Naming Christians in antiquity

TIM HEGEDUS

Summary: This paper examines the development of the name "Chris-

tian" in ancient Greco-Roman literature. Some early usages derive from
outside the early church and often reflect hostility to Jesus and his fol-
lowers. Other references found in texts written by church members
suggest that the term most likely derived from those outside the church.
Eventually the term came to be used by the church as a self-designation.
In light of the evolving distinction between "orthodoxy" and "heresy,"
the lack of uniformity among groups claiming the title "Christian" is sig-
nificant. In addition to its look at the literary evidence, this paper also
briefly examines the use of the term "Christian" found in inscriptions
from the 3rd and 4th centuries. The paper concludes that the term
"Christian" originated among outsiders to the faith and only came to be
adopted later as a self-designation by the followers of Jesus themselves.
Résumé Cet article analyse le développement du substantif« chré-
:
tien» dans la littérature gréco-romaine antique. Quelques exemples de
l’usage du mot proviennent de l’extérieur de l’Église ancienne et sou-
vent démontrent une attitude d’hostilité à l’ égard de Jésus et de ses dis-

ciples. D’autres exemples se trouvent dans les textes qui proviennent des
membres de l’Église,
mais ces occurrences suggèrent également que le
mot a probablement été formulé hors de l’Église.Finalement, le mot fut
accepté par pour se désigner elle-même. Étant donné que la dis-
l’Église
tinction entre« l’orthodoxie » et «l’hérésie» se developpait, la diver-
sité parmi ceux qui revendiquaient le nom« chrétien» est remarquable.
En plus des occurrences littéraires, l’article analyse brièvement l’usage
du nom« chrétien» dans des inscriptions du 3 e et 4 e siècles après
J.-C. L’article conclut que le mot « chrétien» a été produit parmi les
étrangers à la foi et n’a été adopté que plus tard par les adhérents au
Christ pour eux-mêmes.

Introduction
The earliest evidence for the name &dquo;Christian&dquo; derives from Greco-Roman
literature of the late 1st and 2nd centuries C.E.1 The term is found only in
writings composed after the Roman suppression of the Jewish revolt of

Tim Hegedus is Associate Professor of New Testament at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, Wil-
frid Laurier University, Waterloo, Onatario N2L 3C5; e-mail: thegedus@wlu.ca.

@ 2004 Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion / Corporation Canadienne des Sciences Religieuses
 174

two related religious communities (Becker and Reed 2003; Kinzig 1991 ;
Marmorstein 1935; Meeks and Wilken 1978:13-36; Wilken 1983; Wilson
1995) . This has led some recent scholars to question the traditional view that
Christianity and Judaism became separate &dquo;religions&dquo; during the late lst
...

= -.
°- . - 1 -. - : ’- +
%z-- .
--
 175

ground at all. The recognition of diversity might seem to nullify the mean-
ing of the term &dquo;Christian&dquo; altogether. But this would take the case for diver-
sity too far. It remains possible to use the term &dquo;Christian&dquo; to refer to the
diverse people and groups who were in their own ways followers of Jesus
during the 1st and 2nd centuries. Etymologically, in fact, the word &dquo;Christ-
ian&dquo; (Christianos) 4 refers simply to a follower of &dquo;Christ&dquo; (Christos, from Greek
chrio, &dquo;anoint&dquo;).5 In calling Jesus Christos, the early followers expressed their
belief that Jesus was the Messiah or &dquo;Anointed One&dquo; (see Lk 4:18 [quoting
Is. 61:1]; Acts 4:27; 10:38; Heb.1:9 [quoting Ps. 44:8];Justin, Apology 2.6.3; Ter-
tullian, On Baptism 7; Irenaeus, Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 53;
Gospel of Philip 74.15-16), an affirmation which should be understood within

Christianity, first published in German in 1934 but not translated into Eng-
lish until 1971. In making the case that early Christianity was characterized
by a plurality of theological opinion rather than by a common and original
orthodoxy, Bauer made scholars keenly aware of the diversity subsumed
under the name &dquo;Christian.&dquo; Therefore some scholars (Burkett 2002: 423fR.;
Ehrman 1999: 193-226; Ehrman 2000: 6-7 et passim; Layton 1987: xx-xxiii) now
prefer to use the term &dquo;proto-orthodox&dquo; for the strands which eventually
came to predominate (I.e., &dquo;orthodoxy&dquo; as it was defined by the 4th century).

Only in retrospect do we see how &dquo;orthodoxy&dquo; came to be mainstream.

While aspects of Bauer’s argument have been criticized and qualified
(Desjardins 1991: 69-73; Dunn 1990; Hultgren 1994; Lfdemann 1996: 242-44;
Robinson 1988; cf. the surveys in Strecker 1971; Turner 1954; Williams 1989),
 176

m ..

an individual or a group is to seek to define their place in society. It is there-

fore useful to ask in a given social situation who has the power of naming. In
this regard it is important to recall that the name of &dquo;Christian&dquo; was not
developed by the early followers ofJesus themselves. Rather it was a designa-
tion that was applied to the movement by outsiders (Lfdemann 1989: 138;
Elliott 2000: 790 and the numerous works listed by Elliott at n. 609). That is
to say, the name &dquo;Christian&dquo; was originally an &dquo;etic&dquo; rather than an &dquo;emic&dquo;
term.8 As noted above, the first use of the name &dquo;Christian&dquo; in an extant early
Christian text is in the Acts of the Apostles (11:26): &dquo;it was in Antioch that the
disciples were first called ’Christians’.&dquo; Elsewhere the author of Acts refers to
the followers ofJesus as &dquo;those being saved&dquo; (hoi sõzomenoi: 2:47), &dquo;disciples&dquo;
(mathetai: 6:1), &dquo;people of the Way&dquo; (tin as tes hodou ontas: 9:2), &dquo;saints&dquo; (hagioi:
9:13), &dquo;brothers&dquo; (adelphoi: 9:30), &dquo;believers&dquo; (Pistoi: 10:45), &dquo;the people from
the church&dquo; (hoi apo tes ekklesias: 12:1), and &dquo;the sect of the Nazarenes&dquo; (he
tõn NazÕTaiõn hairesis: 24:5). Such terms would suggest that as the movement
 177

~
ij

among the general population of Antioch as a popular appellation to desig-

nate those who belonged to a new religious association that had formed in
the city separate from the Jewish community, an association of worshipers of
a new divinity called Christos (Cadbury 1979: 385; Conzelmann 1987: 88-89;

Hultgren 1994: 25). The people of Antioch would not necessarily have under-
stood that Christos meant &dquo;Messiah&dquo;; they probably thought that Christos was
a proper name, the name of the divinity worshiped by this new religious asso-
ciation (Grundmann 1974: 537).
In addition, the argument of H. B. Mattingly (1958: 26-37) that the term
Christianoi may have originally been sarcastic, along the lines of the term
&dquo;Augustiniani&dquo; that was used to mock the official supporters of the emperor
Nero, is persuasive (Elliott 1981: 95 n. 55; cf. Elliott 2000: 791). According to
Elliott (2000: 791), &dquo;th8 label had a derogatory overtone from the outset, so
that it meant, not simply ’parfsans of Christ,’ but something like ’Christ-lack-
eys,’ shameful sycophants of Christ, a criminal put to ignominious death by
the Romans years earlier.&dquo; We hear overtones of this in Acts 26:28, where
Herod Agrippa-an outsider-asks Paul ironically, &dquo;Are you so quickly per-
suading me to become a Christian?&dquo; 9 Likewise, it is evident from I Peter 4:14-
l6 that in the sectarian experience of the letter’s author and readers, being
called a &dquo;Christian&dquo;-again, by outsiders-involved reproach:1°

.;
178
 179

’&dquo;

argued that the term &dquo;Chrisfan&dquo; entailed some sort of political allegiance that
was threatening to the Roman state. This has been disputed by Lfdemann
(1989: 138), who notes that terms analogous to Christianoi were non-political
(Valentinians, Simonians, etc.). Nevertheless, it would appear that Pliny was
concerned about the Christians largely because he saw them as a voluntary
association or dub that might serve as a breeding ground for social disorder
and political unrest (Cotter 1996: 78-88; Wilken 1984: 10, 12-13; Winter 2001:
134-35) .
The mid-2nd-century writer Lucian of Samosata also uses the term
&dquo;Christian&dquo; in a pejorative fashion. Lucian’s Alexander the False Prophet is the
entertaining story of a cult of Asclepius set up at Abonoteichus in Pontus by
Alexander, a &dquo;scam-artist&dquo; posing as a prophet. At one point (section 25) the
people of Abonoteichus become suspicious of the oracles which Alexander

~-1

these served to illuminate the night&dquo;- Tacitus admits that, &dquo;even

for crimi-
nals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment there arose a feeling
of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut
one man’s cruelty that they were being destroyed&dquo; (Annals 15.44.2-8).

In Letter 10.96 of the younger Pliny, governor of the province of Bithynia,

to the emperor Trajan in l12 C.E. Pliny writes that he conducted investiga-
tions of Christians and that people were being brought before him on a
charge of being Christians. From Pliny’s letter and Trajan’s response we
gather that merelv being a Christian could he considered a canital crime.
180
 181

this one, because the name is such an adornment, for they appear to take pride in
Christ’s name, although not in his faith and works. (Panarion 29.6.6)

Similarly, Justin Martyr, writing in the mid-2nd century, admits that hetero-
dox leaders such as Simon (Magus), Menander and Marcion were all known
as Christians (Apology 1.26).

There is indirect evidence for the church at Edessa in Syria which con-
firms Justin’s witness regarding Marcion. According to Bauer, during the
2nd century the term &dquo;Christian&dquo; was first applied to Marcionites at Edessa
since they had been the ones to introduce the new faith there. Bauer infers
this from Ephraem Syrus’ complaint (Hymns Against Heresies 22) that the
orthodox group at Edessa had been forced to call themselves Palftians,
after their leader Palft, when they should properly be called Christians; this
implies that the term &dquo;Christian&dquo; had been denied to the orthodox since it
already referred to the Marcionites (Bauer 1971: 22-24). Eventually, of course,
the Marcionites would be condemned as heterodox.
Various groups that would eventually be condemned as &dquo;Gnostic&dquo; also
regarded themselves as Christians.14 For example, Marcians, Valentinians,
Basilidians and Saturnilians were derided by Justin Martyr for calling them-
selves Christians;Justin compares this to the &dquo;way some Gentiles engrave the
name of God upon their statues, and then indulge in every kind of wicked

and atheistic rite&dquo; (Dialog;ue with Trypho 35.6). Similarly, looking back on
the 2nd-century period the historian Eusebius of Caesarea complains that
Gnostic teachers such as Menander had &dquo;assumed the name of Christians, to
defame the great mystery of godliness...and to make ridiculous the doc-
trines of the Church&dquo; (Ecclesiastical History 3.26.3-4; cf. 4.7.2-3). The anti-
1-.-..:..i .-...:.....-:1-,,..n .~ rx;--.i,-,,. 1~;...1 Q_...1 ~~~h.~,B -.---...1-..
182
 183

ent of Christos,&dquo; in more or less diverse ways. Even after the Constantinian
establishment of Christianity and the Council of Nicaea in 325, groups within
the church which dissented from orthodoxy would continue to see themselves
as &dquo;Christian&dquo;; indeed, this has been the case throughout the history of

Christianity.
&dquo;Christian&dquo; self-designation
as

In sum, linguistic and historical consideration of the references to &dquo;Chris-

tians&dquo; in ancient sources indicate that the name was initially a term of oppro-
brium applied to the early followers of Jesus by non-Christians. The evi-
dence suggests overall that in the case of the name &dquo;Christian&dquo; the power of
naming originally belonged to those outside the church. This has strong sim-
ilarities with the historical development of the terms &dquo;Manichee/Man-
ichaeism&dquo; and &dquo;pagan/paganism.&dquo; 15 However, the people referred to as
&dquo;Manichees&dquo; and &dquo;pagans&dquo; never adopted those names for themselves,
whereas Christians did take on the name &dquo;Christian.&dquo; Yet the reality of plu-
ralism within the early church meant that this latter development was not
straightforward: different groups within the early church competed among
themselves for the use of the term as a self-designation.
The name &dquo;Christian&dquo; first appears as a self-designation in Didache 12.4
(perhaps late lstlearly 2nd century),16 and Ignatius of Antioch uses the
term as a noun and as an adjective in his letters (early 2nd century) .17 As well,

Ignatius is the first on record to use the reified term &dquo;Christianity&dquo; (Magne-
sians 10.1, 3; Romans 3.3; Philadelphians 6.1), which parallels the already avail-
able term &dquo;Judaism&dquo; (2 Mc. 2.21, etc.).18 In his letter to the Romans (3.2)
Ignatius exhorts his readers: &dquo;Only ask power for me both within and with-
out so that not only may I speak, but also will, that not only may I be called
a Christian but also be found one; for if I am found one, I can also be called

one and prove faithful then when I do not appear to the world&dquo; (Schoedel

1985: 170). Here Ignatius connects being true to the name &dquo;Christian&dquo; with
his own impending martyrdom; for Ignatius a &dquo;Christian&dquo; is someone who
proves faithful to the point of dying for her or his faith. After Ignatius the
phrase Christianos eimi (&dquo;I am a Christian&dquo;) became common as a personal
confession in the acts of the martyrs (e.g., Martyrdom of Polycarp 10.1; cf.
Hengel and Schwemer, 1997: 226, 452 n. 1158; Lieu 2002: 211-31). It is not
uncommon for marginalized or excluded groups to assume the names

applied to them pejoratively by others and then to invert them so that they
take on positive connotations. This pattern seems even more effective when
it occurs in the representation and discourse of martyrdom. In that context,
bravely taking on the name can be seen as the equivalent of remaining faith-
ful in the face of death.
184

1 As noted in de Bruyn’s introductory essay, the original version of this paper was pre-
sented at the CSPS and CSSR joint panel, "Naming religious groups." Unlike some other
examples of nomenclature that were discussed then, this study of the term "Christian" has
entailed going over familiar ground that has been studied by previous scholars. I would
like to thank Theo de Bruyn, Oscar Cole Arnal and Dennis Stoutenburg for helpful
comments on previous versions of this paper.
2 Thus Gerd Theissen (1978: 1) writes, "the Jesus movement is the renewal movement
within Judaism brought into being through Jesus and existing in the area of Syria and
Palestine between about A.D. 30 and A.D. 70." Theissen’s use of the definite article ("the
renewal movement") might be taken to suggest that it was the only such renewal move-
ment (or the only such movement which was significant), which would be incorrect: an
anarthrous reference ("a renewal movement," i.e., one among other such movements)
would be more accurate historically. Theissen’s term "Jesus movement" itself has been
widely accepted. An exception is John Dominic Crossan (1998: xi, xxxiii), who chooses
to retain the term "Christian" for the pre-70 Jesus movement but is careful to remind read-
ers that this designation must always be understood to refer to a sect within Judaism.

3 On the inadequacy of the modem notion of "religion" with reference to these movements
see Stowers 1994: 26-27.

4 The Greek suffix -ianos is patterned on the ending -ianus in Latin; there are numerous
examples of Latin formations with -ianus attached to a proper name (Elliott 2000: 789
n. 606). Greek examples include dianoi H
&
r emacr; (Mk. 3:6, 12:13, Mt. 22:16), Kaisarianoi
omacr;
(Appian, Civil War3.91), and the names of various "Gnostic" groups (Markianoi, Oualen-
tinianoi, Basilidianoi, Satournilianoi) mentioned in Justin, Dialogue with Trypho 35.
5 "Christian" does not derive directly from chrio. But there was an early tradition which
linked the term "Christian" to the anointing of Christians with oil or chrism, a ritual asso-
ciated with baptism (cf. 2 Cor. 1:21-22; Eph. 1:13-I4 and 4:30; 1 Jn. 2:20 and 2:27). Thus
the 2nd-century Christian writer Theophilus of Antioch wrote: "We are called Christians
because we are anointed ] chriometha with the oil of God" (
[ To Autolycus 1.12), and Tertul-
lian says: "Christian, so far as the meaning of the word is concerned, is derived from anoint
ing" (Apology 3.5). The members of the Naassene sect claimed "we are Christians ... we are
anointed ... with the ineffable chrism" (Refutation of All Heresies 5.9.22). A similar word play
may lie behind the Coptic version of the Gospel of Philip from Nag Hammadi (NHC II,3) .
According to the Gospel of Philip, one who is baptized may be able to say "I am a Christ-
ian" (64.22-24), but later the text asserts that the term "Christian" is derived from the rite
of "chrism" (74.13-14), which is a separate rite in the Gospel of Philip, superior to baptism
(Rudolph 1987: 229-30). (Indeed, Gospel of Philip 74.14-15 expressly denies that the appel-
lation "Christian" derives from baptism.) Moreover, the text says further (74.12-13) that
the one who receives anointing "is no longer a Christian but a Christ" (67.26; cf. 61.30-
31: "You saw Christ, you became Christ"). Presumably by means of the ritual of chrism the
initiate was understood to proceed from the psychic to the pneumatic level (Wilson
1962: 138). Similarly, anointing seems to be given greater significance than baptism in Acts
of Thomas 121 and in Irenaeus’ description of "Gnostic" rites in Against Heresies 1.21.3-4.
6 The report of the 4th-century heresiologist Epiphanius of Salamis (Panarion 29.1.1 and
4. 9-5.5) that the Christians were first called "Nazoraeans," then for a short time "lessaioi"
(derived either from Jesse or from the name of Jesus; Ephiphanius also confuses these with
the Essenes) before taking the name "Christians" (Christianoi) is to be dismissed (Hen-
gel and Schwemer 1997: 227-28, 453 n. 1168).
7 Christians and Jews were regarded as a philosophical school by Galen (De pulsum differ-
entiis 2.4, 3.3; Wilken 1984: 72-83).
8 These terms were first used by Kenneth L. Pike: see < http://www.sil.org/klp/eticemic
.htm>.
 185

9 Christianon poi&emacr;sai can be translated "to make [me] a Christian" or "to play the Christian";
cf. Haenchen 1971: 689 and n. 2.
10 On the sectarian nature of the community addressed by 1 Peter see Elliott 1981, especially
chapter 2. On "Christian" at 1 Peter 4:16 as a term given to members of the community
by outsiders, see Elliott 2000: 794.
11 Regarding the authenticity of this part of the passage, Meier adds: "This does not sound
like an interpolation by a Christian of any stripe."
12 The variant Christianos seems to have been connected via folk etymology with chr&emacr;stos,
meaning "kind, loving, benevolent" (cf. Justin, Apology 1.4). Since Christos was a common
personal name the switch is understandable (Lampe 2003: 12). Suetonius at Claudius 25.4
has "Chrestus" for "Christus." The Christos/chr&emacr;stos word play also occurs in Matthew
11:30; Luke 6:35; Ephesians 4:32; and 1 Peter 2:3. The reading Chr&emacr;stianos for Christianos
is also found in the original hand of Codex Sinaiticus at Acts 11:26; 26:28; and 1 Peter 4:16.
It has been suggested that the pronunciation of the Greek vowels &emacr;ta and iota and the diph-
thong iota-&emacr;ta became largely indistinguishable in the Hellenistic period (Blass and
Debrunner 1961: section 22-24, 13-14). Tertullian derides those who mispronounce the
name of Christians as "Chrestians" but plays up the connection with "friendliness"

(chr&emacr;stot&emacr;s: Apology 5; cf. To the Nations 3). Cf. Lactantius, Divine Institutes 4.7.
13 It has been suggested that this policy derived from a precedent instituted by Nero, based
on the evidence of Tacitus that Nero had arrested, tortured and killed those who belonged

to "a clan ... called Christians" (Cotter 1996: 82-83). However, Tacitus also makes it clear
that the Christians under Nero were accused of arson, not Christianity.
14 It is also significant that Celsus, writing in the 2nd century, did not distinguish "Gnostics"
such as the Ophites from other Christians (see Origen, Against Celsus 6.24-38).
15 See the papers by Remus and Coyle in this issue.
16 The dating of the Didache is notoriously difficult; see Kraft 1965: 76-77; 1992: I97;Jefford
1989: 16-18.
17 Harnack (1924: 427) notes that the fact that Ignatius was bishop of Antioch corroborates
the claim of Acts that the term "Christian" originated in Antioch. Harnack also argues that
it was at Antioch that the term was first used as a self-designation, though this cannot be
proved.
18 Ignatius sets the two terms against each other at Philadelphians 6.I;Judith Lieu (2002: 24,
54, 192) renders Ignatius’ Christianismos in this context as "Christianism" (opposed to
Judaism ) .

16 The dating of the Didache is notoriously difficult; see Kraft 1965: 76.77; 1992: 197; Jefford
,non. 1~ ,Q

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