At the origins of Christian worship: the context and character of earliest Christian devotion

At the Origins of Christian Worship The Context and Character of Earliest Christian Devotion

Larry W. Hurtado

WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING C O M P A N Y G R A N D RAPIDS, MICHIGAN / CAMBRIDGE, U . K .

© 1 9 9 9 Larry W. Hurtado All rights reserved First published 1 9 9 9 in the U.K. by Paternoster Press Paternoster Press is an imprint of Paternoster Publishing P.O. Box 3 0 0 , Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 OQS, UK This edition published 2 0 0 0 in the United States of America by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 2 5 5 Jefferson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 4 9 5 0 3 / P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K. www.eerdmans.com Printed in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hurtado, Larry W., 1 9 4 3 At the origins of Christian worship : the context and character of earliest Christian devotion / Larry Hurtado. p.

cm.

Originally published: Carlisle, Cumbria, UK : Paternoster Press, 1 9 9 9 . Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-10: 0 - 8 0 2 8 - 4 7 4 9 - 8 / ISBN-13: 9 7 8 - 0 - 8 0 2 8 - 4 7 4 9 - 2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Worship — History — Early church, ca. 3 0 - 6 0 0 . BV6.H87

I. Title.

2000

2 6 4 ' .011 — dc21 00-041735

Scripture quotations are taken from the N E W REVISED STANDARD VERSION © 1 9 8 9 , Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Contents

Preface Introduction 1. T h e Religious E n v i r o n m e n t

ix 1 7

2 . Features o f Early Christian W o r s h i p

39

3 . T h e Binitarian S h a p e o f E a r l y Christian W o r s h i p

63

4 . Reflections for Christian W o r s h i p T o d a y

98

Bibliography

119

Preface

It is an h o n o u r to have been invited to deliver the 1 9 9 9 D i d s b u r y Lectures at the British Isles N a z a r e n e C o l l e g e , M a n c h e s t e r . T h i s b o o k i n c o r p o r a t e s my four lectures, here lightly edited for publication, as well as an i n t r o d u c t i o n , notes and a list o f w o r k s cited. T h e first three c h a p t e r s e x p l o r e historical questions a b o u t the earliest Christian w o r s h i p and focus on the R o m a n setting o f earliest Christianity and the c h a r a c t e r o f its w o r s h i p in this religious e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e s e chapters reflect lines of investigation that I have been following for a n u m b e r of years. I have a t t e m p t e d to m a k e this discussion accessible to any interested reader, b u t I a l s o hope t h a t it m a k e s s o m e c o n t r i b u t i o n t o our historical grasp o f early Christian devotion. In the final chapter I offer s o m e reflections on Christian w o r s h i p today. Candid self-disclosure by s c h o l a r s is n o w perhaps m o r e a c c e p t a b l e than in s o m e previous times, but m a y still be u n c o m f o r t a b l e to s o m e . In a subject such as early Christianity, it stretches credibility for scholars to claim to have no personal s t a k e . We c a n , h o w e v e r , aim for a c c u r a c y in presenting the d a t a a n d even m o r e so in referring to the views of t h o s e with w h o m we disagree. M o r e o v e r , we c a n always seek simply to understand patiently a n d sympathetically. Perhaps s o m e readers w h o regard any religious faith as i n c o m p a t i b l e with critical scholarship m a y regard me as perverse in admitting to the hope t h a t a jury of fair-minded citizens w o u l d be a b l e to c o n v i c t me on the c h a r g e of being a C h r i s t i a n . (I also a d m i t , h o w e v e r , that there are days when my b e h a v i o u r might very well e n a b l e a g o o d defence counsel to get me o f f the charge!)

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B u t , whatever the personal stance of my readers, I h o p e that the t r e a t m e n t of historical questions in chapters 1 - 3 will be of s o m e value for a n y o n e interested in the origins of Christianity. C h a p t e r 4 , though c o n c e r n e d with the c o n t e m p o r a r y practice o f Christian w o r s h i p , m a y b e o f some interest t o nonparticipant observers of Christianity as well as to adherents. I t a k e sole responsibility for the following pages, but I also wish t o a c k n o w l e d g e T r o y M i l l e r , o n e o f m y P h . D . students, w h o read c h a p t e r one and offered helpful c o m m e n t s . S o m e o f the ideas presented in these lectures have also been discussed with colleagues in the F a c u l t y of Divinity here, particularly N i c k W y a t t (the G r a e c o - R o m a n ' p a g a n ' b a c k g r o u n d ) and Peter H a y m a n (the J e w i s h b a c k g r o u n d ) . Since m y m o v e t o Edinburgh in 1 9 9 6 , 1 have been privileged to be a part of the vigorous group o f scholars t h a t m a k e u p the Faculty o f Divinity/New C o l l e g e team, and I am m o s t grateful for their w e l c o m e and c o m r a d e s h i p . T h e s e are especially meaningful c o m i n g from a c o l l e c t i o n of colleagues w h o h o l d vigorously a variety of scholarly views and w h o represent a diversity of personal stances on questions of religious faith. C h a p t e r three is an adapted version of an invited paper presented to the International C o n f e r e n c e on the H i s t o r i c a l O r i g i n s o f the W o r s h i p o f J e s u s held a t St. A n d r e w s University, 1 3 - 1 7 J u n e 1 9 9 8 . T h e paper will also appear i n the edited v o l u m e of essays from that c o n f e r e n c e . I t h a n k the editors of t h a t volume, D r . J a m e s D a v i l a and D r . C a r e y N e w m a n , a s well as the publishers, E. J. Brill, for permission to use the paper here a l s o . In D e c e m b e r 1 9 9 8 my wife, S h a n n o n , and I celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary. T h e s e have been twenty years o f w a r m and loving c o m p a n i o n s h i p , all the m o r e c o m f o r t i n g because these years have n o t been w i t h o u t their d e m a n d s and difficulties. T h o u g h she is heavily involved in her o w n research into nineteenth-century British cultural and art history, she has always s h o w n patient and helpful interest in the topics of my studies as well. To her I dedicate this b o o k , with gratitude a n d love. New C o l l e g e , Edinburgh

Abbreviations

A b b r e v i a t i o n s o f b o o k s o f the B i b l e , A p o c r y p h a , P h i l o , J o s e p h u s a n d e x t r a - c a n o n i c a l early Christian writings are those of the Journal of Biblical Literature. ANF

The Ante-Nicene Fathers, eds. R o b e r t s and Donaldson BCE B e f o r e the C o m m o n E r a CE C o m m o n Era CEV C o n t e m p o r a r y English V e r s i o n HE The Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius. JB Jerusalem Bible JTS Journal of Theological Studies LXX Septuagint MM The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament Illustrated from the Papyri and other Non-Literary Sources, by M o u l t o n and M i l l i g a n . NAB N e w American Bible NEB N e w English Bible NIV N e w International V e r s i o n NRSV N e w Revised S t a n d a r d V e r s i o n NT New Testament NTS New Testament Studies OT Old Testament RGG Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, ed. K. Galling

Introduction

Christian w o r s h i p has a long and c o m p l e x history, and this little volume is a b o u t its earliest o b s e r v a b l e stages. O v e r the last t w o decades my o w n research has focused on the first t w o c e n turies of the Christian m o v e m e n t , with special attention to the origins and early development of devotion to Christ. I have been particularly interested in the expression of this devotion in the w o r s h i p setting. I a m , h o w e v e r , a specialist in the N e w T e s t a m e n t and Christian origins, n o t a historian of liturgy; but I have given c o n s i d e r a b l e attention to a n c i e n t Christian w o r s h i p because of its significance for understanding early Christianity. A t the risk o f severe understatement, o n e o f the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c things early Christians did was to w o r s h i p . Early Christianity w a s , after all, a religious m o v e m e n t , striving to o r i e n t adherents to the divine purposes p r o c l a i m e d in its gospel message. If, therefore, we w a n t to analyse m a j o r phen o m e n a o f early Christianity, C h r i s t i a n s ' devotional practices are clearly key matters for a t t e n t i o n . B u t the w o r s h i p of the earliest Christians casts light on other features of the Christian m o v e m e n t as well. In the following chapters I a p p r o a c h early Christian w o r s h i p by setting it within the c o n t e x t of the R o m a n world (including particularly the J e w i s h tradition) in which it emerged. S c h o l a r s o f the N e w T e s t a m e n t and Christian origins have tended to focus on the religious beliefs of early C h r i s t i a n s , and the data for their studies have tended to be the verbal expressions of beliefs in early Christian t e x t s and the v o c a b u lary o f these e x p r e s s i o n s . T h e verbal e x p r e s s i o n s o f early Christian beliefs, for e x a m p l e , their ' c h r i s t o l o g y ' , are of

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course i m p o r t a n t . B u t in the intense scholarly investigation a n d debate, the big questions have been w h a t these faith expressions mean. W h a t , for e x a m p l e , did early Christians m e a n when they called Christ their 'lord'? T h e G r e e k and A r a m a i c terms translated b y ' l o r d ' c a n carry various m e a n ings ranging from a polite address to a social superior (e.g., ' S i r ' , ' m a s t e r ' ) to designating a deity. I have argued that the devotional practice of early Christians is the crucial c o n t e x t for assessing the meaning of their verbal expressions of beliefs a b o u t Christ. M o d e r n linguistics has helped us to see that w o r d s , which often have a c o m p l e x a n d diverse range of m e a n i n g s , a c q u i r e their specific m e a n i n g in the c o n t e x t in which they are used. I c o n t e n d t h a t the specific c o n n o t a t i o n of early Christian christological titles and devotional gestures is m o s t clearly assessed by taking full a c c o u n t of the worship c o n t e x t in w h i c h they were used. F o r e x a m p l e , addressing J e s u s as ' l o r d ' in the w o r s h i p setting, using the term to invoke and appeal to J e s u s , c o n n o t e d something far m o r e precise and striking than the o t h e r m o r e general s e m a n t i c possibilities o f the term ' l o r d ' . It represented addressing him in the c o n t e x t a n d w a y that ancients addressed the deities that they gathered to w o r s h i p . To refer to J e s u s as ' l o r d ' in o t h e r settings could c o n n o t e something different, such as a recognition of him as m a s t e r or as leader of his devotees. B u t to address him as ' l o r d ' as a feature of the collective w o r s h i p of early Christian groups indicates a much m o r e precise and exalted m e a n i n g for the term. 1

I t also m a k e s sense t o t a k e due a c c o u n t o f the w o r s h i p o f early Christians because of the i m p o r t a n c e of w o r s h i p in the R o m a n period as constituting a n d manifesting religion. In the a n c i e n t w o r l d especially, o n e ' s religion w a s understood a n d assessed in terms of h o w , w h e n , a n d w h a t o n e w o r shipped. W o r s h i p w a s seen as the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a n d crucial expression o f o n e ' s religious orientations and c o m m i t m e n t s . I t 1

I have offered an analysis of Paul's use of the Kyrios title, showing its varying contextual connotations, in Hurtado, 'Lord', in Hawthorne and Martin (eds.) Dictionary of and His Letters, 560-69.

Introduction

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is a bit puzzling to m e , therefore, that a g o o d m a n y scholars w h o profess a c o m m i t m e n t to a historical understanding of early Christianity in its original setting have n o t always seen h o w i m p o r t a n t early Christian devotional practices a n d patterns are. T o cite o n e illustration o f this, a m o n g the c o m p l a i n t s m a d e a b o u t and against Christians in the first three centuries there is the recurrent c h a r g e that they disdain the w o r s h i p of the traditional gods. Clearly, the ancient critics of Christians saw their cultic behaviour as a m a j o r and defining feature. W h e n Christians were put on trial (as reflected, for e x a m p l e , in the famous letter of Pliny to T r a j a n , and in the Martyrdom ofPolycarp), it was d e m a n d e d that they perform certain cultic gestures, such as calling upon the gods, offering incense to the image of the E m p e r o r and ritually cursing J e s u s . In any a c c o u n t o f early Christianity that seeks t o t a k e a c c o u n t o f the historical c o n t e x t , therefore, the devotional practices a n d scruples of Christians should be central. 2

In its ancient R o m a n c o n t e x t , t w o features in particular characterised and distinguished early Christian w o r s h i p . First, it w a s exclusivist, with disdain for the w o r s h i p of the m a n y deities of the R o m a n e n v i r o n m e n t , and, secondly, it involved devotion offered exclusively to the G o d of the B i b l e and to Christ. T h e s e t w o features are in fact e l o q u e n t indicators of the i m p o r t a n c e of the t o p i c of this b o o k a n d provide the logic for its c o n t e n t and for the lectures from w h i c h it arose. T h u s the first t w o chapters t a k e as their premise the exclusivity of early Christian worship in the c o n t e x t of the R o m a n w o r l d , while the third chapter focuses on w h a t I term the 'binitarian • h a p e ' o f earliest Christian w o r s h i p , with G o d and Christ a s the two exclusive recipients of the w o r s h i p of believers w h o considered themselves to be true and devout m o n o t h e i s t s . In c h a p t e r 1 I sketch the R o m a n religious e n v i r o n m e n t of Christians, especially those first-century Gentile Christians 1

Pliny, Epistles Letters of Pliny, translation in Fathers: Creek 2.12-15.

10.96 (text and commentary in Sherwin-Whire, The 6 9 1 - 7 1 0 ) ; Martyrdom of Polycarp 8-9 (text and Lightfoot, Harmer, and Holmes, The Apostolic Texts and English Translations of their Writings),

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w h o lived i n cities outside o f R o m a n Palestine. M y aim i s not to be exhaustive or to provide a c a t a l o g u e of deities a n d religious m o v e m e n t s . Instead, I offer a general c h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n aimed at conveying something of the place and roles of religion in the lives of people. I w a n t to emphasise h o w varied, p r o m i n e n t , pervasive and p o p u l a r the practice o f religion w a s , p r o b a b l y for m o s t people. F o r early Gentile Christians t o disdain and r e n o u n c e the religious practices of their preconversion lives m e a n t to turn a w a y from colourful and engaging cultic c u s t o m s t h a t offered a great deal to devotees. It also m e a n t a b a n d o n i n g a central feature of c o m m o n life in R o m a n cities a n d a m a j o r c o m p o n e n t in the things t h a t united families and peoples. W e c a n n o t appreciate early Christian w o r s h i p unless we keep before o u r eyes the fact t h a t for G e n tile Christians it represented a replacement cultus. It was at o n e and the same t i m e b o t h a religious c o m m i t m e n t and a r e n u n c i a t i o n , a stark and d e m a n d i n g devotional stance with profound repercussions. In c h a p t e r t w o I m o v e on to an attempt to describe s o m e general features o f early Christian w o r s h i p . H e r e m y c o n c e r n is to address the question of w h a t devotees seem to have derived from their c o r p o r a t e devotional practice. T h e y were expected to give up the rich religious ' p a g a n ' fare on offer in the R o m a n w o r l d . W h a t did they derive from their Christian w o r s h i p , w h i c h w a s to be their sole legitimate w o r s h i p ? H e r e we l o o k at the setting and practices of first-century Christian w o r s h i p , and the ways t h a t Christians attributed large and powerful significance to their w o r s h i p . We shall see that for early Christians their Christian worship gatherings provided alternative opportunities for shared religious experiences and the c o m m u n a l identity that they h a d formerly found in their 3

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The term 'pagan' has various connotations in various circles, including a derogatory one in some popular usage (i.e., depraved, etc.). I intend no such connotation here. Some New Testament scholars prefer to avoid the term altogether, but 1 know of no handy substitute. Moreover, the term is used among classicists and ancient historians simply to designate non- or pri'-Cliristian and non-Jewish religions. This is how I intern! x\w term in this hook.

Introduction

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pagan religious practices. A l s o , we shall see h o w early Christian w o r s h i p w a s e n d o w e d with rich m e a n i n g , even with transcendent significance, though it would have been seen outwardly as rather unimpressive in c o m p a r i s o n with the often e l a b o r a t e and striking c e r e m o n i e s o f the R o m a n e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e n , in chapter three, I turn to a rather detailed discussion o f the place o f Christ i n the m o n o t h e i s t i c w o r s h i p o f early Christians. H e r e I return t o , and e x p a n d upon, an earlier itemised analysis of the cultic a c t i o n s directed t o w a r d Christ and the w a y that Christ figures in the C h r i s t i a n s ' public and c o r p o r a t e devotional life. B o t h in an earlier b o o k and in this chapter, I aim to d e m o n s t r a t e that Christ w a s given the sorts of devotion that we can properly understand as full cultic w o r s h i p , and that we c a n rightly describe Christian w o r s h i p of the earliest o b s e r v a b l e decades as genuinely 'binitarian'. That is, I contend that at this surprisingly early stage C h r i s tian w o r s h i p has t w o recipients, G o d and Christ, yet the early Christians understand themselves as m o n o t h e i s t s and see their inclusion of Christ in their devotional life as in no way iompromising the uniqueness o f the o n e G o d t o w h o m they lad been converted through the gospel. T h i s topic has been :he subject of a g o o d deal of investigation and debate in tcent years, and so I engage a n u m b e r of o t h e r scholars n this c h a p t e r , especially in the m a n y n o t e s . 4

T h e s e three chapters of historical investigation are followed ly a final chapter directed t o w a r d questions a b o u t c o n t e m p o i r y Christian w o r s h i p . T h e discussion and views in the first hree chapters do not presuppose any particular faith standjoint a n d will, I hope, be of s o m e value to a n y o n e with a listorical interest in early Christianity. In this final chapter I write as a worshipping Christian, drawing upon scholarly research and offering s o m e reflections intended to help shape Christian w o r s h i p today. T h o s e readers w h o have n o personal interest in the c o n t e m p o r a r y p r a c t i c e of Christian faith are free to ignore the final c h a p t e r , of course. B u t I invite those w h o for i\ny reason do not share Christian faith but w h o m a y find it * L W. Hurtado, One God, One Lord: Early Christian Devotion itud Ancient Jewish Monotheism.

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interesting to 'listen in' on one Christian addressing others a b o u t w o r s h i p to consider this discussion as well as the historically oriented discussion in the first three chapters. I have neither the c o m p e t e n c e nor the space in this b o o k to attempt anything but reflections on a selection of points that have to do with h o w C h r i s t i a n s might regard their w o r s h i p today and seek to inform it by the emphases and c h a r a c t e r of Christian w o r s h i p in its foundational period.

Chapter 1 The Religious Environment

E a r l y Christian worship did n o t t a k e place in a religious vacuum. T h e R o m a n w o r l d was chock-full of religiosity, with a dizzying array of religious g r o u p s , m o v e m e n t s , c u s t o m s , activities a n d related p a r a p h e r n a l i a . Earliest Christian faith did not represent religiousness over against irreligious culture, but had to enter the 'traffic' as a new m o v e m e n t on a very c r o w d e d and well-travelled h i g h w a y o f religious activity. T h i s vibrant and diverse religious e n v i r o n m e n t of the R o m a n w o r l d is very significant for understanding that w o r l d and for any a c c u r a t e appreciation o f earliest Christian w o r s h i p . If s o u n d historical m e t h o d involves attempting, insofar as possible, to view a subject of investigation in its historical c o n t e x t , then earliest Christian w o r s h i p a n d devotional life must be seen within the c o n t e x t of religious features of the R o m a n w o r l d , especially the p h e n o m e n a that have to do with the devotional life of the R o m a n period. W i t h i n the limits of this c h a p t e r it is n o t possible to discuss, or even to m e n t i o n , the full range of matters that m a d e up the religious environment of the time. Instead, I shall select a n u m b e r of features of R o m a n - e r a religiousness that I hope will be of particular help in b e c o m i n g acquainted with the setting in w h i c h Christian worship first appeared. In later chapters we shall l o o k m o r e closely at the p h e n o m e n a of earliest Christian w o r s h i p and w h a t the earliest Christians seem to have m e a n t by and 1

1

For brief descriptions of the Greek and Latin terms for religiousness, piety, etc., sec 'Religion, Terms Relating to,' in Hammond and Scullarcl, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 9 1 7 .

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derived from their devotional practices. H e r e , however, the aim is to prepare ourselves to see h o w Christian devotional practices were reflective of their period and setting, and perhaps also unusual or even deliberately c o u n t e r to the d o m i n a n t religiousness. In w h a t follows I am heavily dependent upon m o r e detailed studies o f the R o m a n religious e n v i r o n m e n t b y o t h e r s c h o l a r s . My o w n c o n t r i b u t i o n in this c h a p t e r is limited to highlighting selected features of that e n v i r o n m e n t as particularly i m p o r t a n t for a historical appreciation of earliest Christian devotional life and practice. T h o u g h J e w i s h religious life of that era is certainly to be seen a s part o f the larger R o m a n e n v i r o n m e n t , devout J e w s s a w their religious c o m m i t m e n t s a n d traditions as distinctive and characteristically held themselves a l o o f from m u c h of the religious life of the larger R o m a n w o r l d . C o n s e q u e n t l y , I shall discuss J e w i s h religious life separately, after c o m m e n t i n g on features of the ' p a g a n ' or wider religious e n v i r o n m e n t . 2

Ubiquity Perhaps the first thing to emphasise is the pervasiveness of religion in the R o m a n w o r l d . It is in fact difficult to p o i n t to a n y aspect of life in that period that was not explicitly 2

E.g. Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 1 1 2 - 2 5 3 (on the 'pagan' religious setting); 3 1 5 - 4 6 3 (on the Jewish religious background), gives both wide-ranging introductory discussion and bibliographical references. Finegan, Myth & Mystery: An Introduction to the Pagan Religions of the Biblical World surveys a wide range of religious traditions relative to the Old Testament and the New Testament periods. See also MacMullen, Paganism in the Roman Empire; Teixidor, The Pagan God; L. H. Martin, Hellenistic Religions: An Introduction; R. M. Grant, Gods and the One God; Armstrong (ed.), Classical Mediterranean Spirituality: Egyptian, Greek, Roman; Klauck, Die religiose Umwelt. On women's religious life, often ignored in treatments of Roman era religion, see Kraemer, Maenads, Martyrs, Matrons, Monastics: A Sourcebook on Women's Religions in the Greco-Roman World.

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c o n n e c t e d with religion. B i r t h , death, m a r r i a g e , the domestic sphere, civil and wider political life, w o r k , the military, socialising, entertainment, arts, music - all were imbued with religious significance and a s s o c i a t i o n s . A n y civic and public office also had religious c o n n o t a t i o n s and often involved ex officio religious duties, such as public leadership in periodic c e r e m o n i e s i n h o n o u r o f the city deities. A n y a s s o c i a t i o n o f tradesmen had its patron deity, and meetings included ritual gestures in h o n o u r of the deity. Practically a n y m e a l , and c e r tainly any formal dinner, included ritual a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t of deities, a n d might well be held in r o o m s that f o r m e d part of the temple of this or that deity. E a c h military unit had its p a t r o n deities and performed regular religious acts in h o n o u r of t h e m . Divinities of the kitchen w e r e a c k n o w l e d g e d in daily h o m e routines of c o o k i n g . S o , in things grand and imposing, and in things routine and familiar, religion w a s involved and divinities revered as appropriate in various devotional a c t i o n s . T o b e sure, a s there are n o w , there were also sceptics o f religion then, some o f w h o m were a m o n g the cultured elite, the literati w h o s e w o r k s survive and w h o are characteristically a m o n g the sort of a n c i e n t writers studied in the Classics departments of universities. A m o n g self-appointed sophisticates, then as n o w , it m a y even be that scepticism t o w a r d the validity a n d efficacy of religion was n o t infrequent. B u t all indications are that the overwhelming masses of people of the R o m a n period approvingly encountered religion everywhere and participated in religious activities both regularly and with e n t h u s i a s m . Especially for those of us living in m o r e secularised societies in w h i c h religion and religious institutions have been relegated to being one of m a n y private pastimes a n d are 3

Saffrey, 'The Piety and Prayers of Ordinary Men and Women in Late Antiquity,' in A. H. Armstrong (ed.), Classical Mediterranean Spirituality, 1 9 5 - 2 1 3 . The over-reliance upon the literary works of classical authors to portray the attitudes and beliefs of ordinary people of the wider Roman world (all too common in some earlier periods of scholarship) would be like taking Gore Vidal as representative of late twentieth-century religious attitudes and practices.

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seen as playing a very limited role in the larger society, it is i m p o r t a n t to try to realise the very p r o m i n e n t and ubiquitous place of religion in the R o m a n w o r l d . M o r e o v e r , though scholars have s o m e t i m e s m a d e assertions a b o u t a loss of confidence in the gods in R o m a n p a g a n i s m , these assertions seem to be either m o t i v a t e d by a p o l o g e t i c c o n c e r n s (assuming and asserting the o b v i o u s superiority of Christianity) or based on simplistic historical assumptions (Christian faith c a u g h t o n , so the religious c o m p e t i t i o n must have been w e a k ) . T h e available evidence o f R o m a n p a g a n religiosity indicates lively participation, and the m a n y tangible expressions of t h a n k s to the gods for answered prayers and various favours (e.g., the m a n y ex voto artefacts that reflect popular religiosity) reflect a widely shared sense that the gods w e r e active a n d that devotion to them ' w o r k e d ' in bringing blessings o f various types. 4

Salience A n o t h e r w a y t o appreciate the p r o m i n e n c e and pervasiveness of religion in the R o m a n period is to note its sheer visibility. M a j o r p o r t i o n s o f city space w e r e taken u p with n u m e r o u s temples, and these buildings w e r e often the largest, m o s t e l a b o r a t e a n d expensive to be found in urban areas. O n e c o u l d n o t visit any R o m a n - e r a city w i t h o u t being struck forcibly by the place o f the gods. T h e surviving architecture o f the ancient w o r l d still reflects this, as any visitor to the A c r o p o l i s of Athens or the F o r u m in R o m e c a n attest. T h e s e structures were m a d e of expensive stone, w e r e usually colourfully painted and decorated, a n d w e r e situated p r o m i n e n t l y on central sites in the cities. M o r e o v e r , the building o f n e w temple structures and the refurbishing a n d e x t e n s i o n of existing ones were frequent t h r o u g h o u t the R o m a n period. V i s i t o r s t o practically any busy R o m a n - e r a city would likely have noted n u m e r o u s

4

See 'Votive Offerings' in Hammond and Scullard, Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1 1 3 2 - 3 3 .

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c o n s t r u c t i o n projects, m a n y c o n c e r n e d with religious structures. T h e r e w e r e also shrines outside o f cities. T h e s e shrines w e r e sites of traditional devotion to the deities or places where m o r e recent devotees had felt themselves instructed by a g o d or g o d dess to erect a shrine. S o m e of these shrines w e r e large and very impressive and appear to have drawn large n u m b e r s of pilgrims to the special festivals and holy days associated with the deities h o n o u r e d at the sites. T h e c e r e m o n i e s expressive o f religious devotion were likewise highly visible. Indeed, they seem to have been intended to d r a w attention. M a n y deities had periodic (usually a n n u a l ) c e r e m o n i e s that included street processions involving c h o i r s a c c o m p a n i e d by various musicians, priests and other devotees specially attired, images of the deities paraded through the streets, a n d d r a m a t i c rituals, all of w h i c h drew c r o w d s to w a t c h and participate in the activities. T h e s e festivities s o m e times a l s o included e l a b o r a t e p e r f o r m a n c e s by mimes a n d o t h e r players w h o a c t e d o u t the myths associated with the deities. We have a description of such a procession in the c l a s sic entertaining (sometimes ribald) tale The Golden Ass by the second-century C E writer, Apuleius. T h e a u t h o r describes in s o m e detail a procession in h o n o u r of Isis t h a t Includes people in various c o s t u m e s representing different Occupations and social roles; a n i m a l s , s o m e attired in h u m a n Nothing; w o m e n and men in c e r e m o n i a l dress; musicians; male and female initiates of the goddess; priests carrying cultic implements and s y m b o l s ; and o t h e r individuals and statues representing various o t h e r deities. 5

6

S o m e of the temples h a d theatres a t t a c h e d to them w h e r e it is likely the traditional stories of the deities w e r e acted o u t , p r o b a b l y on the m a j o r festival o c c a s i o n s associated with the deities in question. Feasting likewise w a s often a feature of L. M. White, Building God's House in the Roman World: Architectural Adaptation among Pagans, Jews, and Christians, 27-31. '' See, e.g., Graves (trans.), The Transformations of Lucius, otherwise known as the Golden Ass by Lucius Apuleius, 2 3 0 - 3 3 .

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these periodic c e l e b r a t i o n s , with wealthy patrons paying the costs. F o r at least s o m e deities, there were also daily rituals, such as those attested for Isis, which involved the ritual opening of her temples in the m o r n i n g and their closing at the end of the day, and public bathing and dressing of the image of the goddess, all of this in e l a b o r a t e gestures and often a c c o m p a n i e d by music and singing. Given the large n u m b e r of deities honoured in the R o m a n e r a , each with his or her o w n o c c a s i o n s and c e r e m o n i e s , o n e c o u l d witness very public and striking religious c e r e m o n i e s on any day of the w e e k , and larger and m o r e e l a b o r a t e events at various times of the year. In the R o m a n era religion w a s n o t only a private affair but was also seen as very m u c h a public aspect of life. Religious c e r e m o n y w a s deliberately intended to be noticed and to engage the entire village or city. In fact, it is likely that the overwhelming n u m b e r of all public events were explicitly religious in c h a r a c t e r , and the overwhelming m a j o r i t y of religious events and a c t i o n s were public and expressive of o n e ' s participation in o n e ' s family, o n e ' s city a n d people, and in the larger R o m a n oikoumene (the G r e e k w o r d for the R o m a n ' w o r l d ' or 'empire').

Diversity A l o n g with the ubiquity and salience of religion in the R o m a n period, we m u s t r e c k o n with its diversity. F o r all people of that period, with the e x c e p t i o n of devout J e w s and then C h r i s t i a n s , the gods were m a n y and w h a t we m a y call 'the divine' w a s manifested in m a n y forms, with m a n y divine beings, all of them in principle valid. Proper piety involved a willingness to h o n o u r all these manifestations of divinity a c c o r d i n g to the religious traditions associated with t h e m . Save for the J e w s , each ethnic g r o u p in the R o m a n world had its o w n a s s o r t m e n t of deities to be reverenced. S o m e deities were particularly linked with this or that city (e.g., A t h e n a with A t h e n s , or Artemis with Ephesus) and were revered as p r o t e c t o r s of their

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cities, the welfare of the cities being c o n n e c t e d with p r o p e r reverence for the city deities. It is also i m p o r t a n t to understand that having one's o w n traditional deities in no w a y prevented o n e from a c k n o w l e d g ing the validity of the deities of other peoples. It was fully accepted that each ethnic g r o u p should have and c o n t i n u e to reverence their o w n deities. Official R o m a n imperial policy was to recognise and even to support the traditional religious devotion of all subject peoples. L o c a l and touring R o m a n officials demonstrated this by visiting i m p o r t a n t shrines and making offerings in h o n o u r of their deities. T h i s R o m a n policy even extended to J e w i s h religion, with its refusal to reverence other gods and its p o l e m i c against o t h e r religious traditions as idolatry. In the R o m a n oikoumene, as people travelled a b o u t freely, relocated voluntarily to c o n d u c t business and trade, or were forcibly relocated through c o n q u e s t and enslavement (often s o m e time thereafter being m a d e freedmen and f r e e d w o m e n ) , the gods and religious practices of various peoples were set alongside o n e a n o t h e r , especially in the larger cities. I m m i grants, and even slaves, were characteristically allowed to follow their ethnic religious traditions. W h e n they were e c o n o m i c a l l y able to do s o , they built shrines and temples to their I w n traditional deities in the cities and areas w h e r e they relo•tted. T h u s , for e x a m p l e , Egyptian emigres built shrines to • i t ; D i a s p o r a J e w s built synagogues. f* The very visible m a n n e r in which religion was characteristically c o n d u c t e d m e a n t that the religious diversity and c o m p l e x i t y of R o m a n cities was very salient as well. As one developed personal c o n t a c t s with people of various b a c k grounds, one might have opportunities and invitations to participate in formal w o r s h i p and less formal devotional p r a c tices directed to divinities o t h e r than those of o n e ' s o w n ethnic tradition. Such opportunities were usually w e l c o m e d and enjoyed, without any w o r r y that by doing so o n e w a s in any way being untrue to o n e ' s o w n religious obligations or c h a l lenging the validity and claims of the traditional deities of o n e ' s own people. Visitors freely participated in the religious

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festivities of cities and areas they were in without any qualms of conscience. It is in light of this open attitude and interested curiosity in the rich variety of religious traditions and practices on offer in R o m a n cities that we c a n understand the p h e n o m e n o n of Gentiles frequenting D i a s p o r a synagogues, as mentioned in the Acts a c c o u n t s of Paul's travels, and Cornelius-type figures w h o even t o o k s o m e c o n s i d e r a b l e interest in J e w i s h religion. T h e m a n y opportunities and invitations to participate in various religious activities afforded in R o m a n - e r a cities are also reflected in Paul's detailed instructions in 1 C o r i n t h i a n s 8 - 1 0 , answering questions a b o u t Christians participating in the w o r s h i p o f o t h e r gods ( 1 0 : 1 - 2 2 ) , accepting invitations t o pagan temples with n o n - C h r i s t i a n a c q u a i n t a n c e s or family to share in religious feasts ( 8 : 7 - 1 3 ) , and dining with n o n Christians i n o t h e r c i r c u m s t a n c e s ( 1 0 : 2 7 - 3 0 ) . T h o u g h Paul offers c o n d i t i o n a l a c c e p t a n c e of Christians dining with n o n believers, he rejects outright any Christian participation in pagan w o r s h i p , and even w a r n s believers against any meal where the food is explicitly identified as being a sacrificial offering to a g o d . In his guardedness, Paul shows h o w m u c h his-stance is at odds with the d o m i n a n t affirmation of religious diversity a n d the c o n s e q u e n t freedom to participate in various cultic o c c a s i o n s that characterised the R o m a n period. 7

In addition to the variety of deities reflecting the various cities, peoples and regions of the R o m a n oikoumene, there w a s always the diversity of divine beings a n d associated devotional practices that pertained to various spheres of life, as mentioned earlier. At meals there might be small libations to the h o u s e h o l d gods, reverenced also with household shrines before w h i c h frequent devotion w o u l d be offered by the family. R e g i o n a l or city deities were reverenced by the p o p u l a c e , especially in periodic festivals manifesting loyalty to the deities

7

E.g., note references to Gentiles in Jewish synagogues in Acts 1 3 : 1 6 , 4 8 ; 1 4 : 1 ; 1 7 : 1 - 5 , 1 2 ; 1 8 : 4 , and the description of Cornelius in Acts 1 0 : 1 - 5 . On the evidence of Gentile proselytes and 'godfearers', see Levinskaya, The Book of Acts in its Diaspora Setting, 1 - 1 2 6 .

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and requesting their further g o o d favour. T h e deities of o n e ' s guild w e r e reverenced in meetings and at guild dinners. F r o m the rule of Julius C a e s a r o n w a r d , initially in the East and then creeping through the W e s t , the goddess R o m a (representing imperial R o m e itself) and the e m p e r o r t o o received all the gestures of devotion of a n c i e n t religion (temples, their images reverenced, sacrifices, h y m n s ) , expressing loyalty t o R o m e and genuine gratitude for the benefits of R o m a n rule. In addition to the very public cults, there w e r e also a g o o d m a n y voluntary or private groups, s o m e t i m e s devoted to a deity also worshipped in m o r e official a n d public ways, and sometimes devoted to other g o d s than those of the m o r e 'offic i a l ' p u b l i c religion of the city or area. T h e s e private cults often met in the h o m e s of m o r e well-off m e m b e r s and group dining seems to have been a frequent and central expression of their religious identity. Indeed, s o m e t i m e s the m e m b e r s seem to have been largely or entirely m a d e up of the e x t e n d e d household (including, of c o u r s e , slaves) of a w e a l t h y individual w h o w a s the leader of the g r o u p (interestingly, s o m e t i m e s this leader w a s a wealthy w o m a n ) . 8

9

T h e R o m a n era w a s also characterised by a trans-local, even international dissemination o f devotion t o s o m e divinities w h o , though often originating as local deities or deified heroes, acquired a m u c h wider reputation and following. O n e of the m o s t frequently cited of these is Isis, originally an Egyptian goddess o f m o d e s t significance w h o w a s rather successfully p r o m o t e d as goddess of the w h o l e oikoumene. In the c a s e of Isis, we see an interesting d e m o n s t r a t i o n of the full a c c e p t a n c e of diversity in religious traditions, as she c a m e to be touted as the goddess reverenced by various peoples under 10

* L. R. Taylor, The Divinity of the Roman Emperor; Price, Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor. L. M. White, Building God's House, 2 6 - 5 9 . Egan, 'Isis: Goddess of the Oikoumene,' in L. W. Hurtado (ed.), Goddesses in Religions and Modern Debate, 123—42; Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 2 1 1 - 2 0 . Hegedus attempts analysis of the geographical spread of the Isis cult across the Roman period. 9

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m a n y different n a m e s . " Often o v e r l o o k e d as a n o t h e r prime e x a m p l e of trans-local and trans-national dissemination of a particular religious tradition is the god of the J e w s , w h o remained explicitly linked with the J e w s but seems to have drawn varying degrees of interest from numerous Gentiles as well in cities such as R o m e , A n t i o c h , A l e x a n d r i a and others where the J e w i s h D i a s p o r a w a s c o n c e n t r a t e d . As the deities and traditions of various peoples c a m e into living c o n t a c t with o n e a n o t h e r a n d were spread a b o u t , w h e t h e r through c o n q u e s t , trade, i m m i g r a t i o n , or o t h e r m e a n s , people found themselves with opportunities to t a k e up devotion to deities that were n e w t o them. W e m a y thus speak o f a g r o w t h o f voluntary religious association in the R o m a n p e r i o d . 12

13

T h e r e have s o m e t i m e s been references to the R o m a n era as a period o f massive p r o p a g a t i o n o f ' o r i e n t a l ' cults and o f signific a n t conversion o f people t o these n e w religious imports from Egypt, Syria and places further east. T w o i m p o r t a n t caveats must be registered. F o r o n e thing, the actual evidence of any significant appropriation o f n e w religious traditions imported from o n e area to a n o t h e r is very slight. It appears that there were s o m e limited successes for s o m e very few deities e x p o r t e d b e y o n d their h o m e turf. In some cases they m a y have been seen as e x o t i c , and thus attracted the attention of s o m e with time and inclination to diversify their religious diet. T h e s e people were likely the better off, w h o s e interest in 'foreign' gods drew the attention (and s o m e t i m e s the c o m p l a i n t s ) of the literary elite, through w h o s e writings we hear of such things. In the 14

11

A frequently cited text is Apuleius, The Golden Ass, which in book 11 contains a prayer addressed to Isis that links her to various goddess figures (e.g., Ceres, Venus, Proserpine). For translation, see Graves, The Transformations of Lucius, 2 2 6 - 2 7 . E.g., Levinskaya, The Book of Acts, 1 9 - 1 2 6 . Kloppenborg and Wilson (eds.). Voluntary Associations in the Graeco-Roman World. The classic study is Nock, Conversion: The Old and the New in Religion from Alexander the Great to Augustine of Hippo. More recently, note MacMullen's trenchant analysis in Paganism, 9 4 - 1 1 2 . Also relevant for my discussion is Teixidor, The Pagan God, esp. pp. 4 - 5 , 1 4 4 . 12

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main, h o w e v e r , the devotees of the deities i m p o r t e d from the E a s t appear in fact to have been immigrants (including slaves) w h o b r o u g h t the gods with them from their native lands, plus of c o u r s e their descendants, and often those they m a r r i e d . M i t h r a i s m as we k n o w it from R o m a n sites and sources is not evidenced at all in the eastern areas where it w a s o n c e supposed to h a v e originated, and seems m o r e likely to have been a R o m a n i n n o v a t i o n , p r o b a b l y i n the W e s t . Although o f s o m e popularity a m o n g military a n d l o w t o middle-ranking governmental w o r k e r s , it was never really propagated a m o n g the general populace. * 15

1

S e c o n d l y , even if o n e b e c a m e a devotee of Isis or a n o t h e r such imported divinity, this w a s never understood as involving a neglect, m u c h less a n y renunciation, of o n e ' s previous and o t h e r religious devotion, such as o n e ' s ancestral traditions or the deities o f o n e ' s locale o r city. T h a t is, any spread o f new deities in the R o m a n period did n o t really involve a 'conversion' from previous religious practices to n e w and exclusive religious c o m m i t m e n t s . Interest in imported deities and cults was ordinarily simply an additional, voluntary religious a v o cation added o n t o o n e ' s previous and wider religious activities and practices. T h i s helps further explain w h y Paul found it necessary to deal with questions a b o u t w h e t h e r G e n t i l e Christians c o u l d c o n t i n u e to participate in pagan cults and frequent events i n their h o n o u r . T h e exclusivism e x p e c t e d o f Christian Converts, a renunciation of all other cultic activities directed to • n y other gods, w a s paralleled only by the d e m a n d s m a d e on proselytes to J e w i s h religion. In this both J e w i s h and Christian demands were at odds with all o t h e r religious attitudes of the R o m a n era.

E.g., the inscriptional evidence on devotees to Isis in Italy and Sicily referred to in MacMullen, Paganism, 1 4 - 1 5 . " Ulansey, The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries, and id., 'Solving the Mithraic Mysteries', Biblical Archaeology Review 20 (Sept/Oct 1 9 9 4 ) , 4 1 - 5 3 ; Beck 'Mithraism since Franz Cumont,' in Temporini and Haase (eds.), Aufstieg und Niedergang der rbmischen Welt, pp. 2003-2115.

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T h e evidence indicates that although deities a n d religious traditions and practices s o m e t i m e s underwent developments and changes, a n d although certain deities seem to have been m o r e favoured in this time or t h a t , in this area or that, and a m o n g this or that g r o u p of people, in general pagan religion did n o t undergo m a j o r c h a n g e s . T h i s is particularly so a m o n g the general p o p u l a c e , as reflected in inscriptional evidence and other a r c h a e o l o g i c a l data. We have no indication of a widespread decline in religious enthusiasm for the gods a n d the devotional practices c o n c e r n e d with t h e m , no sense of a general religious malaise or dissatisfaction with traditional religion. T h e claims to the c o n t r a r y , a l o n g with b r o a d references to pagan ' a n x i e t y ' s o m e t i m e s asserted as e x p l a n a t i o n for the success of early Christianity, have scant b a s i s . 17

Likewise with scant basis are the o c c a s i o n a l scholarly assertions of a ' t r e n d ' or ' t e n d e n c y ' t o w a r d m o n o t h e i s m in the R o m a n period. T o b e sure, a m o n g s o m e sophisticated writers in the ancient w o r l d there were attempts to posit a unity behind the diversity of g o d s . But this is hardly m o n o t h e ism as we k n o w it in classical forms of J u d a i s m , Christianity or Islam, in which one deity is w o r s h i p p e d to the e x c l u s i o n of all-others. T h e pagan writers in question c o n t i n u e d to affirm the validity o f all the gods and the w o r s h i p o f t h e m . T h e y tended t o see the gods a s e x p r e s s i o n s and forms o f s o m e c o m m o n divine essence that unified them all, and a d v o c a t e d the w o r s h i p of the gods as proper reverence for all these valid manifestations of that divine essence. In short, the few expressions of a supposed m o n o t h e i s m never functioned.as the basis for a n y significant c h a n g e in religious p r a c t i c e , any challenge t o the 'polytheistic' traditions and devotion o f the time. We should really understand these assertions of a divine unity as attempts to find s o m e a b s t r a c t c o h e r e n c e in the diversity of gods and religious traditions that b e c a m e so o b v i o u s in the R o m a n empire as m a n y peoples and their traditions c a m e into c o n t a c t with o n e a n o t h e r . B u t there is no visible

17

Teixidor, The Pagan God, 4 - 5 , and MacMullen's more lengthy critique of Cumont and others in Paganism, 1 1 2 - 3 0 .

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difference in the religious practices of any of those w h o affirmed a divine unity of the g o d s . 18

Sacred P l a c e s As in nearly all times a n d cultures, in the R o m a n w o r l d , t o o , the practice of religion w a s particularly associated with sacred places. T h o u g h appeals to the gods might be m a d e wherever the need a r o s e , it w a s usually thought t h a t there was special itfficacy in a p p r o a c h i n g them in the temples, shrines and o t h e r Mcred places with which they w e r e m o r e directly associated. S a c r i f i c e in particular w a s m o r e often than n o t deemed m o r e appropriate in the sacred places, and in s o m e cases sacrifice was forbidden elsewhere. So far as we k n o w , for m o s t devout Jews, for e x a m p l e , the J e r u s a l e m temple w a s the o n l y spot where b l o o d sacrifice c o u l d legitimately be offered to the G o d o f Israel. T h e other deities o f the R o m a n era likewise c h a r a c teristically had temples a n d shrines in their h o n o u r , and it

I

Id have been thought strange for a deity n o t to have any sacred place, s o m e cases, these sacred places were w h e r e tradition held this or that deity had appeared to a devotee, the theiny m a k i n g the l o c a t i o n thereafter sacred to the h o n o u r of livinity. S o m e t i m e s such t h e o p h a n i e s w e r e r e c o u n t e d as Iving instructions from the deity to h a l l o w the spot, peri even to erect a shrine. As I have already m e n t i o n e d , in the o f the deities o f cities, the temples were l o c a t e d o n central a n a p r o m i n e n t sites, expressive o f the central i m p o r t a n c e o f the deities in the cities t h a t particularly revered them as their protectors and providers of prosperity a n d well-being. W h e n cities or districts sought to express their devotion to the R o m a n e m p e r o r , they often sought his permission to erect a temple dedicated to him, or to place an image of the e m p e r o r alongside the image of the goddess R o m a in the temples erected 111

See references to modern scholarly claims of pagan 'monotheism' and my comments in One God, One Lord: Early Christian Devotion and Ancient Jewish Monotheism, 1 2 9 - 3 0 .

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to her, thereby m a k i n g the temple a holy place for both R o m a and the divine e m p e r o r . In this sort of action we have a clear d e m o n s t r a t i o n of the sense that divinities are to be a c c o r d e d sacred places w h e r e full worship of them can be carried out. I have already m e n t i o n e d the c o n s i d e r a b l e a m o u n t of R o m a n - e r a civic space taken up by temples and the e n o r m o u s expense they represented. We must r e m e m b e r that in any city of the time there were n u m e r o u s temples and shrines dedicated to various deities. A s , for e x a m p l e , M a c M u l l a n has noted with reference to cities in Italy: The standard Roman city . . . would need room for temples to the Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva), plus Mercury, Isis and Sarapis, Apollo, Liber Pater, Hercules, Mars, Venus, Vulcan, and Ceres. 19

T h e s e city temples were likely at least as c o m m o n and as p r o m i n e n t as the m a n y grand church buildings t h a t dominated E u r o p e a n cities until the recent p r o m i n e n c e of office and financial towers on m a n y city skylines. In m a n y c a s e s , these m o n u m e n t a l temples were c o m p l e x e s that included various facilities a n d served a variety of needs. I cite M a c M u l l a n again: To complete the picture of religious centres constituting also cultural centers, with zoological parks, aviaries, museums, concerts, art galleries, and public lectures, or the equivalent of all these things provided nowhere else in most cities, we must add botanical gardens . . . 20

T h i s means that the sacred places of the gods were not only p r o m i n e n t but heavily frequented, both for w h a t we w o u l d think of as o b v i o u s l y religious purposes and for wider social and cultural purposes as well. In particular, cult centres were places where groups of people could eat and drink together 19

MacMullen, Paganism, 1. Ibid., 3 5 . The whole of MacMullen's discussion in Paganism, 3 4 - 4 2 , offers valuable insight into Roman-era sacred places and their importance in the religious and cultural life of the time.

20

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easily. I will say m o r e a b o u t religious meals later in this discussion. At this point, however, I w a n t to n o t e that the temples of the pagan gods were also frequently used as c o n v e n i e n t places for social dining and often had r o o m s a t t a c h e d to the central shrine that c o u l d be used (likely rented out) for such purp o s e s . T h u s , part of the reason that R o m a n - e r a temples are to be seen as so i m p o r t a n t a feature of city life is that people frequented them for a range of purposes and c o m b i n e d social and religious life and activities easily within their precincts. A great deal of financial outlay was involved in shrines and temples, and a great deal of life was related to them. 21

Images J u s t as characteristic as temples and shrines were cult images of (lie gods, the temples n o r m a l l y serving as houses of the gods as represented by their cult images. H e r e again we see the strongly visual nature o f the religious e n v i r o n m e n t o f the R o m a n e r a . I t was thought the m o s t natural thing to have and use images representing the gods as foci of w o r s h i p . As m e n t i o n e d earlier, the emerging divine-emperor devotion of the early imperial period is particularly valuable to us in illustrating the i m p o r t a n c e of cult images. T h e requests from this or that city or region for the r m p e r o r ' s permission to h o n o u r him cultically included requests for permission to set up the e m p e r o r ' s image and give it Ciiltic h o n o u r s . It was simply unimaginable to reverence any 22

21

As MacMullen notes [Paganism, 3 6 ) , even in larger houses of the Unman period it would have been difficult to accommodate a dining party larger than ten or so, and the living quarters of most people had no dedicated dining room at all. The temples afforded rooms and inhles where friends and families, guilds and other groups could enjoy meals together. See also the discussion and drawings of temple structures showing such dining rooms, in Murphy-O'Connor, St. Paul's Corinth: Texts and Archaeology, 1 6 1 - 6 7 . " On emperor devotion, in addition to the works by Taylor and Price- cited earlier, see Schowalter, The Emperor and the Gods. For further bibliography, see Herz, 'Bibliographic zum romischen Kaiserkult' in Tcmporini and Ha a se (eds.) An fstieg und Niedergang.

22

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figure as divine w i t h o u t registering this reverence in fashioning and using sacred images. F r o m the J e w i s h tradition of the time, early Christians inherited a prohibition against cult images. F o r this reason as well as others, their w o r s h i p seemed strange to everyone else in the R o m a n world. Philosophers might discuss h o w the gods were not confined in the images a n d were really to be thought of as spiritual substances, with the images being p o o r material objects n o t to be confused with t h e m . But these sophisticates did n o t a d v o c a t e the a b a n d o n m e n t of temples and their cult images; indeed, they thoroughly affirmed them, offering only a refined understanding of the metaphysical relationship between images and the deities they represented. T h e y argued that the images merely functioned as objects to facilitate devotion to the gods, providing a localised and tangible focus for worship. 23

We should n o t , however, c o n c l u d e that this J e w i s h and Christian prohibition against cult images m e a n t an absolute ban against any imagery in places of w o r s h i p . F r o m the D u r a E u r o p o s e x c a v a t i o n s o n w a r d , we have acquired increasing evidence of the rich use of imagery in ancient J e w i s h synagogues, including the direct representation of biblical c h a r a c t e r s and symbols that likely referred to G o d (e.g., solar i m a g e s ) . T h e earliest surviving Christian art is from the third or perhaps late second century and includes representations of J e s u s ; but it appears that these did not function in the w a y cult images of the gods functioned in the general religious 24

23

Be van, Holy Images: An Inquiry into Idolatry and Image-Worship in Ancient Paganism and in Christianity. For Roman-era Jewish attitudes toward the cult images of the Gentiles, see, e.g., Philo, Decal. 66-76; Wis.Sol. 1 3 - 1 4 . Hopkins, The Discovery of Dura Europos; Bickerman, 'Symbolism in the Dura Synagogue' in Bickerman, Studies in Jewish and Christian History; Hachlili, Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology in the Land of Israel, and id., 'Early Jewish Art and Architecture' in Freedman, D.N. (ed.), Anchor Bible Dictionary; Ovadiah 'The Art of the Ancient Synagogues in Israel' in Urman and Flesher, (eds.), Ancient Synagogues: Historical Analysis and Archaeological Discovery. 24

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environment. T h a t is, the earliest Christian images do not appear to have served as o b j e c t s to which worship was directed. T h i s J e w i s h a n d Christian lack o f cult images, along with their refusal to h o n o u r the images of the other gods, w a s a m a j o r reason for the charge against them of 'atheism'. T h e ubiquitous use of cult images in R o m a n - e r a religion makes the scruples against them a m o n g J e w s and Christians, oven in the J e r u s a l e m temple, very significantly at odds with a major characteristic of the religious e n v i r o n m e n t . In the light of the i m p o r t a n t role and significance of cult images, we m a y better appreciate the significance of the honorific references to Christ as the image (eikon) of G o d (e.g., 2 C o r . 4 : 4 ; C o l . 1 : 1 5 ) . In a culture in which images of the gods served as their manifestations, and reverence s h o w n to the images was regarded as reverence for the gods themselves, to regard Christ as the image of the true and living G o d surely c o n n o t e d a high regard for him and possibly expressed an implied p o l e m i c against the cultic images of the religious environment. References to Christ as G o d ' s image are also a reflection of the cultic devotion that was a c c o r d e d Christ and understood at the same time as offered also to G o d 'the Father'. 25

Rituals It is hard to imagine the practice of religion w i t h o u t some form of rituals, actions invested with specially sacred significance and particularly expressive of piety that b e c o m e regularised for this or that religious group or tradition. In the R o m a n era, as in nearly all ancient religion, there w a s a rich variety of ritual actions for various o c c a s i o n s and for various deities. Sacrifice was a c o m m o n ritual c o m p o n e n t of the w o r s h i p of most divinities, including, of c o u r s e , the G o d of Israel. Given the s e m a n t i c development of our w o r d 'sacrifice', which has c o m e to c o n n o t e loss suffered for the sake of s o m e o n e or 2S

On early Christian attitudes toward the use of church imagery, see I'iuney, The Inrisihle Cod: The Earliest Christians on Art.

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something else, with the emphasis placed on the c o s t to the one(s) making the sacrifice, it is necessary to stress that in the ancient world to sacrifice w a s to m a k e an offering, a gift to the gods, and had a very positive, even j o y o u s , m e a n i n g . In most cases, for e x a m p l e , sacrificial offerings by individuals seem to have been as t h a n k s to a god for blessings given, often in a n s w e r to a prayer. Sacrifice on b e h a l f of groups t o o (e.g., cities, families, other groups) were m o s t often likewise j o y o u s events, the offering given gladly to the god as t h a n k s . We must also note, of c o u r s e , that in m o s t types of animal sacrifices a feast was a c o m p o n e n t of the ritual, the sacrificial victim providing the main c o u r s e . Indeed, for m a n y of the general populace of R o m a n times, the only o c c a s i o n s for eating meat were sacrificial events when the better off would provide sacrifices sufficient for the larger circle of participants, whether family, guild or city p o p u l a c e . A portion of the sacrificial victim w a s given to the g o d , that is, to the temple and its priests as well. As a m e a s u r e of the enthusiasm for animal sacrifice, often the temples could n o t m a k e use of these offerings and thus sold excess m e a t to vendors w h o retailed it in the m a r k e t p l a c e to the general public. T h i s produced anxieties a m o n g s o m e believers in C o r i n t h as to whether they could purchase and eat m e a t from the m a r k e t , for it might well have originated as an offering to a pagan god. Paul's assurance in 1 C o r i n t h i a n s 1 0 : 2 5 - 2 6 that Christians could eat such m e a t in g o o d c o n s c i e n c e is directed to these anxieties. 26

27

Along with the lack of temples or cult images, the earliest Christians offered no sacrifices to their G o d , and in this as well seemed to their pagan neighbours an odd sort of religious group. T h e i r lack o f these i m p o r t a n t ' n o r m a l ' c o m p o n e n t s o f religion is part of the reason w h y some outsiders regarded Yerkes Sacrifice in Greek and Roman Religions and Early Judaism; also 'Sacrifice,' in Hammond and Scullard, Oxford Classical Dictionary, 9 4 3 - 4 5 ; Anderson 'Sacrifice and Sacrificial Offerings ( O T ) ' in Freedman, D.N. (ed.), Anchor Bible Dictionary. 'For most people, meat was a thing never eaten and wine to surfeit never drunk save as some religious setting permitted' (MacMullen, Paganism, 4 0 ) . 27

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Christian groups as m o r e like philosophical a s s o c i a t i o n s than religious g r o u p s . T h a t they t o o k over from J e w i s h synagogue practice the reading of ( O l d T e s t a m e n t ) scriptures and C h r i s tian writings (e.g., Paul's epistles), as well as sermons and addresses on religious t o p i c s , as regular c o m p o n e n t s of their worship meetings further added to this ' s c h o l a s t i c ' impression. Early Christians w e r e not without ritual, of c o u r s e . Like some other religious groups of the time, they had an initiation ritual, in their case baptism, and invested it with rich signific a n c e . T h e initiation rituals o f pagan religious groups varied but were often e l a b o r a t e and colourful, and s o m e t i m e s deliberately e x o t i c . T h i s is particularly so for the religious groups often referred to as 'mystery c u l t s ' . T h e c e r e m o n i e s might be held (or c u l m i n a t e ) at night by torchlight, with priests in full g a r b , sacred o b j e c t s brought forth to view, incense, m u s i c or orchesl rated loud noises, s o n o r o u s phrases recited, and special gestures such as disrobing and reclothing the initiate. T h e immediate aim seems to have been to create an impressive and m e m o r a b l e experience for the initiates and for observers. Although there may have been s o m e such rituals, or s o m e c o m ponents of them, that were reserved for initiates and m e m b e r s of the cult, we should not imagine that the so-called 'mystery cults' were quite as thoroughly secretive as has sometimes been l bought. T h e Eleusinian mysteries, for e x a m p l e , were quite public. F o r these groups as well, o n e aim of their rituals w a s to a 11 ract c r o w d s and thereby recruit devotees or at least p r o m o t e l he renown of their g o d . As with other m a t t e r s , the early Christian initiation rite w o u l d have seemed rather ' l o w tech,' 28

29

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Judge, 'The Early Christians as a Scholastic Community', Journal of Religious History 1 ( 1 9 6 0 / 6 1 ) , 4 - 1 5 , 1 2 5 - 3 7 . '' E.g., Cullmann, Baptism in the New Testament; Beasley-Murray, Baptism in the New Testament. On comparisons between Christian and pagan rituals, see Nock, Early Gentile Christianity and its Hellenistic Background, esp. 109—45; Wedderburn, Baptism and Resurrection: Studies in Pauline Theology against its Gracco-R oman Background. M. W. Meyer, The Ancient Mysteries: A Sourcebook, gives an introduction and an anthology of ancient texts in translation. " MacMnllen, Paganism, 2 3 - 2 4 . ;

m

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simple, and c o m p a r a t i v e l y less impressive to pagan observers used to these m o r e e l a b o r a t e events. T r u e , there were lots of other house-based cultic a s s o c i a t i o n s in the R o m a n period, small and w i t h o u t the trappings of the m o r e public cultic events, and thus resembling in s o m e ways the Christian g r o u p s . But, unlike the Christian worship meetings, these private cultic associations were never intended to replace the m a n y other cultic activities of the pagan religious environment of the time. It is the exclusivist posing of comparatively unadorned house-church worship sessions over against the colourful ritual lifeofthis e n v i r o n m e n t t h a t m a k e s Christianity apparently unique. 32

Meals At various points I have referred to meals as an i m p o r t a n t c o m p o n e n t o f R o m a n - e r a r e l i g i o n . A s indicated already, sacrifice regularly included a m e a l shared by the devotees, and it w o u l d appear that all k n o w n religious groups had sacred meals that provided a very meaningful, favoured expression of their shared piety. But we must understand that this meal-piety w a s not at all a solemn o n e . T h e o c c a s i o n s themselves were very festive and eating and drinking were engaged in with enthusiasm and in copious measure. Indeed, a m o n g the rules to be observed at the entrances to s o m e pagan shrines is a warning not to vomit up one's wine within the sacred precincts - which suggests the sort of o c c a s i o n involved! A m o n g these sacred feasts, there were those held in h o n o u r of city or local gods and open to large n u m b e r s of the population, those for initiates only, and those private dinners that might be open to guests but for which an invitation w a s necessary. I have m e n t i o n e d earlier that, especially in cities, 33

34

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L. M. White, Building God's House, 3 1 - 4 0 . D. E. Smith, 'Greco-Roman Meal Customs' and 'Greco-Roman Sacred Meals' in Freedman, D. N. (ed.), Anchor Bible Dictionary. MacMullen, Paganism, 12, and 146 n. 5 8 .

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people w o u l d have opportunities and direct invitations to participate in various religious groups, often through sharing a meal in h o n o u r of this or that god. T h o u g h m o s t such invitations were probably conveyed orally, written examples survive from antiquity. S o m e of the invitations are to attend dinners in r o o m s attached to the temple of the god and others specify the location as a private h o m e (both types of settings usually a c c o m m o d a t i n g groups of eight to a dozen people). It is agreed a m o n g scholars that in all cases the meals in question had a religious significance and c h a r a c t e r . Indeed, it appears that the god in w h o s e h o n o u r the meal w a s held w a s understood as present at the table participating in s o m e spiritual w a y in the m e a l , p r o b a b l y as its host or guest of h o n o u r . In fact, in one surviving invitation, the god Sarapis himself extends the i n v i t a t i o n ! T h i s c o n c e p t i o n that the gods were present at such meals likely lies behind Paul's warnings to C o r i n t h i a n Christians that they are not to partake of the 'cup of d e m o n s ' or participate in the 'table of d e m o n s ' (1 C o r . 1 0 : 2 0 - 2 1 ) , his pejorative references to feasts in h o n o u r of pagan g o d s . 35

36

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38

T h e best k n o w n J e w i s h sacred meal is, of c o u r s e , the Passover f e a s t . T h i s t o o was to be celebrated in a j o y o u s m o o d , and it seems likely that, along with the singing of Psalms and the reclining posture required for the m e a l , the later r a b b i n i c directive that the Passover m u s t include four cups of wine preserves the festive nature of the o c c a s i o n as celebrated in the 39

35

Horsley, 'Invitations to the kline of Sarapis' in Horsley (ed.), New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity, 5 - 9 , gives very good discussion with texts and translations. See discussion of texts and visual representations in Horsley, 'Invitations' 6, 8. One Oxyrhynchos text reads 'The god calls you to a banquet being held in the Thoereion tomorrow from the ninth hour.' Text and translation in Horsley, 'Invitations', 5. Paul's reference to being invited to dinners by unbelievers (SLTIC, 36

37

3 8

KUXXT xiuuc, TWV arcicrrcDV; 1 Cor. 1 0 : 2 7 ) echoes the wording of the

written invitations, as noted by Horsley, 'Invitations', 9. ' Bokscr, 'Unleavened Bread and Passover, Feasts o f , in Freedman, I). N. (cd.). Anchor Bible Dictionary. y

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40

S e c o n d T e m p l e p e r i o d . T h e Passover w a s properly celebrated in J e r u s a l e m as long as the J e r u s a l e m temple stood, but there were o t h e r opportunities for devout J e w s to express their faith through a g r o u p meal (e.g., new m o o n s ) w i t h o u t having to be in J e r u s a l e m . T h e Q u m r a n c o m m u n i t y had its o w n shared meal e n d o w e d with special religious significance and celebrated in a very j o y o u s m o o d / To be sure, it is likely that J e w i s h sacred meals were less p r o n e to excesses in drinking and behaviour that seem to have been a feature of, or that had to be m o r e consciously w a r n e d against, in pagan feasts. B u t with or without such excesses, the sacred meal of antiquity was a j o y o u s social o c c a s i o n , and no tension w a s felt between the religious c h a r a c t e r of the sacred meal and this social dimension. 1

Given the ubiquitous role of meals in the religious environment of the t i m e , it is understandable that in early Christian circles a sacred meal w a s a characteristic feature of their c o l lective devotional life. T h e s e meals of Christian fellowship were held in the h o m e s of believers with space to a c c o m m o date them (though, again, we should bear in mind that m o s t h o m e s would not have been adequate for group dinners of m o r e than eight to ten people).

J e w i s h Religious Life T h o u g h I have m a d e a few short references to J e w i s h religion in the preceding discussion, I wish n o w to m a k e some m o r e extensive c o m m e n t s . Given the i m p o r t a n c e of J e w i s h religion for the origins of Christianity, it is worth singling out this facet of the R o m a n religious environment for special attention. Again, I must be selective and will focus on certain features of

See the recent review of various types of Jewish meals that have been considered as context for the accounts of the Last Supper in the gospels by Kodell, The Eucharist in the New Testament, 3 8 - 5 2 . K. G. Kuhn, Enderwartung und gegenwartiges Heil: Uiitersiichinigen zu den Gemeindelicdern von Qumran. 41

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the practice of J e w i s h piety in the early R o m a n imperial period c o n t e m p o r a r y with the origins of C h r i s t i a n i t y / I have already mentioned t w o features of ancient J e w i s h religion that marked it off from the larger R o m a n religious environment: the absence of cult images and the exclusivity demanded. B o t h of these features were noted by pagan observers of the time. N e i t h e r in synagogues n o r even in the J e r u s a l e m temple where sacrifice w a s offered was there an image of the G o d of Israel serving like the cult images c h a r a c teristic of R o m a n - e r a religion. Pagans often found this curious. J e w i s h religious exclusivity w a s m o r e than curious; it w a s considered downright antisocial behaviour. It w o u l d certainly have had profound, unavoidable effects upon the social interactions of devout J e w s with n o n - J e w s in D i a s p o r a settings, given the ties of a l m o s t any social o c c a s i o n to the gods. S o m e J e w s simply assimilated to the pagan practice, and, no doubt, many others developed various degrees of c o m p r o m i s e and a c c o m m o d a t i o n . But both J e w s and n o n - J e w s k n e w quite well that faithfulness to J e w i s h religion involved deep scruples about participation in devotion to other gods. In addition, there were strong scruples against inappropriate reverence for G o d ' s own heavenly retinue of angels or for other agents of G o d such as the revered patriarchs (e.g., M o s e s ) or messiahs. J e w i s h ' m o n o t h e i s m ' could take in quite a rich assortment of very exalted and powerful beings in addition to G o d , but cultic worship (that is, public c o r p o r a t e prayer and 2

12

Though there are many studies on Jewish religion of the period, most focus mainly on the literature, beliefs, parties and institutions, and have little to say directly about the practice of Jewish piety. Among exceptions, see Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 IiCE-66 CE; several chapters in Safrai and Stern, The Jewish People in the First Century: Historical Geography, Political History, Social, Cultural and Religious Life and Institutions; Schiirer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, 3 / 1 : 1 3 8 - 4 9 . Nickelsburg and Stone, Faith and Piety in Early Judaism: Texts and Documents, is a helpful anthology and gives beliefs and some features of practice, but surprisingly little of the latter given the title of the hook.

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praise, and of c o u r s e sacrifice) w a s characteristically restricted to God alone. T h e r e were t w o main institutions for collective expressions of J e w i s h religion in this period: the temple in J e r u s a l e m and the synagogue. F o r m o s t J e w s the J e r u s a l e m temple w a s recognised as the only legitimate place w h e r e sacrifice c o u l d be offered to G o d , and m a n y t h o u s a n d s of J e w s from elsewhere in R o m a n Palestine and from the D i a s p o r a made pilgrimages to J e r u s a l e m for one or m o r e of the great festal o c c a s i o n s : Passover, First-Fruits (Pentecost), and Ingathering o r B o o t h s (Sukkoth). J e w s w h o could n o t m a k e the j o u r n e y to J e r u s a l e m still participated in and supported the operation of the temple through the annual temple t a x (the 'half-shekel' c o n t r i b u t i o n required of all adult males, which w a s collected in various D i a s p o r a cities and transported to J e r u s a l e m ) . But for most J e w s the m o r e familiar collective expression and exercise of religion was through their synagogues and f a m i l i e s . Especially in the D i a s p o r a , where J e w s were 43

44

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Hurtado, 'First-Century Jewish Monotheism', Journal for the Study of the New Testament 71 ( 1 9 9 8 ) , pp. 3 - 2 6 . On the temple and its operation, see Sanders, Judaism, 4 7 - 1 1 8 ; Safrai, 'The Temple,' in Safrai and Stern, The Jewish People, 8 6 5 - 9 0 7 ; F. J. Murphy, The Religions Word of Jesus: An Introduction to Second Temple Palestinian Judaism, 71-92; Jevemias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus; Schurer, History of the Jewish People, 2: 2 3 7 - 3 1 3 ; Hayward, The Jewish Temple: A Non-Biblical Sourcebook. It appears that the Qumran sect considered the Jerusalem temple to have come under dubious priestly administration, with an incorrect religious calendar of sacred events and sacrifices of questionable validity. In this attitude they were unusual among devout Jews of the time. Jerusalem itself retained a special significance and the Qumran group hoped for an eschatological purging that would involve a new temple with valid sacrifices and a legitimate priestly leadership and calendrical system. See, e.g., Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, 2 6 2 - 6 8 , 3 8 5 - 9 4 . 44

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Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4 2 3 - 6 3 ; Safrai, 'The Synagogue,' in Safrai and Stern, The Jewish People, 9 0 8 - 4 4 ; Urman and Flesher, Ancient Synagogues.

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minorities and Jewish religious identity w o u l d have been under c o n s t a n t pressure to assimilate with the d o m i n a n t religious culture, it is likely that synagogues played an i m p o r t a n t role in maintaining s o m e level of religious solidarity a m o n g J e w s . D i a s p o r a J e w s were often granted special rights by the R o m a n s , which included the right to meet together and p r a c tice their ancestral religious c u s t o m s . T h u s , the synagogue, the principal expression of J e w i s h collective religious identity, would have held strong ethnic, political, social and religious meanings. 4 6

47

T h e w o r d 'synagogue' derives from the G r e e k w o r d synagoge and means a 'gathering', but the earlier G r e e k term used for the religious meeting places of D i a s p o r a J e w s is proseuche, '[place of] prayer', indicating that w o r s h i p of G o d was a m a j o r purpose of the gatherings in these places. T h e r e may have been s o m e m a j o r differences in practice between Palestinian and D i a s p o r a synagogues, but here I am mainly concerned with D i a s p o r a settings, where the greater n u m b e r of early Christian groups (whether J e w i s h Christians or Gentile Christians) would have encountered J e w i s h practice. T h e r e was no standardised prayer b o o k or synagogue liturgy in the S e c o n d T e m p l e period, no fixed prayers or standardised lectionary, but there were p r o b a b l y s o m e w h a t conventionalised practices that had developed over time. After all, by the first century, J e w i s h synagogues had been a feature of D i a s p o r a J e w i s h life in at least s o m e centres for t w o hundred years or m o r e . T h u s , synagogue prayers in various places m a y well have been characterised by a n u m b e r of widely echoed themes, such as those that subsequently b e c a m e standardised in the Eighteen Benedictions, w h i c h b e c a m e the 48

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E.g., Kasher, 'Synagogues as "Houses of Prayer" and "Holy Places" in the Jewish Communities of Hellenistic and Roman Egypt' in Urman and Flesher (eds.), Ancient Synagogues. Josephus lists numerous Roman decrees granting or reaffirming rights to Jews in various cities and districts in Antiq. 1 4 : 2 1 3 - 6 4 . See, e.g., Griffiths, 'Egypt and the Rise of the Synagogue' in Urman and Flesher (eels.), Ancient Synagogues, 3-16.

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central prayer of the synagogue liturgy. T h a n k s g i v i n g to G o d for his gifts and mercies, and petitions for his continued mercy upon Israel were likely c o m m o n . We get some idea of w h a t was considered devout praying in the prayers recorded in various J e w i s h texts written or used in the S e c o n d T e m p l e period (e.g., D a n . 9 : 4 - 1 9 ; Tobit 3 : 1 - 6 , 1 1 - 1 5 ; Judith 9 : 2 - 1 4 ) . T h e Shema, a confession of faith that begins with the famous w o r d s , ' H e r e , O Israel, the Lord our G o d , the Lord is O n e ' and c o m p o s e d o f D e u t e r o n o m y 6 : 4 - 9 ; 1 1 : 1 3 - 2 1 and N u m b e r s 1 5 : 3 7 — 4 1 , was p r o b a b l y widely (universally?) recited in s y n a g o g u e s . T h i s confession expressed the e x c l u sivist m o n o t h e i s m of devout J e w s of the time that we have already noted and was thus a crucial liturgical m a r k e r of J e w ish religious identity over against the larger religious diversity o f the R o m a n p e r i o d . T h e N a s h Papyrus suggests catechetical or liturgical use of the Shema in Egypt well before the birth o f C h r i s t i a n i t y . T h e r e was also likely to have been singing or c h a n t i n g of biblical Psalms and perhaps other Psalm-like c o m p o s i t i o n s 5 0

51

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4

On the origins and development of Jewish synagogue liturgy, see Elbogen, Der jiidische Gottesdienst in seiner geschichtlichen Entwicklung; and now Reif, Judaism and Hebrew Prayer: New Perspectives on Jewish Liturgical History. On earliest evidence of synagogue prayer, see also Talmon, 'The Emergence of Institutionalised Prayer in Israel in the Light of the Qumran Literature' in Delcor (ed.), Qumran. Sa piete, sa theologie, et sa milieu; Falk, 'Jewish Prayer Literature and the Jerusalem Church in Acts' in Bauckham (ed.), The Book of Acts in its first Century Setting. For an introduction to traditional Jewish prayer, see Kimelman, Reuven, 'The Shema and the Amidah: Rabbinic Prayer' in Kiley (ed.), Prayer from Alexander to Constantine: A Critical Anthology, 1 0 8 - 2 0 . 50

Enermalm-Ogawa, Un langage de priere juif en grec: Le temoinage des deux premieres livres des Maccabees; N. B. Johnson, Prayer in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. 'The Shema' and the Shemoneh Esreh\ in Schiirer, History of the Jewish People, 2 : 4 5 4 - 6 3 . Hurtado, 'Jewish Monotheism'. " Albright, 'A Biblical Fragment from the Maccabean A^e: The Nash Papyrus'. 51

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such as are attested in the Q u m r a n materials (the hymn scroll and the e x t r a - c a n o n i c a l p s a l m s ) . Especially on o c c a s i o n s celebrating new m o o n s and annual festivals such as H a n n u k a h , chanting or singing m a y have been a m a j o r feature of J e w i s h synagogue worship. M o s t frequently attested, however, is the reading of scripture as the central activity expressing J e w i s h religious identity in synagogues. T h o u g h there was p r o b a b l y n o t a fixed lectionary system, it seems likely that synagogues m a d e efforts to have the w h o l e of the T o r a h (the P e n t a t e u c h ) read through in weekly synagogue meetings over a few years. R e a d i n g s from the Prophets were also likely in m a n y synagogues of the time. S o m e sort of homily was p r o b a b l y frequent as well. T h e reading of scripture and homilies are reflected in, for e x a m p l e , the N T a c c o u n t s o f synagogue activities (e.g., Acts 1 3 : 1 5 ) , which must be taken as evidence of first-century practice k n o w n to the a u t h o r s . B o t h J o s e p h u s and Philo of A l e x a n d r i a attest scripture reading and e x p l a n a t i o n and teaching based on scripture as regular features of weekly synagogue meetings of the first century C E . In D i a s p o r a synagogues it is likely that the scriptures were read in G r e e k , the translation of the H e b r e w Bible into Greek having begun in the third century B C E , largely, it appears, to meet the desire of Greek-speaking J e w s to read and study their scriptures. T h e reading of J e w i s h scriptures in the G r e e k vernacular would also have enabled Gentile visitors to D i a s p o r a synagogues to follow things and 54

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5 6

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Grozinger, Musik und Gesang in der Theologie der friihen jiidischen Literatur; Flusser, 'Psalms, Hymns and Prayers' in Stone (ed.), Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, 5 5 1 - 7 7 ; Charlesworth, 'Jewish Hymns, Odes, and Prayers (ca. 167 B . C . E . - 1 3 5 C.E.)' in Kraft and Nickelsburg (eds.), Early Judaism and its Modern Interpreters. Perrot, 'The Reading of the Bible in the Ancient Synagogue' in Mulder and Sysling (eds.), Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, 1 3 7 - 5 9 . rZ.g., Josephus, Contra Apion 2 : 1 7 5 ; Philo, De Somiis 2 : 1 2 7 . E.g., Tov, 'The Scptuagint' in Mulder and Sysling (eds.) Mikra, I6I-SS. 55

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to learn a b o u t J e w i s h religion. T h a t is, for D i a s p o r a J e w s , the liturgical reading of their scriptures functioned in s o m e sense also as a m e a n s of p r o m o t i n g knowledge of their religion, and offering a view of them as a people w h o s e religious tradition valued reading and learning. L i k e other religious groups of the era, J e w s also had religious meals that served as i m p o r t a n t expressions of their faith. T h e weekly S a b b a t h (Friday) evening meal held a religious significance. As m e n t i o n e d earlier, on special o c c a s i o n s such as N e w M o o n and annual festivals (e.g., Unleavened Bread/Passover, Pentecost, B o o t h s [Sukkoth], D e d i c a t i o n of the T e m p l e ) J e w s held religious feasts that were m o r e e l a b o rate, with wine and the best food they c o u l d p r o v i d e . L i k e m a n y other e x a m p l e s o f c o m m o n meals with religious character in the R o m a n period, these religious meals expressed group solidarity in the religion, memorialised great events in J e w i s h religious history, and were festive, c e l e b r a t o r y affairs. 58

It is difficult to k n o w m o r e precisely h o w J e w s thought of the sacred c h a r a c t e r of these meals and whether they were understood to have any sort of ' s a c r a m e n t a l ' sense, in the sense of G o d being present with them in s o m e w a y in their religious feasts, as seems to have been thought by pagans. T h e Q u m r a n sect certainly a t t a c h e d great i m p o r t a n c e to their c o m munity meals, and reports a b o u t J e w i s h groups called Essenes and T h e r a p e u t a e claim that they held meals with strong religious significance. But scholars do not agree on (1) whether or h o w the Q u m r a n c o m m u n i t y is related to the Essenes or the T h e r a p e u t a e , and (2) w h e t h e r J e w i s h festal meals or those of the Q u m r a n sect are really to be understood as ' s a c r a m e n t a l ' , that is, as s o m e h o w conveying a 'real presence' of G o d . 5 ,

58

Schurer, History of the Jewish People 3/1: 1 4 4 - 4 5 for discussion and references to primary evidence. On the character of the Qumran meals, cf. Kuhn's essay, Enderwartung undgegenwdrtiges He'd, cited earlier; Schiffman, The Eschatological Community of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 5 9 - 6 7 . For citations of the ancient sources and discussion of the relationship of Qumran to these other groups, see, e.g., Schurei', History of the Jewish People 2: 5 X 3 - 9 7 . 59

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**e,,l. 'n. 1:221. " / W i / , 10, We shall examine early Christian eucharistic practices .»inl lili'iii in I he next chapter. V I I M I , 'Keliiudn in Everyday Life,' in Safrai, S. and Stern, M ( i ' . k ) , Tin-Jewish /»/iu interpolation of a scribal marginal note and not the words of Paul. V r , e.g., Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, 6 9 6 - 7 0 8 ; Payne, Tuklensis, Sigla for Variants in Vaticanus, and 1 Cor. 1 4 : 3 4 - 3 5 ' , New Testament Studies 4 1 ( 1 9 9 5 ) , 2 4 0 - 6 2 .

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Christian groups were not the only ones in which males and females and people of different social strata and nationalities could j o i n in c o m m o n cultic activities, but one of the p r o m i n e n t features of Christian worship was this breadth of participation. Perhaps especially for w o m e n and those w h o s e social status or ethnic b a c k g r o u n d could prove a disadvantage, it was particularly meaningful to e x p e r i e n c e a c o r p o r a t e solidarity in worship t h a t relativised or transcended the lines of differentiation and marginalisation operative in their life outside of the worship setting. Often, the leaders of the house c h u r c h e s m a y well have been those m e m bers of the little groups with c o m p a r a t i v e l y m o r e social skills, suitable experience and m o r e education, w h o were m o r e a c c u s t o m e d to exercising such roles. T h a t is, they were likely often those o f s o m e w h a t better social and e c o n o m i c b a c k grounds. B u t there w a s , o f c o u r s e , n o hereditary priesthood, indeed in the first century no Christian priestly order at all. W o r s h i p in earliest Christian groups was c o m p a r a t i v e l y informal and in principle open to c o n t r i b u t i o n s from m e m b e r s as they believed themselves inspired and were perceived by others to be gifted by G o d . 13

Fervour T h e sense of divine gifting, charisms of the Spirit of various sorts, together with the other religious ideas and claims put forth in early Christian p r o c l a m a t i o n and instruction gave fervency to earliest Christian w o r s h i p . F r o m reports of s o m e other R o m a n - e r a religious groups, it is clear t h a t e x u b e r a n c e , j o y , a sense of e n c o u n t e r with the divine, and even strong religious ecstasy were often sought by devotees and were cultivated by various m e a n s in w o r s h i p events. Christian groups

13

On women's opportunities in Roman-era religion, see Kraemer, Maenads, Martyrs, Matrons, Monastics: A Sourcebook on Women's Religions in the Greco-Roman World; id., Her Share of the Blessings: Women's Religions among Pagans, jews, and Christians.

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ilitl not have at their disposal the sorts of resources put to use by some other groups (and in later centuries appropriated iilso by Christianity) to provide devotees with powerful religions experiences or at least a sense of a w e (e.g., e l a b o r a t e v'rremonies or impressive temples), but it is clear that a religious fervour often c h a r a c t e r i s e d earliest Christian worship •mil would have been an impressive, attractive and meaning lul feature. Indeed, strong religious fervour in w o r s h i p might well have helped to c o m p e n s a t e for the other religious activities to be foregone and might have helped to maintain the i nnimitment to Christian exclusivity in w o r s h i p . From Paul's discussion of the p r o b l e m s in the C o r i n t h i a n worship practices, we gain a vivid sense of the fervency that K mild sometimes manifest itself in ways he deemed unhelpful. I he variety of worship-centred activities mentioned in I Corinthians 1 4 : 2 6 all indicate worshippers w h o experience direct divine inspiration and e x a l t a t i o n . N o t only 'revelation' and 'a tongue or an interpretation', but also the ' h y m n ' and 'lesson' are p r o b a b l y to be taken as s o m e w h a t s p o n t a n e o u s t ontributions believed to be inspired by the Spirit. T h e r e is a mill larger list of p h e n o m e n a in 1 C o r i n t h i a n s 1 2 : 4 - 1 1 , Including divinely inspired utterances of w i s d o m , k n o w l e d g e , prophecy and tongues-speaking, gifts of healing and the f o r k i n g o f miracles, and 'discernment o f spirits' (which m a y • w o c i a t e d with e x o r c i s m ) . A l s o , when Paul challenges the (i.ilatian Christians a b o u t w h a t they imagine the basis to be lor the manifestations of the Spirit and the miracles wrought among them in G a l a t i a n s 3 : 5 , it is likely that he has in mind I lie worship gathering as the setting for such divine blessings. In Colossians 3 : 1 6 and Ephesians 5 : 1 8 - 2 0 , the inspired leaching and admonishing and the grateful singing of 'psalms, h y m n s , and spiritual s o n g s ' to G o d are all p r o b a b l y lo be understood as p h e n o m e n a of gathered w o r s h i p that illustrate the religious e x a l t a t i o n and fervency sought in the earliest Christian groups. In 1 T h e s s a l o n i a n s 5 : 1 9 - 2 1 , Paul urges the T h e s s a l o n i a n Christians not to ' q u e n c h the Spirit' iiiul to m a k e r o o m for prophecy (albeit with appropriate discrimination between g o o d and bad spiritual m a n i f e s t a t i o n s ) , iiiul again it is probably ihe worship gathering that he has in

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mind as the o c c a s i o n for such manifestations of religious fervour. T h e frequency of the term ' j o y ' (chara) and references to 'rejoicing' {agalliaomai) in the N e w T e s t a m e n t reflect the jubilation e n c o u r a g e d a n d e x p e r i e n c e d particularly (though not exclusively) in w o r s h i p . T h i s j o y was c o n n e c t e d with the sense of direct e n c o u n t e r with G o d , a powerful sense of the ' n u m i n o u s ' , the Spirit being seen as the vehicle through which G o d c o m m u n i c a t e d himself directly and the w o r s h i p setting as the characteristic o c c a s i o n (e.g., Acts 2 : 4 6 - 4 7 ) . Earliest Christian p r o c l a m a t i o n portrayed a d r a m a t i c redemption from divine judgement, a full enfranchisement of Gentile converts into the elect of the G o d of Israel, and an e s c h a t o l o g i c a l salvation to be c o n s u m m a t e d in Christ's return but already manifested in the gifts of the Spirit and the success of the p r o c l a m a t i o n itself. In a passage warning against apostasy, the a u t h o r of H e b r e w s refers to Christians as 'those w h o have . . . been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the H o l y Spirit, and have tasted the g o o d ness of the w o r d of G o d and the powers of the age to c o m e ' ( H e b . 6 : 4 - 5 ) . T h i s phrasing demonstrates the very experiential nature of earliest Christian religiosity, and the sense of that religious e x p e r i e n c e as being fraught with great significance. T h e early Christians believed that they had 'tasted' heavenly things, had been given the H o l y Spirit, and had experienced e s c h a t o l o g i c a l p o w e r s . T h e s e c o n v i c t i o n s , reinforced through powerful religious e x p e r i e n c e s , understandably issued in religious j o y and f e r v o u r . 15

1 6

17

14

See Fee, God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul, esp. 8 8 3 - 9 5 , 'The Spirit and Worship'. Beyreuther and Finkenrath, 'Joy, Rejoice' in Brown (ed.), The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 352-61. Dunn, Jesus and the Spirit, 1 8 5 - 8 8 , esp. 1 8 8 . L. T. Johnson, Religious Experience in Earliest Christianity is a plea to New Testament scholars to take the religious experiences reflected in the New Testament more seriously in attempts to characterise early Christianity. 15

16

17

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J o y and fervour does n o t sustain itself automatically but has in he stimulated and cultivated repeatedly. M o r e o v e r , life experiences are such that a n o m i e , disorientation, and discouragement are predictable. T h e worship gathering w a s not only l lie scene in which Christian jubilation and fervour were c o l l e c nvely expressed, it was also a m a j o r o c c a s i o n and means for lencwing fervour through shared w o r s h i p , praise and atten• 1.1111 p h e n o m e n a . It requires little i m a g i n a t i o n o r a r g u m e n t a tion to see that religious enthusiasm is m o r e effectively i IIIti vated and m a i n t a i n e d through collective acts o f affirmation and celebration. T h e e x h o r t a t i o n in H e b r e w s 1 0 : 1 9 - 2 5 to persevere m a k e s it crucial for believers n o t to neglect their assembling for worship and, t h e r e b y , mutual e n c o u r a g e m e n t .

Significance Although the house-church setting of earliest Christian w o r ship was domestic and simple, believers were encouraged to m u c h a profound significance to their gatherings. In large p*u l, this significance is c o n n e c t e d to their collective signifiPpik'c as the redeemed. Paul teaches the C o r i n t h i a n converts think of themselves collectively as G o d ' s p l a n t a t i o n (1 C o r . G o d ' s building, with J e s u s as their foundation (10-15); and as G o d ' s temple indwelt by the divine Spirit; Kl he warns them that divisive threats to the unity of the Allegation are thus sacrilege ( 3 : 1 6 - 1 7 ) . In this notion of fhi' gathered church as G o d ' s temple, the N e w T e s t a m e n t *liuws an analogy to similar views of the Q u m r a n c o m m u nity. "' In other texts we are told that Christian believers have been chosen by G o d and destined from before c r e a t i o n for an eschatological inheritance (Eph. 1 : 3 - 1 4 ) . Indeed, they have already been exalted and given heavenly status with Christ

I

18

1

1

Gartner, The Temple and Community in Qumran and the New Testament; McKelvey, The New Temple: The Church in the New Testament. In addition to Gartner's, Temple and Community, study, see also Klin/inn, Die Umdeutung des Kultus in der Qumrangemeinde und tin Neiien Testament. |U

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(Eph. 2 : 4 - 7 ) and m a d e 'citizens with the saints and also m e m bers of the h o u s e h o l d of G o d ' , thus forming a 'holy temple in the L o r d ' where G o d himself shall dwell (Eph. 2 : 1 9 - 2 2 ) . A s G o d ' s t e m p l e , made up of 'living s t o n e s ' , and as a 'holy priesth o o d ' , they offer 'spiritual sacrifices a c c e p t a b l e to G o d through J e s u s C h r i s t ' in their collective worship (1 Pet. 2 : 4 - 5 ) . Christ has m a d e Christians 'a k i n g d o m , priests to his G o d and F a t h e r ' ( R e v . 1 : 6 ) , and they are promised such things as 'the c r o w n of life' ( R e v . 2 : 1 0 ) , 'authority over the n a t i o n s ' ( 2 : 2 6 ) , and a place with Christ on his t h r o n e ( 3 : 2 1 ) . T h e a u t h o r o f H e b r e w s speaks o f participation i n the c o m m u n i t y of Christian believers in a w e s o m e terms: You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abe). (Heb. 1 2 : 2 3 - 2 4 ) .

Given that Christians were taught to think of themselves c o l lectively in such t e r m s , it is understandable that their cultic gatherings w e r e seen as filled with meaning and significance as well. T h e y did n o t have temple structures or the e l a b o r a t e rituals familiar in the larger religious e n v i r o n m e n t , but (perhaps, indeed, therefore) the gathered group w a s itself a living shrine and their praise and w o r s h i p spiritual sacrifices pleasing to G o d . T h e y did not have a priestly order; instead, they s a w themselves collectively as a priesthood, all of them thus specially sacred and their gathering a holy o c c a s i o n . T h e y experienced their assemblies as not merely human events but as having a transcendent dimension. T h e y sensed G o d as directly and really present in their meetings through his Spirit. Indeed, even a gathering of t w o or three believers is graced with the presence of C h r i s t ( M a t t . 1 8 : 2 0 ) , giving it effic a c y in prayer and o t h e r a c t i o n s . In 1 C o r i n t h i a n s 1 1 : 1 0 , the curious passing reference to the angels as present in the worship assembly s h o w s h o w familiar the idea was. Paul's (Corinthian

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i c i d e r s apparently needed no further e x p l a n a t i o n (though we 11 mid wish for o n e ! ) . As the 'holy o n e s ' (saints) of G o d , believers saw their worship gatherings as attended by heavenly 'holy inics', angels, w h o s e presence signified the heavenly signifii •tiicc of their humble house-church assemblies. It is this sense ill.H Christian collective w o r s h i p participates in the heavenly i nlliis tbatfinds later expression in the traditional w o r d s o f the Itliugy: ' W h e r e f o r e , with angels and archangels, and with all tlic c o m p a n y of heaven, we do laud and magnify your glorious iiiHiic.' Scholars have suggested similarities with the Q u m r a n »ivi, who seem to have thought of their w o r s h i p as likewise a participation in heavenly angelic cultus, and thus as blessed with (he presence of a n g e l s . T h e point is that in their sense of llii'ir worship gatherings as an extension of and participation in I lie idealised worship of the heavenly hosts, and in their view of lheir gatherings as graced with G o d ' s holy angels, they express H vivid transcendent significance pertaining to these o c c a s i o n s . 20

21

(lollective worship w a s also experienced as having a strong Jirdiiilological significance. In fact, for religious groups with a Mni.', sense of heavenly realities and e s c h a t o l o g i c a l hopes, hip is logically seen as the o c c a s i o n when heavenly realities lo expression on earth and when foretastes of I l l o g i c a l hopes are experienced in the present. In ancient and Christian e s c h a t o l o g y , w h a t is hoped for is a tri£111 earth of G o d ' s rule that is always secure in heaven: {kingdom c o m e , your will be done on earth as it is in ' T h e prophet J o h n pictures the e s c h a t o l o g i c a l c o n s u m es the heavenly J e r u s a l e m c o m i n g down to earth, \t best treatments of the verse I know of are Hooker, 'Authority 0PI I lei' I lead: An Examination of 1 Cor 1 1 : 1 0 ' , New Testament &Hhlirs 10, and Fitzmyer, 'A Feature of Qumran Angelology and the Annuls of I Cor 1 1 : 1 0 ' in Fitzmyer, The Semitic Background of the NI'UI Testament. ' Null, 'Angelology in the Qumran Texts', esp. 1 8 4 - 9 9 ; Davidson, r\iif>i'ls ill Qumran: A Comparative Study of 1 Enoch 1-36, 72-108 ,md Sectarian Writings from Qumran; Mach, Entwicklungsstadien