Looking for Traces of Early Christian Liturgical Praxis at Unexpected Places? A Note on James 2,3
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/sacrascripta.2026.1.01Keywords:
Letter of James, Christian liturgy, invitational formulasAbstract
This short note takes its cue from a comment in D.C. Allison’s James commentary on the possible liturgical background of the formula used in Jas 2,3 for inviting a wealthy individual to sit at a prominent place. An analysis of the full verse, a comparison with how the formula is translated in modern commentaries, and a critical re-reading of some old proposals to compare it with phraseology known to have been used later on in Christian liturgy illustrate that if the suggestion cannot be taken for granted there does remain a shadow of doubt about the liturgical connection.
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