PICTURE NEEDED
Pagans at Box Roman Villa?
Martin and Elizabeth Devon
September 2015
The people living in Box Roman Villa were pagans – or were they? It is generally understood that Romans were polytheistic, with their pantheon of gods with various functions, overseen by the rather temperamental Jupiter. However, the cult of the divine emperor became the public norm after 29 BC when Augustus permitted the building of temples to Julius Caesar, who had been declared a god, Divus Julius. Although this was perhaps a unifying factor in the empire, nevertheless emperor-worship started gradually to undermine the traditional beliefs.
Over the following period, nearly three centuries, and despite intensive persecution under many emperors, notably Diocletian, Christianity gained a firm foothold. Meanwhile, ordinary Roman families tended to keep the older traditions alive, retaining at least their household gods, expressed physically as small statues - Janus the two-faced doorkeeper and Vesta, guardian of the hearth - and the non-physical lares and penates, respectively spirits of the family ancestors and maintainers of the larder.
The first notable change in this state of affairs took place in 318 AD. In that year Emperor Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan (appendix 1).[1] Constantine's mother may have been instrumental in this action - she was the Christian Saint Helena who was reputed to own the titulus or name-plate of Jesus recorded in St John's gospel. The effect of the Edict of Milan was to permit worship of the Christian God (or in fact any god, but the Christians are clearly in mind) as an alternative to the traditional gods, without fear of persecution.
It is also clear that, particularly from around 320 onwards, there was a close collaboration between the churches in Britain and those in Gaul with British bishops visiting their counterparts in Gaul and vice versa.
This genial environment came to an end in 380 AD, with the appointment of the emperor Theodosius I. He was the first Nicaean emperor and, in truth, something of a fanatic. In that same year, 380, Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonika (appendix 2). Over the next decade, edicts of increasing stringency followed the original Edict. The intention, and result, was that, to remain a Civis Romanus, a citizen of the Roman Empire, a profession of Nicene Christianity, as set out in the Nicene Creed, was of the essence. In short, unless one was a Nicene Christian, one was not a citizen. Theodosius also decreed the demolition of pagan temples such as the temple of Apollo at Olympia.
Note that the Edict of Thessalonika does not formally declare Christianity the ‘official religion’ of the Roman Empire. Religion and government were inextricably intertwined. By the end of the fourth century that religion was Christianity. That was simply a fact, so there was no need for an official declaration.
[1] Constantine himself was not at the time a Christian, though he was baptised on his deathbed in 323. His Christianity was, of course, in the Arian tradition, the doctrine of the Trinity not being formulated until the Council of Nicaea in 325. Over the next half-century, succeeding emperors remained in the Arian tradition, and Christians, both Arian and Nicaean (Nicene) or Trinitarian, were able freely to express their beliefs, other than during a relatively brief period of sporadic persecution and some restoration of older beliefs and monuments under Julian the Apostate.
Theodosius was evidently a divisive character; indeed, he was the last emperor of the whole empire, which split into Western and Eastern factions after his time as emperor. The empire being thus endangered and also plagued by incursions by Germanic tribes, the Roman military and jurisdiction were withdrawn from Britain in and after 410 AD.
The natives of Britannia, having lived for the most part in comfortable alliance with the Romans for over three centuries, especially so in the more Romanised South, made every effort to maintain the Romanitas, or imitation of life as citizens of the Roman Empire, which now included mandatory Nicene Christian observance. There is a good deal of evidence that, even after the departure of the Romans, British Christianity continued to make progress such that it was able to produce a theologian of the stature of Pelagius by about 420. The Chi-Rho symbol (the overlapping first two letters of Greek ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, Christos, or the anointed one) has been found at a number of villas, including locally at Chedworth and at Frampton in Dorset where it appears set into an earlier mosaic featuring a figure of Neptune and also in a number of other contexts over the greater part of the country.
If the inhabitants of Box Roman Villa had not already become Christianised, how might they have reacted to the Theodosian Edicts? If they still maintained any kind of pagan sanctuary, they were now under imperial orders to demolish it. As to how they might demonstrate outwardly a Christian allegiance, the model was already widely available in Gaul. Commonly attached to a villa in Gaul is the house-church.
At this point it is useful to note that in Acts 13 v.46-47, in the Greek New Testament the word ethnoi, the native people, is used. When translating the Bible into Latin in 382 (the Vulgate), Jerome rendered this word as gentiles, members of the gens or clan, extended family or group; a closer association and only by implication not Jewish, which is in contrast to the modern usage of the word gentile.
It appears that on this principle the little house-church was always placed on the edge of the villa enclosure, such that it was accessible both from inside and outside the villa, without necessarily giving access to the villa by this route. Thus, it could be used conveniently by the villa family and also by those in association with them but dwelling outside, such as farm-workers. By inference, the house-church was not necessarily a public building. Such a house-church would frequently have a fully or partially divided narthex or extension, thought to be for the use of unbaptised members of the community. In charge of the church was the episkopos or supervisor, a position normally taken informally by the head of the villa household.
Such a building as described above is found in Britain at Lullingstone in Kent, though the inhabitants appear to have “hedged their bets” by building the house-church one storey above a disused pagan shrine. In the case of a town such as Calleva Atrebatum, Silchester, the church was placed on top of the wall, apparently so that town-dwellers and outsiders alike had access. This arrangement seems rather different from rural precedent, but it may well be simply a matter of scale, with the town having its own ordained episkopos (from which “bishop” is derived) serving a rather wider congregation than a villa, perhaps with a priest or a deacon in assistance in a more formal heirarchy.
There can be little doubt that a villa so important as that at Box had a house-church. Where, then, should one look for it? The known layout of the western wing of the villa seems to indicate a corridor or passage leading southwards. If that line is projected southwards along the established western wall, that line passes precisely through the chancel of the parish church of St Thomas a Becket. Although the southern extent of the villa is not yet known with certainly, it cannot extend far beyond the known structures under Church Lane, or it would not be possible to make a level carriage entrance below the rising ground. A line projected westward again arrives at the chancel of St Thomas a Becket. The meeting of these lines thus suggests that the chancel lies on the perimeter of the villa. It is, therefore, a real possibility that the chancel of St Thomas a Becket is built on the foundation of the Romano-British house-church, and the former priest's house (now the vestry) may well be in part over a former narthex.
It will be observed that there is an apparent misalignment between the villa and the parish church. However, taking the date of the villa proper as 250 AD or thereabouts and the possible house-church at around 400 AD, the discrepancy is closely represented by the variation in magnetic North between those specific dates.
The Romano-British Romanitas continued successfully for at least a century. There is no doubt also that the Christianity which existed in the fourth century remained continuously alive until its written history is resumed in early mediaeval times, but not without change over time; the rise of the Celtic Church and its subsequent retreat to the western fringes before successive waves of Anglo-Saxon invasions; the mission of Augustine of Canterbury, sent by Pope Gregory in 597; the triumph of the Roman Church over the Celtic at Whitby in 665 and the rise of monasticism.
We do not know whether a house-church existed at Box, though it seems logically probable and one day it may be proved through scientific investigation. Assuming for the moment that it did; we do not know, and it seems unlikely that we shall ever know with certainty, what was its fate. Whether it fell into disuse and disrepair or remained quietly in use by the tiny number of inhabitants in the Dark Ages is open to conjecture, but the former does seem the more likely. Even so, the foundation of Box Church may very well pre-date Augustine by two centuries. In that context, Box Church may well be one of the earliest sites of Christian worship in this country, and the Villa to which it owes that foundation is clearly of fundamental national importance and richly deserving of the fullest investigation.
Martin and Elizabeth Devon
September 2015
The people living in Box Roman Villa were pagans – or were they? It is generally understood that Romans were polytheistic, with their pantheon of gods with various functions, overseen by the rather temperamental Jupiter. However, the cult of the divine emperor became the public norm after 29 BC when Augustus permitted the building of temples to Julius Caesar, who had been declared a god, Divus Julius. Although this was perhaps a unifying factor in the empire, nevertheless emperor-worship started gradually to undermine the traditional beliefs.
Over the following period, nearly three centuries, and despite intensive persecution under many emperors, notably Diocletian, Christianity gained a firm foothold. Meanwhile, ordinary Roman families tended to keep the older traditions alive, retaining at least their household gods, expressed physically as small statues - Janus the two-faced doorkeeper and Vesta, guardian of the hearth - and the non-physical lares and penates, respectively spirits of the family ancestors and maintainers of the larder.
The first notable change in this state of affairs took place in 318 AD. In that year Emperor Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan (appendix 1).[1] Constantine's mother may have been instrumental in this action - she was the Christian Saint Helena who was reputed to own the titulus or name-plate of Jesus recorded in St John's gospel. The effect of the Edict of Milan was to permit worship of the Christian God (or in fact any god, but the Christians are clearly in mind) as an alternative to the traditional gods, without fear of persecution.
It is also clear that, particularly from around 320 onwards, there was a close collaboration between the churches in Britain and those in Gaul with British bishops visiting their counterparts in Gaul and vice versa.
This genial environment came to an end in 380 AD, with the appointment of the emperor Theodosius I. He was the first Nicaean emperor and, in truth, something of a fanatic. In that same year, 380, Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonika (appendix 2). Over the next decade, edicts of increasing stringency followed the original Edict. The intention, and result, was that, to remain a Civis Romanus, a citizen of the Roman Empire, a profession of Nicene Christianity, as set out in the Nicene Creed, was of the essence. In short, unless one was a Nicene Christian, one was not a citizen. Theodosius also decreed the demolition of pagan temples such as the temple of Apollo at Olympia.
Note that the Edict of Thessalonika does not formally declare Christianity the ‘official religion’ of the Roman Empire. Religion and government were inextricably intertwined. By the end of the fourth century that religion was Christianity. That was simply a fact, so there was no need for an official declaration.
[1] Constantine himself was not at the time a Christian, though he was baptised on his deathbed in 323. His Christianity was, of course, in the Arian tradition, the doctrine of the Trinity not being formulated until the Council of Nicaea in 325. Over the next half-century, succeeding emperors remained in the Arian tradition, and Christians, both Arian and Nicaean (Nicene) or Trinitarian, were able freely to express their beliefs, other than during a relatively brief period of sporadic persecution and some restoration of older beliefs and monuments under Julian the Apostate.
Theodosius was evidently a divisive character; indeed, he was the last emperor of the whole empire, which split into Western and Eastern factions after his time as emperor. The empire being thus endangered and also plagued by incursions by Germanic tribes, the Roman military and jurisdiction were withdrawn from Britain in and after 410 AD.
The natives of Britannia, having lived for the most part in comfortable alliance with the Romans for over three centuries, especially so in the more Romanised South, made every effort to maintain the Romanitas, or imitation of life as citizens of the Roman Empire, which now included mandatory Nicene Christian observance. There is a good deal of evidence that, even after the departure of the Romans, British Christianity continued to make progress such that it was able to produce a theologian of the stature of Pelagius by about 420. The Chi-Rho symbol (the overlapping first two letters of Greek ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, Christos, or the anointed one) has been found at a number of villas, including locally at Chedworth and at Frampton in Dorset where it appears set into an earlier mosaic featuring a figure of Neptune and also in a number of other contexts over the greater part of the country.
If the inhabitants of Box Roman Villa had not already become Christianised, how might they have reacted to the Theodosian Edicts? If they still maintained any kind of pagan sanctuary, they were now under imperial orders to demolish it. As to how they might demonstrate outwardly a Christian allegiance, the model was already widely available in Gaul. Commonly attached to a villa in Gaul is the house-church.
At this point it is useful to note that in Acts 13 v.46-47, in the Greek New Testament the word ethnoi, the native people, is used. When translating the Bible into Latin in 382 (the Vulgate), Jerome rendered this word as gentiles, members of the gens or clan, extended family or group; a closer association and only by implication not Jewish, which is in contrast to the modern usage of the word gentile.
It appears that on this principle the little house-church was always placed on the edge of the villa enclosure, such that it was accessible both from inside and outside the villa, without necessarily giving access to the villa by this route. Thus, it could be used conveniently by the villa family and also by those in association with them but dwelling outside, such as farm-workers. By inference, the house-church was not necessarily a public building. Such a house-church would frequently have a fully or partially divided narthex or extension, thought to be for the use of unbaptised members of the community. In charge of the church was the episkopos or supervisor, a position normally taken informally by the head of the villa household.
Such a building as described above is found in Britain at Lullingstone in Kent, though the inhabitants appear to have “hedged their bets” by building the house-church one storey above a disused pagan shrine. In the case of a town such as Calleva Atrebatum, Silchester, the church was placed on top of the wall, apparently so that town-dwellers and outsiders alike had access. This arrangement seems rather different from rural precedent, but it may well be simply a matter of scale, with the town having its own ordained episkopos (from which “bishop” is derived) serving a rather wider congregation than a villa, perhaps with a priest or a deacon in assistance in a more formal heirarchy.
There can be little doubt that a villa so important as that at Box had a house-church. Where, then, should one look for it? The known layout of the western wing of the villa seems to indicate a corridor or passage leading southwards. If that line is projected southwards along the established western wall, that line passes precisely through the chancel of the parish church of St Thomas a Becket. Although the southern extent of the villa is not yet known with certainly, it cannot extend far beyond the known structures under Church Lane, or it would not be possible to make a level carriage entrance below the rising ground. A line projected westward again arrives at the chancel of St Thomas a Becket. The meeting of these lines thus suggests that the chancel lies on the perimeter of the villa. It is, therefore, a real possibility that the chancel of St Thomas a Becket is built on the foundation of the Romano-British house-church, and the former priest's house (now the vestry) may well be in part over a former narthex.
It will be observed that there is an apparent misalignment between the villa and the parish church. However, taking the date of the villa proper as 250 AD or thereabouts and the possible house-church at around 400 AD, the discrepancy is closely represented by the variation in magnetic North between those specific dates.
The Romano-British Romanitas continued successfully for at least a century. There is no doubt also that the Christianity which existed in the fourth century remained continuously alive until its written history is resumed in early mediaeval times, but not without change over time; the rise of the Celtic Church and its subsequent retreat to the western fringes before successive waves of Anglo-Saxon invasions; the mission of Augustine of Canterbury, sent by Pope Gregory in 597; the triumph of the Roman Church over the Celtic at Whitby in 665 and the rise of monasticism.
We do not know whether a house-church existed at Box, though it seems logically probable and one day it may be proved through scientific investigation. Assuming for the moment that it did; we do not know, and it seems unlikely that we shall ever know with certainty, what was its fate. Whether it fell into disuse and disrepair or remained quietly in use by the tiny number of inhabitants in the Dark Ages is open to conjecture, but the former does seem the more likely. Even so, the foundation of Box Church may very well pre-date Augustine by two centuries. In that context, Box Church may well be one of the earliest sites of Christian worship in this country, and the Villa to which it owes that foundation is clearly of fundamental national importance and richly deserving of the fullest investigation.
Appendix 1 The Edict of Milan (standard translation, slightly revised and anglicised)
When both I, Constantine Augustus, and I Licinius Augustus fortunately met near Mediolanum (Milan), and were considering everything that pertained to the public welfare and security, we thought - among other things which we saw would be for the good of many - those regulations pertaining to the reverence of the Divinity ought certainly to be made first, so that we might grant to the Christians and others full authority to observe that religion which each preferred, so that any Divinity whatsoever in the seat of the heavens may be propitious and kindly disposed to us and all who are placed under our rule. And thus by this wholesome counsel and most upright provision we thought to declare that no one whatsoever should be denied the opportunity to give his heart to the observance of the Christian religion, (or of that religion which he should think best for himself) so that the Supreme Deity, to whose worship we freely yield our hearts may show in all things His usual favour and benevolence. Therefore, you, citizens in our lands, should know that it has pleased us to remove all conditions whatsoever, which were in the rescripts formerly given to you officially, concerning the Christians and now any one of these who wishes to observe Christian religion may do so freely and openly, without molestation. We thought it fit to commend these things most fully to your care that you may know that we have given to those Christians free and unrestricted opportunity of religious worship. When you see that this has been granted to them by us, you, citizens in our lands, will know that we have also conceded to other religions the right of open and free observance of their worship for the sake of the peace of our times, that each one may have the free opportunity to worship as he pleases ; this regulation is made that we may not seem to detract from any dignity or any religion. Moreover, in the case of the Christians especially we considered it best to order that if it happens that before this date anyone has bought from our treasury or from anyone whatsoever, those places where they were previously accustomed to assemble, concerning which a certain decree had been made and a letter sent to you officially - the same shall be restored to the Christians without payment or any claim of recompense and without any kind of fraud or deception, Those, moreover, who have obtained the same by gift, are likewise to return them at once to the Christians. Besides, both those who have purchased and those who have secured them by gift, are to appeal to the chief of our treasury if they seek any recompense from our bounty, that they may be cared for through our clemency. All this property ought to be delivered at once to the community of the Christians through your intercession, and without delay. And since these Christians are known to have possessed not only those places in which they were accustomed to assemble, but also other property, namely the churches, belonging to them as a community and not as individuals, all these things which we have included under the above law, you will order to be restored, without any hesitation or controversy at all, to these Christians, that is to say to the communities and their local groups: providing, of course, that the above arrangements be followed so that those who return the same without payment, as we have said, may hope for an indemnity from our bounty. In all these circumstances you ought to offer your most efficacious intervention to the community of the Christians, that our command may be carried into effect as quickly as possible, whereby, moreover, through our clemency, public order may be secured. Let this be done so that, as we have said above, Divine favour towards us, such as we have already experienced, under the most important circumstances, may, for all time, preserve and prosper our successes together with the good of the state. Moreover, in order that the statement of this decree of our good will may come to the notice of all, this rescript, published by your decree, shall be announced everywhere and brought to the knowledge of all, so that the decree of this, our benevolence, cannot be concealed.
When both I, Constantine Augustus, and I Licinius Augustus fortunately met near Mediolanum (Milan), and were considering everything that pertained to the public welfare and security, we thought - among other things which we saw would be for the good of many - those regulations pertaining to the reverence of the Divinity ought certainly to be made first, so that we might grant to the Christians and others full authority to observe that religion which each preferred, so that any Divinity whatsoever in the seat of the heavens may be propitious and kindly disposed to us and all who are placed under our rule. And thus by this wholesome counsel and most upright provision we thought to declare that no one whatsoever should be denied the opportunity to give his heart to the observance of the Christian religion, (or of that religion which he should think best for himself) so that the Supreme Deity, to whose worship we freely yield our hearts may show in all things His usual favour and benevolence. Therefore, you, citizens in our lands, should know that it has pleased us to remove all conditions whatsoever, which were in the rescripts formerly given to you officially, concerning the Christians and now any one of these who wishes to observe Christian religion may do so freely and openly, without molestation. We thought it fit to commend these things most fully to your care that you may know that we have given to those Christians free and unrestricted opportunity of religious worship. When you see that this has been granted to them by us, you, citizens in our lands, will know that we have also conceded to other religions the right of open and free observance of their worship for the sake of the peace of our times, that each one may have the free opportunity to worship as he pleases ; this regulation is made that we may not seem to detract from any dignity or any religion. Moreover, in the case of the Christians especially we considered it best to order that if it happens that before this date anyone has bought from our treasury or from anyone whatsoever, those places where they were previously accustomed to assemble, concerning which a certain decree had been made and a letter sent to you officially - the same shall be restored to the Christians without payment or any claim of recompense and without any kind of fraud or deception, Those, moreover, who have obtained the same by gift, are likewise to return them at once to the Christians. Besides, both those who have purchased and those who have secured them by gift, are to appeal to the chief of our treasury if they seek any recompense from our bounty, that they may be cared for through our clemency. All this property ought to be delivered at once to the community of the Christians through your intercession, and without delay. And since these Christians are known to have possessed not only those places in which they were accustomed to assemble, but also other property, namely the churches, belonging to them as a community and not as individuals, all these things which we have included under the above law, you will order to be restored, without any hesitation or controversy at all, to these Christians, that is to say to the communities and their local groups: providing, of course, that the above arrangements be followed so that those who return the same without payment, as we have said, may hope for an indemnity from our bounty. In all these circumstances you ought to offer your most efficacious intervention to the community of the Christians, that our command may be carried into effect as quickly as possible, whereby, moreover, through our clemency, public order may be secured. Let this be done so that, as we have said above, Divine favour towards us, such as we have already experienced, under the most important circumstances, may, for all time, preserve and prosper our successes together with the good of the state. Moreover, in order that the statement of this decree of our good will may come to the notice of all, this rescript, published by your decree, shall be announced everywhere and brought to the knowledge of all, so that the decree of this, our benevolence, cannot be concealed.
Appendix 2 The Edict of Thessalonika (standard translation)
It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our Clemency and Moderation should continue to profess that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus [Bishop of Rome] and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one deity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in equal majesty and in a Holy Trinity. We authorise the followers of this law to assume the title of Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since in our judgement they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics and shall not presume to give to their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of the divine condemnation and in the second the punishment of our authority that in accordance with the will of Heaven we shall decide to inflict.
It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our Clemency and Moderation should continue to profess that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus [Bishop of Rome] and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one deity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in equal majesty and in a Holy Trinity. We authorise the followers of this law to assume the title of Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since in our judgement they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics and shall not presume to give to their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of the divine condemnation and in the second the punishment of our authority that in accordance with the will of Heaven we shall decide to inflict.
Sources
Mark Corney, The Roman Villa at Box, 2012
George C Boon, Traces of Romano-British Christianity in the West Country, 1992
J Dowding, The Prevalence of Christianity in Roman Britain to 410, 2004
http://issworldhistory.forumotion.net/t1215-the-edict-of-milan, A translation of the Edict of Milan
www.sevencouncils.com, Standard translation of the Edict of Thessalonika
Bond in www.Britannica.com, The development of Christian Society in Early England
Mark Corney, The Roman Villa at Box, 2012
George C Boon, Traces of Romano-British Christianity in the West Country, 1992
J Dowding, The Prevalence of Christianity in Roman Britain to 410, 2004
http://issworldhistory.forumotion.net/t1215-the-edict-of-milan, A translation of the Edict of Milan
www.sevencouncils.com, Standard translation of the Edict of Thessalonika
Bond in www.Britannica.com, The development of Christian Society in Early England