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Christian Society in the Roman Empire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2009

Extract

A stone thrown into a still pool radiates ripple upon ripple in an ever widening circle. So the ripples caused by the irruption of Christian society into the early Roman empire radiated an ever widening influence, destined to assist in the overthrow of an old order, and to promote the building of a new order of European society. When the disciples received the command ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, … teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you’, they were faced with a tremendous social and political problem. This was, in a word, to create a Christian society, irrespective of race, creed, or colour, within the existing framework of the imperial Roman world.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 1942

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