view of John Chrysostum survived as a countercurrent to the notion of tolera-
tion. Nonetheless, by the beginning of the fifth century these teachings and
conclusions had been woven into the fabric of papal and patriarchal dogma,
and into Roman law, both in the Western Roman Empire and in Byzantium.
In 591, Pope Gregory I scolded the bishop of Marseilles for allowing Jews to
be forcibly baptized. The law codes of Emperors Theodosius and Justinian,
moreover, have a distinctly Augustinian tone. Justinian’s Novella 146 recog-
nized Judaism as a tolerated religion, and outlawed the destroying or defacing
of existing synagogues. Clearly, though, there were limits to Christian tolera-
tion. Justinian, while protecting existing synagogues, banned the construction
of new ones. More important, in 425 he closed down the Sanhedrin for good,
thus prompting a shift in the center of Jewish life from the Land of Israel to
Babylonia, which was beyond the influence of Roman and Byzantine emperors
and Christian dogma.
The harshness of Christian rule would be reflected in ways that Judaism,
particularly Rabbinic Judaism, would develop. In the Land of Israel and its
environs, Jews would exhibit a greater sense of insularity as a response to the
harshness of Byzantium. In Babylonia, Judaism would be more open to
worldly ideas, in response to the kinder environment.
48 The challenge of Hellenism