06: Christianity, Food, and Fasts
beliefs practices
symbols
Eras of interest for us:
- From life of Jesus to Christianity
- Late antiquity and early Middle Ages: calendar, practices
- 12th c and later developments
bracketing
Sacred texts:
Hebrew Bible; Septuagint
Christian texts: Greek (some with lost Aramaic originals)
Composed: Second half of 1st c CE
Collected, canonized: by ca 200
Gospels; Acts; Letters (Paul and others); Apocalypse
Gospels:
Synoptic (with one eye) Matthew Mark Luke; ca 70-80 CE
John ca 90 CE
life of Jesus: focus on adult life as preacher, ages 30-33, death, resurrection, expectation of return
Jesus as the Messiah of Biblical prophecy (especially Matthew)
Teaching: sermons, parables
Miracles
Food:
- Jesus’s career begins with 40 days fasting in wilderness, temptations include food
Temptation of Christ. Venice, San Marco, 12th century
2. first miracle: wedding at Cana turning water into wine
Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255–1319) The Wedding at Cana (ca. 1310)
3. Other Miracles: Feeding crowds
Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes. Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo. Ravenna 6th century
4. parables: often involve food, grain, farmers, shepherds, vineyards
5. last supper: bread and wine; symbol of Jesus as sacrificial lamb
The Last Supper, Domenico Ghirlandaio, San Marco, Florence, 1480s
Agnus Dei 6th-century apse mosaic in the Euphrasian Basilica, Poreč, Croatia
Paul (Saul of Tarsus (ca 5-ca 67)
Conversion and career: Acts
Letters to communities of followers of Jesus
- how do groups maintain themselves
- whether they should keep their id as subset of Judaism (conversion and observance). NO
- What is the meaning of basic practices becoming established among Christians such as baptism
Liturgical Calendar: Feasts and Fasts
Week: Sunday; Friday
Year:
Major seasons:
Advent-Christmas (fixed)
4 Sundays; Christmas; Epiphany; Purification/Presentation (Feb 2)
Ordinary Time: interrupted by movable cycle (lunar calendar)
Easter:
Septuagesima; Lent; Holy Week; Triduum; Easter; Ascension (40); Pentecost (50)
4.fast times: Lent; Fridays; some other holidays by local tradition
Butter lamb
Sacraments
Eucharist (Communiion)
Transubstantiation (term in use since 1215)