The Imperial Cult and the Development of Church Order: Concepts and Images of Authority in Paganism and Early Christianity Before the Age of Cyprian (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, V. 45)

420 Pages·1999·7.62 MB·English

by  Allen Brent

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
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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