Abstract: How do concepts and practicesofChristian faith changewhen it be
comes possiblefor Christians to live openlyand interact materiallywith the cit
ies of the later Roman empire? How do Christian understandingsofpistis/fides
changethe social or spatial order of late antique cities?This paper will investi
gatehow physical spaceand movement in late antiquecities are described as
fosteringorshapingfaith, and explore the competition between Christian and
non-Christian practices of pistis/fides in some urban contexts.
1 Introduction
The languageof “faith” (πίστις, fides and their relatives inthe languages that
dominate our earlysources) is central to Christianityas tonoother ancient
cult or modern religion.¹ In the earliest surviving Christian writings, followers
of Christ are alreadyknown as οἱ πιστεύοντες or οἱ πιστοί, and πίστις language
describes almost every aspect of the relationship between God, Jesus Christ,and
Christ’s followers (Morgan 2015,chs. 6–7). By the earlysecond century πίστις
was so embedded inChristian thinking that Christianityhad become known
to its adherents simplyasἡπίστις, “the faith” (Morgan 2015, 514). Faith was
linked discursively with all the other key concepts and practices of the new
cult,includinggrace,salvation, righteousness,holiness, love, peace, obedience,
truth, new life, hope, and thanksgiving.
ፍትህ ለሁሉም / Justice for All