The Earliest History of the Christian Gathering. Origin, Development and Content of the Christian Gathering in the First to Third Centuries

Abstract

The periodical gathering of the Christian Church has a long and com-plex history. This present study endeavours to give a reconstruction of the earliest stages of this history. As a social and religious phenomenon, the early Christian gathering did not arise in a cultural vacuum. The Graeco-Roman world was saturated with cults and religious groups, movements, traditions, all with their own meetings and ceremonies. This vibrant and variegated religious environment was the context in which the early Christian gathering took shape. Any attempt to trace the history of the early Christian meeting has to take this historical setting into account. Th e origins and early development of the Chris-tian gathering should be seen within the context of the social and reli-gious culture of the Graeco-Roman world, of which Christians and Jews formed part. In particular, since the central event of the Christian gathering during the formative period was a meal, the beginnings of the gathering should be considered in the context of the traditions held by various groups in the matter of communal dining.