Dr. Elizabeth Schrader Polczer
@libbiesp
Assistant Professor of New Testament at Villanova University. Duke PhD. Cradle Episcopalian. Mary Magdalene hijacked my life a few years ago.
PSA in case you didn’t know: Matthew and John were BY FAR the most popular gospels in early Christianity. (Helpful chart of extant manuscripts in Scott Charlesworth, Early Christian Gospels, pg. 8. Roman numerals indicate the century of production)
Happy feast day of St. Mary Magdalene! From the Mária Magdolna tower in Budapest 💗
New Testament scholarship all too often avoids the very straightforward observation that "The modern category of one 'original' text or 'Urtext'...never existed in antiquity." Hezser articulated this all the way back in *2001* ! (From C. Hezser, Jewish Literacy in Roman Palestine, 434; photo 424)
New podcast episode out from Religion to Reality! Thanks to Dave Plisky and Fr. John Gribowich for taking the time to talk about my research. religiontoreality.org/podcast/the-...
Happy Fourth of July! 🎆 I think my husband just reached enlightenment...
Big thanks to @dianabutlerbass.bsky.social for inviting me on her Substack, where we announced some big news today! www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW03...
It's true! Villanova is hiring a tenure-track position in Eastern Christianity! Please share far and wide. aarsbl.org/job/tenure-t...
Looking forward to presenting at this conference tomorrow in Greenwich, CT! More details here: www.christchurchgreenwich.org/womens-confe...
A nice Easter present: a hard copy of the Oxford Handbook of Mary Magdalene finally arrived in the mail!
Exciting news: the Nestle-Aland committee decided to take my recommendations on updating the NA29 apparatus in John 11 to better reflect the issues around Martha. I'll be talking about these updates to the apparatus at the Johannine Literature panel at SBL in Denver. Hope to see some of you there!
On April 18th I'll be presenting my research at Christ Church Greenwich's Annual Women's Conference. The keynote speaker is Kate Bowler. To register, follow this link: www.christchurchgreenwich.org/womens-confe... Hope to see some of you in CT!
I've got two presentations coming up in the coming weeks: a lecture in New York City in February, and a retreat in Asheville, North Carolina in March. Details below. Hope to see some of you there!
Ooooh a new "Maria" changed to "Martha"! This is from a 12th-century drama attributed to Hilarius, a student of Abelard. Perhaps just a mistake - or perhaps a bit of confusion about which sister confessed Jesus as the Christ? ;) Thanks to Prof. Carol Symes for calling this to my attention!
Stopped by the @nationalgalleryuk.bsky.social yesterday on our long layover in London. My husband and I had to say hi to the Marys and Jesus!
Reading James Barker's new book from @ebyrbooks.bsky.social and realizing that in many respects we are saying the same thing: the gospels were influenced by literary multiformity in Greco-Roman and Second Temple Jewish circles (although his perspective is source-critical, and mine is text-critical).
Really lovely day today in Münster, Germany! I came here to present a boatload of new information to scholars at the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung, and gave a few recommendations for updates to the NA29 apparatus. 🤞🏻
We're looking forward to hosting Pete Enns from @theb4np.bsky.social Eastern U for the CBA's upcoming regional conference at Villanova in March! Want to join us? The call for papers is here: assets.noviams.com/novi-file-up...
Every once in a while, researching ancient manuscripts can give you a chuckle.
I just noticed that up until the fifth century, every single surviving Greek manuscript of Luke 11:11 preserves a distinct rendition of Jesus's question. Obviously this is due to harmonization with Matthew 7:9-10, but honestly, it's impossible to tell what Luke actually wrote here.
I will be giving a guest lecture tomorrow at @univie.ac.at about the fascinating variations and interpretations in Revelation 13:18. I've been enjoying digging deeper into this question - thank you so much @eve9445.bsky.social for the invitation to Vienna!
I'm in Rome for a research trip, and guess who else was here? One of the finest papyrologists alive, Fr. Juan Chapa! (He's the editor of P.Oxy. 5577 and MANY other fascinating Oxyrhynchus papyri) What a treat to get to chat with him
Funniest "Mary" changed to "Martha" I've seen recently (found in minuscule 742)
Dropped by the British Library today on a layover, and got to see Codex Sinaiticus. 😍 Amazing luck: the page was open to John 20, the scene with Jesus and Mary Magdalene!
Good news from the #SBLAAR2025 Annual Meeting! I'll also be on the panel discussion of Hugh Houghton's new "Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament" (an update of Bruce Metzger's classic). These will both be great sessions - looking forward to seeing all you Bible dorks in Boston in November.
Ok it's the end of the semester, and I am *really* proud of this game we're going to play in class today to help study for the final exam. Props to my husband for finding this awesome Jeopardy website template!