Remembering Apostolic Figures Memories of Jesus of Nazareth, as well as reflections on his life and work, are central to the Christian faith, so references to him and apostolic figures abound in the literature. We spoke to Dr Stephan Witetschek about his work in tracing ways of remembering these apostolic figures to build a deeper understanding of the origins of Christianity. The apostles are
central figures in the history of Christianity, both as bearers of tradition and interlocutors of Jesus, and also simply as people whose lives are worth remembering. While the circle of the twelve closest followers of Jesus, later known as ‘the Twelve Apostles’, are the most prominent figures in this respect, there are individuals outside this group who also played a similar function in early Christian literature. “Paul is a prime example, but also Mary Magdalene and James, the brother of Jesus,” says Dr Stephan Witetschek. As the Principal Investigator of the Memoria Apostolorum project, Dr Witetschek aims to build a deeper characterisation of the apostolic figures, looking beyond the group of twelve. “The main part of the project will be studies of individual apostolic figures. This is partly about developing biographies of these individuals as historical figures, but also, and more importantly, as literary characters. There is also a small sub-project looking at the Twelve as a group,” he outlines. This research involves delving deep into the textual sources (with texts in languages like Greek, Coptic and Syriac) and analysing the evidence relating to events dating back to antiquity. Memory itself is imperfect though, and our recollections of an event can be affected by subsequent discussion and debate on it, so to an extent memory is thought to be created, a crucial insight in modern memory studies; this
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The Memoria Apostolorum team.
is something Dr Witetschek takes into account in his research. “We apply these concepts of memory theory in the study of antiquity in looking at objects, and trying to adapt these concepts to the things that we study,” he explains. The way that events are remembered, particularly in literature, does not necessarily always correspond with other evidence of those same events, yet usually memory takes a shape that makes sense in a certain context. “At some point individuals and groups agree on a certain shared memory. That’s what one would speak of as a social memory, which is an important category in my project,” says Dr Witetschek. “The theoretical framework is a notion of memory as being socially constructed, based on Pierre Nora’s notion of Les Lieux de Mémoire.”
Memoria Apostolorum The central question in research is that of why early Christians remembered the apostles in the way that they did, focusing on the first three
centuries AD, with Dr Witetschek analysing different forms of Christian literature to gain deeper insights. One area of interest in the project is how theological ideas evolved in line with the perception of the people connected with them. “The suspicion is that different images of an apostle coincide with different theological conceptions. Let’s take one example – say Peter is remembered as a family person, somebody who had a wife, a daughter and a mother-in-law,” says Dr Witetschek. This could be taken as supporting certain theological ideas, yet in a different time and context, memories of Peter may have been re-interpreted. “Say this historical information is then read in a context that is not really favourable towards families, towards getting married and having children, but rather inclined towards asceticism. Then we read the strange story of Saint Peter’s beautiful yet lame daughter that shows how this memory has become problematic,” continues Dr Witetschek. The story is preserved only on a Coptic Papyrus (P.Berlin 8502, pp. 128-132). For another example, one could mention different memories of Paul: In his letters, he styles himself as mainly a man of the written word who is not very good at speaking in public (2 Cor 10.9-11). Yet in the Acts of the Apostles we are presented with an image of Paul as a competent public speaker, with no reference at all to letter-writing. The characterisations of the apostles connected with certain theological concepts
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and ideas may have changed over time, in the service of certain shapes of Christianity or specific practices. A large part of the project’s work centres on gathering characterisations of the apostolic figures and trying to assess them, from which Dr Witetschek hopes to then learn more about prominent individuals. “Then we can trace parallels or differences, and also possible developments in the characterisation of a person,” he outlines. This relates primarily to the personal characteristics and traits of these different people, both good and bad, as described in the literature. “This is a tricky issue in New Testament studies – the question of whether a certain character is portrayed in a positive or negative way, whether they’re a good or not so good disciple. Then we can consider the meaning behind the inclusion of the negative traits of a person,” says Dr Witetschek.
rendered in very specific ways in different contexts,” outlines Dr Witetschek. This research is part of the wider picture of Christian history, and how certain acts of religious observance or practice evolved. New practices have been introduced over time, and Dr Witetschek believes it is important to understand their historic origins. “I take an observer’s perspective in research. This work is primarily about figuring out what was there in the first three centuries AD,” he says. The project will lead to several important contributions to the literature, including a compendium of apostles, which Dr Witetschek and his associates are preparing as a group. “It’s a concise presentation of the image of these figures that emerged in the first three centuries AD. So, this means looking at how they were presented in different texts, and exploring where there are connections between these different
For what reason, for what purpose, did early Christians remember the apostles in the way that they did? A good example would be Peter’s denial of knowing Jesus, which is documented in the New Testament. While this does not put Peter in a positive light, it is now established as part of the historical picture of him. “It will be interesting to figure out how these different views, and the memory of their weaknesses, play into the overall picture,” says Dr Witetschek. Overall, a general tendency to depict apostles more positively is apparent over time, although there are also stories of conflict between different apostolic figures. “A few of the gospels record some conflict, some tensions between James and Jesus for example, but he is later remembered and recalled as the brother of Jesus, the leader of a Christian group in Jerusalem, and also as a bearer of revelation. It’s interesting to see how the apostles are
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presentations of apostolic figures,” he outlines. “We’re also working on a couple of monographs and dissertations on individual characters.” This will help researchers develop a more general description of the memory of apostles in the first three centuries AD, which Dr Witetschek hopes will engage the attention of those with an interest in theological investigation. “There is a certain historical responsibility of theology, and of the church in general in terms of its self-understanding, to be aware of its own past,” he says. “Things like ministry weren’t there from the very beginning, but developed over time and were constructed by theologians for certain reasons. My research and my project also plays a role for the church in understanding the historical developments behind this.”
Memoria Apostolorum Memoria Apostolorum. Apostolic Figures in Early Christian Memory (1st-3rd centuries) Project Objectives
The project “Memoria Apostolorum” aims at understanding the references to apostles (or apostolic figures) in early Christian literature (1st-3rd centuries) as manifestations of Christian collective memory. Condensing and focussing this memory, they appear as “lieux de mémoire” and pivotal instances for the development of a collective identity of different Christian groups that is based on claims laid to figures of the past.
Project Funding
Funding by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft: HeisenbergStipendium (WI 3620/4-1) and HeisenbergStelle (WI 3620/6-1) plus Sachbeihilfe (WI 3620/5-1).
Contact Details
Principal Investigator, Dr Stephan Witetschek LMU Munich, Faculty of Catholic Theology Professorship for Introduction to Biblical Studies Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1 80539 Munich T: +49 89 2180 3585 E: stephan.witetschek@lmu.de W: https://www.kaththeol.uni-muenchen.de/ lehrstuehle/bibl_einleitung/memoria/index.html
W: http://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/ projekt/388226599 W: https://www.kaththeol.uni-muenchen. de/lehrstuehle/bibl_einleitung/memoria/ publikationen/index.html Dr Stephan Witetschek
PD Dr. Stephan Witetschek is a Research Fellow in the Faculty of Catholic Theology at Ludwig-Maximillians University Munich. He has held research and teaching positions at institutions in Germany, UK and Belgium, and is currently Heisenberg Fellow of the German Research Foundation.
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