"They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition."
-A letter from Pliny the Younger, Governor of Pontus/Bythinia from 111-113 to Emperor Trajan. From Letters 10.96,97
This letter is very interesting for several reasons. First of all, it is written by a government official who, although uninformed about Christianity, was called to persecute Christians and force them to worship the emperor and denounce Christ publicly. You can read the whole letter at http://www.hadrians.com/rome/romans/sources/pliny_letters.html. Next, it gives a description of the practices of these Christians when they gathered. This is from early second century, so it represents a time about 70 years or so from the time much of the New Testament was written, and only 20-30 years after the death of the apostle John.
From this description, we can see that the gatherings were very simple. The singing was responsive--part of the congregation would sing (it would sound more like a chant to our Western ears), and the others would sing back (i.e. "speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs"). The reference to "ordinary food" probably refers to the "love feast," the meal which surrounded the Lord's Supper (That's what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 11). The reference to "two deaconesses," who identified themselves as such is also of interest to our class discussion. What I find most interesting, though, is the impression that the purpose of their gatherings was to keep each other accountable to live righteously in the world--a world that apparently had no tolerance for them. In that sense, they were counter-cultural. They stood out, not because of their political agenda or wealth or power, but because they had none of those things and yet managed to turn the world upside down. Seems unlikely, doesn't it?
