Church in Rome

This article covers the early Christian community in Rome during the New Testament period. In Korean, the term "Roman Church" is also used to refer to the Catholic Church (the Roman Catholic Church).

Background

It is uncertain who first brought the gospel to Rome. The New Testament does not record that any apostle founded this church. Acts 2:10 notes that among those staying in Jerusalem at Pentecost were "strangers of Rome." Some have suggested that these people returned home and spread the faith. Because Rome had a large Jewish community at the time, the gospel appears to have spread first among Jews and those associated with them.

Development

• c. AD 49: Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. Acts 18:2 records that Priscilla and Aquila came to Corinth as a result. The Roman historian Suetonius wrote that the expulsion was connected with disturbances instigated by a certain "Chrestus." Many interpreters understand this as a reference to conflict within the Jewish community over Christ.
• Late 50s: Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans from Corinth and sent it to Rome, commonly dated to around AD 57. In Romans 16, Paul commends Phoebe and sends greetings to more than twenty people, including Priscilla and Aquila, Junia, Apelles, Persis, and Tryphena and Tryphosa. As the phrase "the church that is in their house" in Romans 16:5 suggests, the church in Rome appears to have consisted of several house congregations rather than a single large assembly.
• c. AD 60: Paul arrived in Rome as a prisoner. He stayed for two years in a rented house, preaching the kingdom of God to all who came to him (Acts 28:30–31).
• AD 64: According to the Roman historian Tacitus, Emperor Nero persecuted Christians after the Great Fire of Rome. Tradition holds that Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome under Nero.

Outcome and Influence

At the end of the first century, the church in Rome sent a letter to the church in Corinth, commonly known as 1 Clement. In the early second century, Ignatius, bishop (church leader) of Antioch, is known to have written a letter to the church in Rome. The church in Rome was located in the imperial capital, and tradition also held that two apostles had been martyred there. For these reasons, the bishop of Rome gradually acquired great authority in the Western church, a development that later led to the papacy.

Assessment

• The Catholic Church regards Peter as the first bishop of Rome and teaches that the pope succeeds to that office.
• The Orthodox Church acknowledges the primacy of honor that the bishop of Rome held in the early church. It has, however, rejected the interpretation of this primacy as authority to govern the whole church.
• Protestants generally do not accept such claims of succession. They point out that the New Testament contains no record of Peter founding or leading the church in Rome and that Romans includes no greeting to Peter. At the same time, the view that "the church that is at Babylon" in 1 Peter 5:13 refers to Rome is widely accepted among Protestants as well.
• Among Protestants, the Epistle to the Romans, addressed to the church in Rome, is regarded as a book that profoundly shaped Martin Luther's understanding of justification and the Reformation.
• The women coworkers mentioned in Romans 16 are frequently cited in debates over the ordination of women. Supporters and opponents of women's ordination interpret these passages differently.