Agrippa I and the Persecution of the Christians in Jerusalem
Agrippa had become so devoted to Judaism, in fact, that he allowed an attack against the Christian church in Jerusalem now headed by the apostle James, the brother of John and son of Zebedee. In these early days of the church in Jerusalem there was a growing antagonism between the Greek-speaking Hellenized Jewish Christians and the Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christians. We read in Acts 10 that Peter baptized the first gentile and that Hellenized Jewish Christians were proselytizing and preaching...
The Struggle for the Papacy
After Constantine's conversion, the future of the church was by no means secure. Heresies raged. The debates over Arianism were particularly virulent, the more so as they were played out among the dynastic successors of Constantine. Moreover, there were debates concerning church authority. When Constantine removed his capitol to Constantinople in 330 C.E., the apostolic authority of the church of Rome was threatened. Each of the four sees Alexandria, Antioch, Rome, and Constantinople sought to...
The Inscription of Damasus
At the same time that Ambrose was composing his tract On Virgins and his hymn to Agnes, Damasus composed an inscription for Agnes see Primary Document 4.3 . His inscription begins with the words fama refert, which means legend has it, so it may be that he was working from an oral tradition rather than a written martyr act. The references to Agnes' youth and her willingness to be martyred correspond with the works of Ambrose. Damasus writes vv. 3-6 that she leapt from the lap of her nurse eager...
Concordia Apostolorum
These images of Peter and Paul, which suggest that they ruled in joint sovereignty, have been commonly termed concordia apostolorum and are meant to recall Rome's other sets of twin founders Romulus and Remus, Castor and Pollux, and Caesar and Augustus. Damasus applied the concept and imagery of concordia apostolorum to a broad artistic program as part of his propagandizing effort to promote Rome's apostolic primacy. Peter and Paul embracing each other in symmetric unity with their arms...
The Return to Polytheism
Old conservative religious values impelled Diocletian 284-305 C.E. to reinstitute a more traditional polytheism. He may have hoped that by moving away from Aurelian's Sol Invictus cult and reinvigorating the worship of the traditional gods of the state that he could reverse the political turmoil that had thus far characterized the third century. If properly performed, the worship and ritual sacrifices to the revered gods of the state would ensure the gods' favor in return. But preserving the...
The End of the Persecution of the Christians
Although under the various leaders in the west Severus, Constantine, Maximian, Maxentius, and Licinius the persecution lost steam, it continued with fury in the east under Galerius and Maximin Daia. General sacrifices were ordered in 306 C.E. and in 308 C.E. Food for sale in public markets was sprinkled with libations to the gods and the baths were closed to anyone who would not sacrifice before entering. Those who refused were blinded in one eye or crippled, when they were not killed. The...
The Roman Popes Damasus and Praetextatus
Damasus was worldly, wealthy, and resolute in his efforts to strengthen the power of his papacy and the dominance of the Roman church. The rival Ursinians were reported to have called him a matronarum auriscalpius, an ear-scratcher of matrons, for his ability to persuade wealthy women to donate their worldly goods to the church. An edict of Valentinian I that forbade the practice of visiting wealthy matrons, widows, and orphans for the purpose of soliciting donations for the church may have...
Constantine and Sol Invictus
In contrast to Diocletian, Constantine was a tolerant monotheist. He seems to have inherited from his father a membership in the sun-god cult of Helios and his first recorded religious act was to consult the oracle at the temple of Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, at Autun in 308 C.E. On his coins he was depicted as Pontifex Maximus with representations of the sun god. He consulted haruspices and pagan priests, yet, after conquering Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 C.E., he...
Agrippa I and the Persecution of the Jews in Alexandria
In 38 C.E., Caligula crowned his childhood friend Agrippa I, the brother of Herodias and grandson of Herod the Great, King of the Jews. When he set out for Palestine to assume the throne, Agrippa stopped in Alexandria. His presence there seems to have provoked severe riots between the Jews and the Greeks and Egyptians. In collusion with their Roman governor A. Avillius Flaccus, the Alexandrians insulted Agrippa by staging a mock homage to his kingship. Agrippa had processed through the city...