Paul's final words to the Philippians include greetings from ‘the saints from Caesar's household’ (Philippians iv.22). This is the starting point for arguing that some of the emperors’ slaves in Rome had been converted to Christianity and played a vital role in the spread of the new movement during the first centuries. In his new book, Michael Flexsenhar iii questions this narrative. By scrutinising textual and material sources and with the help of memory theory, he argues that this myth of common descent and kinship played a vital role in constructing the cultural memory of the early Christians. The historical presence of Christian slaves in Caesar's household is accordingly challenged. The book not only contributes to a reassessment of the role and position of early Christian slaves, but also more broadly, on a conceptual level, disturbs conventional scholarly ideas on how we imagine the origins of what later became known as Christianity. This study pays critical attention both to the ancient reception of the Paul's words and to the scholarly reconstructions based on this evidence.
In the introduction, the development of the idea of Caesar's Christian slaves is presented. Based on Paul's greeting, a tradition grew that located slaves in the emperor's palace in Rome. The main sources and theories in the book are presented. Both textual and material sources are included in the study. In addition to memory studies, the author also wants to pay attention to ‘a variety of hierarchies’. Drawing on Elisabeth Shüssler Fiorenza's concept of ‘kyriarchal power’ (although Fiorenza's work is not in the bibliography) and Chris De Wet's doulology, Flexsenhar argues that ‘Slavery was a power discourse, and it was a fundamental one in early Christianity’ (pp. 14–15).
Chapter i, ‘Paul, the Philippians, and Caesar's household’, takes as its point of departure the Pauline greeting in his letter and aims at contextualising it, rhetorically, sociologically and geographically. It is argued that these ‘saints’, historically speaking, were not simply slaves in the household of Caesar, but rather a particular group of slaves with a certain financial position, who worked in a particular part of the broader imperial bureaucracy, spread out across the empire. Paul, presumably in Rome, sends greetings from them, since his addressees probably were familiar with some of them, through their extended social networks.
Chapter ii, ‘Paul, Peter and Nero's slaves: martyrdoms and apostolic acts’, starts to trace how the Pauline greeting became a point of reference. What potential relationship to Caesar's household in Rome may the two Apostles have had? The martyrdoms of Paul and Peter are discussed, concluding that very little is known of the historical time and place of their deaths. Textual as well as material sources come into play here: both Apostolic narratives and art are discussed thoroughly.
Chapter ii, ‘Rome's imperial household in Christian polemic and apologetic’, pays attention to Tertullian, among others. He presented the Christians as a new race with a Christian territory that even encompassed Rome's imperial palace. Flexsenhar shows how the idea that Christians had been with the emperor since Paul's time, came to be a central aspect in polemical and rhetorical discussions.
Chapter iv, ‘Christian piety and the martyred slave of Caesar’, pays attention to the complex relationship between slavery and an earthly master and slavery and Christ. Slavery as a social institution is highlighted; Flexsenhar argues that ‘the piety a slave was expected to show towards his/her master went beyond simply obedience or gestures of deference’ (p. 84). In the Roman household, a slave was expected to follow his owner's cult. This needs to be taken into account when imperial slaves are discussed. Equally, the category ‘Christian’ is not a given in the first centuries; the author calls for ‘a more flexible definition of “Christian” during the third century’ (p. 88).
In the fifth chapter, ‘Material evidence for a Christian imperial freedman’, a sarcophagus of a presumed Christian freedman of the emperor, is the focus of attention. The Latin inscription was for a certain ‘Marcus Aurelius Prosenes, freedman of the Emperors’. The complex relationship between textual and material evidences is discussed, as well as methodological issues. As the author sees it, ‘a persecution narrative cannot explain epigraphic content’ (p. 93). Again, we are reminded of the limitation of what we know, and what the sources can tell. How much freedom did a slave or a freedman have to be Christian? Flexsenhar argues that ‘The emperors’ slaves and freepersons inhabited a religious landscape – work, theater, racetrack, arena, crossroads, civic buildings, urban festivals, and the halls of the palace – that constrained their loyalty to the Roman Gods, and to “the divine Commodus” himself’ (p. 101). In addition, in particular when material sources are interpreted, ‘Christian’ and ‘Roman’ ‘were also intertwined more tightly’ (p. 102). Perhaps the category ‘almost Christian’, borrowed from Tertullian (p. 101), could be helpful?
The final chapter, ‘Christian and imperial personnel in Rome's catacombs’, takes a critical approach to the catacombs. The fish and anchor have been the ‘litmus test’ for Christian iconography and have contributed to categorising many burial places as Christian (p. 119). Flexsenhar wants to challenge this, as well as reassessing various issues of dating. By including several illustrations of gravestones and inscriptions, this chapter questions the idea of the catacombs in Rome as being a primarily Christian space.
In his conclusion, the author asks why the early Christians linked their story so closely to the imperial household. According to Flexsenhar, this was a way of constructing a special memory for themselves: ‘to fashion themselves, by implication, imperially’ (p. 131). Like other people, they had a separate cultural identity; they were a self-proclaimed ‘new race’ (ethnos, genos). Slaves of the emperor became core emblematic symbols and important characters in the Christian cosmology. They ‘helped Christian communities create a cultural history and geography, police community boundaries, and define their piety’ (p. 123). There is, as Flexsenhar sees it, a distance between the historical possibility of Christians in Caesar's household and the memory that it generated. Paul's greetings created a myth, and interpreters must identify the difference: ‘It is by recognizing how the two processes worked in tandem – the historical dynamic and the memory dynamic – that a new widow into the makings of early Christianity opens up’ (p. 132).
In this book, Flexsenhar has demonstrated how the Pauline greeting was used as a tool in identity construction in the ancient world and as evidence for the social standing and network building of early Christianity. What strengthens his argument is the integration of textual and material evidences, a clear theoretical framework and deep reading in the ancient sources. This reviewer missed summaries at the end of each chapter, but the author's conclusion managed to draw together all the arguments.
