Antioch and Rome: New Testament Cradles of Catholic Christianity

249 Pages·2016·6.18 MB·English

by  Raymond Brown and John Meier

ANTIOCH AND ROME
NEW TESTAMENT CRADLES
OF CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY
Raymond E. Brown, S. S.
John P. Meier
PAULIST PRESS
New York/Ramsey
Cover by Ragna Tischler Goddard.
Nihil Obstat:
Edward J. Ciuba
Censor librorum
Imprimatur:
Peter L. Gerety, D.O.
Archbishop of Newark
Date:
December 14, 1982
The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is
free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who
have granted the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions or
statements expressed.
Copyright © 1983 by
Raymond E. Brown, S.S. and Rev. John P. Meier
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying. recording or
by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from
the Publisher.
Library of Congress
Catalog Card Number: 82-063171
ISBN: 0-8091-0339-7 (cloth)
0-8091-2532-3 (paper)
Published by Paulist Press
545 Island Road, Ramsey, N.J. 07446
Printed and bound in the
United States of America
With admiration, affection, and gratitude
to
MONSIGNOR MYLES M. BOURKE
Scholar, Professor, Pastor, Ecumenist, Liturgist
I on the occasion of his
sixty-fifth birthday
and
fortieth anniversary in the priesthood
PREFACE
THE NEW TESTA MENT (NT) gives indications of very diverse
views within Christianity, as well as references to Christian
groups regarded as radically deviant by NT writers. Sometimes the
views are espoused by different groups coexisting within the same
city as, for instance, the four affiliations described in I Cor 1: 12 or
the dispute at Antioch (Gal 2:11-14). Sometimes one form of Chris
tian outlook may have been prominent in one area and another in a
different area, as we can deduce from comparing very different NT
works that show no knowledge of each other. Nevertheless, the im
age of a totally homogeneous Christianity in the first Christian cen
tury is hard to erase.
Within some modern reconstructions of a nuanced character
simple homogeneity is dismissed, but the thought of Paul is still as
sumed to be the dominant factor in the Christian mainstream, espe
cially as regards freedom over against the Mosaic Law. It is
recognized, of course, that within the first Christian century faith in
Jesus spread east from Palestine as well as to the west; and that this
eastern thrust (about which the NT is totally silent) would have had
little or no contact with Paul's thought. Acts 18:24-25 seems to im
-I
ply that Christianity of a distinctively non-Pauline hue had reached
Alexandria by the mid-50s (when Paul came to Ephesus). Neverthe
less, it is often assumed that in the areas of NT Mediterranean Chris
tianity which really came to matter in subsequent western church
history (Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy) Paul's thought "won
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viii PREFACE
out." That assumption will be severely tested by the independent
work of the two authors of this volume.
Coincidentally each of us was studying the origins of Christian
ity in NT times at an influential center in the Mediterranean area,
Meier working on Antioch in Syria, and Brown on Rome. In conver
sation, we discovered that our analyses of the origins of such
churches were somewhat alike in both method and results. These
were two cities where Paul featured alongside another very promi
nent early Christian, Peter; and we were convinced that in both cases
it was not the Pauline view about the Law and Judaism that pre
vailed but a moderate view that could be associated with Peter
even though ultimately some of the Pauline strains were domesticat
ed and incorporated into that Petrine strain. Ignatius of Antioch
wrote ca. A.D. 110 about the church catholic (he katholike ekklesia),
a church more widespread geographically than the churches in any
one city or area, but also a church that had managed to blend togeth
er diverse strains of thought so that the resultant koinonia, "commu
nion," among Christians involved common views on important
issues. We are convinced that the somewhat-right-of-Paul strains of
Christianity that emerged at Antioch and Rome in association with
Peter were a key factor in the emerging church catholic. Such an
analysis does not detract from the enormous power and challenge of
Paul's letters and thought; but it warns that a purely Pauline Chris
tianity was not dominant in NT times or afterwards. To some, the
failure of Paul to dominate represents the loss of Christian vitality.
Others of us believe that the only Christianity that can do justice to a
NT containing diversity is one that resists sectarian purism in favor
of constructively holding together tensions. Blending Paul into a
wider mix, therefore, is what made the Pauline Epistles biblical, i.e.,
part of a Bible meant to guide, serve, and challenge the church cath
olic.
In joining the two studies on Antioch and Rome that constitute
the two main parts of this volume, we have made an effort to take
into account each other's work so that a unified book would result.
Nevertheless, we must issue some cautions about how to read our
joint book. First, each author is responsible for only what he wrote
(which is clearly indicated). Reviewers who applaud or disagree
should be precise whether they are referring to one author or both.
· I PREFACE ix
Second, there is an element of speculation in this work, and so con
structive disagreement is expected and hoped for. We invite scholars
to add to and modify our historical pictures of the two churches. We
are aware that, in a way, we are breaking new ground; and our goal
is to attract interest so that the investigation will be carried on by
many others. Third, in mentioning the speculative, we know that be
cause of the very nature of the material discussed, some parts of our
hypotheses are less verifiable than others. For instance, Meier must
depend on the Gospel of Matthew for reconstructing the middle peri
od ("second generation") of his survey of Antioch. Most scholars
would agree that Matthew was written at Antioch but may disagree
as to what percentage of the Matthean Gospel reflects the situation
existing at Antioch when the author wrote and what percentage rep
resents an earlier period of tradition-perhaps tradition preserved
elsewhere and representing the conditions of that other time and
place. Certainly the evidence in Matthew is more speculative in re
constructing Antiochene history than Paul's description of what
happened at Antioch in the Letter to the Galatians. Brown must de
pend not only on letters to Rome (which reflect on the Roman situa
tion) but also on letters from Rome to other Christian communities.
Descriptions in the latter may reflect either the customs and
thoughts of the Roman senders or problems that exist among the re
cipients or both; and one must read such documents with caution.
We are willing to be evaluated on whether we have shown good judg
ment in observing the methodological cautions we have emphasized,
but we cannot agree with those who would rather say nothing about
Antioch and Rome than proceed with the likelihood of making some
mistakes. To study the NT as if it could tell us no major historical
facts about Jesus or about the early Christians and their emerging
churches is, in our judgment, an overreaction to an earlier scholar
ship that took everything in the NT as history. Exegetes and church
historians must and do operate on the basis of reconstructions that
fill in gaps left by evidence. If our reconstructions are found wanting,
we shall be happy if at least we have prodded others to replace them
with more adequate reconstructions. That would be a more satisfac
tory reaction than insisting on certitude and thus being content with
silence.
If coincidence brought our independent studies together, an
x PREFACE
even more fortunate set of coincidences is involved in the dedication
of this volume. John Meier was a student at St. Joseph's Seminary
(New York Archdiocese) during the twenty-year period when Myles
Bourke served there as a distinguished Professor of Sacred Scripture
and later sat in his class at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome
where Msgr. Bourke taught as visiting professor. Interest aroused by
the teacher and encouragement received from him contributed to
Meier's doctoral studies and subsequent scholarly career. Raymond
Brown knew and respected Myles Bourke as a fellow scholar for
years before Brown became Auburn Professor of Biblical Studies at
Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1971. But, as fate
would have it, Msgr. Bourke had been serving since 1966 as pastor of
Corpus Christi Church, the parish across the street from Union, so
that now for a decade he has been Brown's host for daily celebration
of the Eucharist. Thus we two authors can join enthusiastically in
dedicating our combined volume to a dear and appreciated friend
who has helped us differently as professor and pastor, as scholarly
and priestly advisor. His two anniversaries in 1982 prompt us to wish
him ad multos annos in a life and priesthood that has served so many
so well.
September 30, 1982
Feast of St. Jerome
Raymond E. Brown, s.s. John P. Meier
Auburn Distinguished Professor Professor of New Testament
of Biblical Studies and Chairman of the
Scripture Department
Union Theological Seminary St. Joseph's Seminary
3041 Broadway (Dunwoodie)
New York City 10027 Yonkers, NY 10704
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION (Brown) 1-9
PART ONE: ANTIOCH (Meier) 11-86
Chapter I: Locating Matthew's Church in Time and Space 15-27
-[
Chapter II: The Antiochene Church of the First Christian
Generation (A.D. 40-70-Galatians 2; Acts 11-15) 28-44
Chapter III: The Antiochene Church of the Second
Christian Generation (A.D. 70-100-Matthew) 45-72
Chapter IV: The Antiochene Church of the Third
Christian Generation (after A.D. 100) 73-84
A. Ignatius of Antioch 74
B. The Didache 81
Chapter V: Summary: Peter, Matthew, Ignatius, and the
Struggle for a Middle Position 85-86
PART TWO: ROME (Brown) 87-216
Chapter VI: The Beginnings of Christianity at Rome 92-104
Chapter VII: The Roman Church Near the End of the First
Christian Generation (A.D. 58-Paul to the Romans) 105-127
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xii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter VIII: The Roman Church in the Second
Christian Generation (A.D. 65-95) 128-158
A. The First Epistle of Peter 128
B. The Epistle to the Hebrews 139
Chapter IX: The Roman Church at the Beginning of
the Third Christian Generation (A.D. 96-1 Clement) 159-183
Chapter X: Possible Supplements to Our Knowledge of
Early Roman Christianity 184-210
A. Paul to the Philippians 185
B. The Epistle to the Ephesians 188
C. The Gospel of Mark 191
D. Ignatius to the Romans 202
E. The Shepherd of Hermas 203
F. Legends of Peter and Simon Magus at Rome 205
G. II Peter 208
CONCLUSION (Brown & Meier) 211-216
List of Abbreviations 217
Bibliography 218-232
Bibliographic Index 233
Subject Index 237
INTRODUCTION*
ANTIOCH AND ROME were among the largest cities in the Roman
Empire, dominantly Gentile in population but with major Jew
I
ish settlements. It is not surprising, then, that the story of the rise of
Christianity in these two cities involves both Jews and Gentiles. As a
preliminary the reader must have an idea of the complexity of the
relations between Jews and Gentiles in the early Christian mission
ary activity. An older generation of scholars spoke of the Jew and the
Gentile (or of Jewish culture and Hellenistic culture) as if they exist
ed in different or separate worlds. However, since the time of Alex
ander of Macedon in the late fourth century B.C. the main Jewish
populations known to us had been living under kings descended from
the Macedonians and under Roman puppet kings and prefects, and
thus in a world where the dominant culture was Hellenistic. Obvi
ously pockets of Jews resisted acculturation while others embraced it
willingly, but that diversity makes it all the more difficult to speak of
Jewish and Hellenistic cultures as two distinct entities. The interrela
tion becomes even more complicated when we consider the spread of
Christianity.
Since Jesus lived in Galilee and Judea, most of the people to
*This introduction was written by Raymond E. Brown.
1. Grant, Augustus, 10: "A significant feature of life in the Roman Empire was
the important role played by the big cities." Strabo (Geography 16.2.5), writing about
the time of Jesus' birth, listed the three largest cities in the East as Alexandria, Anti
och, and Seleucia.
1