UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl)
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)
Death as Eschaton. A Study of Ignatius of Antioch's Desire for Death
Mellink, A.O.
Publication date
2000
Link to publication
Citation for published version (APA):
Mellink, A. O. (2000). Death as Eschaton. A Study of Ignatius of Antioch's Desire for Death. in
eigen beheer.
General rights
It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).
Disclaimer/Complaints regulations
If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
PREFACE E
Thiss dissertation is very much the final result of a rather solitary undertaking. Nevertheless,, it could not have been completed without the support of a number off individuals and institutions.
Myy work on Ignatius of Antioch began in 1993. At that time I was enrolled inn the Ph.D.-program "New Testament and Early Christianity" of Loyola Univer-sityy of Chicago. During the fall semester I took a course on the letters of Ignatius, givenn by David E. Aune. I did not have to think very long about a topic for the requiredd research paper. My fascination for the extreme immediately drew me to Ignatius'' desire for death as the most interesting and startling issue in the letters. Sincee then, a lot has happened, but in a way this dissertation could be said to be aa revised and largely extended version of that endterm paper. I am indebted to Loyolaa University of Chicago for supporting my studies at that stage of my career ass a graduate student.
II owe it very much to one person that my work on Ignatius did not end back inn 1993. At my return to the Netherlands in 1994, Jan Willem van Henten - then onlyy just appointed as full professor at the Faculty of Theology of the University off Amsterdam - warmheartedly supported my efforts to find a position as research assistant.. In 1995 this came through so that I could continue my Ph.D.-studies and writee my doctoral thesis under his direction. I am grateful for his support and his confidencee in my talents. I hope that I have not disappointed him too much. Our sharedd interest in the inscrutable depths of the souls of the Christian and Jewish martyrss has encouraged me to press on.
II wish to thank all the members of the reading committee: David Aune (Notree Dame), Athalya Brenner (Amsterdam), Daan den Hengst (Amsterdam), and Henkk Jan de Jonge (Leiden), and all others who have commented on my work at differentt stages and in different settings. I also need to express my indebtedness too two scholars whom I have never had the pleasure to meet in person: Joseph Barberr Lightfoot and William R. Schoedel. In many respects their admirable works onn Ignatius have been my points of departure. These two scholars are the shoulders onn which I stand.
Lastt but not least, warm thanks go to all those who have made my stay at thee University of Amsterdam a joy - i.e. not only my colleagues but also those studentss who were so kind to put up with me as a young teacher -, and to all thosee who saw to it that I did not spend too much time alone with my books and behindd my computer. As Ignatius would have put it: "in every way you refreshed mee both in flesh and spirit." Finally, special thanks are due to my brother, Melle Mellink,, for the technical realization of the cover design. Without his assistance, thee appearance of this book would have been much less exciting.
