Christian Groups in Second-Century Rome

FAIN: FB-56529-12

Harlow G. Snyder
Davidson College (Davidson, NC 28036-9405)

My project explores the diverse character of Christian study-circles in the city of Rome during the second century, before the emergence of an orthodox consensus. The study takes special interest in three crucial figures, all of whom lived and worked in Rome at the same time: Marcion, Valentinus, and Justin Martyr, but examines other, lesser-known Christian teachers as well. Rather than viewing their role in the development of doctrine, I seek to understand the nature of their teaching by means of a comparative look at other small groups that flourished at the time: philosophical schools, synagogues, medical sects, and literary salons. The goal is to produce a richer set of descriptions for early Christian groups in Rome than the simplistic and often misleading term “church.” It should be of interest to historians of early Christianity, to classicists, and to any historically-minded reader who wonders what Christianity looked like at a very early stage of its development.

Associated Products

The Discovery and Interpretation of the Flavia Sophe Inscription: New Results (Article)
Title: The Discovery and Interpretation of the Flavia Sophe Inscription: New Results
Author: Harlow G. Snyder
Abstract: New archival material relating to the discovery of the Flavia Sophe inscription is presented and arguments made that the inscription was discovered in situ. Careful attention to the epigraphical, palaeographical, and metrical aspects of the poem, as well as its use of nuptial imagery lead to new proposals for reconstructions. Arguments for a date in the second century are re-examined and strengthened. The language of the inscription is placed within the context of other Greek funeral epigrams to show that the writer of the epigram was well aware of the conventions Hellenistic funeral poetry and that the poem artfully subverts many of these conventions. [article is accepted, proofed and in galleys; waiting to be assigned an issue; 60pp.]
Year: 2012
Access Model: Journal is by subscription but widely available on jstor.
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Vigiliae Christianae
Publisher: Brill

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