Chris Frilingos

Biography

Christopher A. Frilingos is Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University. He writes and teaches about biblical literature and early Christianity. He studied at Greensboro College in North Carolina, the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and earned a PhD in Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He wrote the book Jesus, Mary, and Joseph: Family Trouble in the Infancy Gospels (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017).

Some of his research into early Christian stories about the holy family appears online in The Conversation, including “Did early Christians believe that Mary was a teenager? It’s Complicated” (Nov. 14, 2017), and “How parenthood has changed how I read ancient stories of Joseph and Mary’s relationship with Jesus” (Dec. 12, 2017)

His earlier book, Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs, and the Book of Revelation, is also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Education

Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2001 (Religious Studies)

M.Litt., University of St. Andrews, Scotland 1993 (New Testament)

B.A., Greensboro College 1992 (English)

Principle Scholarly Interests

Biblical Literature, Early Christianity