La redemptio romana e la sua reinterpretazione cristiana: un contributo alla storia del concetto di redenzione

The paper deals with the concept of redemption developed by a number of Early Christian authors (Origen and Ambrose of Milan in particular). Special attention is paid to the close relationship between their interpretation of Jesus’ salvific action, on the one hand, and the practical and theoretical tradition of the delivery of prisoners or debt ors, which is crystallised in the juridical institution of the redemptio, on the other. Such a relationship sheds light on the history of the con- cept and helps to better grasp its wide, nuanced spectrum, which – far from focussing on a momentous event – seems to cover a complex net- work of theological, social, political and economic relations.