Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Department of Religion Welcomes Scholar Carolyn Osiek to Colloquium Series

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WACO, Texas (Jan. 27, 2015) – The Baylor University Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR), Baylor’s department of religion and Baylor University Press will welcome Carolyn Osiek, Ph.D., the Charles Fischer Catholic Professor of New Testament emerita at Brite Divinity School, to speak as part of the OVPR Colloquium Series at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, in Miller Chapel.
“Professor Osiek is one of the few scholars who combines the study of early Christianity with the study of Pompeii and Herculaneum,” said Bruce Longenecker, Ph.D., professor and W.W. Melton Chair of Religion. “Within those towns are resources for reconstructing the world in which the earliest Christianity was first taking shape.”
The title of Osiek’s lecture is “A Second Phoebe? Julia Felix, Entrepreneur.” She will explore the identity of a prominent woman named Julia Felix from the town of Pompeii. An archeological profile of Felix has helped historians reconstruct her as a notable business woman, not unlike the biblical woman Phoebe, found in the book of Romans. Phoebe’s socioeconomic profile may be similar to that of Julia Felix.
“The lecture will shed light on an important, but often neglected, feature of early Christianity,” Longenecker said. “That is, the role of women as benefactors and leaders among followers of Jesus. The importance of the lecture will be matched by the excitement that often accompanies archaeological discoveries, especially discoveries pertaining to the fascinating town of Pompeii.”
In addition to being a celebrated professor, Osiek is the author of many scriptural books and articles, the past president of the Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature, former associate editor of “The Bible Today” and the book review editor of “Catholic Bible Quarterly.” She is also a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart, a Roman Catholic religious group.
Osiek received her doctorate in New Testament and Christian Origins from Harvard University.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Miller Chapel is located in the Tidwell Bible Building at 600 Speight Ave. For more information, contact the Department of Religion at 254-710-3735.
by Ashton Brown, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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