And You Welcomed Me: A Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity

by Amy G. Oden

This volume provides an anthology of about 40 primary source documents that describe the work of religious communities that took care of pilgrims and the sick in the late antique and early medieval world. The project identifies letters, diary accounts, instructions, sermons, travelogues, and community records and rules that give us a window into a world of early communities that saw it as their duty and their privilege to care for the sick, to safeguard the pilgrim, and to host the stranger. Each document is placed in historical, geographical, and social context as it contributes to an emerging picture of these communities. The volume addresses the motivations and practices of communities that risked extending hospitality. Why did these communities take great risks for the socially vulnerable? What stake did they have in pilgrims and the sick? What communal experiences supported and sustained both the communities and their audiences? How was hospitality cultivated?

Genres: Theology, Religion

316 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2001

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource of primary source documents on hospitality. Amy Oden arranges the material topically and does a wonderful job of prefacing each document. Highly useful for recovering a theology of hospitality for the Church today and even includes an appendix with chapter by chapter discussion questions.