Andrew J. Pottenger's Blog

Maybe about 4-5 years ago, while the book was still in production but under contract, I was interviewed by the Manchester Wesley Research Centre (based at Nazarene Theological College).

Someone e-mailed the link to me recently, and it was fun to go back over what I'd said about the work back then.

https://www.mwrc.ac.uk/blog/2021/12/1...

Here is a recent review of my book on Constantine by senior scholar John Nöel Dillon (Yale Univ.): https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2024/2024.1...

Here is a review of my book on Constantine by senior scholar Charles M. Odahl (Boise State Univ.): https://www.cambridge.org/core/journa...

Today's the day! Dive deeper into the origins of the so-called 'church and state' situation by exploring Constantine's thought and activity in relation to the churches. The paperback edition is officially on sale as of today.

https://www.routledge.com/Power-and-R...

The paperback edition of my book, 'Power and Rhetoric in the Ecclesiastical Correspondence of Constantine the Great', is available for pre-order for about $46 from Routledge. It will be released on 28 October 2024. It is also available for pre-order on Amazon for about $55 and will be released on the same day.

This is not a biography of Constantine, or a generalized history of the Roman Empire during his reign (A.D. 306-337). Rather, it is an in-depth look at numerous imperial letters that mainly addressed two inter-Christian conflicts with which Constantine was involved: the Donatist Schism and the so-called 'Arian Controversy'.

This book deals with the questions of how and why Constantine as a Roman emperor involved himself with the internal affairs of the Christian churches. Careful analysis of these letters in their context reveals, I argue, that Constantine engaged imperial power with these internal church issues according to three principles -- which I've labeled 'doctrines of imperial power'. These are the doctrine of divine favor and agency (Ch. 2), the doctrine of ecclesiastical unity (Ch. 3), and the doctrine of resistance and compromise (Chs. 4-5).

The book includes a general introduction, a first chapter dealing with problems and issues with these letters as source material, a sixth chapter showing how the three doctrines continued guiding Constantine's engagements with the churches following the period of their initial development, and a summary chapter providing overall conclusions.

Here is the link to my book on the Routledge website: https://tinyurl.com/5dn3s464.

My review of a monograph by scholar David Michelson on contemplative reading in ancient East Syrian Christianity:
https://currentpub.com/2024/10/02/rev...

This morning, I began receiving several excited and perplexed messages about an apparent discovery of a temple dedicated to Constantine's 'divine ancestors'. Here is an article about it in the Jerusalem Post: http://tinyurl.com/ysdwx98y.

Does this add to or up-end our understanding of Constantine in terms of his relation to Christianity?

Not really.

Scholars have long recognized that Constantine promoted himself and his religious allegiance in terms that would be acceptable to both Christians...

I will be giving a brief presentation of my book on Constantine via Zoom at the 2nd Online Edinburgh Byzantine Book Festival, Friday 10 March from 6:40-7:10 p.m. (Edinburgh, Scotland time!). Currently, I'm listening to the presentations of fascinating books published recently in late Roman and Byzantine history by some fantastic authors. Privileged to be part of this group, and looking forward to tomorrow's presentation.

You can still register for free here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/history-classics...

I am grateful to everyone who has expressed interest in my recently published monograph, Power and Rhetoric in the Ecclesiastical Correspondence of Constantine the Great (Routledge, 2022). I am pleased that the book appears to be selling well, and I am very much looking forward to responses by other scholars to these ideas. The book is currently available at a 25% off discount for the next three days: https://www.routledge.com/.../Potteng...

A big thank you to the 60-some-odd academic libraries worldwide who pre-ordered 'Power and Rhetoric'!

If your university, college, community/junior college, or public library does not have a copy yet, be sure to request one from them. You can also obtain a copy via inter-library loan.

The book is still 30% off if ordered directly from Routledge.com.