The Christian Sepulchral Law in the Latin West (2nd-8th Centuries)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Andreas Merkt
• Subject Area: Roman Catholic Theology
• Term: from 2006 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 24921033

The Christianization of the Roman World is one of the central issues of research into the fields of late antiquity and the history of the ancient church. Belief in resurrection appears as an essential feature of the then new Christian religion. Hence, it is of primary importance to ask whether the doctrine of resurrection had consequences on attitudes to death and notions of postmortal life. While there are some studies dealing with eschatology in patristic literature and some aspects of late antique funerary culture Christian legislation concerning burial and commemoration of the dead has never been explored in a comprehensive manner.The project aims at filling this gap. For this purpose various sources ranging from synodal canons to testaments and grave inscriptions will be studied.Answers are to be expected to questions such as: Which notions of death and afterlife form the basis of certain sepulchral laws? Do we find distinctively Christian notions or regulations over against Roman or Germanic ideas and practices?

• DFG Programme: Research Grants