New Testament and Archaeology

In 1929, Andreas Evaristus Mader –then the director of the Oriental Institute of the Görresgesellschaft – published an article in volume VI of the Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana, titled "La basilica costantiniana di Mambre presso Hebron secondo la tradizione e gli ultimi scavi della Görres-Gesellschaft". The article was dedicated to the study of the Palestinian sanctuary associated with the Abrahamic tradition. According to written sources, the site had been a center of veneration for multiple religious confessions until the intervention of Constantine, who decided to build a basilica there with the intent of making Mamre exclusively Christian. In this work, A. E. Mader thoroughly analyzes the written sources and then presents the results of the excavations he directed at the location he identified – according to his interpretations – as the very site where the oak (or terebinth) that welcomed Abraham once stood, and where the Savior appeared to him. This study, in addition to being a significant specimen of the Orbis Christianus Antiquus present in the pages of the Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana, provides an interesting methodological glimpse – highlighting both strengths and natural flaws – into Christian Archaeology in the Holy Land in the early twentieth century.

Through the prism of a fairly recent discovery of a milestone, the present article sheds light on the Roman road in the Gennesaret Valley, particularly the span connecting Tiberias to Julias. Building on Zvi Ilan’s initiative in the 1980s, the author will emphasise two milestones: IMC 694 and IMC 847. Dating to 120 CE, the latter stone’s inscription not only divulges the role of
Emperor Hadrian in the artery’s construction, but establishes Tiberias as its caput viae. By delving into historical sources, contemporary research, and the broader context of Hadrian’s infrastructure initiatives throughout the province of Judaea, the paper explicates the road network’s purpose and strategic
importance during the Roman era.

The article studies various portraits of the local Galilean economy in consideration developments made in recent research on the Roman economy. It challenges the view that the Roman economy as it manifested itself locally in Galilee was primitivist and served only the interests of the elite. As it turns out, the economic activities in the countryside were led by various local and regional agents and not by the elite as has often been assumed. Looking at the Roman economy writ large not only helps to correct earlier one-sided views of an allegedly poor Galilee, but also provides comparative material that helps to place the local Galilean Jesus movement as one among many groups in the globalized Roman world that used discourses of poverty as instruments of self-definition and exclusion. The language of poverty does not always indicate a lack of material resources or employment, because it is often used to connote a sense of social marginalization.

In 70 AD Jerusalem was conquered and the temple in Jerusalem was looted and destroyed, and among the war trophies, trophies that were part of the triumphal procession, were the precious objects taken as plunder from the temple in Jerusalem, including the seven-armed chandelier of solid gold, the gold table on which the 12 loaves of bread were placed, the embroidered curtain, the golden vessels and a Torah scroll later given by the emperors Vespasian and Titus to the temple of the goddess of peace. The triumphal arch erected in the Forum in honour of Titus was decorated with relief reproductions of these trophies and depictions of scenes from the war in which the Jews had been so cruelly defeated.

After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD a large number of the people and a significant number of scholars who had escaped with their lives took refuge in Jamnia and established an academic school there on the initiative of Yohanan ben Zakkai. This place and this school were to become the spiritual center of Judaism in place of the destroyed one. Here in Jamnia, Yohanan ben Zakkai gathered together scholars and scholars who created a new system of religious law that was later applied in all the countries where Jews were scattered. Here civil laws were drawn up, curricula were drawn up, prayers were established, holiday ceremonies were set, which were later adopted by all Jews in the Diaspora. Judaism was reorganising itself around the thinking of the Pharisees, but with the destruction of the Temple, the Sadducees had ceased their role and were out of history.

3 S. Mrozek, Les distributions d'argent et de nourriture dans les villes italiennes du Haut Empire romain, Bruxelles, 1987; sur la signification sociale des dons alimentaires, S. Mrozek, "Caractère hiérarchique des repas officiels dans les villes romaines du Haut-Empire", La sociabilité à table. Commensalité et convivialité à travers les âges. Textes réunis par M.

Found in numerous collections of midrash, the well-known origin story of Eliezer ben Hyrcanus leaving his father's agricultural estate to study Torah under Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai in Jerusalem is both a coming-of-age tale and a story of a son surpassing his father(s). 1 This story demonstrates ideals of masculine leadership in two spatial contexts-the estate and the study house-as well as different and competing styles of leadership within those spaces. In the story, there are narrative descriptions of father-figures who are characterized by markedly different forms of leadership, from caring and kind to dismissive or demanding. One idealized form of leadership is in the deft practice of household management in the agricultural estate, which varies in style between textual variants, and the other idealized leader is the Rabbi who leads a study circle and is celebrated at a banquet table in Jerusalem. 2 Thus, in this story, we find competition between styles of fatherhood at home, on the agricultural estate, and competition between the estate and the study house as idealized spaces for male expertise. Eliezer's coming-of-age story contains a competition between these two spaces, between demonstrating one's prowess through the sensible and careful management of the agricultural estate and demonstrating patria potestas over one's children, household, and landed property, on one hand, and the competitive erudition of the rabbinic sage, towering over one's peers in the study house, on the

3 S. Mrozek, Les distributions d'argent et de nourriture dans les villes italiennes du Haut Empire romain, Bruxelles, 1987; sur la signification sociale des dons alimentaires, S. Mrozek, "Caractère hiérarchique des repas officiels dans les villes romaines du Haut-Empire", La sociabilité à table. Commensalité et convivialité à travers les âges. Textes réunis par M.

Paper delivered in video form (in absentia) on Sept. 21, 2023 at the CISSR meeting on Christian Origins in Bertinoro, Italy as part of a panel reviewing Angela Kim Harkins and Harry O. Maier, eds, Experiencing the Shepherd of Hermas, Ekstasis 10 (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2022).

William Friedkin dokumentumfilmjének (A The Devil and Father Amorth – Az ördög és Amorth atya) ismertetése; a félelemmel való szembenézés jelentősége; ördögűzés a spirituális megvalósítás fényében; a megszállottság jelensége társadalmi kontextusban.

The words KQT}TEC; aei \\>Evmai, xaxa e^gia, yaoTEoeg dgyai in Tit 1:2 are traditionally attributed to Epimenides, and, for example, Nestle-Aland27 (ad locum) refers to his work "de oraculis / nf.Q\. However, we can only discern a shadow of the man, a pre-Socratic philosopher, or of several men. We do not have his works, and a work JIEQ\v is never mentioned in ancient sources. Clement of Alexandria mentions Epimenides, but not his work; Jerome is the first who certainly attributes the work to Epimenides. This article proposes a new reconstruction of the history of the tradition. In the beginning was the proverb that the Cretans were famous liars, and in the second stage, this reputation was used to construct a logical paradox. In the next stage, Epimenides, the famous Cretan philosopher, was involved in the paradox. It is thus not correct to claim that Tit refers to Epimenides' work JIEQ\: Epimenides is only ahistorically involved in this paradox. Consequently, the verse does not prove that the writer knew Classical literature well.

The ambiguities in the definition of ἐπίσκοπος and πρεσβύτερος in the Pastoral Epistles gave rise to speculations about the hierarchical structures of the early Christian communities. Using modern definition of the terms, and certain readings of the Ignatian corpus, some scholars argue that the existence of fully-fledged episcopal office is evident at the time of the composition of the Pastoral Epistles (c. 125 AD). The present article analyzed the relevant passages from the Pastorals (1 Tim 3:1-13; 1 Tim 5:17 and Titus 1:5-9) and concluded that there is no evidence of a sacramental distinction between ἐπίσκοπος and πρεσβύτερος in the Christian communities at the turn of the second century AD.

This article analyzes the Tiber River Inscription which names L. Sergius Paullus as one of the commissioners of the Tiber River, quite possibly the same Sergius Paulus who became the proconsul of Cyprus and was evangelized by the Apostle Paul in Acts 13. This inscription is advantageous in that it can be dated with confidence, unlike other inscriptions potentially related to this biblical proconsul. The author of this article discusses the role of a commissioner and where it fits in the cursus honorum, the sequence of offices typically held by men of senatorial rank. Furthermore, an analysis of other men named in the inscription demonstrates that Roman officials from important families could see their careers advance from being a commissioner of the Tiber River to becoming a proconsul. Finally, an overview of other Sergius Paulus inscriptions is given – establishing the prominence of the Sergii Paulii
family. The author concludes that a plausible link can be made between the Tiber River inscription and the Cypriot Proconsul of Acts 13.

The 'Authenticity Question' concerning reports (hadith) attributed to the Prophet of Islam runs deep like a river in Islamic civilization and its tradition of hadith scholarship. Hadith erudition has developed complex and sophisticated methodologies to ascertain the authenticity of each report. Thus, the reliability concern looms large among Muslims and Western scholars alike. However, besides the work of the renowned Orientalist Ignaz Goldziher (d. 1921) on hadith canon emergence, a watershed chapter is left unattended in hadith literature and science. Why did al-Bukhari's and Muslim's collection of hadith-the sahihayn-became the most famous books in Sunni Islam after the qur'an and the sunna of the prophet? Jonathan Brown proposes an answer in his book The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Canon. Brown investigates how, when and why these two hadith collections became the hallmark in Sunni Islam. Astutely, he traces their origins, development and the functions of these two touchstones. In addition, he explores their nature, the tensions surrounding them and the role they play in Sunni scholarly culture. According to the author the canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim is the story of how the Sunni community and its hadith erudition build a common language to attend to the shared heritage of the prophetic tradition (sunna) (p. 4). Canonization makes a text authoritative and the nexus for communal identity. It transforms a text from an ordinary piece of literature to powerful symbols of divine and legal authority for a particular religious tradition. The collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim are considered normative sources of beliefs and practices. Their authoritative station is taking for granted by most Muslims today. It remains puzzling why there is very little literature to explain this undeniable historical event. Brown laments that scholars of Islamic history have not

On January 12, 2010, a massive earthquake, 7.0 on the Richter scale, hit the capital city of Haiti. The result was horrifying devastation. By conservative estimates, 188,000 buildings collapsed, 230,000 people died, and many more were injured. A year on, World Vision worker Ian Mcinnes reports, "Today rubble fills Port-au-Prince, children bathe in open sewers, cholera is out of control and 1.3 million people who lost their homes a year ago still live in camps run by aid agencies." McInnes goes on to offer a stark contrast: Only four months ago New Zealand faced a similar-sized earthquake. In fact, the Canterbury earthquake was even stronger-registering 7.1 as opposed to 7.0 in Haiti-yet if you live in Auckland you could be forgiven for thinking that everything is back to normal in Canterbury. Only 2737 homes were deemed uninhabitable two weeks after the Canterbury quake and despite the massive shake-up no one died and only two people were seriously injured. 1 The difference between the two experiences exposes the stark disparity that exists in terms of materials, infrastructure, and resources between Haiti, considered one of the world's poorest countries, and New Zealand, rated among the relatively prosperous. Yet subsequent events have shown that such wealth is not a safeguard against disaster. On February 22, 2011, another earthquake hit Christchurch, and this time the effects were much more severe, with

At the Crossroads of Cultures and Spiritualities
In the Gospel of John chapter 4 we read of a peculiar encounter. A Samaritan woman meets with a Jewish rabbi at a rather unusual time of the day at a well. It is a difficult task to have a clear picture of who the Samaritans were exactly, but we may assume three theories about them. The first approach is connected to the view of how the Samaritans perceive themselves. They see themselves as the true Israel, and all the others are heretics. Their own Torah inherited from Moses is the genuine one, and the others falsified it. The second approach is due to the Judeans. They regard as valid what we can read in the Jewish Old Testament, in the second book of Kings, chapter 17, verses 24-41. According to this view the Samaritans origin may be traced back to the Mesopotamian immigrants. Some Israelites got mixed up with pagans. After the return from the Babylonian captivity, the Jews refused to rebuild the Temple together with the Samaritans. This caused the building of a new temple by the Samaritans, and hence there many tensions arouse among the Jews and Samaritans. The third view can be called the scientific approach. According to this between Samaritans and Jews was no disruption in the 5th century B.C. Assyrians settled the Samaritans. The Jews looked at them with suspicion because of their ethnic and mainly religious background. The real drift apart became obvious in the 2nd century B.C., and after their temple was destroyed. The Samaritans worked on their own Pentateuch, they had their own priesthood, and these facts became a fundamental difference between them. Since then the Jews regarded Samaritans as pagans, and as their enemies.
In John 4 the woman in the beginning sees in the man a traditional enemy, but slowly her attitude changes. She is not sure if her conversational partner is greater than Jacob, who was their highly esteemed predecessor. At a certain point of their discussion, the unnamed woman calls the rabbi “Sir” and regards him as a prophet. The woman has strong doubts about Jesus being the Christ to come, and whom the Samaritans expected. At the end of this conversation, the woman changes her attitude, speaks without hindrance about the young rabbi, and recognizes with her fellow villagers that this is the long expected Saviour. It is remarkable the openness of the woman, who is not stuck with her predefined ideas, but is ready to listen carefully to the man whom she identified as her enemy in the beginning. In this Gospel we read many stories. One of them is Nicodemus, who is not entirely sure about what Jesus asks of him. The disciples of Jesus are often perplexed and confused when their Master speaks to them. Here we read of a woman, who understands Jesus and recognize in him Christ. She not just believes in Jesus, but becomes a missionary among her fellow Samaritans. The difference in huge between them in the beginning, but slowly they start to approach, and the woman at the end is converted. Her life is helped and influenced dramatically and existentially by the patience and understanding of Jesus.

Cana and the Tomb of Lazarus at Bethany are two significant sites in the life of Jesus. Cana is the site of Jesus's first miracle, and the Tomb of Lazarus is the site of one of Christ's greatest miracles, i.e., the resurrection of Lazarus. These sites have been pilgrimage sites for thousands of Christians throughout the centuries. Therefore, it is essential to discuss these sites. This paper will comprehensively analyze the literary sources, Onomastica, topography, archeology, and religious constructions over the centuries at these two sites. Cana Concerning the New Testament, the miracle at Cana appears only in the gospel of John (Jn 2:1-11). Cana is also mentioned as the location where Jesus heals from a distance the son of the official of Capernaum (Jn 4:46-54; cf. Mt 8:5-13; Lk 7:1-10) and the town of the apostle Nathanael (Jn 21:2). 1 Topographically, the only indication is that one had to "come down" from Cana to Capernaum. Thus, Cana was higher than Capernaum and most likely in a hilly region. The following indication is that Cana was in Galilee as it states Cana of Galilee (Jn 2:1, 11, 4:46); this is to differentiate it from "Kana, as far as Sidon the Great" (Jos 19:28). The First source one gets of the location of Cana is that of Eusebius' Onomasticon (326-330 A.D.). However, there he incorrectly identifies Cana as Kana. 2 Currently, there seem to be two possible 1 Jack Finegan, The Archeology of the New Testament: The Life of Jesus and the Beginning of the Early Church (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1992), 62. 2 Jose Aguilar notes that the text seems to be corrupt (Jose Aguilar, Archeology of the N.T.-Class Notes (Cana), 1, proposed locations for Cana of Galilee: Khirbet Qana and Kefar Kenna. 3 Both these places are hill countries and only six miles apart. Thus, fit the description perfectly. Khirbet Qana Khirbet Qana is currently an unoccupied place of ruins overlooking Sahel el-Buttauf. It is "six miles north of Sepphoris and nine miles north of Nazareth." 4 Concerning the literary sources, the first clear source mentioning Khirbet Qana with Cana of Galilee is Burchard of Mount Sion 5 in 1283. He specifies that the place is a crypt and north of it is "a tall round mountain, on whose slope it stands." Further, he states that "at its foot, on the south side, it has a very fair plain….[that] reaches as far as Sephora." 6 Burchard points out that the reason for the place being a crypt is due to the constant destruction of churches, whose ruins raised the ground level. This description fits perfectly with Khirbet Qana. In 1310, Marino Sanuto too provides the same information as Burchard concerning the location. He also points out that Cana of Galilee is "two leagues and a half from Sepphoris." 7 In 1422, John Poloner mentions that Sepphoris is "two leagues to the south of Cana of Galilee" and that the place is a cave. Thus, for him as well Cana of Galilee is Khirbet Qana. In 1485, Francesco Suriano mentions Cana as being seven miles away from Nazareth. This is more in line with Khirbet Qana which is 8 miles away as opposed to Kefer Kenna which is 3.75 miles away. Suriano mentions a church being there. 8 Thus, between 1422 and 1485, it seems a church has been constructed. By at least 1841, this site has been called in Arabic Kana el-Jeli. This led Edward Robinson among others to suppose this may be the authentic site. Concerning archeology, the only archeological excavation done at this site seems to be by the students of the University of Puget Sound, who discovered "an active settlement from the Hellenistic period until the early Arab period." 9 Thus, it seems to have been active during Jesus' time. The hill also seems to be an ideal location for a surveillance point as it overlooks the valley. However, due to the lack of a spring or source of water, this would not be an ideal place for a town since they would need to depend on cisterns quite a bit. Concerning archaeological surveys, Bellarmino Bagatti conducted three surveys (1955,56 and 1965). On the northern side midway up the hill, Bagatti found a cyclopean wall and, on the summit, a large public building that could have been a fortress, given the strategic location of the place. About one-third of the hill's height, he found remains of Roman-Byzantine houses built on the south side of the hill. However, those buildings were reused by shepherds to store their flocks. Thus, making the analysis a bit hard. He also found a grotto of 5 meters by 4 meters there attached to one of the rooms with four layers of plaster with graffiti (and cross graffiti). Antonucci and Testa (1965) suggested that this would be the venerated room that Burchard and others in the Middle Ages spoke about. This was confirmed by the Gothic characters and analysis of the plaster confirmed that this was from the Middle Ages. There was also another grotto of 1.7 meters by 3 meters to the east attached to this grotto with only one layer of plaster. 10 This means that it was the latest addition. He also found a piece of white marble which is consistent with religious places among other artifacts. At the lower part of the hill, he found Roman-period 9 Aguilar, Archeology of the N.T.-Class Notes (Cana),8. Finegan notes that this was confirmed in a 1982 survey (Finegan, The Archeology of the New Testament, 64).

The use of the "sea" 1 as "stage prop" is a prominent feature of the gospel narrative. How the "sea" is employed in the narrative, the significance of the "sea" in the literary and the historical critical framing of the gospel story are some of the central questions to be considered. No longer just for spatial location, there are other significant aspects of the sea innate to the gospel narrative. The impetus for this paper is drawn from the Samoan proverb, fili i le tai se agavaa (wisdom is revealed at sea). The proverb underscores the value of the sea within the Samoan indigenous point of reference. As an island people, we are the ocean, we are the sea. In us the sea lives, and we in the sea. To navigate and to relate to the sea is part of who we are. Wisdom and knowledge are derived experientially from learning to live with the sea, coping with the deep sea and all its mystery. Thus, given the prevalence of the sea in the gospel narrative, could there be parallel to the Samoan context and the important role the sea plays within Samoan society. What are the implications for our reading of the bible? In a "watery" world, what does this mean for us readers, people in Samoa and the Pacific Island nation states, in this contemporary society? For this essay, I look at John 6:16-21. In particular, I argue that the sea plays a mediating role in shaping and molding the disciples in their faith journey. As John 2 seeks to make the connection between faithfully following Jesus and the realities of everyday life, the sea serves as the medium and platform to make such a connection.

For the longest time, people have thought that we would never know who the authors of the New Testament texts actually were, but Abelard Reuchlin discovered their names and gave that information to us in his booklet 'The True Authorship Of The New Testament', which first came out in 1979. A second edition came out in 1986, and then a later one. Reuchlin was able to do this because he had help by an Inner-Circle rabbi, who gave him information regarding the Jewish Proof Texts. In short, the Jews were witnesses to the creation of Christianity, and they left us information about that in their various texts, including the Talmud, Midrash, and Commentaries.

3 S. Mrozek, Les distributions d'argent et de nourriture dans les villes italiennes du Haut Empire romain, Bruxelles, 1987; sur la signification sociale des dons alimentaires, S. Mrozek, "Caractère hiérarchique des repas officiels dans les villes romaines du Haut-Empire", La sociabilité à table. Commensalité et convivialité à travers les âges. Textes réunis par M.

The comparison between the building activity of Herods and Hadrian reveals the wide
circulation of plans, models and patterns in the Hellenistic koiné as well as how Herods took advantage from the Asmonean repertoire and from the Roman technology (while Petra tied itself more closely to Alexandria).
The importance of a ‘contextual’ evaluation of every single instance is evident in the
«nymphaeum with exedra», conceived in the Ptolemaic period mainly in Nilotic contexts, which became part of the formal heritage of the Roman horti and villas with ornamental
purposes and that is re-invoked by Hadrian in Villa Adriana. At the same time, the Teatro
Marittimo could descends from the Hellenistic prototype of the islet set in the middle of an artificial basin attested in the near-eastern basileia. Keywords: Hadrian, Hellenism, Herods the Great, Canopo, Villa Adriana, Teatro Marittimo, basileion, Petra Poll Complex.

Írásunkban időutazásra hívjuk az olvasót: rápillantunk arra az összetett és ellentmondásos ókori világra, amely tanúja volt az evangéliumok megszületésének. Ebben a világban a nők mozgástere egyszerre volt korlátozott, egyszerre tanúskodott a nők szerepvállalásáról. Különösen is foglalkoztat bennünket, hogy Lukács evangéliuma milyen képet alakított ki a nőkről. A harmadik evangéliumban valamiért hangsúlyosabb a nők jelenléte, mint a többiben, és érdekes módon a biblikus szakemberek ugyanazon adatok ismeretében sokszor ellentétes álláspontra jutottak a nők státuszát illetően, a Jézus-mozgalomban és a korai egyházban betöltött szerepüket tekintve.

Vajon milyen szent iratokat ismertek az Újszövetség szerzői és mi számított számukra (szakrális) tekintéllyel bíró iratnak? Hogyan műveltek teológiát nem szakrális jellegű iratok segítségével? Miért van az, hogy az nemcsak az Újszövetséget kell ismerni ahhoz, hogy azt helyesen értelmezzük? Írásunkat hasonló kérdések inspirálták.

An attempt to account for the unique language and themes in the Pastoral Epistles presents distinct challenges for Pauline scholars. A specific example appears with the use of self-control (σώφρων) language in the book of Titus, where 5 of the 16 New Testament instances of this language appear in a brief section (2:1–14). Because of the prominence of this language in Greco-Roman ethical teaching, many have used this flurry of virtue language as an example of an accommodative Pauline ethic in Titus. This article tests this label of the accommodative ethic and ultimately cautions scholars against focusing singularly on the lexical similarities between Paul and his Greco-Roman counterparts without adequately accounting for the distinctives in the way the lexical items are used in Titus. This article shows that the ethics conveyed by the frequent use of σώφρων terminology in Titus 2:1–14 cannot properly be labeled accommodative in light of the stark differences that the text exhibits fr...

Tra i problemi che ancora rimangono irrisolti circa il controverso processo a Gesù di Nazareth, assume un aspetto centrale, anche ai fini di una maggiore conoscenza del diritto penale romano delle province, la concessione della salma del condannato da parte del Procuratore della Giudea, Ponzio Pilato, a Giuseppe di Arimatea affinché lo seppellisse in
un suo sepolcro privato. L’A. ritiene che un’attenta analisi delle fonti a disposizione, porti a ritenere che nei primi tempi dell’impero, non esistesse un divieto di sepoltura dei condannati a pena capitale. La concessione dei corpi per la sepoltura non era da considerarsi come un’eccezione alla regola ma l’eccezione era proprio quella di non
permettere le esequie: solo in tal caso ciò doveva considerarsi come l’esecuzione di una severissima pena accessoria. Ai fini di una più ponderata riflessione, l’A. sottopone a verifica sia qualche testo in materia del diritto ebraico sia qualche altro del diritto romano.

« Que mon sacrifice, et le vôtre ». La messe, ton sacrifice !
Cet article veut jeter une lumière sur la formule d’invitation à la prière sur les offrandes. L’objectif est de raviver la conscience sacrificielle eucharistique chez les fidèles.

Le sacrifice de toute l’Église
La formule d’invitation à la prière sur les offrandes appelée orate fratres (des deux premiers mots de la version latine) dit : « Priez, frères et sœurs : que mon sacrifice, et le vôtre, soit agréable à Dieu le Père tout-puissant. » Le peuple se lève et répond : « Que le Seigneur reçoive de vos mains ce sacrifice à la louange et à la gloire de son nom, pour notre bien et celui de toute l’Église. » La formule n’est pas neuve. Sa version latine se trouvait déjà dans le “Missel Romain” promulgué par Pie V par décret du concile de Trente dans la constitution apostolique Quo primum du 13 juillet 1570. Et certaines langues (comme le yoruba, le fon, l’allemand, l’anglais, etc.) en ont toujours fait usage dans la liturgie. L’orate fratres considère, d’une part, le peuple de Dieu dans son ensemble comme assemblée sacerdotale – c’est cette compréhension qui avait présidé à la traduction française : « Prions ensemble, au moment d’offrir le sacrifice de toute l’Église... »  – ; d’autre part, la formule articule les différentes formes de participation à l’unique Sacerdoce du Christ : sacerdoce ministériel et sacerdoce commun des fidèles.

Le sacrifice offert par chacun
Le Catéchisme de l’Eglise Catholique affirme : « Dans une célébration liturgique, toute l’Assemblée est ‘liturge’, chacun selon sa fonction » (CEC 1188). Pour comprendre cette affirmation magistérielle forte, il faut faire une différence entre liturge et liturgiste. Est liturge toute personne effectuant la liturgie. Le liturgiste, en revanche, est un spécialiste de la liturgie, une personne qui étudie l'ensemble des règles déterminant le déroulement du culte. Selon le CEC, tout fidèle qui participe à l’Eucharistie est donc concélébrant, quoique tous ne concélèbrent pas de la même manière. Autant il est vrai que le prêtre offre le sacrifice en la personne du Christ-Tête et au nom de toute la communauté, autant il est vrai que chaque participant offre personnellement ce sacrifice qu’il est en droit de revendiquer comme sien. Certes, dans l’articulation du sacerdoce ministériel et du sacerdoce commun des fidèles, le Concile Vatican II explique que les deux ont « entre eux une différence essentielle et non seulement de degré ». Cependant leur lien interactif est tel qu’ils sont « ordonnés l’un à l’autre » et participent « chacun selon son mode propre » de « l’unique sacerdoce du Christ. » (LG 10). Leur ordonnancement mutuel est tel que même lorsque le prêtre célèbre en privé, il n’est jamais solitaire mais célèbre toujours avec l’Eglise. Cette réalité est très profonde, et d’une profondeur souvent ignorée, ce que l’on voit à travers le besoin qu’éprouvent certains d’aller offrir d’autres sacrifices après celui de l’Eucharistie. C’est pourquoi il urge de raviver la conscience sacrificielle eucharistique chez les fidèles.

« Mon sacrifice et le vôtre »: Plus besoin d’un autre sacrifice
Le sacrifice occupe une place importante dans la plupart des cultures africaines et, au témoignage du pape Benoît XVI, dans d’autres cultures aussi . Ce socle culturel constitue un atout qui doit se laisser interpeller par l’invitation « que mon sacrifice et le vôtre ». Raviver la conscience sacrificielle eucharistique consiste à rappeler à celui qui participe à l’eucharistie que ce sacrifice, c’est lui qui l’offre. Et quel sacrifice offre-t-il ? celui de l’Homme-Dieu. En considérant donc Celui qu’il offre en sacrifice, il comprendra qu’il n’a plus besoin d’un autre sacrifice pour son salut. Ainsi, la formule d’invitation à la prière sur les offrandes vient rejoindre particulièrement les chrétiennes et chrétiens africains dans une dimension importante de leur être culturel. La conscience sacrificielle eucharistique peut, en dehors du catéchisme et d’une catéchèse générale sur l’Eucharistie, être ravivée à deux moments-clés : a) Avant la messe : pendant la prière dévote faite à genoux une fois entré dans l’église, le fidèle peut raviver personnellement cette conscience sacrificielle : « ce sacrifice, c’est mon sacrifice, c’est moi qui l’offre, et je l’offre pour telle intention… » b) A la fin de l’homélie : Les dernières phrases de l’homélie ayant pour fonction de faire le pont entre la liturgie de la parole et la liturgie eucharistique , le prédicateur pourrait, à ce moment ultime, raviver à nouveau (si tant est que chacun l’ait déjà fait personnellement) la conscience du sacrifice au niveau de l’assemblée. Il faudra cependant se garder d’une approche réductionniste, car à la messe, il n’y a pas que la dimension sacrificielle. L’Eucharistie n’est pas que mémorial douloureux de la Passion et de la Mort de Notre Seigneur Jésus Christ, elle est aussi mémorial joyeux de sa Résurrection. En somme, elle est renouvellement non sanglant de tout le Mystère Pascal, sacrifice d’action de grâce au Père par le Fils à jamais vivant dans l’Unique Esprit.

Robin Horton, one of the world’s finest intellectuals, one of anthropology’s most original, brilliant and influential scholars, and a most provocative philosopher of African indigenous modes of thought in the last fifty years, died on 28 November 2019. He was born an English man, trained at Oxford, lived and died a Kalabari (Niger Delta, Nigeria) gentleman, and was buried in Buguma on 18 January 2020 as a member of royalty by the Kalabari-Ijaw. He came to them as a learner and they took him in as their own. He became an expert in their religion, culture and history, and eventually grew into awise elder they turned to in order to understand their culture, history and rituals. He also taught the world how to interpret Kalabari religion and to take its philosophical ideas seriously. Horton – influenced by Tylor and Frazer – studied African religions always in the context of cognitive science and comparative philosophy. His scholarship has proved important and enduring in our understand...

This article explores the different attitudes of Jesus and Paul towards the Law, the stages through which Judaism has evolved and offers some clues on how to present Judaism in this new framework. Only a deep understanding of the pluralistic nature of the Judaism of Jesus' time makes it possible to understand fully his annoumcement of the Kingdom of God.

Crete is rarely taken seriously as a plausible actual destination for the NT letter to Titus. Investigation of Roman Crete, however, yields intriguing points of contact with puzzling features of the letter. Patterns of social organisation on the island correlate closely to the structure of behavioural instruction in Titus 2.1–10, suggesting that it might have been shaped specifically to that environment. Unusual elements of the major theological statements in Titus correspond to aspects of Cretan religion in ways that could represent intentional engagement. There are implications for identifying the letter's provenance and interpreting it as a missionary document.

This article discusses the disputed location of two prominent places related to the passion narrative of Jesus, i.e., the Palace of the High Priest and the Praetorium of Pilate. Sources from the Byzantine time together with the modern archaeology, show us that the Palace of the High Priest probably can be located on the eastern slope of Mount Zion. We should be careful with a more specific location, but we should not exclude the possibility of a location at the modern church St. Peter in Gallicantu, which claims to be the correct place. The Praetorium of Pilate was unambiguously located near the Tyropoeon Valley by the Byzantine Christians. This is probably a correct tradition, and thus Pilate seems to have used the Royal Palace of the Hasmoneans as the Praetorium when he
was in Jerusalem. This Palace was probably located in the steep western slope of the Tyropoeon Valley, where we today find the ruins of St. Mary's Church of the German Knights.

This article discusses the disputed location of two prominent places related to the passion narrative of Jesus, i.e., the Palace of the High Priest and the Praetorium of Pilate. Sources from the Byzantine time together with the modern archaeology, show us that the Palace of the High Priest probably can be located on the eastern slope of Mount Zion. We should be careful with a more specific location, but we should not exclude the possibility of a location at the modern church St. Peter in Gallicantu, which claims to be the correct place. The Praetorium of Pilate was unambiguously located near the Tyropoeon Valley by the Byzantine Christians. This is probably a correct tradition, and thus Pilate seems to have used the Royal Palace of the Hasmoneans as the Praetorium when he was in Jerusalem. This Palace was probably located in the steep western slope of the Tyropoeon Valley, where we today find the ruins of St. Mary's Church of the German Knights.

Field archaeological survey in Jordan Valley on the eastern bank of Jordan River recovered architectural Byzantine remains of Gharabah caravansaries, close to site of Jesus Baptism along the historical pilgrim's route from Jerusalem to Mount Nebo. The main objective of this article is to shed light on the importance of the recovered architectural remains& to link the site with other newly discovered stations along the pilgrims route from Bethany Beyond the Jordan to major Byzantine sitessuch assite of Jesus baptism. By systematic excavations, data analysis and comparative studies the work concluded in revealing two large water pools connected to each other by a long canal, and a major structure consists of a number of rooms and otherassociated facilities The discovery of Gharabah caravansaries considered as a progress step toward identification of lost pilgrims stations during the Byzantine Period from 4 th-6 th AD.

Since 1996 the systematic excavations started on the eastern part of Jordan River, archaeological works have uncovered the ruins of a dozen ancient churches and monasteriessome with splendid mosaic floors-scattered over small hills and barren terraces in an area located between Wadi Iraq Al Ameer, and Wadi Hesban where both water of the two Wadies joints together in the lower area of Livias; recently called Rama & Kafrein. There were also wells, baptism pools and elaborate water system built by the first converts to Christianity. The article will focus on the important discoveries was made in these three locations Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Aenon Near to Saleem & Tyrue Cave near Jordan River and analyze the importance of this area during the Classical Period .