Pliny the Younger was the Roman governor of Bithynia from 111-113AD. It was during his tenure that he encountered the Christians who had become abundant in the area. For Pliny he knew that they were to be prosecuted but was unfamiliar with the process and legal framework. When people were handed over to him, charged as being Christians, he would interview them asking if they were Christians. He would do this three times giving them opportunity to recant. If they would not confess otherwise, then he would have them executed, unless they were Roman Citizens in which case he would send them to Rome for trial. In the course of doing this further accusations were reported to Pliny concerning the identity of Christians. At one point a list was anonymously passed to him identifying a great number of people as Christians. Pliny investigated these individuals, and if any denied the charge he would give them a chance to prove themselves. The defendant was to offer a prayer to the gods and make an offering of wine or incense to a statue of the gods and of the emperor. They we also to curse Christ and provided they did these things the charges against them would be dismissed. In the course of his investigation several admitted to formerly being Christian but no longer. Of these some said they stopped over twenty years ago. From these he learned that the Christians would meet on Sundays before dawn where they would sing a hymn to Christ. In addition to this they would take a holy oath to not steal, commit adultery or break an agreement. They would then dismiss and later gather to take food together.
Pliny wanting to learn more interrogated and tortured two slave girls who had been identified as deaconesses. He determined that other than blindly holding to their superstitions, they were doing nothing worthy of blame. Due to these recent events, and being uncertain as to the law concerning Christians, Pliny wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan seeking his advice on how to deal with them. In light of this Pliny postponed further investigations until he had received a response.
To Pliny, Christianity was a dangerous contagion infecting society. He observed that large numbers of people, from all ages and walks of life, were being brought in for trials. Moreover that this phenomena wasn’t limited to the city, but was also present in the towns and the country villages. Such was the impact of Christianity that Pliny observed that certain temples of the gods had fallen into disuse, and meat for sacrifice was no longer being bought in the market place. Pliny had already executed many as well as hearing several deny the faith. As a result he was observing a slow reversal in trends with the neglected temples being revisited and meat once again being purchased. He therefore felt that with the right handling, this superstition could be nipped in the bud and that people would reform to the traditional worship of the gods.
In due course Trajan wrote back to Pliny praising him for his conduct in the matter but providing clear instructions. Pliny was not to seek out Christians and was to pay no attention to anonymous lists. However anyone brought before the court, and the case proved that they were Christian, was to be executed.
Before this time there seems to have been some ambiguity regarding Christians with local rulers left to determine how they dealt with them. However with these instructions from Trajan, there was now a clear policy from the state concerning Christianity. To be a professing Christian was in effect illegal and if proved punishable by death.
From Pliny’s letter we can glean several important pieces of information concerning early Christianity. Firstly the area that Pliny was governor was Bithynia which was a province in what is today northern Turkey. Bithynia is one of the places that Peter writes to in his first epistle. It isn’t certain, but it is possible that this was one of the areas that Peter had brought the gospel to, prior to him travelling to Rome. Bordering Asia Minor, Bithynia had become home to a large and growing Christian community. This is further evidenced by Pliny’s letter. Pliny remarks that it was only due to the number of Christians involved that he felt the need to consult Trajan. Furthermore Pliny was worried about the traditional worship being abandoned which shows that Christianity was spreading and becoming increasingly popular. Not only was it present in the city but also the villages and the farms. Therefore it wasn’t limited to an urban phenomena. Also of those who would denied the faith, there were some who had formerly been Christian 25 years ago. This shows that there were Christians in Bithynia from the 80s AD, though of course there would have been Christianity present beforehand.
What is also interesting is the demographics involved. Pliny remarks that there were many persons of every age, every rank in society and from both men and women. This is a testament to the diversity of the early church. We can also observe something of the leadership of the church. By Pliny rounding up two deaconesses this tells us something about the role of women in the church. A deacon or a deaconess was a position of leadership within the church. These ministered under the authority of the elders and carried out the practical tasks of the church. Not only are women leading in some capacity, but these two deaconesses were also slaves. In spite of their social positions, they were able to hold prominence in the church.
Another thing we learn is something about the practise of Christianity. They meet on a fixed day before dawn. We’re not told which day by Pliny, but this would have been early morning Sunday which was the day and time that Jesus rose from the dead. The church when they met would also sing hymns to Christ as to God. Thus the church worshipped Jesus as God. Moreover Christians would take oaths not to do wrong such as crimes, theft, adultery, fraud, bearing false witness.
Though this seems obvious to anyone who knows the New Testament, what is significant is the fact that this is reported from an independent, unbiased, pagan Roman source.