This innovative collection explores the vital role played by fictional narratives inChristian and Jewish self-fashioning in the early Roman imperial period. Employing a diversity of approaches, including cultural studies, feminist, philological, and narratological,expert scholars from six countries offer twelve essays on Christian fictions or fictionalized texts and one essay on Aseneth. All the papers were originally presented at theFourth International Conference on the Ancient Novel in Lisbon Portugal in 2008. The papers emphasize historical contextualization and comparative methodologies and willappeal to all those interested in early Christianity, the Ancient novel, Roman imperial history, feminist studies, and canonization processes.