Early Christian Narratives
Publications
Introduction to Narrative Perspective/Focalization
Heilig, Christoph. “Narrative Perspective and Biblical Exegesis.” Presentation at the ΣΕΜΙΝΑΡΙΟ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΥ ΕΡΜΗΝΕΥΤΙΚΗΣ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΙΑΣ, Exegeticum. Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης Θεολογική Σχολή. Thessaloniki, March 21, 2024.
General introduction to the concept of narrative perspective/focalization and its value for exegesis.
Heilig, Christoph. “Alles nur eine Frage der Perspektive? Fokalisierung in frühchristlichen Erzählungen.” Presentation at the Deutschschweizer Doktoranden- und Habilitantenkolloquium. University of Zurich, March 9, 2024.
General introduction to the concept of narrative perspective/focalization and its value for exegesis.
Heilig, Christoph. “Just a Matter of Perspective? Focalization in Early Christian Narratives.” New Testament Research Seminar, University of Munich, February 2, 2024.
General introduction to the concept of narrative perspective/focalization and its value for exegesis.
Pauline Letters
Howard, Ellen. “Tracing the Shadows: The Implicit and Explicit Gospel Narrative in Paul's Contested Epistles.” 2024 Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Diego, United States of America.
In this paper, I consolidate all of the information about the life of Christ found in each of the disputed Pauline Epistles and compare this data to that found in the uncontested Epistles in order to demonstrate the unique content and character of each letter.
Howard, Ellen. “Unifying Micro-Narratives in Galatians through Narrative Focalization.” 2024 Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Diego, United States of America.
In this paper, I address the potential contradictions between the Christ narrative in Galatians 3:13-14 and 4:4-7 and seek to unify these narratives through narrative focalization.
Heilig, Christoph. “Counter-Narratives in Galatians.” Pages171-90 in Scripture, Texts, and Tracings in Galatians and 1 Thessalonians. Edited by A. Andrew Das and B. J. Oropeza. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2023.
In this article, I bring together my interest in early Christian unease with the Roman Empire with a research focus on stories. The notion of counter-narratives turns out to be very productive in scrutinizing how Paul in Galatians interacts with the dominating Roman ideology of his day.
Heilig, Christoph. Paulus als Erzähler? Eine narratologische Perspektive auf die Paulusbriefe. BZNW 237. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2020.
To many, Paul is known as a great thinker - or perhaps a muddled one. In any case, he is not particularly known as a storyteller. However, recent scholarship has claimed that we can find “narrative substructures” or a unified “worldview narrative” behind the text of his letters and that the arguments of the apostle can only be interpreted against that narrative backdrop. In this analysis, I argue that a proper narratological approach requires us to first scrutinize the explicit narratives in Paul’s letters before we can move on to address the issue of supposed implicit stories. This ultimately vindicates the “narrative approach” to Paul and emphasizes that a lot can be learned from taking the category of narrativity seriously in Pauline studies. The book is available in open access. It won the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award 2022.
Gospels and Acts
Howard, Ellen. “Seeing and Speaking: The Dynamics of Focalization in the Prodigal Son.” 2024 British New Testament Studies Conference, Glasgow, United Kingdom
In this paper, I analyze the different voices and perspectives at play throughout the parable of the Prodigal Son, drawing out the implications of the analysis for the author's intended purpose and meaning of the parable.
Howard, Ellen. “The Gospel in Motion: A Narratological Analysis of Acts 22:22–29.” 2024 British New Testament Studies Conference, Glasgow, United Kingdom
In this paper, I analyze the presentation and situation of the brief account of Paul avoiding a beating in Jerusalem in order to better interpret the narrative and better understand its role in Luke/Acts as a whole.
Howard, Ellen. The Verbal Aspect of Perfect and Pluperfect Verbs in the Narrative Literature of the New Testament. PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2022. Publication is currently prepared.
My thesis is the product of a comprehensive analysis of the perfect and pluperfect verbs of the canonical Gospels and Acts. Through a close examination of four primary functions of the perfect and pluperfect in NT narrative literature, I argue that the aspect of these verbs is best described as “combative.”
Apocryphal Literature
Kantartzis, Triantafillos. “Voice of the Unseen Narrator: Shaping the Christological Contours in the Acta Pilati”, 2024 Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Diego, United States of America.
In this paper, I investigate the intervention of the author inside the narration of the Acta Pilati using the voice of the narrator or other narrative characters to address his audience.
Kantartzis, Triantafillos. “The Narrator’s Craft: Unveiling Jesus Through the Authorial Lens in the Acta Pilati”, 2024 British New Testament Studies Conference, Glasgow, United Kingdom
In this paper, I discuss the concealed presence of the author inside the narrative process under the guise of the narrator's voice.
Kantartzis, Triantafillos. “Through the Apocalyptic Lens: Focalization and Narrative Perspectives in the Greek Apocalypse of Peter”, 2024 International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
This paper deals with Peter's perspective inside the apocryphal Apocalypse of Peter and how it affects and dramatizes the storytelling of the Otherworlds.
Kantartzis, Triantafillos. “Narrative Perspectives and Focalization in Acta Pilati: Unraveling the Multifaceted Depiction of Jesus”, 2024 International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
It is a paper dedicated in the focalisation in the Acta Pilati, the first part of the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, which discusses the point of view from which the last days of Jesus on Earth are portrayed.
Howard, Ellen. “Shifting Perspectives: A Narratological Analysis of Focalization in the Septuagint's Judith and Esther.” 2024 International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
In this paper, I examine a pattern of shifting focalization in both the Septuagint's Judith and Esther and propose a potential narrative pattern in the composition of ancient Jewish novels.
Kantartzis, Triantafillos. “Intersecting Dimensions: A Study of Temporal Dynamics and Spatial Imagery in the Apocalypse of Peter”, 2024 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Biblical Studies, Sofia, Bulgaria.
The sense of time and space are air-tight connected with the perspective of the narrating voice. In this paper, I examine the manner in which the spatial and temporal elements of Heaven and Hell, as described in the apocryphal Apocalypse of Peter, are affecting and manipulating the storytelling by the experiencing and the narrating "I" of Peter as the narrator.
Kantartzis, Triantafillos. Το Χρώμα στις Απόκρυφες Αποκαλύψεις και η Σημασία του στην Μετάδοση του Μυνήματός τους (Color in Apocryphal Apocalypses and its Meaning into the Transmission of their Message). MA thesis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 2022. Translation is currently prepared.
My thesis is examining the functionality and the meaning of color and color terms into the apocryphal Apocalypses of Peter and Paul, how they bring extratextual elements and values inside the text, and how eventually affect the received imagery of the narrative. Since there is an on going discussion regarding the role of color in the Revelation, my work aims to contribute to the studies of color language in the Bible, dealing with a small part of the apocryphal world.
Interreligious Dialogue
Heilig, Christoph. “Was große Sprachmodelle zu biblischen Texten zu sagen haben.” Contribution to the section “Quellenhermeneutik im digitalen Zeitalter” at the conference “alles berechnet? Christliche und islamische Theologie angesichts digitaler Transformation.” Akademie der Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart, March 3, 2024.
Interreligious dialogue with Prof. Armina Omerika (Islamic theology) on AI, multiperspectivism, and theology.