The Earliest History of the Christian Gathering

Abstract

Koninklijke Brill nv reserves the right to protect the publication against unauthorized use and to authorize dissemination by means of offprints, legitimate photocopies, microform editions, reprints, translations, and secondary information sources, such as abstracting and indexing services including databases. Requests for commercial re-use, use of parts of the publication, and/or translations must be addressed to Koninklijke Brill nv.This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the cc-by-nc License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. More information about the initiative can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Henk Jan de Jonge, Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Early Christian Literature at Leiden University, for his willingness to spend his precious time on this project and giving me excellent supervision during the three years that I worked on my dissertation. He proved to be an ideal mentor, exceeding my expectations in every way. Detailed Library of CongressI am also thankful to the Institute for Religious Studies at Leiden University and its staff for providing an agreeable working place and assisting me in all practical matters that arose during the preparation of my dissertation.Th e editors in chief of the Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae have studied the manuscript with care, off ering some invaluable suggestions.Helen Vince was kind enough to correct the English of this book; for any mistakes that remain I myself am responsible. INTRODUCTIONTh e periodical gathering of the Christian Church has a long and complex history. Th is present study endeavours to give a reconstruction of the earliest stages of this history. As a social and religious phenomenon, the early Christian gathering did not arise in a cultural vacuum. Th e Graeco-Roman world was saturated with cults and religious groups, movements, traditions, all with their own meetings and ceremonies. Th is vibrant and variegated religious environment was the context in which the early Christian gathering took shape. Any attempt to trace the history of the early Christian meeting has to take this historical setting into account. Th e origins and early development of the Christian gathering should be seen within the context of the social and religious culture of the Graeco-Roman world, of which Christians and Jews formed part. In particular, since the central event of the Christian gathering during the formative period was a meal, the beginnings of the gathering should be considered in the context of the traditions held by various groups in the matter of communal dining. As a rule, whenever early Christians met as a community, they shared a meal. In this, they did not diff er f...

Defining the Field of Events

“…The field of events is a relatively new field of study when considering research in business and the social sciences. However, gatherings have existed and been documented dating back to the middle of the first century, primarily in the form of political or religious meetings (Alikin, 2010). The earliest references to meetings as an industry can be traced back to the 19th century, starting first in universities, and then by the beginning of the 20th century, expanded into hotels (Milic, 2010).…”

“…The history of spiritual/religious events began with Christians in the middle of the first century (Alikin, 2010). These early practices were adapted by other cultures and religions.…”