Christianity in the Later Roman Empire: A Sourcebook

321 Pages·2015·3.34 MB·English

by  David M. Gwynn

Christianity in the
Later Roman Empire:
A Sourcebook
i
Bloomsbury Sources in Ancient History
Th e Bloomsbury Sources in Ancient History series presents a defi nitive
collection of source material in translation, combined with expert contextual
commentary and annotation to provide a comprehensive survey of each
volume’s subject. Material is drawn from literary, as well as epigraphic, legal and
religious, sources. Aimed primarily at undergraduate students, the series will
also be invaluable for researchers, and faculty devising and teaching courses.
Women in Ancient Rome: A Sourcebook, by Bonnie MacLachlan
Greek and Roman Sexualities: A Sourcebook , by Jennifer Larson
ii
Christianity in the
Later Roman Empire:
A Sourcebook
David M. Gwynn
Bloomsbury Sources in Ancient History
iii
Bloomsbury Academic
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First published 2015
© David Gwynn 2015
David Gwynn has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988,
to be identifi ed as the Author of this work.
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ISBN: HB: 978-1-44112-255-1
PB: 978-1-44110-626-1
ePDF: 978-1-44118-039-1
ePub: 978-1-44113-735-7
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Typeset by Refi necatch, Bungay, Suffolk

iv
Contents
Introduction vii
Acknowledgements xiii
Chronological Table xv
Maps xx
1 Christianity and Rome 1
2 Th e Great Persecution 15
3 Th e Conversion of Constantine 27
4 Constantine and the Imperial Church 39
5 Th e Donatist Schism 53
6 Th e Doctrine of the Trinity 65
7 Scripture and Liturgy 81
8 Th e Ecclesiastical Hierarchy 103
9 Emperor and Bishop 117
10 Asceticism and Monasticism 127
11 Christianization 141
12 P aideia : Christianity and Classical Culture 155
13 Christians, Jews and Manichees 169
14 Gender and Society 183
15 Holy Men and Holy Women 199
16 Pilgrimage and Relics 213
17 Missionaries and Kings 225
18 Th e City of God 237
19 Th e Christological Controversies 247
20 Christianity and the Barbarian Invasions 263
Epilogue: Th e Dawn of Medieval Christendom 277
General Bibliography 281
Index of Authors and Texts 283
Index of Scriptural Citations 287
General Index 289
v
vi
Introduction
Few periods in western history have witnessed so dramatic a transformation as
the years that separate the third and seventh centuries ad . In the year 300, the
Later Roman empire ruled unchallenged over the ancient Mediterranean world.
From Spain and Gaul to Syria and Egypt, it was a world that had been shaped by
the culture and religion of classical Greece and Rome since before the birth of
Christ. Following the crucifi xion of their Saviour, the early Christians had spread
their message across this empire and beyond. But the Christians were as yet just
a small if signifi cant minority, expanding with each generation but still regarded
with suspicion. No one alive at the turn of the third and fourth centuries could
possibly have foreseen what the future held in store.
Th e fourth century was a time of revolution for Christianity and the Later
Roman empire alike. Th e Great Persecution, unleashed by the emperor Diocletian
in 303, failed to break the Church and in 312 Constantine became the fi rst Roman
emperor to convert to the Christian faith. Constantine’s reign brought new
privileges and responsibilities for the Church, and in the decades that followed
Christianity established itself as the dominant religion of the empire. Christian
doctrine and liturgy, which had remained largely fl uid in earlier centuries,
underwent a process of formation and canonization, while the Church’s rising
wealth and social prominence brought major changes in Christian society and
culture. By ad 400 the Later Roman empire was fundamentally a Christian
Roman empire.
Yet these years of Christian triumph also marked the beginning of the empire’s
‘Decline and Fall’, as Germanic invaders crossed the frontiers and settled on
Roman territory. At the Battle of Adrianople in 378 the Goths defeated and killed
the eastern emperor Valens, and over the course of the fi ft h century one by one
the western provinces of the empire fell away from imperial control. Th e Gothic
army of Alaric sacked Rome in 410, Britain was abandoned and eventually
occupied by the Anglo-Saxons, while the people known as the Vandals crossed
Gaul and Spain to invade Roman North Africa. Th e Franks emerged in northern
Gaul and began to conquer the land to which they would give their name, and in
476 the last western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed. In the
east the Later Roman empire survived, centred upon the new imperial capital of
vii
viii Christianity in the Later Roman Empire: A Sourcebook
Constantinople. But western Europe was now a mosaic of constantly shift ing
tribes and kingdoms.
For the Christians of east and west, the fi ft h and sixth centuries brought both
challenges and opportunities. Across the eastern empire theological debates
raged over the humanity and divinity of Christ, creating divisions within the
Church that have never fully healed. Th e attempted ‘reconquest’ of the lost
western provinces by the emperor Justinian in the sixth century caused the
destruction of Vandal North Africa and the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy, but
failed to restore the old empire. In the west, the Christian Church was now the
only institution that bound the former Roman territories together, and the
bishops of Rome had taken over many of the roles that the emperors once played.
By the beginning of the seventh century, the world of the Later Roman empire
had given way to the dawn of medieval Christendom.
Th e purpose of this volume is to gather into a single accessible collection the
sources that illustrate this crucial historical period. Th e years of crisis and
transformation inspired generations of great writers, among them Eusebius of
Caesarea, Athanasius of Alexandria, Julian ‘the Apostate’, Ambrose of Milan, John
Chrysostom, Jerome and Augustine. Th eir works and many others illuminate
famous episodes such as Constantine’s conversion and the Sack of Rome and
allow us to explore the evolution of Christian doctrine and liturgy, the rise of
asceticism and the cult of the holy man, and the place of Christianity in an ever-
changing world.
Chapter 1 traces the initial rise of Christianity from the death of Christ to the
end of the third century. Th is was followed by the onslaught of the Great
Persecution ( Chapter 2 ), and the dramatic and much- debated conversion of
Constantine ( Chapter 3 ). Th e emperor’s patronage transformed Christian wealth
and social prestige, and laid the foundation for the imperial Church ( Chapter 4 ).
Christianity’s growing prominence, however, also increased the stakes involved
in internal Christian disputes. Th e Donatist Schism in North Africa ( Chapter 5 )
was the fi rst Church controversy to draw the attention of a Christian emperor
and provoked the fi rst persecution of Christians by a Christian ruler. Still more
signifi cant, and on a far wider scale, were the fourth- century theological debates
over the doctrine of the Trinity ( Chapter 6 ). Oft en referred to incorrectly as the
‘Arian’ controversy, these Trinitarian debates spanned the ecumenical councils of
Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) and infl uenced the Christian faith
adopted by the Goths and other Germanic peoples.
Christianity’s transformation into the favoured religion of the empire led to
pressure for greater uniformity in organization and practice to replace the
Introd uction ix
relative diversity of the early Church. Th e fourth century thus saw the formal
defi nition of the canon of Scripture and the increasing use of set formulas for the
church liturgy and the celebration of the eucharist ( Chapter 7 ). Baptismal
practices evolved to cope with the fl ood of converts now embracing Christianity,
and new festivals like Christmas shaped the emerging Christian calendar. Th e
ecclesiastical hierarchy underwent a similar process of defi nition ( Chapter 8 ).
Th e changing roles that bishops had to play refl ected the changing status of the
Church in the empire and the Germanic kingdoms, while the bishop of Rome
was an ever more infl uential fi gure in the post-Roman west. Th e relationship of
Church and State did not always run smooth ( Chapter 9 ), but the bond between
emperor and bishop survived in the east and infl uenced later western concepts
of the divine right of kings. Yet for some Christians, the Church’s new wealth and
prestige left them seeking a stronger expression of their faith. Th e ascetic
movement of the fourth century spread the ideals of solitary and communal
monasticism throughout east and west with vast consequences for Late Roman
and medieval society ( Chapter 10 ).
By the end of the fourth century, Christianity had become the majority
religion of the Later Roman empire. Th is process of ‘Christianization’ was by no
means straightforward, and the interaction between Christianity and traditional
Graeco-Roman religion changed not only the empire but Christianity itself
( Chapter 11 ). Christianity’s connection with classical Graeco-Roman culture
was particularly controversial, and concerned a number of the leading writers of
the age ( Chapter 12 ). Two prominent religious minorities likewise faced new
challenges in a Christian Roman empire. Christianity’s relationship with Judaism
fl uctuated from confl ict to toleration and back, while the dualist religion of
Manichaeism was subjected to almost unceasing persecution ( Chapter 13 ). And
although hardly a minority, the place of women in society also changed for both
better and worse, as Christian values combined with the prevailing patriarchal
worldview of ancient Rome ( Chapter 14 ).
Christian infl uence extended throughout all walks of life. Th e emergence
of ascetic holy men and women was one of the characteristic features of Late
Roman Christianity, from desert monks and stylites on their pillars to female
emulators of the Virgin Mary ( Chapter 15 ). Th ese holy men and women further
contributed to the growth of pilgrimage and the cult of relics, which originally
centred upon the Holy Land and the miraculous discovery of sacred sites
and treasures such as the True Cross ( Chapter  16 ). Beyond the empire’s
borders, the fourth to seventh centuries saw Christianity expand far beyond the
Mediterranean. Missionaries reached Ethiopia in the south and the Germanic