Relation Of The Roman State To C
The procedure of the Roman Government against the Christians first took a
definite form with the rescript of Trajan addressed to Pliny circa A. D.
111-113, but there is no formal imperial edict extant before Decius on the
question of the Christian religion. In an addition to the rescript of
Trajan addressed to Pliny there is a letter of Hadrian on the Christians
(Ep. ad Servianum) which is of interest as giving the opinion of that<
Emperor, but the rescript addressed to Minucius Fundanus is probably
spurious, as is also the Epistle of Antoninus Pius to the Common Assembly
of Asia.
Additional source material: The text of the rescripts may be found in
Preuschen, Analecta, I, §§ 6, 7; translations, ANF, I, 186 f., and
Eusebius, Hist. Ec. (ed. McGiffert), IV, 9, and IV, 13.
Plinius Junior, Epistulae, X, 96, 97. Preuschen, Analecta, I, 12 ff.
Cf. Mirbt, nn. 14. 15.
Caius Caecilius Secundus is commonly known as Pliny the Younger, to
distinguish him from his uncle, Pliny the Naturalist, whose wealth
he inherited and whose name he seems to have borne. He was
propraetor of Bithynia under Trajan (98-117), with whom he stood on
terms of friendship and even intimacy. His letter to the Emperor
requesting advice as to the right mode of dealing with Christians
was written between 111 and 113.
This correspondence is of the first importance, as it is
unimpeachable evidence as to the spread of Christianity in the
province in which Pliny was placed, to the customs of the
Christians in their worship, and to the method of dealing with the
new religion, which was followed for a long time with little
change. It established the policy that Christianity, as such, was
not to be punished as a crime, that the State did not feel called
upon to seek out Christians, that it would not act upon anonymous
accusations, but that when proper accusations were brought, the
general laws, which Christians had violated on account of their
faith, should be executed. Christianity was not to be treated as a
crime. The mere renunciation of Christianity, coupled with the
proof of renunciation involved in offering sacrifice, enabled the
accused to escape punishment.
Ep. 96. It is my custom, my lord, to refer to you all questions about
which I have doubts. Who, indeed, can better direct me in hesitation, or
enlighten me in ignorance? In the examination of Christians I have never
taken part; therefore I do not know what crime is usually punished or
investigated or to what extent. So I have no little uncertainty whether
there is any distinction of age, or whether the weaker offenders fare in
no respect otherwise than the stronger; whether pardon is granted on
repentance, or whether when one has been a Christian there is no gain to
him in that he has ceased to be such; whether the mere name, if it is
without crimes, or crimes connected with the name are punished. Meanwhile
I have taken this course with those who were accused before me as
Christians: I have asked them whether they were Christians. Those who
confessed I asked a second and a third time, threatening punishment. Those
who persisted I ordered led away to execution. For I did not doubt that,
whatever it was they admitted, obstinacy and unbending perversity
certainly deserve to be punished. There were others of the like insanity,
but because they were Roman citizens I noted them down to be sent to Rome.
Soon after this, as it often happens, because the matter was taken notice
of, the crime became wide-spread and many cases arose. An unsigned paper
was presented containing the names of many. But these denied that they
were or had been Christians, and I thought it right to let them go, since
at my dictation they prayed to the gods and made supplication with incense
and wine to your statue, which I had ordered to be brought into the court
for the purpose, together with the images of the gods, and in addition to
this they cursed Christ, none of which things, it is said, those who are
really Christians can be made to do. Others who were named by an informer
said that they were Christians, and soon afterward denied it, saying,
indeed, that they had been, but had ceased to be Christians, some three
years ago, some many years, and one even twenty years ago. All these also
not only worshipped your statue and the images of the gods, but also
cursed Christ. They asserted, however, that the amount of their fault or
error was this: that they had been accustomed to assemble on a fixed day
before daylight and sing by turns [i.e., antiphonally] a hymn to Christ
as a god; and that they bound themselves with an oath, not for any crime,
but to commit neither theft, nor robbery, nor adultery, not to break their
word and not to deny a deposit when demanded; after these things were
done, it was their custom to depart and meet together again to take food,
but ordinary and harmless food; and they said that even this had ceased
after my edict was issued, by which, according to your commands, I had
forbidden the existence of clubs. On this account I believed it the more
necessary to find out from two maid-servants, who were called deaconesses
[ministrae], and that by torture, what was the truth. I found nothing
else than a perverse and excessive superstition. I therefore adjourned the
examination and hastened to consult you. The matter seemed to me to be
worth deliberation, especially on account of the number of those in
danger. For many of every age, every rank, and even of both sexes, are
brought into danger; and will be in the future. The contagion of that
superstition has penetrated not only the cities but also the villages and
country places; and yet it seems possible to stop it and set it right. At
any rate, it is certain enough that the temples, deserted until quite
recently, begin to be frequented, that the ceremonies of religion, long
disused, are restored, and that fodder for the victims comes to market,
whereas buyers of it were until now very few. From this it may easily be
supposed what a multitude of men can be reclaimed if there be a place of
repentance.
Ep. 97 (Trajan to Pliny). You have followed, my dear Secundus, the
proper course of procedure in examining the cases of those who were
accused to you as Christians. For, indeed, nothing can be laid down as a
general law which contains anything like a definite rule of action. They
are not to be sought out. If they are accused and convicted, they are to
be punished, yet on this condition, that he who denies that he is a
Christian and makes the fact evident by an act, that is, by worshipping
our gods, shall obtain pardon on his repentance, however much suspected as
to the past. Papers, however, which are presented anonymously ought not to
be admitted in any accusation. For they are a very bad example and
unworthy of our times.
More
-
1 The Neronian Persecution
The Neronian persecution took place A. D. 64. The occasion was the great fire which destroyed a large part of the city of Rome. To turn public suspicion from himself as responsible for the fire, Nero attempted to make the Christians appear as the ... Augustine And The Donatist Schis
After the recall of the Donatists by the Emperor Julian, the sect rapidly increased, though soon numerous divisions appeared in the body. The more liberal opinions of the Donatist grammarian Tychonius about 370 were adopted by many of the less fan... Augustines Life And Place In Th
Aurelius Augustinus, the greatest of the Latin fathers, was born 354, at Tagaste, in Numidia. He was educated to be a teacher of rhetoric, and practised his profession at Carthage, Rome, and Milan. From 374 to 383, he was a Manichaean catechumen, ... Celibacy Of The Clergy And The R
The insistence upon clerical celibacy and even the mere regulation of the marriage of the clergy contributed not a little to making a clear distinction between the clergy and the laity which became a marked feature in the constitution of the Churc... Chiliastic Expectations
Primitive Christianity was marked by great chiliastic enthusiasm, traces of which may be found in the New Testament. By chiliasm, strictly speaking, is meant the belief that Christ was to return to earth and reign visibly for one thousand years. T... Christianity And Judaism
The Christian Church grew up not on Jewish but on Gentile soil. In a very short time the Gentiles formed the overwhelming majority within the Church. As they did not become Jews and did not observe the Jewish ceremonial law, a problem arose as to ... Church Discipline
The Church was the company of the saints. How far, then, could the Church tolerate in its midst those who had committed serious offences against the moral law? A case had occurred in the Corinthian church about which St. Paul had given some instru... Church Organization
No subject in Church history has been more hotly discussed than the organization of the primitive Christian Church. Each of several Christian confessions have attempted to justify a polity which it regarded as de fide by appeal to the organization... Collapse Of The Anti-nicene Midd
When Constantius became sole Emperor, on the death of his brother Constans in 350, there was no further need of considering the interests of the Nicene party. Only the necessity of establishing his authority in the West against usurpers engaged hi... Constantines Endeavors To Bring
One of the intentions of Constantine in his support of Christianity seems to have been the employment of the Christian religion as a basis for imperial unity. The policy of several earlier emperors in reviving heathenism, and Galerius in his perse... Controversy Over Baptism By Here
In the great persecutions schisms arose in connection with the administration of discipline (cf. § 46). The schismatics held in general the same faith as the main body of Christians. Were the sacraments they administered to be regarded, then, as ... Effects Of The Persecution Upon
The persecution developed the popular opinion of the superior sanctity of martyrdom. This was itself no new idea, having grown up in the Church from the time of Ignatius of Antioch, but it now received new applications and developments (a, b). See... Encratites
Asceticism is a wide-spread phenomenon in nearly all religions. It is to be found in apostolic Christianity. In the early Church it was regarded as a matter in the option of the Christian who was aiming at the religious life [see above, § 16]. Th... Favor Shown The Church By Consta
Neither on his conversion nor on his attainment of the sole rule of the Empire did Constantine establish the Church as the one official religion of the State. The ruler himself professed the Christian religion and neither abolished the former reli... Foundation Of Mediaeval Culture
Schools never wholly disappeared from Western society, either during the barbarian invasion or in the even more troublous times that followed. Secular schools continued throughout the fifth century. During the sixth century they gave way for the m... Foundation Of The Mediaeval Dioc
An outline of some of the legislation is here given, whereby the parish as organized in the West was built up, and the diocese was made to consist of a number of parishes under the bishop, who, however, did not exercise an absolute control over th... Gregory The Great And The Roman
Gregory the Great was born about 540. In 573 he was appointed prefect of the city of Rome, but resigned the following year to become a monk. Having been ordained deacon, he was sent in 579 to Constantinople as papal apocrisiarius, or resident amba... Heathen Religious Feeling And Cu
The Christian religion in the course of the latter part of the second century began to attract the attention of heathen writers; it became an object of literary attack. The principal literary opponent of Christianity was Celsus, who subjected the ... Julian The Apostate
The reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363) is important in the history of the Christian Church, in the first place, as indicating the slight hold which heathenism had retained as a system upon the bulk of the people and the impossibility of revivi... Later Gnosticism
Though Gnosticism was expelled from the Church as it perfected its organization and institutions on the basis of the episcopate, the Canon of Scripture, and the creeds, outside the Catholic Church, or the Church as thus organized, Gnosticism exist... Later Montanism And The Conseque
In the West Montanism rapidly discarded the extravagant chiliasm of Montanus and his immediate followers; it laid nearly all the stress upon the continued work of the Holy Spirit in the Church and the need of a stricter moral discipline among Chri... Manichaeanism
The last great rival religion to Christianity was Manichaeanism, the last of the important syncretistic religions which drew from Persian and allied sources. Its connection with Christianity was at first slight and its affinities were with Eastern... Marcion
Recently Marcion has been commonly treated apart from the Gnostics on account of the large use he made of the Pauline writings. By some he has even been regarded as a champion of Pauline ideas which had failed to hold a place in Christian thought.... Martyrdom And The Desire For Mar
Ignatius of Antioch, Ep. ad Romanos, 4. Ignatius was bishop of Antioch in the opening years of the second century. According to tradition, he suffered martyrdom in Rome under Trajan, circa 117. Having been sent from Antioch to Rome... Montanism
Montanism was, in part at least, an attempt to revive the enthusiastic prophetic element in the early Christian life. In its first manifestations, in Asia Minor, Montanism was wild and fanatical. It soon spread to the West, and in doing so it beca... Moral Ideas In The Post-apostoli
Christians were convinced that their religion made the highest possible moral demands upon them. They were to live in the world, but remain uncontaminated by it (cf. supra, § 11). This belief even candid heathen were sometimes forced to admit (cf... Neo-platonism
The last phase of Hellenic philosophy was religious. It aimed to combine the principles of many schools of the earlier period and to present a metaphysical system that would at once give a theory of being and also furnish a philosophical basis for... Period I The Apostolic Age To C
The period in the Church before the clash with Gnosticism and the rise of an apologetic literature comprises the apostolic and the post-apostolic ages. These names have become traditional. The so-called apostolic age, or to circa 100, is that in w... Period I The Imperial State Chu
The history of the Church in the first period of the second division of the history of ancient Christianity has to deal primarily with three lines of development, viz.: first, the relation of the Church to the imperial authority and the religious ... Period Ii The Church From The Pe
In the second period of the history of the Church under the Christian Empire, the Church, although existing in two divisions of the Empire and experiencing very different political fortunes, may still be regarded as forming a whole. The theologica... Period Iii The Critical Period
The interval between the close of the post-apostolic age and the end of the second century, or from about 140 to 200, may be called the Critical Period of Ancient Christianity. In this period there grew up conceptions of Christianity which were fe... Period Iv The Age Of The Consoli
In the fourth period of the Church under the heathen Empire, or the period of the consolidation of the Church, the number of Christians increased so rapidly that the relation of the Roman State to the Church became a matter of the gravest importan... Relation Of The Roman State To C
The procedure of the Roman Government against the Christians first took a definite form with the rescript of Trajan addressed to Pliny circa A. D. 111-113, but there is no formal imperial edict extant before Decius on the question of the Christian... Religious Syncretism In The Thir
In the third century religious syncretism took two leading forms--the Mithraic worship, which spread rapidly throughout the Empire, and the fashionable interest in novel religions fostered by the imperial court. Mithraism was especially prevalent ... Results Of The Decision Of Chalc
The definition of the Council of Chalcedon, in spite of its condemnation of Nestorius and its approval of the letters of Cyril, was a triumph of the Antiochian school and a condemnation of Alexandrian theology. At Chalcedon no more than at Nicaea ... Rise Of Schisms In Consequence O
The Diocletian persecution and its various continuations, on account of the severity of the persecution and its great extent, seriously strained the organization of the Church for a time, and in at least three important Church centres gave rise to... Rome Constantinople And The Lomb
The Sixth General Council was the last great diplomatic triumph of Rome in the East in matters of faith, though two centuries after, in the matter of Photius, Rome played a brilliant part in the internal affairs of the Eastern Church. Immediately ... Rome Constantinople And The Lomb
By the eight century the veneration of pictures or icons had become wide-spread throughout the Eastern Church. Apart from their due place in the cultus, grave abuses and superstitions had arisen in many parts of the Church in connection with the i... Semi-pelagian Controversy
With the condemnation of Pelagianism the doctrine of Augustine in its logically worked out details was not necessarily approved. The necessity of baptism for the remission of sins in all cases was approved as well as the necessity of grace. The do... Social Significance Of The State
The Church at no time degenerated into a mere department of the State. In spite of the worldly passions that invaded it and the dissensions that distracted it, the Church remained mindful of its duty as not merely a guardian of the deposit of fait... Sole Authority Of The State Chur
When Theodosius had successfully forced upon the East the theology of Nicaea, his policy as to religious matters was manifest. No longer was heresy to be allowed. Laws were to control opinion in the same way that they did conduct. The old plea of ... State And Church Under Septimius
Although Christians were at first favored by Septimius Severus, they were still liable to the severe laws against secret societies, and the policy of Septimius was later to enforce these laws. The Christians tried to escape the penalties prescribe... The Age Of Justinian
Justinian I, the greatest of all the rulers of the Eastern Empire, succeeded his uncle Justin I (518-527); but he had, from the beginning of the latter's reign, exercised an ever-increasing influence over the imperial policy, and to him can be att... The Apologetic Conception Of Chr
Christianity was regarded as a revealed philosophy by the apologists. This they considered under three principal aspects: knowledge, or a revelation of the divine nature; a new law, or a code of morals given by Christ; and life, or future rewards ... The Apostles Creed
By the middle of the second century there were current in the Church brief confessions of faith which had already been in use from a time in the remoter past as summaries of the apostolic faith. They were naturally attributed to the Apostles thems... The Apostolic Tradition And The
The Gnostics claimed apostolic authority for their teaching and appealed to successions of teachers who had handed down their teachings. This procedure forced the Church to lay stress upon the obvious fact that its doctrine was derived from the Ap... The Asia Minor Conception Of Chr
The Asia Minor school regarded Christianity primarily as redemption, salvation, the imparting of new power, life, and incorruptibility by union with divinity in the Incarnation. Its leading representative was Irenaeus, a native of Asia Minor, but ... The Attitude Of The Roman Govern
No general persecution of the Christians was undertaken by the Roman Government during the second century, though Christians were not infrequently put to death under the existing laws. These laws, however, were by no means uniformly carried out. T... The Beginnings Of Catholic Theol
The theology of the Church, as distinguished from the current traditional theology, was the statement of the beliefs commonly held by Christians but expressed in the more precise and scientific language of current philosophy, the co-ordination of ... The Beginnings Of Councils As A
Ecclesiastical councils were the first defence against heresy. As the Church had not as yet attained its hierarchical constitution and the autonomy of the local church still persisted, these councils had little more than the combined authority of ... The Beginnings Of Monasticism
Asceticism in some form is common to almost all religions. It was practised extensively in early Christianity and ascetics of both sexes were numerous. This asceticism, in addition to a life largely devoted to prayer and fasting, was marked by ref... The Beginnings Of The Eusebian R
Shortly after the Council of Nicaea, Constantine seems to have become aware of the fact that the decision at that council was not acceptable in the East as a whole, representing, as it did, what was generally felt to be an extreme position. In com... The Byzantine State Church Under
According to Justinian's scheme of Church government, the Emperor was the head of the Church in the sense that he had the right and duty of regulating by his laws the minutest detail of worship and discipline, and also of dictating the theological... The Canon Or The Authoritative N
The Gnostics used in support of their doctrines writings which they attributed to the Apostles, thus having a direct apostolic witness to these doctrines. This they did in imitation of the Church's practice of using apostolic writings for edificat... The Catechetical School Of Alexa
Three types of theology developed in the ante-Nicene Church: the Asia Minor school, best represented by Irenaeus (v. § 33); the North African, represented by Tertullian and Cyprian (v. § 39); and the Alexandrian, in the Catechetical School of wh... The Celtic Church In The British
Christianity was probably planted in the British Isles during the second century; as to its growth in the ante-Nicene period little is definitely known. Representatives of the British Church were at Arles in 314. The Church was in close connection... The Chiliastic Controversy
During the third century the belief in chiliasm as a part of the Church's faith died out in nearly all parts of the Church. It did not seem called for by the condition of the Church, which was rapidly adjusting itself to the world in which it foun... The Christological Problem And T
The Arian controversy in bringing about the affirmation of the true deity of the Son, or Logos, left the Church with the problem of the unity of the divine and human natures in the personality of Jesus. It seemed to not a few that to combine perfe... The Church And The World
So long as chiliastic expectations were the basis of the Christian's hope and his judgment of the order of this present world, the Christian felt that he was but a stranger and sojourner in the world, and that his real home was the kingdom of Chri... The Church At The Beginning Of T
Although Theodosius the Great had been the dominating power in the government of the Empire almost from his accession in 379, he was sole ruler of the united Roman Empire for only a few months before his death in 395. The East and the West became ... The Church In Relation To The Em
In the course of the second century the Church spread rapidly into all parts of the Empire, and even beyond. It became so prominent that the relation of the Church to heathen thought and institutions underwent a marked change. Persecutions of Chri... The Church In The Eastern Empire
At the beginning of the permanent division of the Empire, the church life of the East was disturbed by a series of closely connected disputes known as the First Origenistic Controversy (§ 87), in which were comprised a conflict between a rational... The Church Of Italy Under The Os
The schism between New and Old Rome lasted from 484 to 517, but attempts were made on both sides to end the deplorable situation. The two successors of Acacius were willing to resume communion with Rome and restore the name of the bishop of Rome t... The Church Of The Western Empire
The period between the closing years of the fourth century, in which the struggle was still going on between heathenism and Christianity (§ 81), and the end of the Roman Empire of the West is of fundamental importance in the study of the history ... The Constitution Of The State Ch
The Church's constitution received its permanent form in this period. The conciliar system was carried to its logical completion in the ecumenical council representing the entire Church and standing at the head of a system which included the provi... The Conversion Of The Franks The
Chlodowech (Clovis, 481-511) was originally a king of the Salian Franks, near Tournay. By his energy he became king of all the Franks, and, overthrowing Syagrius in 486, pushed his frontier to the Loire. In 496 he conquered a portion of the Aleman... The Death Of Peter And Paul
Eusebius, Hist. Ec., II, 25. (MSG, 20:207.) Cf. Mirbt, n. 33. For an examination of the merits of Eusebius as a historian, see McGiffert's edition, PNF, ser. II, vol. I, pp. 45-52; also J. B. Lightfoot, art. "Eusebius (23) of C... The Death Of The Apostle John
(a) Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, II, 22, 5; III, 3, 4. (MSG, 7:785, 854.) Irenaeus was bishop of Lyons soon after 177. He was born in Asia Minor about 120, and was a disciple of Polycarp (ob. circa 155) and of other elders who had...