Marina Nebro Professor John O’Brien
History 100 – History of the Middle Ages
Romans & Christians (I)
Polytheism
The majority of the Roman Empire was polytheistic. The polytheistic religions, or those with many deities, were symbolic religions in which their gods represented elements of the natural world. A few of the polytheistic religions within the Roman Empire included the Druids, those who worshipped Baal, and the Roman Pantheon filled with gods. Being pious was very important, as the gods didn’t differentiate in punishment. The gods punished everyone for the fault of the few. Polytheists were generally more tolerant towards other religions than the monotheists were. Many times, polytheists would adopt other religions into their own.
Pax Deorum
The goal for the Polytheists was to please the gods and create the “peace of the gods.” The immortal gods had a strong power over them.
Augustus (27 BCE – 14 CE)
He was the first Roman emperor and was a strategic and strong administrator. He wanted to reorganize the empire in order to strengthen it, as there was a lot of religious diversity. The diversity made it difficult to rule. He introduced the…
Imperial Cult
Also known as the cult of the emperor, the imperial cult was the unifying religion of the Roman Empire during and after Augustus’ reign. Because polytheists were not hesitant to adopt new religious practices, the act of worshiping the emperor wasn’t too far-fetched. The Jews were exempt from having to participate as the Romans respected the importance of tradition in the monotheistic religion. The Christians, being part of an illicit religion, were required to take part in the cult. In this way, Augustus was able to bring homogeneity to a diversified Rome. Through the imperial cult, the emperor became the “father” of the empire, and was ordained with…
Genius
A divine spirit that lived within the emperor as well as anyone who performed the rituals of the imperial cult
Neronian Persecution (64)
A fire started within the city by the Roman Emperor Nero catalyzed the persecution of the Christians in the city of Rome. He placed the blame on the Christians because they were a “non-conforming minority of exceptional cohesion.” The Roman historian Tacitus who was writing after the fact about half a century later recounts the events in his Annals. His perception of the Christians is as follows.
· “noxious superstition” – lethal/poisonous irrational ritual
· Christians are hated for their crimes, take their name from Christ (an executed and hence criminal man)
· “deserving of the severest penalty”
Nero (54-68)
Nero is most commonly known for being a crazed Roman emperor. During his reign in the year 64, there occurred the Great Fire of Rome and many put the cause of this fire on Nero’s shoulders. It is said that he wanted to clear space through the use of fire to put up monuments and idols of himself. Tacitus’ Annals may also shine some light on the problems of an absolute ruler.
Tacitus (c. 115)
Tacitus was a Roman historian during the time period when Rome was beginning to decline. He was conservative and wasn’t fond of the Jews or the Christians. His opinions of both differed, though, as he held some respect for Jewish tradition, while the Christians were a new religion and therefore had no bearing. He wrote about events after they happened as is seen in the Annals as he writes about Nero, a Roman emperor living half a century before. He sees Nero as a perfect example of corruption.
Annals
The Roman historian Tacitus writes in the Annals about the Neronian Persecution and other historical events before his time. See above.
Odium Generis Humani
Translated as “hatred of the human race” and was a common charge put upon Christians during the Neronian Persecution and later.
Pliny & Trajan (c. 112)
Pliny was a proconsul in charge of dealing with arresting and punishing dissenters within the empire, and was not sure of how to go about with the punishment. He asks Trajan, the emperor of Rome at the time, in a series of letters what he should do. Should Christians be punished for the crimes that go along with the name “Christian” or should they be punished for individual crimes. What would be considered a crime? Should there be leniency to certain people or any exceptions? Trajan answers that the arrests shouldn’t be a hunt (notice the contrast between this persecution and later Christian persecution against the Jews) and that Pliny shouldn’t follow anonymous accusations and calls. The crime is not paying respect to the Emperor and not worshiping the emperor in regard to the rules of the Imperial Cult. Trajan also states that there are no set rules or regulations regarding how to deal with the arrested and arrests and punishments should be assigned individually based on the accused.
Lyons-Vienne Persecution (177)
This persecution was the culmination of a lot of the population acting against the Christians as a socially and politically aloof group. It was mainly a “mob” organized persecution rather than led by the Roman Empire. The persecution was centered in Gaul (or present day France) and the mob believed in what they were doing as they were doing the work of the gods. Christians were accused of Oedipodean intercourse and Thyestean banquets (or baby eating). In the Letter of the Churches of Vienne and Lyons, a Christian writes about the torture, imprisonment, and death of many and also recounts the stories of martyrs such as Blandina, Attalus, Sanctus, and Maturus. Martyrs like these only encouraged the spread of Christianity.
Mystery Religions
These religions were “mysteries” to the Roman people and government because they mostly held their rituals in private. The term mystery religion comes from the Greek word “mysterion” which meant “secret.” Many of these religions focused on nature and had selective participation (all male cults, all female cults, etc.). There are overarching themes of resurrection and life after death. Many involve physical initiation rituals and tend to bless their food and drink.
· Isis-Osiris
A mystery religion that originated in Egypt, this cult worshiped the two gods Isis and Osiris, female and male respectively. The two gods were siblings as well as husband and wife and lived a very happy and celibate life together. Even though they never consummate their marriage, they have a son named Horus. Their brother Seth becomes jealous of their happiness and cuts Osiris into millions of pieces. It takes Osiris 1000 years to come back to life (resurrection).
· Mithras
An old mystery religion that had resurgence during the 3rd century, Mithras worshiped the god of light. Its followers noticed the change in amount of time that the sun would stay up during the day as the seasons changed and feared that they would one day be enveloped in darkness. They saw this as a slow death of their god. By praying to the light god, they were able to bring back the light (also known as the spring/summer season). This was a very competitive religion with Christianity, but didn’t beat it in the end due to its exclusivity in initiating only men. There was a strong military draw to the cult as well and for initiation one must walk under a dead bull’s dripping blood. During the winter months, many Christians would denounce their religion (apostatize) and celebrate in the winter solstice festival. For this reason, Jesus’ birthday was placed on December 25th to discourage the apostacy.
Romans & Christians (II)
Origen (c. 248)
The Christian theologian was a defender of the Christian faith. He detested Celsus. In his Apologies (defense), he wrote about Celsus’ arguments against Christianity. Origen also introduced the idea of scholarship to Christianity, combining classic literature with Christian texts.
Contra Celsum
The literal translation meaning “against Celsus,” Origen wrote this part of the Apologies to counter Celsus’ points about the faults of Christianity in his book The True Word.
Celsus (c. 180)
Celsus was a traditional Roman citizen who believed in the traditional Roman gods. Christianity was unbelievable to him and therefore he detested it with a passion, along with the religion of the Jews. They were nonconforming minorities of exceptional cohesion. He wrote…
The True Word
Written by Celsus, The True Word talks about the inaccuracies of the Christian faith as well as mentions the dangerous nature of the Christian people and warns of their threat. This text is now lost but is remembered to this day through the writings of Origen.
Decian Persecution (250)
There had been no consistent policy of persecution up until this time. We see this in Pliny’s letters to Emperor Trajan. Many persecutions targeted Christian leaders making martyrs of them. This did not help the Roman cause as it created a sense of encouragement for the Christian people, as martyrdom was the most holy thing to do. Decius, at first a military general and then emperor, was conservative and believed that the Christians had been undermining the empire. He launched the first empire-wide persecution of Christians (as opposed to local persecutions) that lasted a full year. Everyone had to honor and worship the Roman gods. If they didn’t, they would be tortured or executed. Many Christians denounced Jesus and in turn betrayed other Christians by turning them over as well as turning over sacred texts. It came to this point, later on, when the question arose of whom should the Christian faith take back. Technically, if a Christian sins after being baptized, he could never reach eternal salvation. There came the conflict between whether the church should be a “Virgin Church,” one that was totally pure, and a “Mother Church,” one that would forgive all sins. Through the use of confession, the church adopted the role as a mother.
Perception of Christians: Motifs
- They abandoned the gods
- They are the reasons for calamities
- They are arrogant
- They keep to themselves
- HATRED FOR THE HUMAN RACE
- They have mixed allegiance
- They are undermining society by preying on the weak
- They have incest and eat babies
- They are sub-human
Constantine (312-337)
Culturally and linguistically, the Roman Empire was divided between the East and West. Diocletian literally separated the empire, which led to wars of succession – who should rule the east and the west after Diocletian’s reign ended. There was a hierarchy instated. There would be an emperor of each half (the Augustus), and a lesser ruler (the Caesar). Constantine was the emperor of the West half of the Roman Empire and looked to gain more control. He was an enemy with Maxentius, who he had struggled with to gain the Western portion of the empire. In 324 he defeated Licinius, the emperor of the Eastern Empire. He converted to Christianity after an experience on his way to the…
Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312)
On his way to a battle against his enemy Maxentius, Constantine had an experience that caused him to turn to Christianity. He saw a burning cross that said in hoc signo vinces (in this sign you will conquer). He had also had various dreams telling him to adorn his shields with the letters X and P (chi and rho) representing the first two symbols of Christ’s name. This would ensure victory in the battle. As the sign proved true, Constantine converted. He also paid favor to the Christians at points as he exempted priests from taxation and used part of the imperial budget to build churches. However, he did not become fully Christian until he was baptized on his deathbed, making sure that all of his sins would be forgiven.
Eusebius of Caesarea (d. 339)
A major historian of the early Christian Church as well as a bishop (point of view), Eusebius recorded the event of Milvian Bridge. He also knew Constantine personally.
Edict of Milan (313)
Co-issued by Constantine and the eastern Roman Emperor, the Edict of Milan was an edict of toleration. All religions were allowed to practice their rituals.
Early Christian Church (I)
Auctoritas
Latin for authority, auctoritas was important in the church as every action and assertion had to be backed by some legitimate authority. The bible was the most important source of authority.
Priest
Coming from the Greek word presbyteros (elder), the priest was in charge of the parish or the small local unit/church. The priesthood was male centered.
Bishop
In Greek, episkopos (overseer), the bishop would hold the power over the diocese or a land encompassing multiple parishes. The diocese reflected the roman imperial structure. The geographic unit of the diocese resembled the geographic structure of imperial Rome. Like the priesthood, the bishop authority was male centered as well. The bishops were the key figures in the medieval church. They appointed authority to the priests. Power between bishops depended largely on the size of their diocese. The bishop would live in the city and govern from there. The bishops in the east and west differed. In the east, there were bishops (also known as patriarchs) of Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria (later in Constantinople when Constantine founded the city). In the west there was only one bishop, the bishop of Rome. The amount of bishops led to conflict, mostly spurred on by the idea of…
Apostolic Succession