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16 - Martyrdom between Fiction and Memory

from Part IV - Contested Cultures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 August 2023

By
David L. Eastman
Edited by
Bruce W. Longenecker  and
David E. Wilhite
Bruce W. Longenecker
Affiliation:
Baylor University, Texas
David E. Wilhite
Affiliation:
Baylor University, Texas
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Summary

The stories of the martyrs occupied a place in early Christian thought and practice that at times rivaled scripture itself. Christians honored figures such as Paul and Peter as apostles of the gospel message, but their reputations and influence were magnified by the accounts of their gruesome deaths. They had stood up for the faith at the cost of their own lives, and in doing so they sealed their places in the celestial hierarchy.

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The Cambridge History of Ancient Christianity , pp. 372 - 395
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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