Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 44:2 (NA 1993)
Article: In Search Of The Social Elite In The Corinthian Church
Author: David W. J. Gill

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TynBul 44:2 (1993) p. 323

In Search Of The Social Elite In The Corinthian Church

David W.J. Gill

Summary

As the Corinthian correspondence is read against the cultural background of a Roman colony, it is possible to identify members of the social élite within the church. After a consideration of the nature of the city and its élite, various case studies are presented. These include issues such as law courts, head-dresses, divisions at the Lord’s Supper, households and dining. Through the issue of benefactions further light is thrown on Corinth’s place in the province of Achaia and an estimate is made for the city’s population.

I. Introduction

It was the Younger Pliny writing to the emperor Trajan in c. 110 who noted that among the Christians of Pontus there were people of ‘every rank, age and sex’.1 However can such a statement by an influential figure such as Pliny be applied to the early years of the church? Certainly by the third century it is common to hear of Christians holding high civic status.2 This paper will try to address the status of Christians in the first century A.D., and it will draw on material from the Roman colony of Corinth which was almost certainly the seat of the governor of the Roman province of Achaia.3 Such a line of enquiry is part of one pursued by a wider Cambridge-based group of scholars. These include Andrew Clarke4 and Bruce Winter.5

TynBul 44:2 (1993) p. 324

II. Ancient Historians And Their View Of The Status Of Christians

Although there has been a tendency in recent years for students of the New Testament to acknowledge the presence of members of the social elite in the early church,6 this does not appear to be the case for those approaching from the historian’s position.7 First let us turn to Robin Lane Fox’s discussion on the status of Christian converts in his chapter on ‘The spread of Christianity’ in his Pagans and Christians.8 Attention is drawn to the low status of the converts. When Paul urges people ‘not to steal’,9 Fox interprets this as being addressed to slaves and people who would normally steal. He emphasises the ‘deep, abysmal poverty’ of the Christians in Macedonia.

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