hundred years.
Eucharistic meals involving cheese, milk, salt, oil, and vegetables are attested, and some have argued that even fish was used. The most significant exception to using bread and wine, however, was a 'bread-and-water' Christian meal, an ancient ascetic form of the Eucharist.
This tradition also involved rejection of meat from general diet, and reflected the concern of dissident communities to avoid the cuisine - meat and wine - characteristic of pagan sacrifice. This study describes and discusses these practices fully for the first time, and provides important new insights into the liturgical and social history of early Christianity.
These essays use particular issues, thinkers and texts to engage the question of God in early Chr... more These essays use particular issues, thinkers and texts to engage the question of God in early Christianity. They include studies of doctrine, and of understandings drawn from liturgy, art, and asceticism, and regarding the social order and nature.
Forthcoming in "On Earth as in Heaven" (Lit. Press)
MS. This paper from the 2023 Yale ISM Liturgy conference reviews some controversies about euchar... more MS. This paper from the 2023 Yale ISM Liturgy conference reviews some controversies about eucharistic bread with particular focus on the background to contemporary Roman Catholic insistence on the presence of gluten in the host.
This editorial piece considers the implications of Scriptural Reasoning, a method of inter-religi... more This editorial piece considers the implications of Scriptural Reasoning, a method of inter-religious exchange that is the subject of the present number of the journal, for contemporary Anglicanism. It suggests that the character of Scriptural Reasoning as a conversation held across and despite religious difference offers a challenge to contemporary Anglicans to maintain their own conversation about Scripture. Whoever then appears to understand the divine Scriptures or any part of them in such a way that by their understanding does not build the twin love of God and of our neighbour, does not yet understand. Anglicanism has rarely been well served by introspective quests for its own identity. The great movements and moments in Anglican history, contested as they may be – the Reformation, the Oxford Movement – have been to do with the character of the Church catholic, of Christian faith, of the sacraments, of Scripture – not of Anglicanism. Current quests for Anglican renewal, unity a...
Africa is not only a geographical region but an idea which Westerners, including modern Anglicans... more Africa is not only a geographical region but an idea which Westerners, including modern Anglicans, have used ‘to think with’. This includes how accounts of recent Christian growth and decline used by Westerners and Africans alike, and which may require nuance in themselves, have been used questionably in debates about other issues. The real diversity of African Anglican thought and experience offers more complex and enriching possibilities, and should be engaged more directly and fully.
The Church of England is experiencing a significant decline in membership and in other forms of i... more The Church of England is experiencing a significant decline in membership and in other forms of influence and engagement, whose implications may have consequences for the Anglican Communion as a whole. The qualitative as well as quantitative changes suggest the need for a renewal of Anglican public theology that maintains a positive account of the relationship between church and world while letting go the expectation of privilege and power. Articles in this issue of theJournal of Anglican Studiesaddress the public character of Christianity in Britain after Christendom.
The martyr Perpetua's declaration, “I am a Christian”, is a point of departure for the invent... more The martyr Perpetua's declaration, “I am a Christian”, is a point of departure for the invention of religion in the familiar sense of beliefs and practices chosen, rather than as the ritual and piety characteristic of, and universal in, ancient Mediterranean societies. By implication this means the appearance of the secular also. This study explores early Christian evidence from Perpetua and Tertullian and, after the Constantinian revolution, Augustine. This history of reflection on the relationship between belief and identity has interpretive significance for the changing character of religion, and of the secular, in Australian society today.
Accounts of Eucharistic origins have usually been driven by concern to establish the genealogy of... more Accounts of Eucharistic origins have usually been driven by concern to establish the genealogy of later liturgical practices, and reflect broader narratives of early Christian history as either smooth transition or radical fall from primitive ideals. A more comprehensive account of early Eucharistic practice must give attention to Greco-Roman meal conventions, acknowledge the diversity of form and meaning in early Christian meals, and be more cautious about grand narratives. It would allow for consideration not only of the explicit theologies of prayer texts, but of implicit meanings involved in ritual, foods and other elements of meals. Such an emerging new paradigm may provide both a more adequate narrative of the development of the Christian Eucharist in classical historical terms, and richer interpretations of meals as a key aspect of early Christian practice.
Dr McGowan responds to the near-(but not entirely)-universal trend in 'fresh expressions... more Dr McGowan responds to the near-(but not entirely)-universal trend in 'fresh expressions' of Church to abandon liturgical worship in favour of more 'relevant'types of gathering that suit the 'worship needs' of individuals. Instead, he traces the Eucharistic pattern of imaginative formation that has sustained distinctive Christian identity in hugely diverse contexts over two millennia, arguing that this living heritage should not be trifled with for culturally subservient needs of the moment.
Abstract: Accounts of Eucharistic origins have usually been driven by concern to establish the ge... more Abstract: Accounts of Eucharistic origins have usually been driven by concern to establish the genealogy of later liturgical practices, and reflect broader narratives of early Christian history as either smooth transition or radical fall from primitive ideals. A more comprehensive account of early Eucharistic practice must give attention to Greco-Roman meal conventions, acknowledge the diversity of form and meaning in early Christian meals, and be more cautious about grand narratives. It would allow for consideration not only of the explicit ...
Abstract: Although Marcion is often said to have rejected matter as inherently evil, Marcionite s... more Abstract: Although Marcion is often said to have rejected matter as inherently evil, Marcionite sacramental practice and asceticism suggest a more complex and specific set of attitudes to material things and practices. Later heresiologists analyzed Marcion's rather negative cosmogony and saw inconsistency, but Marcionite Christianity was less concerned with the origins of things than with their significance in light of the new creative work of the loving Stranger god. What Marcion despised was arguably the order (kosmos) of creation, rather ...
Publication View. 51702124. Rethinking Agape and Eucharist in Early North African Christianity (2... more Publication View. 51702124. Rethinking Agape and Eucharist in Early North African Christianity (2004). McGowan, Andrew. Abstract. Using the writings of Tertullian and Cyuprian, this article explores the social and theological ...
Abstract: Christians were accused of a variety of crimes, including cannibalism, during the secon... more Abstract: Christians were accused of a variety of crimes, including cannibalism, during the second century. Since recent anthropological discussions encourage a degree of skepticism when dealing with accusations of cannibalism, this paper considers the charges as instances of" labelling," whereby social relations are expressed using a symbolic stereotype, rather than relying on the traditional explanation of a misunderstanding of eucharistic" body and blood" imagery, or of a mistake in the identification of real cannibals. Examination of ...
The martyr Perpetua’s declaration, “I am a Christian”, is a point of departure for the invention ... more The martyr Perpetua’s declaration, “I am a Christian”, is a point of departure for the invention of religion in the familiar sense of beliefs and practices chosen, rather than as the ritual and piety characteristic of, and universal in, ancient Mediterranean societies. By implication this means the appearance of the secular also. This study explores early Christian evidence from Perpetua and Tertullian and, after the Constan- tinian revolution, Augustine. This history of reflection on the relationship between belief and identity has interpretive significance for the changing character of religion, and of the secular, in Australian society today.
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The contributors are Gary Anderson, David Aune, James Charlesworth, Adela Yarbro Collins, John Collins, James Elliot, Eldon Jay Epp, Philip Esler, Craig Evans, Everett Ferguson, Sean Freyne, Gabriela Gelardini, Mark Goodacre, Rowan Greer, Richard Horsley, Judith Lieu, Francisco Lozada, Edgar McKnight, Elaine Pagels, Pheme Perkins, Richard Pervo, David Rhoads, James Robinson, David Runia, Thomas Stegman, Thomas Tobin, Joseph Tyson, and James C. VanderKam.
Eucharistic meals involving cheese, milk, salt, oil, and vegetables are attested, and some have argued that even fish was used. The most significant exception to using bread and wine, however, was a 'bread-and-water' Christian meal, an ancient ascetic form of the Eucharist.
This tradition also involved rejection of meat from general diet, and reflected the concern of dissident communities to avoid the cuisine - meat and wine - characteristic of pagan sacrifice. This study describes and discusses these practices fully for the first time, and provides important new insights into the liturgical and social history of early Christianity.
The contributors are Gary Anderson, David Aune, James Charlesworth, Adela Yarbro Collins, John Collins, James Elliot, Eldon Jay Epp, Philip Esler, Craig Evans, Everett Ferguson, Sean Freyne, Gabriela Gelardini, Mark Goodacre, Rowan Greer, Richard Horsley, Judith Lieu, Francisco Lozada, Edgar McKnight, Elaine Pagels, Pheme Perkins, Richard Pervo, David Rhoads, James Robinson, David Runia, Thomas Stegman, Thomas Tobin, Joseph Tyson, and James C. VanderKam.
Eucharistic meals involving cheese, milk, salt, oil, and vegetables are attested, and some have argued that even fish was used. The most significant exception to using bread and wine, however, was a 'bread-and-water' Christian meal, an ancient ascetic form of the Eucharist.
This tradition also involved rejection of meat from general diet, and reflected the concern of dissident communities to avoid the cuisine - meat and wine - characteristic of pagan sacrifice. This study describes and discusses these practices fully for the first time, and provides important new insights into the liturgical and social history of early Christianity.