We are glad to inform you that an international e-symposium on baptism in Early Christianity and baptismal inscriptions in Asia Minor will take place on December 19, 2024 on Zoom.us.
Water has been the central element of Christian baptism since the very beginnings of Christianity. Baptism has been part of Christianity from the start, as shown by the many mentions in the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline epistles. Baptism with water, whether by immersion or sprinkling, has always been the primary initiation ritual for Christians. But where did this ritual come from? And what did it mean? Although the term “baptism” is not today used to describe the Jewish rituals (in contrast to New Testament times, when the Greek word βαπτισμός did indicate Jewish ablutions or rites of purification), the purification rites (or מִקְוֶה / מקווה; mikvah—ritual immersion) in Jewish law and tradition are similar to baptism, and the two have been linked.
This e-meeting will focus on the following questions related to baptism in Early Christianity: how did people practice and understand baptism in Early Christian Asia Minor, what kind of connotations did the baptismal use of water evoke in the Asian context, and what significance did baptism gain during the first centuries A.D.? Baptism seems to have been developed in the early years in close contact with the local religious context and the construction of baptisteries in the sixth century A.D. adapted local pagan elements of architecture. The Early Christian baptisteries featured water as the central element of baptism in an architecturally, ritually, and theologically reflected way.
We warmly invite contributions by scholars and graduate students from a variety of disciplines related to this subject. Intended to bring together scholars of Early Christian theology, Roman history and Greek epigraphy to discuss a range of issues concerning this ritual’s characteristics, this video conference should be an excellent opportunity to increase our knowledge about this subject. The following theme groups are the main questions of the symposium which are prescriptive:
- The origins and development of baptism in Asia Minor,
- Relevance and performance of baptism in Early Christian contexts in Asia Minor,
- Early Christian baptismal inscriptions in Asia Minor from archaeological field projects and museums,
- Etymology of Early Christian baptism,
- Ancient Greek and Latin textual sources on Early Christian baptism in Asia Minor,
- Hellenistic and Roman gravestones and other iconographic media depicting Early Christian baptism and baptismal inscriptions in Asia Minor,
- Miscellanea.
On these themes and questions, all approaches and methods susceptible to bringing some progress to our current knowledge are of course welcome: theology, ancient history, epigraphy, archaeology, history of art, cultural anthropology, etc. The symposium will take place virtually on Zoom. All the readings and discussions in our e-conference will be in English and recorded for later viewing on YouTube. The proceedings of the symposium will be published in 2026. The symposium is free of charge.
We would be delighted, if you could consider contributing to our symposium and contact us with the required information below before September 1, 2024. Our e-mail addresses are: zotsiami@uth.gr and/or terracottas@deu.edu.tr
You can read more at the conference’s official website.