Pliny the Younger on Christians

20: 228: 108: 359: 290:– which Pliny says true Christians are unable to do – they were then discharged. Accused who were at one point Christians but had quit the religion also followed the aforementioned procedure and were let go. Sherwin-White says the procedure was approved by Trajan but it was not a way to "compel conformity to the state religion or imperial cult", which was a voluntary practice. Those who confessed to being Christians three times were executed. 391:

Pliny's view of the treatment of Christians was not necessarily persecution but rather that Christians were executed only when they were brought before him at trial and confessed; however, pardons were also given to those who denied such charges. Ste. Croix says the recommended course of action "was 'accusatory' and not 'inquisitorial'", so that it was never the governors themselves but instead private, local accusers (

197:

that honored the emperor and instead follow their own sacrificial rhetoric and practices conflicted with the Roman forms of social control, making them an undesirable minority. However Eusebius (E.H. 9.7) asserts that it was fear of the gods being displeased by the Christians' refusal to worship them causing disasters to fall on cities that led to persecution. Ferguson states that Pliny viewed the obstinacy (

418:

seems to show that the Roman Empire, as a government entity, did not at this time "seek out" Christians for prosecution or persecution. Although Emperor Trajan gives Pliny specific advice about disregarding anonymous accusations, for example, he was deliberate in not establishing any new rules in regard to the Christians. In doing so, Trajan allowed Pliny to try cases according to his discretion.

299: 350:), but that it will be possible to check it. He argues for his procedure to Trajan by saying that the temples and religious festivals, which before had been deserted, are now flourishing again and that there is a rising demand for sacrificial animals once more – a dip and rise which A. N. Sherwin-White believes is an exaggeration of the toll Christianity had taken on the traditional cult. 147:

never performed a legal investigation of Christians, and thus consulted Trajan in order to be on solid ground regarding his actions, and saved his letters and Trajan's replies. The way he expressed his lack of familiarity with the procedure may indicate that such prosecutions against Christians had taken place before (namely in Rome), but Pliny had not been involved in them.

286:) deserve punishment. This shows that, to the Roman authorities, Christians were being hostile to the government and were openly defying a magistrate who was asking them to abandon an unwanted cult. Most notably, the Christians present at these trials Pliny is inquiring about were accused by a privately published anonymous document and not by Pliny nor the empire. 453:. He did not have access to Pliny's original, but to Tertullian's paraphrase. He modified the story, among other things, by stating that Pliny asked Trajan for advice because so many Christians were put to death. (Historically, it was rather because Christianity raised complex legal questions and Pliny wanted to be safe from criticism.) 278:

their beliefs. If they do not recant, then he orders them to be executed, or, if they are Roman citizens, orders them to be taken to Rome. Despite his uncertainty about the offences connected with being Christian, Pliny says that he has no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, at least their inflexible obstinacy (

235:

Pliny opens the letter (sections 1–4) with questions to Trajan concerning trials of Christians brought before him, since he says he has never been present at any trials of Christians. This may indicate that previous trials had taken place and that Pliny was unaware of any existing edicts under Trajan

146:

In 111 Bithynia and Pontus was known for being in disorder, and Pliny was selected by Trajan because of his legal training and his past experience. Pliny was familiar with the region, having defended two of their proconsuls for extortion in the Senate, one case being around AD 103. However, Pliny had

314:

Pliny then details the practices of Christians (sections 7–10): he says that they meet on a certain day before light where they gather and sing hymns to Christ as to a god. They all bind themselves by oath, "not to some crimes", says Pliny, as though that is what he would have expected; rather, they

289:

There were three categories of accused Pliny mentions with corresponding verdicts. If the accused denied that they had ever been a Christian, then once they had prayed to the Roman gods (in words dictated by Pliny himself), offered incense and wine to images of Trajan and the gods, and cursed Christ

390:

Leonard L. Thompson calls the policy "double-edged", since, "on the one hand, Christians were not hunted down. They were tried only if accusations from local provincials were brought against them. But if accused and convicted, then Christians ... were killed simply for being Christians." Therefore,

184:

Although it is clear that Pliny executed Christians, neither Pliny nor Trajan mention the crime that Christians had committed, except for being a Christian; and other historical sources do not provide a simple answer to this question. Trajan's response to Pliny makes it clear that being known as a

61:

Neither Pliny nor Trajan mention the crime that Christians were supposed to have committed, except for being a Christian; and other historical sources do not provide a simple answer to what that crime could be, but most likely due to the stubborn refusal of Christians to worship Roman gods; making

417:

If it is genuine, Pliny's letter is the earliest pagan account to refer to early Christians and provides a key description of Roman administrative process and problems, and also provides valuable evidence as to the attitudes of the Roman authorities with regard to early Christianity. The document

196:

act and Christians being "brothers and sisters", even after marriage. However, the charge of atheism related to the failure to worship the state gods, and made Christianity a superstition and not a religion. George Heyman states that the refusal of Christians to participate in sacrificial rituals

277:

Pliny gives an account of how the trials are conducted and the various verdicts (sections 4–6). He says he first asks if the accused is a Christian: if they confess that they are, he interrogates them twice more, for a total of three times, threatening them with death if they continue to confirm

324:

or "fraternities"). These clubs were banned because Trajan saw them as a "natural breeding ground for grumbling" about both civic life and political affairs. One such instance of a banned club was a firemen's association; likewise, Christianity was seen as a political association that could be

73:

The letter is the first pagan account to refer to Christianity, providing key information on early Christian beliefs and practices and how these were viewed and dealt with by the Romans. The letter and Trajan's reply indicate that at the time of its writing there was no systematic and official

460:

embellished the account further in a Latin version of Eusebius's work. He had access to Tertullian and Eusebius, but again probably not to Pliny's original. His modifications include accentuating Pliny's compassion for the Christians, and eliminating his scepticism about Christ as a god.

94:. Trajan's reply also offers valuable insight into the relationship between Roman provincial governors and Emperors and indicates that at the time Christians were not sought out or tracked down by imperial orders, and that persecutions could be local and sporadic. 65:

Pliny states that he gives Christians multiple chances to affirm they are innocent and if they refuse three times, they are executed. Pliny states that his investigations have revealed nothing on the Christians' part but harmless practices and "depraved, excessive

319:

to commit any crimes such as fraud, theft, or adultery, and subsequently share a meal of "ordinary and innocent food". Pliny says, however, that all of these practices were abandoned by the Christians after Pliny forbade any political associations

328:

Pliny adds that he felt it necessary to investigate further by having two female slaves called deaconesses tortured, which was standard procedure in Roman interrogation of slaves, and discovered nothing but "depraved, excessive superstition"

176:

characterizes the situation by stating: "Actual persecution…was local, sporadic, almost random". During this period, individual governors treated Christians very differently depending on the public and social issues, e.g.

442:(2,6-7), a defence of Christianity. This work contains "a selective paraphrase" of the correspondence. Tertullian used it to support his point that, in legal theory, it was forbidden to track Christians down. 57:

X.96) details an account of how Pliny conducted trials of suspected Christians who appeared before him as a result of anonymous accusations and asks for the Emperor's guidance on how they should be treated.

19: 203:) of Christians, as as much of a threat to Roman rule and order as the divergence of their beliefs from the Romans; and considered Christian gatherings as a potential starting point for sedition. 337:, religion, Pliny is "denigrating the Christians' position" because it was outside the religious practices of Rome. The apparent abandonment of the pagan temples by Christians was a threat to the 265:(“name”), i.e. of membership of a cult group, sufficed to secure conviction. This looked uncommonly like religious persecution to the victims themselves, but the underlying ground remained the 1388: 346:

Pliny ends the letter by saying that Christianity is endangering people of every age and rank and has spread not only through the cities, but also through the rural villages as well (

409:

comparison to other letters by Pliny seemed to indicate that much of the text was added later by somebody else. However a majority of historians still view the letter as authentic.

150:

As governor, Pliny held large influence over all of the residents of his province. This was especially true in the legal treatment of Christians. The Roman legal construct of

188:

Everett Ferguson states that the charges against Christians by Pliny may have been partly based on the "secret crimes" associated with Christianity, later characterized by

1110:"An application of a profile-based method for authorship verification: Investigating the authenticity of Pliny the Younger's letter to Trajan concerning the Christians" 169: 75: 343:, the harmony or accord between the divine and humans, and political subversion by new religious groups was feared, which was treated as a potential crime. 123:

coast of Anatolia, having arrived there as the representative of Emperor Trajan between 109 and 111 AD on September 17. Pliny likely wrote the letters from

70:." However, Pliny seems concerned about the rapid spread of their practices and views Christian gatherings as a potential starting point for sedition. 492: 1393: 1403: 429:

Several ancient Christian writers mentioned the correspondence between Pliny and Trajan and its circumstances, and often embellished the account.

405:

The received scholarly consensus is that this correspondence is authentic. More recently, the authenticity of Pliny's letter was questioned: a

1174: 1043: 1009: 982: 761: 500: 139:(most likely written during the reign of Domitian in AD 81), Christianity in the region may have had some Petrine associations through 1383: 1353: 1334: 1306: 132: 1190: 192:

as atheism, cannibalistic feasts and incest. The cannibalistic feasts and incest charges were based on misunderstanding of the

1283: 886: 862: 665: 642: 613: 586: 557: 383:

If the accused deny they are Christians and show proof that they are not by worshipping the gods, then they must be pardoned.

242:

Should any distinction be made by the age of the Christian? Should the very young be treated differently from mature people?

248:

Is the “name” of Christianity itself enough to condemn the accused or is it the crimes associated with being a Christian? (

515:. But the chronological order for the documentation begins with Pliny writing around 111 AD, then Tacitus writing in the 491:. These authors refer to events which take place during the reign of various Roman emperors, Suetonius writing about an 24: 727: 523: 173: 107: 450: 227: 1160: 747: 474: 136: 421:

The letter as it is presented supports the existence of the early Christian Church and its rapid growth.

307: 189: 1295: 446: 79: 1271: 878: 457: 258: 112: 35: 1242: 1109: 817: 799: 700: 508: 165: 50: 358: 1349: 1330: 1302: 1279: 1170: 1039: 1033: 1005: 999: 978: 882: 858: 757: 661: 638: 609: 582: 553: 470: 217: 127:. The origin of Christianity in that region is not known, but it has not been associated with 39: 31: 1222: 1318: 1234: 781: 692: 517: 480: 168:

which would require all inhabitants of the Roman Empire to sacrifice to the Roman gods, the

151: 128: 83: 1398: 1368: 1194: 495:

of Jews because of disturbances instigated by a certain "Chrestus" during the reign of

373:

Trajan's short reply to Pliny affirms Pliny's overall procedure and gives four orders:

78:. There was persecution of Christians before this but only on a local basis, like the 1377: 1246: 1166: 974: 753: 43: 1322: 1154: 964: 741: 438: 67: 1130: 303: 298: 380:

If the accused are found guilty of being Christian, then they must be punished.

1238: 433: 406: 366: 339: 199: 178: 269:("shameful acts") supposed to be inseparable from the practice of the cult.” 812: 794: 488: 193: 120: 696: 687:

St. Croix, G.E.M (Nov 1963). "Why Were the Early Christians Persecuted?".

496: 250:

Nomen ipsum si flagitiis careat an flagitia cohaerentia nomini puniantur.

156:

afforded governors a large amount of discretion in deciding legal cases.

91: 1299:

Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence

776: 504: 484: 393: 261:

states that “When the practice of a sect was banned, indictment of the

704: 1223:"Rufinus and the Reimagination of Pliny's Correspondence with Trajan" 512: 362: 124: 46: 606:

The Power of Sacrifice: Roman and Christian Discourses in Conflict

297: 140: 119:

Pliny the Younger was the governor of Bithynia and Pontus on the

722:

J. B. Rives, "The Decree of Decius and the Religion of Empire",

87: 1329:, page 892 (Cambridge University Press, 1982, reprinted 1996). 181:

wrote that no Christian blood was shed in Africa prior to 180.

245:

Does denying being a Christian mean the accused is pardoned?

236:

for prosecuting Christians. He has three main questions:

1369:

Full translated text of Pliny's letter and Trajan's reply

231:

Letters of Pliny the Younger, Paris, 1826 (Click to read)

1067: