Beyond Canon

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Facebook account of the Centre for Advanced Studies "Beyond Canon_" (DFG FOR 2770), Universität Regensburg

""Beyond Canon_": Heterotopias of Religious Authority in Ancient ChristianityDFG Centre for Advanced Studies FOR 2770The canon of writings of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures is regarded as the fundamental authority in Christianity. Even after its finalization and its widespread recognition in the 4th century, however, there existed and continue to exist today traditions claiming authority, which lie beyond the canon and which were partly directed against canonical texts, sometimes selecting from and updating them. In a creative reception of Foucault’s concept, these traditions, generally known as “apocryphal,” as well as their expressive forms and communication contexts, can be understood as heterotopias, i.e. as “effective spaces,"