Christian of Stavelot was a ninth-century Christian monk. He is sometimes (possibly incorrectly) referred to as Christian Druthmar or Druthmar of Aquitaine. Christian was a noted grammarian, Biblical commentator, and eschatologist. He was born in Aquitaine, southwestern France, in the early ninth century AD, and became a monk at the Benedictine monastery of Corbie. At some point in the early or mid-ninth century he was sent to the abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy in Liège, to teach Bible to the monks there. [1] It is unknown whether he died at Stavelot, returned to Corbie or was ultimately sent elsewhere.
Christian was called the "Philologist" because of his extensive knowledge of Greek grammar and his ability to comment upon the Gospels in their original Greek. It is likely he also had some understanding of Hebrew. [1]
Among Christian's works is the commentary Expositio in Matthaeum Evangelistam ("Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew"), in which he discussed (among other things) the eschatological implications of portions of that Gospel. The traditional date given for the composition of this work is 864; however, some scholars have questioned this and maintained that Christian actually lived decades earlier. [2]
Multiple manuscripts have survived of Christian's commentary on Matthew the Evangelist's gospel, some of which were likely edited by later writers to conform with their own views. Of particular interest to, and considerable debate among, modern scholars is Christian's view of the doctrine of transubstantiation. As Philip Schaff noted:
Christian's writings have also attracted the interest of scholars of Jewish history. A tantalizing reference exists in Christian's work to the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism, believed to have occurred in the late eighth or early ninth centuries:
Other works attributed to Christian include Expositio Brevis in Lucam ("A Brief Commentary on Luke"; and Expositiuncula in Ioannem Evangelistam ("A Little Commentary on the Gospel of John.")
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Expositiuncula in Ioannem Evangelistam is a work by the ninth-century Benedictine monk Christian of Stavelot. As its name implies, it is a commentary on the Gospel of John. It is, however, not nearly as comprehensive as his earlier Expositio in Matthaeum Evangelistam.
Exposito in Matthaeum Evangelistam is a work by the ninth-century Benedictine monk Christian of Stavelot. As its name implies, it is a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. In the preface, Christian promised to produce commentaries on the other gospels, but wrote only two brief works on the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Luke, neither of which is as comprehensive or complete.
Brevis is the Latin word for short, and may refer to:
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