engleski

The Picture of Early Christian Communities in Pannonia during the Pre-Constantine and the Constantine Time

Dalmatia and Pannonia were amongst the most important parts of the Roman Empire. It was only as late as the 3rd century that the urbanized and Romanized Pannonia finally opened to a more systematic preaching and spread of the Gospel. At that time, Christianity was spreading in the basins of the Danube and Sava rivers in two directions: from the East, Christianity was spreading upstream the big rivers by the soldiers of the Asian legions, sent to defend Illyricum ; at the same time, civil servants and merchants, representatives of the Christian tradition of Rome, were arriving from Italy and the coasts of the Adriatic Sea across the Dinaric Mountains. Although hierarchically organized Christian communities were still absent in Pannonia at that time, already by the second half of the 3rd century there is evidence of organized ecclesiastical municipalities in that province. The earliest diocesan seas in Pannonia—Sirmium, Siscia, Osijek (Mursa) and Vinkovci (Cibalae)— are not mentioned in historical sources before the mid-3rd century, archaeological finds corroborate that there must have been Christians there even before that time. A broader image of the Early Christian communities in Pannonia during the Tetrarchy and the Emperor Constantine the Great is provided by the nine accounts of martyrdoms during the Diocletianic Persecution. The Early Christian martyr legends, in addition to the events narrating the births of saints, include also the presence of other members of Christian community. Ephemeral and only rarely direct information in the acts of martyrdom shed light on a segment of the Early Christian life in Pannonia. We thus encounter organized Christian communities in the major cities – Siscia, Savaria, Scarabantia, Sirmium and Cibalae. Sources also point to the presence of Christians outside the cities. This paper focuses on the legend of the Siscian bishop Quirinus, as it reflects the position of the Christians in two provinces of Pannonia – Pannonia Prima and Pannonia Savia. Bishop Quirinus was arrested in Siscia, brought to trial in the centre of Savaria and, following the verdict, executed in the surroundings of the city. Scarabantia was mentioned in the context of the praeses’s inspection of the province, the deposition of the relics and the evolution of the martyr’s cult.

Pannonia, Pre-Constantine time, Constantine time, Early Christian communities, Siscia, Quirinus

nije evidentirano