A Larger Hope?, Volume 1

“This large yet lucid volume is not only a recapitulation, in somewhat more popular terms, of the author’s monumental study of apokatastasis, or universal restoration, in early Christian thought; it carries the story forward to the middle ages, adds material on annihilationism, and digests the author’s previous work on the meaning of the word aionios into an appendix—all with an unmatched command of primary sources and scholarly literature.”


—Mark Edwards, Professor of Theology, University of Oxford





“Is universalism an aberration in Christian theology? Definitely not, according to this remarkable assemblage of material . . . This book is strongly recommended for effectively trouncing the misconception that philosophy or heresy was primarily responsible for the universalist view—rather it was a widespread way of reading Scripture.”


—Frances Young, Emeritus Professor of Theology, University of Birmingham, UK





“Ramelli’s larger project on the status of universalism in the history of Christian thought has already altered the scholarly landscape in many absolutely crucial respects; this indispensable book adds a great many vital dimensions to that project, and adumbrates still more revelations in volumes to come. We are all very much in her debt.”


—David BentleyHart, Professor, Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study, Indiana








“May we hope for the salvation of all? In this compelling work, Ramelli demonstrates with careful scholarship and immense learning that there is indeed a tradition—sometimes hidden, sometimes manifest, rooted in the Scriptures and the conviction that all being is created by God—that embraces this larger hope that all beings will find their destiny in God.”


—Andrew Louth, Emeritus Professor of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University