CITIZENS OF HEAVEN IN RES PUBLICA COLONIA PHILIPPENSIUM: CONSTRUCTING CHRISTIAN IDENTITY IN THE ROMAN COLONY OF PHILIPPI
CITIZENS OF HEAVEN IN RES PUBLICA COLONIA PHILIPPENSIUM: CONSTRUCTING CHRISTIAN IDENTITY IN THE ROMAN COLONY OF PHILIPPI

Summary/Abstract: In this article the construction of the identity of the members of the Christian community in Philippi is discussed. To achieve this goal, the archaeological evidence from the colony and Phil 1:12-28 and 3:4-16 are examined with the help of the social identity theory. The article is divided in three parts. In a first part the political and religious ambience in the colony is reconstructed. In the second part the text of Paul’s letter to the Philippians is closely examined in order to locate indications of the way the members of the community understood their existence in the colony. Finally, in the last part the problem of the social and political profile of the members of the Philippian church is also addressed.

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