T&T Clark Handbook to Early Christian Meals in the Greco-Roman World

Soham Al-Suadi, Peter-Ben Smit, Michael Labahn

Meals are a highly significant element in the development of Christian identity. In this handbook Soham Al-Suadi and Peter-Ben Smit present chapters that situate early Christian meals in their broader context, with a focus on the core topics that will help us to understand Greco-Roman meal practice and how this relates to Christian origins. The issues covered include: the role of gender during meals; issues of monotheism and polytheism that arise from the structure of the meal; how sacrifice is understood in different meal practices; power dynamics during the meal and issues of inclusion and exclusion at meals. In addition to looking at the broader Hellenistic context the chapters explain the unique nature of Christian meals, and what this says about early Christian communities. The handbook is structured around the key primary resources, with the literary, historical, theological and...