The Potency of Rituals in Effecting Stability in Communities: An Examination of Paul’s Interventions in 1 Cor 11:17-34.

The study examines the effects that Paul’s instructions (1 Cor 11:17-34) about the celebration of the δεῖπνον in the Corinthian ἐκκλησία might have had on the members of the ἐκκλησία. It argues that Paul’s instructions helped to create a new ritual meal practice in Corinth, which in turn would have helped to establish a stronger shared identity for the community. Many studies have attempted to reconstruct the historical situations that prompted the letter to the Corinthian assembly. In contrast, this examination examines the potential effects of the text by applying both social and ritual theory to the passage through Harvey Whitehouse’s model of modes of religiosity. Moreover, the issue of the identity of the ἐκκλησία is addressed by Roy. A. Rappaport’s model of self–referential and canonical messages. The dissertation argues that the practice of the κυριακὸν δεῖπνον was not yet shaped into a specifically Christian ritual in Corinth at the time of the letter and that the ritual theories of Whitehouse and Rappaport help to show the potential effectiveness of Paul’s interventions in 1 Corinthians 11. According to Whitehouse, religions tend to be stable in one of two contrasting forms known as imagistic and doctrinal modes of religiosity. Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians exploit several of the characteristics of the doctrinal mode, thus providing the conditions for ritual stability. In turn, Rappaport’s theory of ritual communication shows how Paul’s instructions about the κυριακὸν δεῖπνον provide the ingredients for a clearer communication of an enduring or “canonical” identity to participants. Thus, whatever occasion(s) created the divisions in Corinth, Paul’s instructions provided a means to an alternative, shared identity for the ἐκκλησία.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD