Case file · Witness · Prove All Things
A Roman Governor's Letter About the Christians
“But prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Douay-Rheims
The case
Around the year one hundred twelve, a Roman governor wrote to the emperor. His question was: what do I do with the Christians? His name was Pliny. He was running a province in what's now Turkey, and people kept getting accused of being Christians. So he investigated. He even had two slave women tortured to get the truth.
The evidence
Every quotation below is printed in the words of the edition named under it. Nothing is paraphrased.
“they met on a stated day before it was light”Pliny, in the Melmoth/Bosanquet wording — read it at the source
“addressed a form of prayer to Christ, as to a divinity”Pliny, in the Melmoth/Bosanquet wording — read it at the source
“binding themselves by a solemn oath, not for the purposes of any wicked design, but never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery, never to falsify their word”Pliny, in the Melmoth/Bosanquet wording — read it at the source
“reassemble, to eat in common a harmless meal”Pliny, in the Melmoth/Bosanquet wording — read it at the source
“all I could discover was evidence of an absurd and extravagant superstition”Pliny, in the Melmoth/Bosanquet wording — read it at the source
“no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day”Ignatius, To the Magnesians 9, shorter (authentic) recension (ANF vol. 1, Roberts-Donaldson, c. AD 107-110) — read it at the source
What’s established, and what isn’t
What the sources support, claim by claim — each one checked against the sources listed at the foot of this page:
- Pliny the Younger governed Bithynia-Pontus c. 110-112 and wrote Letter 10.96 to Trajan
- He had two female slaves called ministrae tortured
- Christians met on a stated day before daylight, prayed to Christ as to a divinity, and bound themselves by oath away from fraud, theft, adultery and breaking their word
- They met again later to eat a harmless meal in common
- He called it an absurd and extravagant superstition
- The fixed day is generally identified with Sunday, the Lord's Day
Where the record stops short:
- Pliny is a hostile witness describing what he was told under interrogation, including torture. He is evidence of what Christians were doing, not a Christian account of why.
- That the 'fixed day' he reports is Sunday is the general identification, not something his letter states.
For your men’s group
- A Roman governor had to torture two women to find out what Christians did at their meetings. What does it say that the answer was so ordinary?
- They bound themselves by an oath not to commit crimes. What would it look like for your household to be known for that?
- If a hostile man described your week, what would he be able to prove you believe?
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Every source
- Pliny Letters 10.96 full text, Melmoth rev. Bosanquet (PD)
- Second rendering checked (J.B. Firth 1900, modified by the host site): 'stated day', 'debased superstition carried to great lengths'
- Modern rendering NOT used: 'fixed day before dawn', 'sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god', 'ordinary and innocent food', 'depraved, excessive superstition'. No translator is credited on the page and public domain could not be established, so none of this wording is on a card or in the script.
- Ignatius, Magnesians 9, 'no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day' (ANF)
Found an error? [email protected] — errata corrected the day they’re found.
Drafted with AI assistance, founder-directed, and checked against the sources linked here. Our editorial standards.
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