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The earliest history of the Christian gathering : origin, development and content of the Christian gathering in the first to third centuries
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ISSN: 0920623X ISBN: 9789004190702 9004190708 9789004183094 9004183094 9786612786860 1282786865 Year: 2010 Volume: 102 Publisher: Leiden ; Boston : Brill,

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Abstract

Recent research has made a strong case for the view that Early Christian communities, sociologically considered, functioned as voluntary religious associations. This is similar to the practice of many other cultic associations in the Greco-Roman world of the first century CE. Building upon this new approach, along with a critical interpretation of all available sources, this book discusses the social and religio-historical background of the weekly gatherings of Christians and presents a fresh reconstruction of how the weekly gathering originated and developed in both form and content. The topics studied here include the origins of the observance of Sunday as the weekly Christian feast-day, the shape and meaning of the weekly gatherings of the Christian communities, and the rise of customs such as preaching, praying, singing, and the reading of texts in these meetings.

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