The flow of accusations did not abate, however, with new
ones now supplied by an informer (index: § 6). The persons now
accused admitted that they had once been Christians, but had
since given up the cult. Some claimed to have done so as much
as twenty years earlier – if that is accurate, then it would provide
evidence for Christians in Pontus in the early 90s, thereby
confirming the notice of Christians in that province in the First
Epistle of Peter(1.1). Once more, offerings and curses were made,
but by now Pliny’s curiosity seems to have been encouraged. He
must have asked the prisoners what Christianity entailed, because
they went on to explain to him details of their prayer services
and fellowship meals (§ 7). They emphasized that they swore to
abjure criminal activity. The list provided by Pliny looks plau-
sible, for very similar lists are found in the New Testament (esp.
1 Peter4.15).
Some of these prisoners further explained that they had
given up Christianity after the emperor’s ban, reinforced by Pliny
as governor, on political clubs (hetaeriae). This detail apparently
prompted Pliny’s interest further, leading him to torture two slave
women who had been ‘servers’ (ministrae, probably deacons) in
the local church organization. This was not a form of punishment;
rather, torture was routinely applied to slaves as a means of extract-
ing confessions (Sherwin-White 1966: 708). The most Pliny was
able to discover was that Christianity was a ‘depraved and immod-
erate superstition’. At this stage in his investigations, Pliny decided
to write to Trajan not only for advice, but also for confirmation
that his conduct so far had been correct. He had already mentioned
that his practice had been to allow those accused of being
Christians an opportunity to repent (§§ 2, 5, 6). At the end of the
letter he suggests that this is the best procedure (§ 10).
The most outstanding characteristic of Trajan’s response to
Pliny is its pragmatism. He confirms Pliny’s assumption that it is
for the ‘name’ alone that Christians should be punished; the issue
of crimes (flagitia) is not addressed. He also stresses that legality
must be observed: anonymous accusations, like those in the
pamphlet, cannot be allowed to stand because they establish bad
EARLY CHRISTIANITY AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE1
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