Pliny the Younger on Christians
Fragment of an inscription bearing the name Pliny, Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/0012_-_Milano_-_Sant%27Ambrogio_-_Atrio_-_Frammento_lapide_C._Plinio_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall%27Orto_25-Apr-2007.jpg

 By G.dallorto (Self-published work by G.dallorto) [Attribution], via Wikimedia Commons

Pliny the Younger wrote a letter to Emperor Trajan around 112 AD supporting the existence of the early Christian Church.
Pliny the Younger on Christians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Pliny the Younger, the Roman governor of Bithynia-Pontus (now in modern Turkey) wrote a letter to Emperor Trajan around 112 AD and asked for counsel on dealing with Christians. The letter (Epistulae 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.


 

Neither Pliny nor Trajan mentions the crime that Christians had committed, except for being a Christian; and other historical sources do not provide a simple answer to this question, but a likely element may be the stubborn refusal of Christians to worship Roman gods; making them appear as objecting to Roman rule.


 

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 superstition". However, Pliny seems concerned about the rapid spread of this "superstition"; and views Christian gatherings as a potential starting point for sedition.


 

The letter is the first pagan account to refer to Jesus or 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 Empire-widepersecution of Christians.


 

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.

Significance


 

Pliny's letter is the earliest pagan account to refer to early Christians and provides a key description of Roman administrative process and problems. The correspondence between Pliny and Emperor Trajan shows that the Roman Empire, as a government entity, did not at this time "seek out" Christians for prosecution or persecution.

 

Although Emperor Trajan gave Pliny specific advice about disregarding anonymous accusations, for example, he was deliberate in not establishing any new rules in regards to the Christians.[6] In doing so, Trajan allowed Pliny to try cases according to his discretion.

The letter supports the existence of the early Christian Church and its rapid growth and speaks to its belief system. It also provides valuable evidence as to the attitudes of the Roman authorities with regard to early Christianity. 

 

Pliny is one of three key Roman authors who may refer to early Christians, the other two being Tacitus and Suetonius. These authors refer to events which take place during the reign of various Roman emperors, Suetonius writing about an expulsion from Rome during the reign of Claudius (41 to 54), and also punishments by Nero (who reigned from 54 to 68), Tacitus referring to Nero's actions around the time of the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, while Pliny writes to Trajan. But the temporal order for the documents begins with Pliny writing around 111 AD, then Tacitus writing in the Annals around 115/116 AD and then Suetonius writing in the Lives of the Twelve Caesars around 122 AD.

Notes.

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