cheenc03a.pdf

ROME (CHURCH)
in the epistle of the outiard appenrgmce and inuard
semblance of the Chrirr~m church in Rome in tile days
beiare Paul could pojribiy ha~e preached there-as
being not rendelings of historical actuality but pictures
of a past that never had been real, attempts to rrpresent
the old-Chiiatian period after many drcader had
passed. Such a student holds iast by the seemingly
innignificallt phrase. which yet tells us so much, of the
instigating 'Chrestns' by whom the Jews in Rome,
according to Suetoniur. in the days of Clvudiur (ob.
49 AD.) wel-etroubled: and holds by the pretty generally
accepted corrceilfion ar to a Christian Church nt Rome
which had arisen orat of the faith and life, the active
exertions, of 'Jews and proselytes' who had been converted
to Christ ; by what Ambrosiaater has said, \\ith
eoua1 sobrief" , and , iustice-that iews llvinc " in Rome in
the days oi the apostles had taught their brethren to
collieis Christ and to hold fast by the law.
In other words, the church in Rorlie was oiieinallv - ,
Jewish-Chrirtlnn, and probably long remalned so.
Jedsh- Gr~du~ily more liberal ideas crept in,
Christian, 'h""k"prrhap5 to the influence of more
advanced oieaclrerr from abroad who had
wholly or partially outgrown their Judaism, hut thanks
st111 rnore to the ease with which in every sphere of
thought new ideas made way in Rome. U'hether Paul
may hare had any active share in this roil we are nor
now in a position to say. Acts leaves us in doubt.
Ronlans testifies to good intentions but not to any work
actuallydone. 'She'epistle;inspiteofthereemingnbusdance
of the light it sheds on the events of the years immediately
preceding 59 A.n. in Rome, really draws over
them all an almost impenetrable veil. It giver rwprising
glimpser info the history of the development oi the
church in the direction of greater freedom, the emancipation
of Christianity from the dominion of the law, but
all from a remote distance in space, probably from the
East-Antioch or somewhere else in Syria, it may be, or
perchance Asia Minor-;it all events, u long way off
and in a distinctly later time. In reality, in the
16, Struggle more trustworthy tradition there is no
trace of all this, but m the contrary,
Of
unmistakable proof that Paulinism at
Rome though (i.) it struggled for a time for the victory
in the days of Mnrcian lob. 140 AD.), (ii.) nerer
took permanent root there, and never was other than an
exotic.
i. That Pnulinism flourished in some degree nt Rome
is very certain, as we may safely infer: (=) from the
way in which it is throughout presupposed in Romans
(written probably about rao AD. : see ROMANS. 5 23)
thnt, before his first visit to the capital. Paul already had
there a large circle of friends and followus, of who", a
whole rerier is mentioned by name in 163~11, and
\rho already for a long time had been instructed
in his distinctive type of doctrine (617,; (b) from
the support as \,,ell ar the opposition. wh~h Marcio~i
met With in Rome. in various capncities, and not least
of all as a~lrocnta of his 'Apostle,' the Paul of the
epistler: (c) from the friendly reiation between Perrr
and Paul preruppoied in ' I Peter,' probably written at
Rome, in evidence of which relation we point not only
to the Pauline form of the \*riling and to the mmtion,
at theend. ofSilranus and of Murk(cp 2 Petersli f ). but
and chiefly to the strongly Pauline character of the
content5 : (d) from the liberal spirit of the gospel
acconling to Mark, probably also written nf Rome.
along with which perhaps that according to Luke may
also be nanied : lei , , from the honour with which
clcm~ent' ar spokesman of the church at ~ ome writer
to theCorinthians 'concerning Paul (T Clem. 55~7 4; I).
and more than once declares that he is influenced by
the reading of his 'epistles ' : (f) from the mention of
Paul along x,ith Peter as a teacher of authority by
'Ienatius' in his eoistle to the Romans I' I do not comfrom
the
mind you as ~ete; and Paul did,' 43) : ($1
ROME (CHURCH)
ride currency of the later tradition of the founding of
the Christian church at Rome by 'Peter and Paul.'-
ii. t'auiiniim war, however, orllv ,.
oartialiv successful, as
is no less clearly ewdent : (a1 from the'wa) in wbich
in Ramanr Paul now admonish- the Jews (chaps. 1-8.
goilim, and especially 21,..~) and now show5 them
the gres~test deference (chaps. D-11 passim, especially
3, f 01-5 lo.): (a) from the opposition met with by
Marcion in Rome which ended in his expulsion from
the new religious community; (6) from the position
of the name of Paul in the younger tradition-alrcsdy
in 'Clement' and ' 1gnntius'-after that of Peter ;
(d) from the spirit of irorks brought out at Kome
and extensively read there, the most outstanding of
which is the so-called first Epistle of Clement to
the Corinthians. The soirit there breathed, not\$ithstanding
the reverence expressed for 'Paul' and
the deierence occasionally paid to the principles
inauewated bv him. is much morrof a lewlsh-Christian
-
in principle : a conciliatory and advancing spirit, if you
\vill, yet rather in many rerpectsshowing lingeringattnchment
to the old than $till standing with both feet upon
the basis of the law, firmlv rooted in Tudaianl, filled
shoot from the ]wish stock, in the coune ofyears rook
up ""d wimilated elements thnt were
16.
brought to it fro", other quarters : from
change, the ~ast, and particularly from Syria and
Asia Minor. Its power of ndaptatiorl was of great use
10 it in recard to those elements in ,he new faith which
- .
ment wnr in many respects taken away. In the course
of years-let us say, in round numbers, between 50 and
150 AD.-the character of the church at Rome, from
being Jewish-Christian with occariona1 devintionstowardr
the right and towards the left, had hecome, we shall not
ray Pauline or Gcntile-Christian, but Catholic. At the
later date-i.r., ahout the middle of the second century
-it had recently been the scene of the inboure of
hlarcion, who was excommunicated afterwards, Marcion
theeager and serious advocate of 'Paul' who had already
probably some years before becomc known to it by means
of the 'epistles.' It had at the same time come into
touch with, anrongotherr, that highly gifted teacher, well
nigh lost in broad and deep speculations, alternately
held in reverence and covered with scorn, the gnortic
Yalentirluj. It had learned to listen to preachers of
repentance like Hermas who, eminently practical.
sought to win it before all things else to the urgent
duty of conversion. Rut, however divergent may have
been the paths by which it was so dissimilarly led by
these and other leaderr to ciearer insight an many rider.
and deeper experience of the fruits of faith as thvt
translated ifself into a genuine Christian life, the
structure ~i carried out appeared always, in spite of
the multifarious and manifold additions, to rest upan
the old foundation-destined. as ir would seem, never
to become obrolete-that of the law and oi Judaism, to
which. na a new and indisoenrable element. conierrion
. ~~,
Constitu-"in the abrkce of all positiveinformation
of e*sb "0". by calling to mind once more
Ulmunity, what we know of the spirit of thvt
re1ieious fellows hi^ of the 1ews out of
which it arose. ~ilye this Inst it hid no poiitical aims,
and consequently ar yet knew, nothing of those who nf
a 1;uer time sere to be called rulers and lead&, charged