Early Christianity in Alexandria

M. David Litwa

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Alexandria was the epicenter of Hellenic learning in the ancient Mediterranean world, yet little is known about how Christianity arrived and developed in the city during the late first and early second century CE. In this volume, M. David Litwa employs underused data from the Nag Hammadi codices and early Christian writings to open up new vistas on the creative theologians who invented Christianities in Alexandria prior to Origen and the catechetical school of the third century. With clarity and precision, he traces the surprising theological continuities that connect Philo and later figures, including Basilides, Carpocrates, Prodicus, and Julius Cassianus, among others. Litwa demonstrates how the earliest followers of Jesus navigated Jewish theology and tradition, while simultaneously rejecting many Jewish customs and identity markers before and after the Diaspora Revolt. His book shows how Christianity in Alexandria developed distinctive traits and seeded the world with ideas that still resonate today.

Book Details

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publish Date: Dec 21st, 2023
Pages: 240
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 9.00in - 6.00in - 0.69in - 1.15lb
EAN: 9781009449557
Categories: • Biblical Studies - New Testament - General• Christianity - History

About the Author

Litwa, M. David: - M. David Litwa cowrites and coedits the journal New Testament Abstracts at Boston College. He is the author of many books, including The Evil Creator (2021) and Found Christianities (2022).

Praise for this book

'By focusing on a topic that had not received sufficient attention from contemporary research, M. David Litwa's book ... is not only research that is relevant for scholars, but also an approach that invites any type of reader to discover a complex and rich universe and to learn more about the beginnings of Christianity.' Iuliu-Marius Morariu, Studia Monastica I

'This study constructs a very well-informed platform from which to continue research into the origins of Alexandrian Christianity and their rich theology.' Paul B. Decock, Review of Biblical Literature