Hartmut Leppin’s scientific contributions

The early Christians were by no means a homogeneous group, let alone a church. This is the fascinating story of the beliefs, practices and experience of individual Christians of antiquity, their relationships to Jewish tradition and the wider Roman world, and the shockwaves they caused among their contemporaries. Ancient Christians are closely connected to today's world through a living memory and a common textual heritage - the Bible - even for those who maintain a distance from Christianity. Yet, paradoxically, much about the early Christians is foreign to us and far removed from what passes for this faith as it currently stands. The distinguished historian Hartmut Leppin explores this paradox, and considers how such a small, diverse band of followers originating on the edge of the Roman Empire was able within less than three centuries to grow and become its dominant force under Emperor Constantine and his successors.

Avariety of sources refer to the work of Rabbula, bishop of Edessa from 411/2 to 435/6. Normally, their evidence is combined and harmonized by scholars in order to convey a homogeneous depiction of the bishop. My contribution begins by underlining the necessity of distinguishing carefully between sources and considering their respective contexts. Special attention will then be devoted to the idealizing but still reliable depiction in the Syriac Vita entitled The Heroic Deeds of Rabbula. It depicts Rabbula as an urban bishop wanting to assert himself within a community in which Christianity is dominated by aristocratic groups. He attempts to transform Edessa into a community of ascetism and religious welfare where the importance of displays of wealth is diminished and paupers play a more prominent role. He single-mindedly sets his own ascetic authority above other forms of authority. If we follow this line of interpretation, Rabbula envisaged a new Christian character for his city. However, he did not win acceptance among the influential groups as demonstrated by the election of his successor Hiba, who was indirectly criticized in works praising Rabbula. The debate over Rabbula’s role thus offers us insights into the discussions about what it meant to shape a Christian city.