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ARTICLE
NAVIGATION: You are presently looking at Part 4.0  We're skipping ahead a bit now. Part 3 of Tom Lee's manuscript and the opening of Part 4 explores some of the politics going on in the Roman Empire that played a part in the development of Christianity. In our excerpts for Catholica we pick up the story a little way into Part 4 where he looks at how the new religion got its name. This essay also helps set the scene for the Missionary Journeys which he explores in detail in Part 5 and which we will also look at in this series on Catholica… The new religion gets a name Christiani — originally a nickname…
The Nazoreans at Jerusalem, having received word that they had fresh recruits at Antioch, dispatched Barnabus to study the situation. He was evidently surprised and delighted, but realized there was need of a teacher from a Greek environment, so he set out for Tarsus to find Paul. Having found him, for a whole year the two of them worked together at Antioch; so successful were they that their followers became conspicuous enough to receive a nickname. It was in Antioch at this time that the name Christiani was coined,, a term appropriately contrived in Gratin (mixed Greek and Latin). It was first used derisively. The Jewish believers regarded Jesus as the Messiah, or anointed one. Christos was Greek for the anointed one, but also meant smeared. The contemptuous nature of the name was soon forgotten and Christian became an honorific title, particularly among the Greekspeaking Gentile converts to the new faith. Antioch became the mother church of Gentile Christianity. At a much later date Peter was claimed as the first bishop of Antioch, but there is no proof of any connection, rather the reverse. It was at this time that Peter made a missionary journey to Lydda, Jaffa and Caesarea and became convinced, according to Acts, that God-fearing Gentiles should be admitted to fellowship in the new Christian movement, though he is recorded as having second-thoughts later on.
There is no evidence within the canon of Scripture that Peter ever was in Rome, let alone was its first bishop, or conveyed his "primacy" to successors, or indeed died there. But according to a much later tradition Peter is supposed to have traveled on to Rome and begun his preaching mission there at the beginning of Emperor Claudius' reign. When the house of Hermes, Greek convert and writer of those times, was excavated in 1915, many inscriptions on stone were found, indicating that Peter, as head of the followers of Jesus the Christ, had used the house and carried on his ministry from it. The inscriptions were dated to the mid-to-late 40's, during the Claudian reign, but at the time the excavators lacked modern scientific methods to confirm the accuracy or not of their dating. One house in which the Eucharist was celebrated was the house of Peter in Capernaum, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It evolved by stages into a regular church building, and now lays claim to be the oldest church. This house, the remains of which can be seen today, may also have been the house where Jesus stayed following his rejection by his hometown. Archaeologists have discovered quite a bit about Peter's house. It was built sometime around 65 BCE. It had one large room, measuring about twenty by twenty feet, and several smaller rooms, clustered around two irregular courtyards. The walls were built of basalt stones, a black volcanic rock common in the area. Some time in the second half of the first century, the largest room was set aside for special use. Its walls and floor and ceiling were plastered — unusual in the house of ordinary people. Normally, only rooms used for public gatherings were plastered, and no other house in Capernaum had plastered walls. In the fourth century an arch was added to the middle of this room to support a more solid roof. In the fifth century an eight-sided church was built around and over Peter's house. After the Muslim conquest of the Holy Land in the seventh century, Capernaum was abandoned by Christians and Jews and the buildings crumbled. In the twentieth century, however, Franciscan archaeologists excavated the synagogue and the area of Peter's house, and a modern church has been built upon pillars, over the site, and the central portion of its floor is of glass, so. that visitors may look upon the room where Jesus is believed to have taught and healed.
In the euphoric atmosphere pertaining in 41 remarkable happenings seemed to be the norm. The new emperor Claudius annulled all Caligula's edicts and abolished the rule of Roman governors in the Holy Land, replacing it with that of Agrippa I who became king of Judaea, Samaria and Caesarea. The Jews could celebrate at least the semblance of independence. Agrippa was strict in religious observance and on very friendly terms with the Pharisees. Taking up residence in Jerusalem the king relieved the citizens of house tax and conferred the high priesthood on one of his own relatives Simon Cantheras. The Greek sea trade with India reached its peak at this time, their vessels plying the Red Sea from Egyptian ports, with a canal stretching through the desert to Cairo on the Nile. They competed with Arab, Ethiopian and Far Eastern traders, and the first direct route to the rich pepper country of Malabar was established. They set up small settlements and wandered far inland, meeting and trading with many Indian-born Greek merchants, descendants of Alexander's soldiers. Those of whom we know were all Buddhists. Transferred to camel-trains the rich merchandise of the Orient, especially spices, came to the markets of the Mediterranean. C. Vibius Marsus was dispatched by Claudius as legate of Syria, to replace Agrippa's friend Petronius. It did not suit Rome to have an imperial legate who was so cooperative with the Jews that he had been willing to suspend an. imperial order, no matter how unreasonable that order may have been. After the initial gratification over the king's rule had worn off the ardent Israeli nationalists were once again stirred to action. Agrippa openly proclaimed himself friend of Caesar and the Romans, which was hardly likely to appease the Zealots. The Nazoreans could only regard him as a usurper of the throne of David, which now belonged to Jesus as God-appointed King of the Jews. There is evidence to suggest that both groups were involved in active opposition to the king. After a year Agrippa returned the high priesthood to the family of Annas and, allied himself with the Sadducees in launching an attack on some members of the Nazorean community. James son of Zebedee, possibly a zealot, and one of the firebrand brothers who had been close companions of Jesus, was beheaded. Many scholars believe that his brother John perished with him. James must have been responsible for treasonable statements or acts since beheading was the punishment generally reserved for Roman citizens who had committed a political crime. Peter, returned to Jerusalem, was arrested and imprisoned, at the time of the Passover in 44. The Passover, being an annual reminder of the liberation of Israel from its oppressors, was a season when demonstrations against the yoke of Rome were to be expected, and an especially touchy time to arrest such an evidently popular leader and activist as Peter. The precaution was taken to have him very strongly guarded. Not only was Peter chained to two soldiers, but two others were in attendance, and all four guards were changed at each three-hour watch. At one of these changeovers Peter's escape was effected. Luke, writing at least forty years later, tells us that it was a miracle. It was certainly a brilliant piece of planning, most likely by the same Nazorean underground movement that had sprung both Peter and John on the previous occasion when they'd been shut-up on the Sanhedrin's orders. Peter fled Judaea, probably traveling south to Alexandria, with its large Jewish population, rather than to Antioch, which was the new seat of the Roman governors of Syria. King Agrippa, fearing an insurrection, interrogated Peter's guards, and then had them executed, before fleeing to the protection of Gentile Caesarea, former residential seat of the Roman governors. But his caution availed him nothing. He died suddenly struck down by the hand of God. It is not at all far-fetched to suspect Zealot-administered poison. The king was succeeded by his hedonistic Romaneducated son, Agrippa II. He, however, was king only, in name. The troubled emperor Claudius appointed a new Roman governor, Cuspius Fadus, and a new legate of Syria, Cassius Longinus, each of whom proved much sterner than their predecessors. Their disregard of Jewish religious sentiment brought forth a new crop of prophets and guerrilla leaders, who found considerable support. There were various outbreaks of violence, and Fadus had to act vigorously in a manner reminiscent of Pontius Pilate. Emperor Claudius was probably much more concerned about the full-scale invasion of Britain launched on his orders in 43. After a dispiriting journey across Europe, he spent sixteen days in Britain with his generals, before returning to Rome and ordering the execution of his wife Messalina for adultery while he was gone. The Nazoreans redoubled their proselytizing activities, convinced that the calamities rapidly succeeding one another were clear evidence of the speedy return of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah. Rome and its provinces often lived on the edge of famine, and in 46 there was a great famine in Judaea that caused immense misery, as 47-48 was a Sabbatical Year when no crops could be sown. The Nazorean community at Antioch sent relief to the stricken brethren in Judaea, conveyed to Jerusalem by Barnabus and Paul. The duo then returned to Antioch taking with them from the hungry city John Mark, a nephew of Barnabus. Since a new census was due to be taken before the end of 48 it required no prophetic gift to predict further serious trouble for the Roman government in this disagreeable and flammable part of the Empire.  ARTICLE
NAVIGATION: You are presently looking at Part 4.0 PHOTO CREDITS: Unfortunately I have now lost track of where the main image of Jesus used in the headline came from. A Google search of "Who is Jesus?" shows it at a number of places on the web today. Clicking on any of the other images will take you to the original source.
What are your thoughts on this commentary? You can contribute to the discussion in our forum. ©2008 Tom Lee (Star Concepts LLC) 15633 N. 17* Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85023-3409 |
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