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  • From: Zeba Crook <zcrook AT connect.carleton.ca>
  • To: Corpus-Paul <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Corpus-Paul] size of the Roman congregation
  • Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 13:22:41 -0500

As promised, but not very helpful:

"One can only speculate about the number of Roman Christians.  It is hardly possible to say more than that their number constantly increased (Minucius Felix, 31.7:  "quod in dies nostri numeros augetur. . ."), that already at the time of Nero an "ingens multitudo" existed (see above, chap. 7), that Roman Christianity represented the largest (megistes/maximae) Christian unit in the world (Irenaeus, 3.3.2) and that already by the time of Hermas it was possible to divide Christians into twelve (!) different categories -- a multiformity that suggests a great number (cf. Hermas, Vis. 3; Sim. 9).  In spite of the occasional optimism, we do not even know the total number of inhabitants of Rome. [in note 12 he estimates 1.1 million in the first and second centuries]." (p. 142-43).

The book in general, perhaps very responsibly, says very little about Rome at the time of Paul's writing, or really for the first century at all.

Cheers,

Zeb

Jeffrey B. Gibson wrote:
Has anyone done any work (comparable to what Murphy O'Connor has done on
the size of the congregation of Christ believers in Corinth) on the
number of Christ believers in Rome at the time Paul wrote Romans?

Does anyone argue that those whom Paul sends greetings to in Rom 16
(assuming that chapter to be an integral part of the letter) are **all**
the Roman Christians that there were in Rome when Paul wrote?

Yours,

Jeffrey
--

Jeffrey B. Gibson, D.Phil. (Oxon.)

1500 W. Pratt Blvd. #1
Chicago, IL 60626

jgibson000 AT comcast.net


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Zeba A. Crook

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Carleton University

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http://www.carleton.ca/~zcrook/




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