Reception of Paul and Early Christian Initiation: History and Hermeneutics

This title breaks new ground in New Testament reception history by bringing together early Pauline interpretation and the study of early Christian institutions.

Benjamin Edsall traces the close association between Paul and the catechumenate through important texts and readers from the late second century to the fourth century to show how the early Church arrived at a wide-spread image of Paul as the apostle of Christian initiation.

While exploring what this image of Paul means for understanding early Christian interpretation, Edsall also examines the significance of this aspect of Pauline reception in relation to interpretive possibilities of Paul's letters.