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Open Fesolovich Thesis Final.Pdf THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY HEROIC DEATH: THE ROLE MARTYRDOM PLAYED IN THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE PRIOR TO THE FIRST COUNCIL OF NICAEA KARA FESOLOVICH SUMMER 2019 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for baccalaureate degrees in History, Political Science, and Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies with honors in History Reviewed and approved* by the following: Thomas Lawrence Associate Teaching Professor of History Thesis Supervisor Cathleen Cahill Associate Professor of History Honors Adviser * Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College. i ABSTRACT This thesis examines the cross-cultural phenomenon of the honorable or heroic death. Namely, it looks at how Christian martyrdom fit into the cultural milieu of the Roman empire. It focuses on the first three centuries of the common era, prior to the first Council of Nicaea and Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity. This way, we can examine what Christianity looked like within the empire before it was legitimized by imperial powers. This thesis looks at Greco-Roman precursors to Christian martyrs as well as Christian martyrdom tales themselves, and how Christians viewed martyrdom in the early church. We see that while there were instances of Christian persecution occurring within the empire, the spread of Christianity relied on an interplay of its own ideas along with existing cultural practices. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... iii Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1 ...................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2 ...................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 3 ...................................................................................................................... 52 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 75 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 78 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my thesis supervisor, Dr. Thomas Lawrence for all of his help and guidance over the past year. There were times when I wasn’t sure where to go next with my research and without having his notes and direction, this thesis would not have been possible. I would also like to thank my friends at Penn State for listening to me ramble on about this subject and genuinely seeming interested in it (or at least pretending to be for my benefit). And of course, I couldn’t be where I am today without my parents. Thank you for your endless support, I am eternally grateful. 1 Introduction The Roman empire reached its height in terms of both territory and stability during the first three centuries of the common era. At the same time, individuals within the empire embraced classical Hellenistic education and cultural practices while, for the most part, still worshiping the traditional Greco-Roman polytheistic gods. 1 This time period of renewed classical thought, however, coincided with the expansion and the spread of Christianity throughout the empire. Tensions soon emerged between the empire and Christian followers because, while Christianity was never technically deemed illegal, it was condemned by various political leaders. This thesis examines the importance of one aspect of Christianity that helped the religion to spread and grow within an empire that did not accept it — the idea of a heroic death. Prior to Christianity, Greek and Roman cultures had a tradition of respect for an individual dying in a heroic or honorable way outside of a religious capacity. This idea of an honorable death intersected with the prevalence of Christian martyrs, or Christians who were killed because of their religious beliefs. The term martyr comes from the Greek word for “witness.” Martyrs, when they were killed, were considered witnesses of Christ. This phenomenon was rooted in the ideas of the early church, as Christians were supposed to live their lives as witnesses to the life and examples of Christ. If they were persecuted, they were instructed to confess and suffer the consequences just as Christ did during his humiliation and 1 W.H.C. Frend, The Rise of Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 164-165. 2 crucifixion. 2 This thesis examines how martyrdom fits into the existing notion of a cross-cultural understanding of the value of the heroic death. In Rome, the state and religion were closely intertwined. Within this polytheistic empire, the citizens feared the disruption of Christianity, as they did not wish to upset the pax deorum, or the “peace of the gods.” Christians were perceived to put the empire at the risk of upsetting the gods since they would not participate in traditional Greco-Roman polytheistic rituals to satiate the deities or make offerings to the emperor. Because they did not take part in these traditions, critics saw Christianity as a dangerous cult that was potentially detrimental to Rome. Furthermore, its citizens were vulnerable to the wrath of the gods due to Christian defiance. Therefore, Christians were persecuted by Romans, not because of their religion per se, but because the practices of the religion effectively made them traitors of the state. Depending on the ruling emperor, the extremity of the persecutions varied. Both Trajan and Hadrian had similar policies when it came to dealing with the rising Christian population: Don’t seek them out. 3 Neither emperor thought it was necessarily right or worth the time to track down every Christian throughout the empire to persecute. However, throughout the first three centuries of the common era, individuals periodically died at the hands of Roman authorities. Martyrdom accounts played an important role in the early church, establishing the literary genre of hagiography. Observers of the Roman persecutions began to write down what they were witnessing. Often times, they depicted a worshiper following in the footsteps of Jesus. Many of the accounts were also written in the form of letters from one church to another, which was a way to establish connections between 2 W.H.C. Frend, Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church (Oxford: Alden Press, 1965), 79. 3 Frend, The Rise of Christianity, 150-151. Hadrian’s policy can be found in a written rescript which is recorded by Eusebius in his History of the Church. 3 churches. Early on, there were disparate communities within the church. Followers had different ideas about Christian doctrine, and since there was no central power to say what was right and what was wrong, it was hard for the church to become more cohesive. Some of the main points of contention among these early church communities include the humanity of Christ, how Christianity connected to Judaism (if at all), and the idea of the Holy Trinity. This changed in 325 C.E. when Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea and the imperial state attempted to solidify the “correct” doctrine. Constantine was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity and began to transition it as the dominant religion within the empire. For the purposes of this thesis, we will focus on the time period prior to the Council of Nicaea when Christianity was still forming within an empire that did not accept it. The first chapter will examine more closely how Rome reached the point of persecuting Christians because of their actions. It will begin by taking a look at the attitudes of Rome towards unknown and outside religions and cults other than just Christianity. For instance, years before Christianity’s establishment, the Hellenistic Bacchanalian cult was attacked for its mysteriousness and secrecy. This chapter will also discuss how the idea of an honorable death was engrained into the cultural milieu of the Roman empire. Examples of a moral self-sacrifice include the legendary figures of Socrates, Lucretia, and the Maccabees. None of them were Christian, but the reason for their deaths were quite similar to that of the Christians. They all died to ensure that they remained honorable and loyal to their personal moral compass. This chapter will conclude that even though many Romans were quite wary of Christians for multiple reasons, one aspect of the religion that they could relate to were these martyrs approaching their deaths in a philosophically Stoic way. 4 Chapter two will move from looking at precursors and the events leading up to the persecution of Christians, to examining the actual Christian martyrdom accounts themselves. Martyrdoms referenced include Stephen, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, the Martyrs of Lyons, and Felicitas and Perpetua. The chapter will look at how each martyrdom account is structured, and how authors describe each martyr approaching their death. In terms of structure, most martyrdoms are written in the form of a letter or circulated pamphlet. They were recorded so that various churches within the empire would be aware of persecutions happening elsewhere, and they could therefore pray for their fellow Christians. Furthermore, the letters worked as a way of connecting the church and reinforcing particular ideas, even if
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