Manichaean Encounters with Death

Studies in the Parabolic, Material and Spiritual Body

Susanna Towers

Pages: approx. 286 p.
Size:156 x 234 mm
Illustrations:4 tables b/w., 1 maps b/w

Language(s):English
Publication Year:2024

Pre-order*

€ 70,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE

ISBN: 978-2-503-61426-7
Paperback
Forthcoming (Dec/24)

Forthcoming

€ 70,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE

ISBN: 978-2-503-61427-4
E-book
Forthcoming
*How to pre-order?

This monograph explores the Manichaean conceptualization and thematization of death and the afterlife in doctrine, ritual praxis and parabolic literature

Subject(s)

BIO

Susanna Towers studied Psychology and Philosophy at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford, before completing her doctorate in Religion at Cardiff University. Her monograph entitled Constructions of Gender in Late Antique Manichaean Cosmological Narrative was published in 2019.

Summary

Born in Persian Mesopotamia in the year 232 CE, the self-proclaimed prophet Mani promulgated a dualist faith that rapidly spread throughout the Roman Empire, Central Asia and China. This monograph comprises a series of studies of the Manichaean conceptualization of death and the afterlife in the context of Manichaean soteriology, eschatology and anthropology. Material, documentary and liturgical evidence is analysed to ennrich knowledge of Manichaean funereal ritual and mourning practice. The monograph explores the thematic symbolism of the corpse in Manichaean parabolic literature, offering fresh interpretations and exploring the influence of Buddhist teachings on the impermanence of the body, karma and metempsychosis.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: The Journey of the Soul
Chapter 2: The Hour of Need
Chapter 3: The Care of the Dead
Chapter 4: The Death of Mani
Chapter 5: The Parable of the Drunk Man and the Corpse
Chapter 6: The Parable of the Monk and the Virgin
Chapter 7: The Parable of the Corpse and the Treasure
Chapter 8: Manichaean Doctrine, Karma and Metempsychosis