Book contents
- Christianity and International Law
- Law and Christianity
- Christianity and International Law
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Christianity and International Law: An Introduction
- 2 The Byzantine Commonwealth and the Emerging Features of a Law of Nations in the First Millennium
- 3 Christianity and the Birth of Ambassadorial Deontology: Some Historical Notes
- 4 Formation and Refiguration of the Canon Law on Trade with Infidels (c.1200–c.1600)
- 5 God, Sovereignty, and the Morality of Intervention outside Europe
- 6 The Significance of Christian Charity to International Law
- 7 Hugo Grotius: On Freedom of the Seas and Human Nature
- 8 Ius gentium et naturae: The Human Conscience and Early Modern International Law
- 9 Legalizing Antisemitism? The Legacy of Savigny’s Roman(tic) Law
- 10 Missionary Knowledge and the Empirical Foundations of Modern International Legal Thought
- 11 Standards for a Righteous and Civilized World: Religion and America’s Emergence as a Global Power
- 12 International Protestantism and Its Changing Religious Freedoms
- 13 Beyond the Freedom of Worship: The Contested Meaning of Religious Freedom in International Human Rights Law and Politics, 1945–1967
- 14 Process Theology and a Pluralistic Foundation for Human Rights
- 15 Christianity and Human Rights Law: Orthodox Perspectives
- 16 Conquest, Sacred Sites, and “Religion” in a Time of Crisis
- 17 Constantine’s Legacy: Preserving Empire While Undermining International Law
- 18 Hopelessly Practicing Law: Asylum Seekers, Advocates, and Hostile Jurisdictions
- 19 The Hidden Theology of International Legal Positivism
- Select Bibliography
- Index
- References
3 - Christianity and the Birth of Ambassadorial Deontology: Some Historical Notes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 May 2021
Book contents
- Christianity and International Law
- Law and Christianity
- Christianity and International Law
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Christianity and International Law: An Introduction
- 2 The Byzantine Commonwealth and the Emerging Features of a Law of Nations in the First Millennium
- 3 Christianity and the Birth of Ambassadorial Deontology: Some Historical Notes
- 4 Formation and Refiguration of the Canon Law on Trade with Infidels (c.1200–c.1600)
- 5 God, Sovereignty, and the Morality of Intervention outside Europe
- 6 The Significance of Christian Charity to International Law
- 7 Hugo Grotius: On Freedom of the Seas and Human Nature
- 8 Ius gentium et naturae: The Human Conscience and Early Modern International Law
- 9 Legalizing Antisemitism? The Legacy of Savigny’s Roman(tic) Law
- 10 Missionary Knowledge and the Empirical Foundations of Modern International Legal Thought
- 11 Standards for a Righteous and Civilized World: Religion and America’s Emergence as a Global Power
- 12 International Protestantism and Its Changing Religious Freedoms
- 13 Beyond the Freedom of Worship: The Contested Meaning of Religious Freedom in International Human Rights Law and Politics, 1945–1967
- 14 Process Theology and a Pluralistic Foundation for Human Rights
- 15 Christianity and Human Rights Law: Orthodox Perspectives
- 16 Conquest, Sacred Sites, and “Religion” in a Time of Crisis
- 17 Constantine’s Legacy: Preserving Empire While Undermining International Law
- 18 Hopelessly Practicing Law: Asylum Seekers, Advocates, and Hostile Jurisdictions
- 19 The Hidden Theology of International Legal Positivism
- Select Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
Embassy lies at the heart of Christianity. Recall the archangel Gabriel, sent as God’s messenger to Mary in the village of Nazareth. This event alone, described in Luke’s Gospel (1:26–37) and represented in lively pictures and sculptures innumerable times, is enough to remind us of the long historical connection between Christianity and diplomacy. And so it is no surprise that, as a specific literature on the ambassador began to develop in early modern Europe, the analogy between diplomats and angels was very frequently used. The roots of this analogy can be traced back to the writings of the Jewish thinker Philo of Alexandria († c. AD 50), and to the biblical Letter to the Hebrews (1:14), traditionally credited to Paul. It was from the late Middle Ages onward, however, that the analogy really gained currency, in parallel with the development of diplomatic theory and practice.
Keywords
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- Information
- Christianity and International LawAn Introduction, pp. 41 - 58Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
References
Recommended Reading
Bash, Anthony. Ambassadors for Christ: An Exploration of Ambassadorial Language in the New Testament. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1997.Google Scholar
Faitini, Tiziana. “Shaping the Profession: Some Thoughts on Office, Duty, and the Moral Problematisation of Professional Activities in the Counter-Reformation.” Journal of Early Modern Christianity 7, no. 1 (2020): 177–200.Google Scholar
Fedele, Dante. Naissance de la diplomatie moderne (XIII e–XVII e siècles): L’ambassadeur au croisement du droit, de l’éthique et de la politique. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag; Zürich: Dike Verlag, 2017.Google Scholar
Kantorowicz, Ernst H. The King’s Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Ménager, Daniel. L’ange et l’ambassadeur: Diplomatie et théologie à la Renaissance. Paris: Garnier, 2013.Google Scholar