In preparation for a summer course on early Christian political theology, I have been reading the Latin panegyrics, which comprise speeches of praise delivered on behalf of Roman emperors during the third and fourth centuries. They are a fascinating read and particularly helpful for illustrating the political resonances of the gospel in late antiquity. To take one example, here are some highlights from the Panegyric of Constantius, written by an anonymous orator around AD 297:
- Constantius’s accession to the throne is described as a divine birth
- Constantius is lauded for subduing raging seas in his reconquest of Britain
- Constantius’s victories are said to spread the “light of Rome” and the “true light of empire”
- The consolidation of Roman power in Constantius brings peace to heaven and earth
- Constantius’s victories are described as bringing a rebirth to the world (new creation), especially evident in the fecundity of the land now cultivated by Constantius’s captive barbarians
The upshot of such parallels is not to reduce the distinction between early Christian conceptions of Christ’s kingship and imperial royal ideology. Rather, they help to illuminate the concrete political dimensions of narratives of the life of Christ and beliefs about his person and work, dimensions that are often overlooked by contemporary readers.
