The Church in Rome in the First Century

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Church in Rome in the First Century The Church in Rome in the First Century Author(s): Edmundson, George (1849-1930) Publisher: Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library Description: In 1913, George Edmundson gave the University of Oxford©s Bampton Lectures, an annual (now biennial) lecture series that concentrates on Christian theological topics. This book contains the collection of Edmundson©s lectures, all of which concern Christianity©s first two hundred years. The majority of the book©s content addresses the New Testament directly, while a couple of the later lectures concern later early church figures such as Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertul- lian. During his time, Edmundson©s work was largely ignored, as he was a clergyman rather than a New Testament scholar. Not only this, but his conclusions differed vastly from the scholarly consensus of his contemporaries. Today, readers can approach Edmundson©s work as one piece of the ongoing dialogue in literary/historical criticism of the Bible. Kathleen O©Bannon CCEL Staff Subjects: Christianity History By period Early and medieval i Contents Title Page 1 Extract from the Last Will and Testament of the Late Rev. John Bampton 3 Synopsis of Contents 5 Lecture I 10 Lecture II 30 Lecture III 50 Lecture IV 71 Lecture V 90 Lecture VI 112 Lecture VII 136 Lecture VIII 154 Appendices 177 Note A. Chronological Table of Events Mentioned in the Lectures 178 Note B. Aquila and Prisca or Priscilla 181 Note C. The Pudens Legend 183 Note D. 188 Note E. The Tombs of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul 194 Note F. The Roman Catacombs. The Cemeteries of Priscilla and Domitilla. 206 Indexes 214 Index of Scripture References 215 Greek Words and Phrases 218 Latin Words and Phrases 227 German Words and Phrases 240 French Words and Phrases 242 Index of Pages of the Print Edition 244 ii This PDF file is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, www.ccel.org. The mission of the CCEL is to make classic Christian books available to the world. • This book is available in PDF, HTML, ePub, and other formats. See http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edmundson/church.html. • Discuss this book online at http://www.ccel.org/node/2950. The CCEL makes CDs of classic Christian literature available around the world through the Web and through CDs. We have distributed thousands of such CDs free in developing countries. If you are in a developing country and would like to receive a free CD, please send a request by email to [email protected]. The Christian Classics Ethereal Library is a self supporting non-profit organization at Calvin College. If you wish to give of your time or money to support the CCEL, please visit http://www.ccel.org/give. This PDF file is copyrighted by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. It may be freely copied for non-commercial purposes as long as it is not modified. All other rights are re- served. Written permission is required for commercial use. iii Title Page Title Page THE CHURCH IN ROME IN THE FIRST CENTURY ii George Edmundson's iii The Church in Rome in the First Century Is in the Public Domain PDF Format Dedicated to The Glory of God and Salvation Through Jesus the Messiah MCMXCIX THE BAMPTON LECTURES iv FOR 1913 v THE CHURCH IN ROME IN THE FIRST CENTURY AN EXAMINATION OF VARIOUS CONTROVERTED QUESTIONS RELATING TO ITS HISTORY, CHRONOLOGY, LITERATURE AND TRADITIONS EIGHT LECTURES PREACHED BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD IN THE YEAR 1913 ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE LATE REV. JOHN BAMPTON, M.A. CANON OF SALISBURY BY 1 Title Page GEORGE EDMUNDSON, M.A. LATE FELLOW AND TUTOR OF BRASENOSE COLLEGE, VICAR OF ST. SAVIOUR, UPPER CHELSEA LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON NEW YORK, BOMBAY AND CALCUTTA 1913 [A11 rights reserved] CAROLO BULLER HEBERDEN D.C.L. vi AUL. REG. ET COLL. AEN. NAS. PRINCIPALI ACAD. OXON. VICECANCELLARIO AMICITIAE PROBATAE TESTIMONIUM D. D. D. OLIM PER DECENNIUM COLLEGA vii 2 Extract from the Last Will and Testament of the Late Rev. John Bampton Extract from the Last Will and Testament of the Late Rev. John Bampton EXTRACT FROM THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF THE LATE REV. JOHN BAMPTON CANON OF SALISBURY ‘. I give and bequeath my Lands and Estates to the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Oxford for ever, to have and to hold all and singular the said Lands or Estates upon trust, and to the intents and purposes hereinafter mentioned; that is to say, I will and appoint that the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford for the time being shall take and receive all the rents, issues, and profits thereof, and (after all taxes, reparations, and necessary deductions made) that he pay all the remainder to the endowment of eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, to be established for ever in the said University and to be per- formed in the manner following: ‘I direct and appoint, that, upon the first Tuesday in Easter Term, a Lecturer be yearly chosen by the Heads of Colleges only, and by no others, in the room adjoining to the Printing-House, between the hours of ten in the morning and two in the afternoon, to preach eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, the year following, at St. Mary's in Oxford, between the commencement of the last month in Lent Term, and the end of the third week in Act Term. ‘Also I direct and appoint, that the eight Divinity Lecture Sermons shall be preached upon either of the following Subjects—to confirm and establish the Christian Faith, and to confute all heretics and schismatics—upon the divine authority of the holy Scriptures—upon the authority of the writings of the primitive Fathers, as to the faith and practice of the primitive Church—upon the Divinity of our Lord and Saviour testis Christ —upon the Di- vinity of the Holy Ghost—upon the Articles of the Christian Faith, as comprehended in the viii Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. ‘Also I direct, that thirty copies of the eight Divinity Lecture Sermons shall be always printed, within two months after they are preached; and one copy shall be given to the Chancellor of the University, and one copy to the Head of every College, and one copy to the Mayor of the city of Oxford, and one copy to be put into the Bodleian Library; and the expense of printing them shall be paid out of the revenue of the Land or Estates given for establishing the Divinity Lecture Sermons; and the Preacher shall not be paid, nor be entitled to the revenue, before they are printed. ‘Also I direct and appoint, that no person shall be qualified to preach the Divinity Lecture Sermons, unless he hath taken the degree of Master of Arts at least, in one of the two Uni- 3 Extract from the Last Will and Testament of the Late Rev. John Bampton versities of Oxford or Cambridge; and that the same person shall never preach the Divinity Lecture Sermons twice.' ix 4 Synopsis of Contents Synopsis of Contents SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS LECTURE I Character of the theme—The Rome of Claudius and of Nero—Inter- course—Population—Slavery—The ‘Freedman' Class—Alien admix- ture—The Jewish Colony and its history—Its privileges and characterist- ics—Judaism attractive—Proselytes and ‘God-fearers'—The Syn- agogues—Soil prepared for Christianity—The Laureolus—The Jews ex- pelled by Claudius—Aquila and Prisca at Corinth—Their antecedents and position—Their close intercourse with St. Paul—St. Paul at Eph- esus—His Journey to Greece—He writes to the Roman Church from Corinth—The Epistle to the Romans: an Apologia—St. Paul's proposed visit to Rome—Three groups of Roman Christians addressed—The im- pelling motive of the Epistle—The Judaeo-Christians at Rome—The Sa- lutations of Chap. xvi. 1-23—Genuineness of the passage—Criticism dealt with—The Church in the house of Prisca and Aquila—Was this Ecclesia Domestica existent before 57 A.D.?—The Apostles Andronicus and Junias—The households of Aristobulus and Narcissus—The auto- biographic passage Chap. xv. 14-29—‘Another man's foundation'—Was the other man St. Peter? 1–29 LECTURE II The Lukan authorship of the Acts—Fragmentary character of the narrat- ive—The Acts written before 62 A.D.—The closing verses of the Acts—The Day of Pentecost—The sojourning Romans—The Twelve at Jerus- alem—The Hellenists and St. Stephen—Consequences of St. Stephen's martyrdom—Activity of St. Peter —The vision at Joppa—Conversion of Cornelius—Missionaries at Antioch—Barnabas sent to Antioch—He seeks Saul—The name Christiani—Herod Agrippa persecutes the Church—St. Peter escapes from prison—St. James and the Brethren—Value of tradition—Oral tradition—Early Christian written records—Their destruction—Apocryphal ‘Acts'—Criteria of authenti- city—Evidence for St. Peter's martyrdom at Rome—‘Ascension of Isai- ah'—Clement of Rome—Ignatius—Dionysius of Corinth—Irenaeus—The Episcopal lists—Eusebius of Caesarea—Jerome—The Petrine tradition universally accepted in East and West alike—Archaeological evid-x ence—Portraits—Sepulchral inscriptions—Mosaics—Frescoes—The 30–58 5 Synopsis of Contents Petrine ‘legends' based on fact—The Preaching of Peter—Local memor- ies—St. Peter at Rome—The envoy of the Twelve—Precedents of Samaria and Antioch—Analogy of circumstances LECTURE III St. Peter encounters Simon Magus at Rome—Eusebius on the story of Simon Magus—His visit to Rome in Claudius' reign, and success—Weighty evidence of Justin Martyr, of Irenaeus and Hippolytus—The theories of Baur and Lipsius untenable—Vogue of Oriental cults and teachers at Rome—John Mark Peter's interpreter—Origin of St.
Recommended publications
  • RICE, CARL ROSS. Diocletian's “Great
    ABSTRACT RICE, CARL ROSS. Diocletian’s “Great Persecutions”: Minority Religions and the Roman Tetrarchy. (Under the direction of Prof. S. Thomas Parker) In the year 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian and the other members of the Tetrarchy launched a series of persecutions against Christians that is remembered as the most severe, widespread, and systematic persecution in the Church’s history. Around that time, the Tetrarchy also issued a rescript to the Pronconsul of Africa ordering similar persecutory actions against a religious group known as the Manichaeans. At first glance, the Tetrarchy’s actions appear to be the result of tensions between traditional classical paganism and religious groups that were not part of that system. However, when the status of Jewish populations in the Empire is examined, it becomes apparent that the Tetrarchy only persecuted Christians and Manichaeans. This thesis explores the relationship between the Tetrarchy and each of these three minority groups as it attempts to understand the Tetrarchy’s policies towards minority religions. In doing so, this thesis will discuss the relationship between the Roman state and minority religious groups in the era just before the Empire’s formal conversion to Christianity. It is only around certain moments in the various religions’ relationships with the state that the Tetrarchs order violence. Consequently, I argue that violence towards minority religions was a means by which the Roman state policed boundaries around its conceptions of Roman identity. © Copyright 2016 Carl Ross Rice All Rights Reserved Diocletian’s “Great Persecutions”: Minority Religions and the Roman Tetrarchy by Carl Ross Rice A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts History Raleigh, North Carolina 2016 APPROVED BY: ______________________________ _______________________________ S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Letter of Paul the Apostle of YHWH to Philemon
    Paul’s Letter to Philemon Page 1 of 194 The Letter of Paul the Apostle of YHWH to Philemon (A Commentary) Paul’s Letter to Philemon Page 2 of 194 First Edition in English: 13 August 2021 Published by www.David4Messiah.com Apollo Beach, Florida, USA Dr. David d'Albany Copy freely without profit. Distribute freely without profit. Share freely without profit. Paul’s Letter to Philemon Page 3 of 194 Content Page The Text in Aramaic Estragelo 4 The Text in Aramaic AENT 5 The Text in English 6-9 Eleven Persons 10 - 13 Timothy 14 - 22 Philemon 23 - 24 Apphia 25 Archippus 26 - 27 Onesimus 28 - 33 Epaphras 34 - 35 Mark 36 - 45 Aristarchus 46 Demas 47 - 48 Luke 49 - 53 Paul 54 - 60 Commentary verse by verse 61 - 193 The Priestly Benediction 194 Paul’s Letter to Philemon Page 4 of 194 The Text in the original Estrangelo script Paul’s Letter to Philemon Page 5 of 194 The Text in the original Western Aramaic Text (from AENT Aramaic English New Testament) Paul’s Letter to Philemon Page 6 of 194 THE LETTER OF PAUL TO PHILEMON 1. PAUL, a prisoner of Jesus Yeshua the Mashiyach Messiah (the Anointed One), and Timothy, a brother; to the dearly beloved Philemon, a laborer with us, 2. and to our dearly beloved Apphia, and to Archippus a laborer (worker) with us, and to the assembly (ekklyssia) in your house. 3. Grace be with you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus the Messiah (the Anointed One).
    [Show full text]
  • 1 on the Church Dr. Stan Fleming Introduction the Word Church
    On The Church Dr. Stan Fleming Introduction The word church: Somebody once said, “The world at its worst needs the church at its best.” 1 I. What is the Church? A. If you look up the word in a dictionary it might be defined as “a building that is used for Christian religious services”. The Greek word Kruiakon means “the Lord’s house” and the word church is associated with that, but it is also associated with the Greek word Ekklesia which means “the called out ones”. In the country of Greece, Ekklesia meant the idea of citizens called to assemble for legislative or other community purposes. 2 B. Strong’s (1577) ekklesia; a calling out , a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue or Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both): - assembly, church. C. Current statistics on congregations and denominations 1. 4,629,000 Christian congregations 2. 44,000 denominations D. Mentioned in the New Testament 1. Church – 80 times 2. Churches – 37 times E. Old Testament concepts 1. Old Testament concepts: assembly, congregation; though the word synagogue is a New Testament word, the concept of the meeting places of Jews is in the Old Testament (Psalm 74:8) and is still used by Jews to this day. II. The New Testament and Basic Ideas about the Church A. Jesus introduces and concludes the use of the word church : 1. Matthew 16:18 “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” 2. Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tuesday Afternoon Bible Study - Acts 23
    The Tuesday Afternoon Bible Study - Acts 23 Acts 21-28 encompass several years, covering a long period of time in which Paul is always in captivity. Chapters 21-23 tell the first episode in this period, where Paul’s life is threatened three times. Paul has returned to Jerusalem, where so long ago (back in ch 8) he launched his persecution again Christians. Paul’s presence in the temple causes an angry mob to seize him, bringing Roman soldiers to keep the peace, and thus saving him. When the soldiers learn that Paul is a Roman citizen, this allows him a favored status. Allowed to speak to the Jews, in ch 22 Paul offers his defense. After his speech, the Roman tribune in charge wants to understand more about these charges leveled against Paul by the Jews. He orders Paul to speak before Jerusalem’s high-ranking Jewish leaders (sometimes referred to by the Greek word for council, Sanhedrin.) Ch 23 tells of this next encounter. (Hint: it won’t end well.) Let’s read ch 23 in three sections, answering questions after reading each section. Acts 23: 1-11 Read all of Paul’s speech before this gathered body of Jewish leaders. 1. Speaking truth to power is dangerous and can result in injury. Paul starts with a statement about his long-standing faithfulness to the God of Israel. This results in an order by the high priest, Ananias, for Paul to be struck on the mouth. This is the third person named Ananias we encounter in Acts - all 3 are different persons, and the first time we encounter this one.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SAINT HUGO HERALD Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time| July 4, 2021
    ! Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 1 THE SAINT HUGO HERALD Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time| July 4, 2021 THE YEAR OF ST. JOSEPH! page 3! WELCOME FR. MARK BRAUER! ! ! WEEKLY CALENDAR ! On July 1, 2021, Fr. Mark Brauer became the new page 4! ! pastor of St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic Parish and CARILLON SERIES! School. He was ordained to the priesthood on June page 5! 27, 1992, at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral by Cardinal ! AOD COVID UPDATE! Maida. He was born in Detroit Michigan and is one page 6! of eight children born to Corinne and Joseph Brauer. ! He is their sixth child, five boys and three girls.! FR. TONY PARISH SOCIAL! page 7! ! ! This assignment is Fr. Brauer’s fourth since ordinaon RETIREMENT | ! more than twentyRnine years ago. Fr. Mark was the MRS. YUGOVICH! page 8! pastor of Our Lady of Sorrow for the past sixteen ! years. Prior to this assignment, he was Pastor of one FR. ESPER AWARDS! of the first clusters in the archdiocese, St. Chrisne page 9! INDEPENDENCE DAY! ! Parish and St. Gemma Parish, both located on the SUNDAY, JULY 4, 2021 ! CSA | STEWARDSHIP! west side of Detroit. He served the two parishes for Office Closed ! page 10! ten years. Fr. Mark’s first assignment was as an ! 7:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., ! Associate Pastor of St. Ephrem Parish in Sterling GOSPEL & READINGS! 12:00 p.m. & 5:00 p.m. ! page 13! Heights. We look forward to having Fr. Mark be part Mass T Church! ! of St. Hugo community. ! WEEKEND MINISTERS! ! page 14! ! MONDAY, JULY 5, 2021 ! MASS INTENTIONS! Office Closed ! page 15! 6:10 a.m.
    [Show full text]
  • Peter Saccio
    Great Figures of the New Testament Parts I & II Amy-Jill Levine, Ph.D. PUBLISHED BY: THE TEACHING COMPANY 4840 Westfields Boulevard, Suite 500 Chantilly, Virginia 20151-2299 1-800-TEACH-12 Fax—703-378-3819 www.teach12.com Copyright © The Teaching Company, 2002 Printed in the United States of America This book is in copyright. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of The Teaching Company. Amy-Jill Levine, Ph.D. E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies Vanderbilt University Divinity School/ Vanderbilt University Graduate Department of Religion Amy-Jill Levine earned her B.A. with high honors in English and Religion at Smith College, where she graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Her M.A. and Ph.D. in Religion are from Duke University, where she was a Gurney Harris Kearns Fellow and W. D. Davies Instructor in Biblical Studies. Before moving to Vanderbilt, she was Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion at Swarthmore College. Professor Levine’s numerous publications address Second-Temple Judaism, Christian origins, Jewish-Christian relations, and biblical women. She is currently editing the twelve-volume Feminist Companions to the New Testament and Early Christian Literature for Continuum, completing a manuscript on Hellenistic Jewish narratives for Harvard University Press, and preparing a commentary on the Book of Esther for Walter de Gruyter (Berlin).
    [Show full text]
  • Exiling Bishops: the Policy of Constantius II
    University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Classical Studies Faculty Publications Classical Studies 2014 Exiling Bishops: The olicP y of Constantius II Walter Stevenson University of Richmond, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/classicalstudies-faculty- publications Part of the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Stevenson, Walt. "Exiling Bishops: The oP licy of Canstantius II." Dumbarton Oaks Papers 68 (2014): 7-27. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Classical Studies at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Classical Studies Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Exiling Bishops: The Policy of Constantius II Walt Stevenson onstantius II was forced by circumstances to all instances in which Constantius II exiled bishops Cmake innovations in the policy that his father and focus on a sympathetic reading of his strategy.2 Constantine had followed in exiling bishops. While Though the sources for this period are muddled and ancient tradition has made the father into a sagacious require extensive sorting, a panoramic view of exile saint and the son into a fanatical demon, recent schol- incidents reveals a pattern in which Constantius moved arship has tended to stress continuity between the two past his father’s precedents to mold a new, intelligent regimes.1 This article will attempt to gather
    [Show full text]
  • The Line of Fate in Michelangelo's Painting
    The Line of Fate in Michelangelo's Painting Leo Steinberg There are several reasons why an art historian of fastidious taste might want to look at bad art-at poor early copies, for instance, of a great painting, even when the latter survives in near perfect condition. I will need the reader's goodwill on this point since the present essay con- tinually pairs copies of little intrinsic merit with their awesome originals. That early copies may furnish evidence of damage accrued to the original, and of subsequent overpainting, is obvious and requires no argument. But copies have subtler uses. Where they depart from their models-provided these departures are patently willful and not due to incompetence-they constitute a body of criticism more telling than any- thing dreamt of in contemporaneous writing. The man who copies a painting looks harder, observes by the inch, and where he refuses to follow his model, follows an alternative, usually critical impulse. Few writers on art have the patience or the vocabulary to match the involve- ment of a recalcitrant copyist. His alterations reveal how a closely en- gaged contemporary regarded his model, what he admired or censured, or chose to omit. But while we welcome contemporary comments re- corded in writing as evidence of critical attitudes, the more pointed critiques embodied in the copyists' alterations are commonly brushed aside as inaccuracies without positive content.' One more consideration: in a strong design the detail is so inte- grated that it is hard to unthink. But a deviant rendering in the copy restores to the corresponding feature of the original the character of a decision.
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT the Apostolic Tradition in the Ecclesiastical Histories Of
    ABSTRACT The Apostolic Tradition in the Ecclesiastical Histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret Scott A. Rushing, Ph.D. Mentor: Daniel H. Williams, Ph.D. This dissertation analyzes the transposition of the apostolic tradition in the fifth-century ecclesiastical histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret. In the early patristic era, the apostolic tradition was defined as the transmission of the apostles’ teachings through the forms of Scripture, the rule of faith, and episcopal succession. Early Christians, e.g., Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen, believed that these channels preserved the original apostolic doctrines, and that the Church had faithfully handed them to successive generations. The Greek historians located the quintessence of the apostolic tradition through these traditional channels. However, the content of the tradition became transposed as a result of three historical movements during the fourth century: (1) Constantine inaugurated an era of Christian emperors, (2) the Council of Nicaea promulgated a creed in 325 A.D., and (3) monasticism emerged as a counter-cultural movement. Due to the confluence of these sweeping historical developments, the historians assumed the Nicene creed, the monastics, and Christian emperors into their taxonomy of the apostolic tradition. For reasons that crystallize long after Nicaea, the historians concluded that pro-Nicene theology epitomized the apostolic message. They accepted the introduction of new vocabulary, e.g. homoousios, as the standard of orthodoxy. In addition, the historians commended the pro- Nicene monastics and emperors as orthodox exemplars responsible for defending the apostolic tradition against the attacks of heretical enemies. The second chapter of this dissertation surveys the development of the apostolic tradition.
    [Show full text]
  • The Function of Christian Letters of Recommendation; from Paul to Julian
    THE FUNCTION OF CHRISTIAN LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION; FROM PAUL TO JULIAN Jason File A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in t he Department of Religious Studies. Chapel Hill 2006 Approved by: Bart Ehrman Zlatko Plese Peter Kaufmann ABSTRACT THE FUNCTION OF CHRISTIAN LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION; FROM PAUL TO JULIAN (Under the Direction of Bart D. Ehrman) This paper explores the function of Christian letters of recommendation, from the time of Paul (c. 50 CE) to the time of Emperor Julian (c. 350 CE). The first chapter provides background information concerning the function of letters of recommendation generally in antiquity. It is argued that the primary functions of such letters in Greco -Roman society was to provide hospitality for the traveler, and to testify to their trustworthiness. Where pagans used such letters for business or filial purposes, the early Chri stian church used them to build religious networks across the wide span of the Mediterranean world and the Levant. The second chapter of the thesis takes up the subject of hospitality practices in the Christian mission, and the third explores the use of letters of recommendation in the writings of the apostle Paul. Letters of recommendation were extremely important for the growth, spread and development of the Christian church. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….1 II. LETTER S OF RECOMMENDATION IN GRECO -ROMAN SOCIETY…...7 Overview of Letter -Writing in the Ancient Near East…………..………….…7 The Hellenistic Period and Letter -Writing Manuals…………...……………...9 The Form and Structure of the Letter of Recommendation………………….14 The Function of the Letter of Recommendation……………………………..19 Summary……………………………………………………………………..26 III.
    [Show full text]
  • The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
    The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe November 22, 2020 Regina Coeli Catholic Church 530 Regina Pkwy., Toledo, Ohio 43612 Bullen Deadline: Parish Contact Informaon: Monday by 4:00pm 419R476R0922 reginacoelitoledo.org Please call in advance for an appointment! Sacraments: Bapsm: Please con- tact the parish office to WELCOME! PastorVFr. Miller: (m) 419R217R0228 or [email protected] schedule an appoint- We are glad DeaconV Dcn. Jim Dudley: [email protected] ment. you have joined us! Office ManagerVEdna MiklosekRBaker: rc3offi[email protected] Confessions: 1/2 hour Finance ManagerVOctavia Wayton: rc3fi[email protected] before every Mass and CustodianVMelissa Swackhamer: [email protected] 1 hour before Saturday evening Mass. CCD DirectorVRose Marie Liberkowski: [email protected] Marriage: Couples should contact the parish Music DirectorVAmy Sujkowski: [email protected] office as they begin to make plans for marriage, Finance CouncilVJenny Malaczewski: [email protected] and certainly before they set a wedding date. Cer- Pastoral CouncilV Dcn. Jim Dudley: [email protected] tain days and/or mes may not be available due PrincipalVHeather Radwanski: [email protected] to other previously scheduled weddings or acvi- es in the church. A minimum of six months is Visit our website! hps://www.reginacoelitoledo.org/ required before a wedding can be scheduled in order to allow me for marriage instrucon clas- Mass liveRstreamed Sundays at 10:30am at ses. www.facebook.com/reginacoeliparish/ Anoinng of the Sick: If you wish to receive the Download the Myparish App in the app store Sacrament of the Sick, please call the Parish and search for 43612! Office or, if more urgent, Fr.
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Jesus a Contemporary Roman Perspective
    Historical Jesus A Contemporary Roman Perspective Jason Janich NewLife906.com 1. Thallus 55 A.D. Thallus was a Greek Historian around 55A.D. who wrote a three volume account of the Eastern Mediterranean area. Although his works have been lost, fragments of it exist in the citations of others. As quoted by Julius Africansus (160 A.D -240 A.D.) On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls as appears to me without a reason, an eclipse of the sun. (Donaldson, A. R. (1973). Julius Africanus, Exant Writings, XVIII in the Ante- Nicene Fathers, ed Vol. VI. Grand RApids: Eerdmans.) What can we establish from Thallus’ writing? - The Christian Gospel was known in the Mediterranean by the middle of the first century – this is around AD 52, probably prior to the writing of the gospels. - There was a widespread darkness in the land, implied to have taken place during Jesus’ crucifixion. - Unbelievers offered rationalistic explanations for certain Christian teachings. 1 | P a g e 2. Pliny the Younger (61 A.D. – 113 A.D.) Letters 10.96-97 Pliny was the Governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor and is a noted historian with at least 10 volumes. In one letter he writes to the Emperor Trajan seeking counsel as to how to treat Christians. In the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed.
    [Show full text]