Title: Clothing the body of Christ at Colossae
Description: What we think of our bodies and what we wear says something about who we are and how we belong. This was the same in the ancient world. Rosemary Canavan explores the imagery of clothing and body in the first century CE Christian writing. An examination of statuary, funerary monuments and coins in this geographical location contemporaneous with the letter's writing reveals how clothing and body images were understood. This is then placed in dialogue with the metaphorical use of clothing and body in other texts, especially the Letter to the Colossians. Social identity and rhetorical studies draw on archaeological, epigraphical, iconographical and literary sources to formulate a new approach to biblical interpretation aptly named "visual exegesis."
Subjects: Primitive and early church, Social life and customs, Bible, Social scientific criticism, Christian sociology, Ancient Cities and towns, Christianity, Early church, Social status, Identity (Psychology), Church history, Clothing and dress, Manners and customs, Social classes, Social scientific criticism of sacred works, History, Bible, commentaries, n. t. colossians, Cities and towns, ancient, Cities and towns, middle east, Church history, primitive and early church, ca. 30-600, Christian sociology, history, Criticism, interpretation, Social structure, Colossenzen (bijbelboek), Beeldspraak, Religious aspects
Places: Turkey, Colossae (Extinct city)
Time periods: Early church, ca. 30-600, Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600