BAS Scholars Series with Robyn Walsh

ONLINE
Monday, June 23, 2025
8-9pm ET
Jesus’ “Magic Stick” and Imperial Imagery in Early Christian Art

with Robyn Walsh, University of Miami

The BAS Scholars Series program offers a quarterly, stand-alone presentation by noted scholars of the Bible and archaeology.

On June 23, 2025, join Robyn Walsh for her compelling talk.

Lectures

Jesus’ “Magic Stick” and Imperial Imagery in Early Christian Art

This talk proposes that depictions of Jesus with a “magic wand” (virgus) in early Christian art draw, in part, upon precedents found in certain funerary reliefs of Roman centurions holding a switch or vine-stock (vitis). We will review the history of art and scholarship on Jesus’ wand and then talk about what it means for Jesus to be placed in conversation with this kind of imperial symbolism.

Speaker

Robyn Walsh

Robyn Faith Walsh is an Associate Professor at the University of Miami (UM). She earned her Ph.D. at Brown University in Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean, with a focus on early Christianity, ancient Judaism, and Roman archaeology. [More Bio]

Price

  • Full payment $10 per person
  • Registration Deadline TBD
  • Recording will be available for participants to watch until TBD

Register

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Contact

Have questions about the program? Send an email to Peter Megginson (Travel Study Director)
at [email protected] or call 800-221-4644, ext. 424 (Toll-free).

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