Religious Intolerance in the Later Roman Empire - Bad request ...

forbidden by no law.” As such, Theodosius was “gravely disturbed that their
assemblies have been forbidden in certain places.” Addeus was therefore ordered to
“restrain with proper severity the excesses of those persons who, in the name of the
Christian religion, presume to commit certain unlawful acts and attempt to destroy
and to despoil the synagogues.” 269
On religious violence in Theodosius' reign Brown has written that events such
as those at Callinicum are noticeable precisely because they ‘stand out’ as unusual, and
he cautions against being “misled by the dramatic nature of our sources,” during this
high-tide of Christian violence in the eastern empire which he estimates began in 386
with the destruction of temples in Syria and ended in 392 with the destruction of the
Serapeum in Alexandria. 270 However, this law indicates that the incident at
Callinicum, five years previously, was not an isolated example of Christian militancy
against synagogues; indeed in its brevity and in its apparently routine style, it gives the
impression of being quite the opposite of a source with a “dramatic nature.” It
strongly suggests that such violence was neither uncommon nor isolated; an
impression that is reinforced by the use of the plural in this law. Theodosius' law
shows that no allowance will now be made for such violence. It was issued three
months after Addeus is known to have assumed his command, so this decided action
by Theodosius' government to deal with such violence may be attributable to a
personal desire by Addeus to curb such Christian militancy. 271
CJ 1.9.7 of 30 December 393 was issued to Infantius, Count of the East; it is
Theodosius' last law on the Jews. 272 It ordered that “none of the Jews” shall keep their
“custom in marriage unions” nor should they “contract nuptials according to their law,
269 iudaeorum sectam nulla lege prohibitam satis constat. unde grav iter com m ov em ur interdictos quibusdam
locis eorum fuisse conv entus. sublim is igitur m agnitudo tua hac iussion e suscepta nim ietatem eorum , qui sub
christianae religionis nom ine illicita quaeque praesum unt et destruere synagogas adque expoliare conantur,
congrua sev eritate cohibebit
270 Brown (1998) 646-647 quote at 647
271 Addeus’ first known law is CTh. 1.5.10 of 12 June 393
272 Honoré’s (1998) E11; Infantius PLRE 1.456
256