The Interaction of Canon and History

Abstract

In his chapter, Tobias Nicklas focuses on the dynamic interconnections between what became the early Christian canon of the Holy Writings of the Bible and the identities resulting from the history of various Christian groups. The development of the canon was decisive for the beliefs of the Christians and their identity, but changes in the group identities led to changes of perspectives on the canon in various contexts. Thus, the ‘canonical process’ did not come to its end with the discontinuity of the closure especially of the canon. As a matter of fact, other writings that do not claim to be part of the canon, fulfil a function analogous to canonical writings, as the reception history of several so-called apocryphal writings and martyrdom passages imply. Building on Maurice Hallbwachs’ concepts of ‘social memories’ (Les cadres sociaux de la mémoire), and ‘collective memory’ (La mémoire collective), Nicklas critically analyses the relationship between memory and martyrdom and argues that while most of the canonical texts have been largely forgotten the landscapes of memory which were created by these texts still exist. This argument highlights the contestation but also the non-fixation and exclusivity of canons.