John the Baptist and Fasting

The Gospels passages describe John the Baptist’s ascetic behaviour in the Judean desert, eating locusts and wild honey, wearing garments made of camel hair. The food choices of St. John are analysed in comparison with the practice of nazirite, and also on the light of Eastern tradition, mostly sprea...

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Main Author: Gianluca Olcese
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin 2023-06-01
Series:Vox Patrum
Subjects:
Online Access:https://czasopisma.kul.pl/index.php/vp/article/view/14746
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author Gianluca Olcese
author_facet Gianluca Olcese
author_sort Gianluca Olcese
collection DOAJ
description The Gospels passages describe John the Baptist’s ascetic behaviour in the Judean desert, eating locusts and wild honey, wearing garments made of camel hair. The food choices of St. John are analysed in comparison with the practice of nazirite, and also on the light of Eastern tradition, mostly spread in Syriac Christianity, which interpretation differs, underlining a particular form of ascetism completely characterised by vegetables. Commentaries, mostly dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries, explain the word ‘akrides’ as a particular vegetable. Furthermore, the celebration of St. John’s Eve, as a result of medieval western development, is nowadays characterized by abundance of food, in contrast, with the Gospel description of the life of the Baptist, are compared with the tradition of charivari, known since the Middle Ages.
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spelling doaj.art-de0201f7eb71457db171f882aebb1f012023-08-05T09:42:09ZengThe John Paul II Catholic University of LublinVox Patrum0860-94112719-35862023-06-0186355010.31743/vp.1474617912John the Baptist and FastingGianluca Olcese0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7479-0282University of WrocławThe Gospels passages describe John the Baptist’s ascetic behaviour in the Judean desert, eating locusts and wild honey, wearing garments made of camel hair. The food choices of St. John are analysed in comparison with the practice of nazirite, and also on the light of Eastern tradition, mostly spread in Syriac Christianity, which interpretation differs, underlining a particular form of ascetism completely characterised by vegetables. Commentaries, mostly dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries, explain the word ‘akrides’ as a particular vegetable. Furthermore, the celebration of St. John’s Eve, as a result of medieval western development, is nowadays characterized by abundance of food, in contrast, with the Gospel description of the life of the Baptist, are compared with the tradition of charivari, known since the Middle Ages.https://czasopisma.kul.pl/index.php/vp/article/view/14746apocryphajohn the baptistlocustfastingsolsticecharivari
spellingShingle Gianluca Olcese
John the Baptist and Fasting
Vox Patrum
apocrypha
john the baptist
locust
fasting
solstice
charivari
title John the Baptist and Fasting
title_full John the Baptist and Fasting
title_fullStr John the Baptist and Fasting
title_full_unstemmed John the Baptist and Fasting
title_short John the Baptist and Fasting
title_sort john the baptist and fasting
topic apocrypha
john the baptist
locust
fasting
solstice
charivari
url https://czasopisma.kul.pl/index.php/vp/article/view/14746
work_keys_str_mv AT gianlucaolcese johnthebaptistandfasting