THE IMPERIAL CULT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHURCH ORDER SUPPLEMENTS TO VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE Formerly Philosophia Patrum TEXTS AND STUDIES OF EARLY CHRISTIAN LIFE AND LANGUAGE EDITORS J. DEN BOEFT — R. VAN DEN BROEK — W.L. PETERSEN D.T. RUNIA —J.C.M. VAN WINDEN VOLUME XLV THE IMPERIAL CULT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHURCH ORDER Concepts and Images of Authority in Paganism and Early Christianity before the Age of Cyprian BY ALLEN BRENT BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON • KOLN 1999 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brent, Allen. The imperial cult and the development of church order : concepts and images of authority in paganism and early Christianity before the Age of Cyprian / by Allen Brent. p. cm. — (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, ISSN 0920-623X ; v. 45) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes. ISBN 9004114203 1. Church polity—History—Early church, ca. 30-600. 2. Emperor worship—Rome. 3. Christianity and other religions—Roman. I. Tide. II. Series. BV648.B73 1999 261.2'207'09015—dc21 99-36631 CIP Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme [Vigiliae Christianae / Supplements] Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae : formerly Philosophia Patrum ; texts and studies of early Christian life and language. - Leiden ; Boston ; Koln : Brill. Friiher Schriftenreihe ISSN 0920-623X Vol. 45. Brent, Allen: The imperial cult and the development of church order. - 1999 Brent, Allen: The imperial cult and the development of church order : concepts and images of authority in Paganism and Early Christianity before the Age of Cyprian / by Allen Brent. - Leiden ; Boston ; Koln : Brill, 1999 (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae ; Vol. 45) ISBN 90-04-11420-3 ISSN 0920-623X ISBN 90 04 11420 3 © Copyright 1999 by Koninklyke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS Caroline Penrose Bammel, F.B.A. (1940-1995) In piam memoriam CONTENTS Abbreviations ix Plates xv Introduction xix I. Christian and Pagan Cultus by the Third Century 1 A. Cyprianic Hierarchy and Decius Trajan 2 B. Christian and Imperial Cult: Parallels Before Cyprian 4 C. Church Order as Apologia: The Reactive Thesis 8 D. Imperial and Christian Order: Contra-Cultural Relations 11 II. The Foundations of the Imperial Cult 17 A. Republican Antecedents of the Imperial Cult 19 B. The Inauguration and Reception of the Imperial Cult 59 III. Imperial Ideology and the Origins of Church Order 73 A. Luke-Acts: Traditional Eschatology Transformed 78 B. Luke-Acts in the Context of Imperial History 82 C. Lukan Images of Contra Culture 101 D. Church Order and Imperial Society 130 E. In Conclusion: Theophilus and His Circle 137 IV. Clement of Rome and Domitian's Empire 140 A. Domitian and the Writing of Clement's Corinthians ... 141 B. Clement: Church Order and Imperial Peace 144 C. Clement's Construction of a Contra Culture 161 V. The Apocalypse and Domitian's Iconography 164 A. Domitian's Cult and the Date of the Apocalypse 164 B. The Domitianic Backcloth to the Apocalypse 177 C. In Conclusion: Apocalypse and the Imperial Cult 208 VI. Ignatius of Antioch and the Martyr's Procession 210 A. Ignatian Typology and Domitian's Iconography 211 viii CONTENTS B. The Martyr Procession and Cultic Ambassadors .... 228 C. Order in Clement, Ignatius and the Apocalypse 248 VII. Pagan and Christian Monarchianism 251 A. Antecedents of the Severan* Reformation 255 B. Pagan Ontologies: Gnosticism and Neoplatonism .... 271 C. Social Order and the Doctrine of the Trinity 285 VIII. The Emergence of Imperial and Catholic Order 310 A. Elagabalus and Universal Monotheism 311 B. Callistus, Monarch Bishops and Monarchianism 313 C. In Conclusion: The Legacy for Decius and Cyprian 328 Bibliography 331 Indices 345 1. Biblical Citations 347 2. Ancient Christian and Jewish Writers 351 3. Ancient Pagan Writers 354 4. Inscriptions and Coins 359 5. Greek Vocabulary 362 Plates 371 ABBREVIATIONS AAWG Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Gottingen ABA W Abhandlungen der bayerischen Akademie der Wissen­ schaften ABenRev American Benedictine Review AHA W Abhandlungen der heidelberger Akademie der Wissen­ schaften AGJU Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken Judentums und des Urchristentums (Leiden: Brill) AKWG Abhandlungen der koniglichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen ArLiW Archiv fur Liturgiewissenschaft AmJArch American Journal of Archaeology AmJPhil American Journal of Philology AnBoll Analecta Bollandiana AnLov Analecta Lovaniensia Biblica et Orientalia ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der romischen Welt: Ge­ schichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung, Ed. H. Temporini and W. Haase (Berlin and New York: De Gruyter) Antiqu. Antiquitas: Beitrage zur Historia-Augusta Forschung, Ed. J. Straub und A. Alfoldi (Bonn: R. Habelt Verlag 1963—) ArcCl Archeologia classica ArFil Archivio di filosofia Athen. Athenaeum Ath. Mitt. Mitteilungen des kaiserlich deutschen archaologischen Instituts: athenische Abteilung AThR Anglican Theological Review ATKT Abhandlungen zur Theologie des alten und neuen Testaments Aug Augustinianum BArC Bulletino di archeologia cristiana BE Bulletin epigraphique BEHE.R Bibliotheque de l'ecole des hautes etudes, Sciences religieuses X ABBREVIATIONS BeitrHistTh Beitrage zur historischen Theologie BICS Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies BiLit Bibel und Liturgie BJb Bonner Jahrbucher des rheinischen Landesmuseums in Bonn und des Vereins von Altertumsfreunden im Rheinlande BLUE Bulletin de litterature ecclesiastique BR Biblical Research BRev Biblical Review BSGT Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana BThAM Bulletin de theologie ancienne et medievale Byz Byzantion: Revue internationale des etudes byzan- tines ByzZ Byzantinische Zeitschrift BJ^NW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die neutestamendiche Wis- senschaft B^HT Beitrage zur historischen Theologie BCCa Civilta cattolica ChH Church History CTh Cahiers theologiques (Neuchatel: Editions Delachaux et Niestle 1949—) CIG Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum ClAnt Classical Antiquity ClassRev Classical Review ClassStud Classical Studies. Department of Classics of the Uni­ versity of Kyoto CIPl Classical Philology CSCO Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium CSLE Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum Ecclesiasticorum DACL Dictionnaire d' Archeologie Chretienne et de Liturgie, (Ed.) F. Cabrol and H. Leclercq (Paris: Libraire Letouzey et Ane 1924) DAIRM Mitteilungen des deutschen archaologischen Instituts: romische Abteilung DomSt Dominican Studies DR Downside Review EglTheo Eglise et theologie EpAnat Epigraphica anatolica ABBREVIATIONS XI EphL Ephemerides liturgicae EPRO Etudes preliminaires aux religions orientales dans l'empire romain, Maarten J. Vermaseren (Leiden: Brill) EThL Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses Entretiens Fondation Hardt Pour PEtude de TAntiquite Classique (Vandoeuvres-Geneve: Olivier Reverdin) FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des alten und neuen Testaments F^ThTTi Freiburger Zeitschrift fur Philosophic und Theologie GCS Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten beiden Jahrhunderte GGR3 Geschichte der griechischen Religion, in Handbuch der A Itertumswissenschqft Greg Gregorianum GRBS Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies Gym Gymnasium HA Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft Herm Hermes Hermath Hermathena Hesp Hesperia Heyjn Heythrop Journal Hochl. Hochland. Zeitschrift fur alle Gebiete des Wissens und der schonen Kiinste Horsley, New Docs G. Horsley, New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity, (Macquarie: Ancient History Documentation Research Centre 1983—) HThR Harvard Theological Review Hypomn. Hypomnemata: Untersuchungen zur Antike und zu ihrem Nachleben, A. Dihle, H. Erbse, C. Habicht, G. Patzig, B. Snell (Editors), (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht 1962—) ILCV Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae Veteres, Ed. E. Diehl, Vols. 1-3 ICUR Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Sae- culo Antiquiores, Ed. De Rossi G.B. and Silvagni A., Nova series (Rome 1921—) IG Inscriptiones Graecae, Ed. Kirschner J. (Berlin: Rhei- marus 1913—; De Gruyter 1924—) JbAC Jahrbuch fur Antike und Christentum xii ABBREVIATIONS JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JEgArch Journal of Egyptian Archeology J EH Journal of Ecclesiastical History JES Journal of Ecumenical Studies JHS Journal of Hellenic .Studies JLiW Jahrbuch fiir Liturgiewissenschaft JRA Journal of Roman Archeology JRH Journal of Religious History JRomS Journal of Roman Studies JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament JSNT.S Journal for the Study of the New Testament: Supple­ mentary Series JThS Journal of Theological Studies LeDiv Lectio divina MAAR Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome MD La Maison-Dieu MEFRA Melanges de l'ecole frangaise de Rome: Antiquite MemAmAc Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica MSR Melanges de science religieuse MuTh£ Miinchener theologische Zeitschrift NA Neutestamendiche Abhandlungen NScavAnt Notizie degli scavi di antichita, in Atti della r. acca-