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Introduction In the two first centuries CE, the struggle for Christian identity was a fundamental and vital challenge for Christians. The Christ-believers gradually grew out of their original Jewish context and gathered people of various cultural, social, and religious backgrounds. In the second century the Christians had grown in number; they had gained influence and had become more noticeable in society as a distinct religious movement. In such a period of transition and development, the need for a distinct selfunderstanding became ever more important (see Wagner 1994, 3–8, 11–23, 63–65, 115–38). The attempts to construct a Christian identity followed several paths. One way of developing such an identity was to define oneself in relation to other groups. Within this strategy, the questions Who am I? and Who are we? are (at least partly) answered by defining one’s standing as against others’: Who are my opponents, who are my allies, and how am I to place myself in relation to them (see, for example, Sanders 1980; Frerichs and Neusner 1985; Grant 1988; Wagner 1994; Lieu 1996)? In Melito of Sardis, at his peak in the 170s, we find a very interesting example of such an attempt at Christian self-definition. Of particular interest are the ways in which he places himself in relation to the Roman world and particularly to the Jews and to other Christians, since these were the main socio-cultural groups with which he was confronted. This essay will examine how Melito appears to handle these relations, and how he strives to construct a Christian identity that was viable for himself and his church in Sardis. Notes to chapter 11 start on page 280 156 11 Among Gentiles, Jews, and Christians Formation of Christian Identity in Melito of Sardis Reidar Aasgaard The Person, Milieu, and Works of Melito Not very much is known about Melito’s person, but some interesting features emerge, nevertheless, partly from other sources, partly from his own writings.1 Some information of relevance here is given in a letter from Polycrates , bishop in Ephesus (around 190 CE), quoted in the church history of Eusebius (265–340 CE, see HE 5.24.2–6). Polycrates says that Melito is now buried in Sardis and presents him as a Christian leader there: “Melito the eunuch . . . who lies at Sardis awaiting the visitation from heaven when he shall rise from the dead” (HE 5.24.5).2 Eusebius adds that Melito was a bishop (HE 4.26.1), which can be Eusebius’s own inference from Polycrates ’s information, but he may just as well have had independent information about Melito. Whether a bishop or not, Melito clearly was an influential figure in the Christian community in Sardis. His central social position is confirmed by the fact that he wrote a petition to the emperor on behalf of not only the church of Sardis, but apparently of the churches in Asia Minor at large. Eusebius cites this petition extensively, and we shall return to it below. Melito seems to have been well educated—his rhetorical skills are impressive, showing a close resemblance to the rhetorical style of Asianism (Stewart-Sykes 2001, 223–28),3 and his knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures is broad and thorough (e.g., Hall 1979, xl–xlii; Knapp 2000, 353–54, 374).4 He also had strong bonds to Jewish tradition: Polycrates describes him as a Quartodeciman, which means that he kept Easter on the 14th of Nisan, that is, on the day of the Jewish Passover, instead of on Sunday, the Western and Roman practice.5 Melito’s own writings also show that he was deeply rooted in the Jewish world: he is, for example, familiar with the Jewish Easter haggadah (Hall 1971, 34, 45–46). He also says that he had visited Jerusalem and Palestine (Fragment 3).6 Polycrates remarks that Melito had prophetic skills. Like one of the daughters of the apostle Philip, Melito is said to have “lived entirely in the Holy Spirit” (ton en hagiō pneumati panta politeusamenōn), a description that indicates a status as a prophet (Stewart-Sykes 1998, 13–14).7 Jerome (Vir. ill. 24.3) also confirms this status, by referring to the description of Melito by Tertullian (the church father and later Montanist, ca. 160 to ca. 220 CE) as having a reputation as a prophet: “He was thought of as a prophet by most of us Christians” (Halton 1999, 46). And in a list of Melito...

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