Ellen Bradshaw Aitken, ThD (Harvard, 1997) is Dean of the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill and Associate Professor of Early Christian History and Literature. Her publications include Jesus’ Death in Early Christian Memory and a translation with commentary of Philostratus’s Heroikos. John M. Fossey, DèsL (Lyon II, 1976), FRSC, FSA, is Emeritus Professor at McGill University and Emeritus Curator of Mediterranean Archaeology at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. He has published monographs on Greek archaeology, epigraphy, and prosopography. He has excavated in Greece, Georgia, Bulgaria, and Britain. Contributors: Amr Al-Azm, Nicolas Beaudry, Rebecca Coughlin, Christiane Delplace, Pauline Donceel-Voûte, Greg Fisher, Pierre-Louis Gatier, Amir Harrak, Ian H. Henderson, Rafah Jwejati, Jeffrey Keiser, George Kellaris, Nicole Kelley, Brent Landau, Marcie Lenk, Felicia Meynersen, Catherine Playoust, Rachel Smith, Frank R. Trombley, and John Wortley.

• Contents / Table des matièresList of Figures / Liste des illustrationsPreface / PréfaceSection I - Literature and Theology / Litérature et théologie1. Hearing God’s Silence: Ignatius of Antiokheia and the Music of the Spheres (Jeffrey Keiser)2. The Beauty of Jesus and His Twin: Redirected Erotics in the Acts of Thomas (Catherine Playoust)3. The Varieties of Religious Communication in the Rhetoric of Loukianos of Samosata (Ian H. Henderson)4. “One Drop of Salvation from the House of Majesty”: Universal Revelation, Human Mission and Mythical Geography in the Syriac Revelation of the Magi (Brent Landau)5. On Recycling Texts and Traditions: The Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions and Religious Life in Fourth-Century Syria (Nicole Kelley)6. The Apostolic Constitutions and the Law (Marcie Lenk)7. Space and Ritual Action: Divinization and the Construction of Sacred Place According to Dionysios Areopagites (Rebecca Coughlin)8. The Rhetorical Topography of Prayer in the Mystical Theology of Pseudo-Dionysios, Rachel SmithSection ii - History and Archaeology / Histoire et archéologie9. La christianisation de l’Antiochène dans l’Antiquité tardive (Pierre-Louis Gatier)10. Was Edessa or Adiabene the Gateway for the Christianization of Mesopotamia? (Amir Harrak)11. From Kastron to Qasṛ: Nessana between Byzantium and the Umayyad Caliphate ca. 602–689. Demographic and Microeconomic Aspects of Palaestina III in Interregional Perspective (Frank R. Trombley)12. Palmyre, de la ville—centre commercial international—à la ville—centre militaire et chrétien (Christiane Delplace)13. Ras el Bassit and the Late Antique Archaeological Landscape of Coastal North Syria (Nicolas Beaudry)14. Rome and the Ghassānids: Comparative Perspectives on Conversion, Boundaries and Power in Near Eastern Borderlands (Greg Fisher)15. Crossroads in the Desert (John Wortley)16. Unity and Individuality: Reflections on Images of Animals from South Syria in the Roman Imperial Period (Felicia Meynersen)Section iii - The Mosaics / Les mosaïques17. Management and Preservation of Mosaics in Syria: Between Theory and Practice (Amr Al-Azm)18. Barrer la route au Malin: une typologie des stratégies utilisées. Images et signes à fonctionnement sécuritaire sur support fixe dans l’Antiquité tardive (Pauline Donceel-Voûte)19. Contribution de la mosaïque syrienne à l’iconographie chrétienne (Rafah Jwejati)20. Thoughts on the Meaning of a “Decorative” Early Christian Mosaic (George Kellaris)Summation / ConclusionIndices / Registres1. Personal Names / Noms de personnes2. Place Names / Toponymes3. Ancient Texts / Textes anciens

Ellen Bradshaw Aitken, ThD (Harvard, 1997) is Dean of the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill and Associate Professor of Early Christian History and Literature. Her publications include Jesus’ Death in Early Christian Memory and a translation with commentary of Philostratus’s Heroikos. John M. Fossey, DèsL (Lyon II, 1976), FRSC, FSA, is Emeritus Professor at McGill University and Emeritus Curator of Mediterranean Archaeology at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. He has published monographs on Greek archaeology, epigraphy, and prosopography. He has excavated in Greece, Georgia, Bulgaria, and Britain. Contributors: Amr Al-Azm, Nicolas Beaudry, Rebecca Coughlin, Christiane Delplace, Pauline Donceel-Voûte, Greg Fisher, Pierre-Louis Gatier, Amir Harrak, Ian H. Henderson, Rafah Jwejati, Jeffrey Keiser, George Kellaris, Nicole Kelley, Brent Landau, Marcie Lenk, Felicia Meynersen, Catherine Playoust, Rachel Smith, Frank R. Trombley, and John Wortley.

• Contents / Table des matièresList of Figures / Liste des illustrationsPreface / PréfaceSection I - Literature and Theology / Litérature et théologie1. Hearing God’s Silence: Ignatius of Antiokheia and the Music of the Spheres (Jeffrey Keiser)2. The Beauty of Jesus and His Twin: Redirected Erotics in the Acts of Thomas (Catherine Playoust)3. The Varieties of Religious Communication in the Rhetoric of Loukianos of Samosata (Ian H. Henderson)4. “One Drop of Salvation from the House of Majesty”: Universal Revelation, Human Mission and Mythical Geography in the Syriac Revelation of the Magi (Brent Landau)5. On Recycling Texts and Traditions: The Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions and Religious Life in Fourth-Century Syria (Nicole Kelley)6. The Apostolic Constitutions and the Law (Marcie Lenk)7. Space and Ritual Action: Divinization and the Construction of Sacred Place According to Dionysios Areopagites (Rebecca Coughlin)8. The Rhetorical Topography of Prayer in the Mystical Theology of Pseudo-Dionysios, Rachel SmithSection ii - History and Archaeology / Histoire et archéologie9. La christianisation de l’Antiochène dans l’Antiquité tardive (Pierre-Louis Gatier)10. Was Edessa or Adiabene the Gateway for the Christianization of Mesopotamia? (Amir Harrak)11. From Kastron to Qasṛ: Nessana between Byzantium and the Umayyad Caliphate ca. 602–689. Demographic and Microeconomic Aspects of Palaestina III in Interregional Perspective (Frank R. Trombley)12. Palmyre, de la ville—centre commercial international—à la ville—centre militaire et chrétien (Christiane Delplace)13. Ras el Bassit and the Late Antique Archaeological Landscape of Coastal North Syria (Nicolas Beaudry)14. Rome and the Ghassānids: Comparative Perspectives on Conversion, Boundaries and Power in Near Eastern Borderlands (Greg Fisher)15. Crossroads in the Desert (John Wortley)16. Unity and Individuality: Reflections on Images of Animals from South Syria in the Roman Imperial Period (Felicia Meynersen)Section iii - The Mosaics / Les mosaïques17. Management and Preservation of Mosaics in Syria: Between Theory and Practice (Amr Al-Azm)18. Barrer la route au Malin: une typologie des stratégies utilisées. Images et signes à fonctionnement sécuritaire sur support fixe dans l’Antiquité tardive (Pauline Donceel-Voûte)19. Contribution de la mosaïque syrienne à l’iconographie chrétienne (Rafah Jwejati)20. Thoughts on the Meaning of a “Decorative” Early Christian Mosaic (George Kellaris)Summation / ConclusionIndices / Registres1. Personal Names / Noms de personnes2. Place Names / Toponymes3. Ancient Texts / Textes anciens

Ellen Bradshaw Aitken, ThD (Harvard, 1997) is Dean of the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill and Associate Professor of Early Christian History and Literature. Her publications include Jesus’ Death in Early Christian Memory and a translation with commentary of Philostratus’s Heroikos. John M. Fossey, DèsL (Lyon II, 1976), FRSC, FSA, is Emeritus Professor at McGill University and Emeritus Curator of Mediterranean Archaeology at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. He has published monographs on Greek archaeology, epigraphy, and prosopography. He has excavated in Greece, Georgia, Bulgaria, and Britain. Contributors: Amr Al-Azm, Nicolas Beaudry, Rebecca Coughlin, Christiane Delplace, Pauline Donceel-Voûte, Greg Fisher, Pierre-Louis Gatier, Amir Harrak, Ian H. Henderson, Rafah Jwejati, Jeffrey Keiser, George Kellaris, Nicole Kelley, Brent Landau, Marcie Lenk, Felicia Meynersen, Catherine Playoust, Rachel Smith, Frank R. Trombley, and John Wortley.

• Contents / Table des matièresList of Figures / Liste des illustrationsPreface / PréfaceSection I - Literature and Theology / Litérature et théologie1. Hearing God’s Silence: Ignatius of Antiokheia and the Music of the Spheres (Jeffrey Keiser)2. The Beauty of Jesus and His Twin: Redirected Erotics in the Acts of Thomas (Catherine Playoust)3. The Varieties of Religious Communication in the Rhetoric of Loukianos of Samosata (Ian H. Henderson)4. “One Drop of Salvation from the House of Majesty”: Universal Revelation, Human Mission and Mythical Geography in the Syriac Revelation of the Magi (Brent Landau)5. On Recycling Texts and Traditions: The Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions and Religious Life in Fourth-Century Syria (Nicole Kelley)6. The Apostolic Constitutions and the Law (Marcie Lenk)7. Space and Ritual Action: Divinization and the Construction of Sacred Place According to Dionysios Areopagites (Rebecca Coughlin)8. The Rhetorical Topography of Prayer in the Mystical Theology of Pseudo-Dionysios, Rachel SmithSection ii - History and Archaeology / Histoire et archéologie9. La christianisation de l’Antiochène dans l’Antiquité tardive (Pierre-Louis Gatier)10. Was Edessa or Adiabene the Gateway for the Christianization of Mesopotamia? (Amir Harrak)11. From Kastron to Qasṛ: Nessana between Byzantium and the Umayyad Caliphate ca. 602–689. Demographic and Microeconomic Aspects of Palaestina III in Interregional Perspective (Frank R. Trombley)12. Palmyre, de la ville—centre commercial international—à la ville—centre militaire et chrétien (Christiane Delplace)13. Ras el Bassit and the Late Antique Archaeological Landscape of Coastal North Syria (Nicolas Beaudry)14. Rome and the Ghassānids: Comparative Perspectives on Conversion, Boundaries and Power in Near Eastern Borderlands (Greg Fisher)15. Crossroads in the Desert (John Wortley)16. Unity and Individuality: Reflections on Images of Animals from South Syria in the Roman Imperial Period (Felicia Meynersen)Section iii - The Mosaics / Les mosaïques17. Management and Preservation of Mosaics in Syria: Between Theory and Practice (Amr Al-Azm)18. Barrer la route au Malin: une typologie des stratégies utilisées. Images et signes à fonctionnement sécuritaire sur support fixe dans l’Antiquité tardive (Pauline Donceel-Voûte)19. Contribution de la mosaïque syrienne à l’iconographie chrétienne (Rafah Jwejati)20. Thoughts on the Meaning of a “Decorative” Early Christian Mosaic (George Kellaris)Summation / ConclusionIndices / Registres1. Personal Names / Noms de personnes2. Place Names / Toponymes3. Ancient Texts / Textes anciens