An alternative theory of the history of antiquity
The Christians for Christians Inscriptions of Phrygia: - a review of data presented by Elsa Gibson
Web Publication by Mountain Man Graphics, Australia

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this article, sources and findings

After a comprehensive review of the data and information presented in Elsa Gibson's "The Christians for Christians Inscriptions of Phrygia" I have concluded that this work offers insufficient data to support the hypothesis of a pre-Constantinian date for these inscriptions.

In the following sections I have placed various summaries of the data presented in this small handbook, followed by detailed editorial comments of a number of issues relevant to the question of the unambiguity of these claims of prenicene dating. Nine issues that are directly relevant to the assessment are presented and discussed. My conclusion is based upon these 9 issues, after examining the evidence presented.

At the end of this article is a summary of the citations presented, followed by a summary of the exceptional citations, which purport to be pre-Constantinian.

The following article has attempted to summarise and present a review of the data published in Elsa Gibson's "The Christians for Christians Inscriptions of Phrygia", published in 1978 by Harvard Theological Studies. In particular, the claims made in the publication in relation to the dating of the inscriptions will be examined with a reasonable skepticism that should be commensurate with any claims made in the field of ancient history.

The work consists of an introduction, a number of essays related to the inscriptions, and a number of conclusions which are interspersed between the variously detailed 45 cited inscriptions.

Claims relating to chronology/dating

The claim(s), that at least some of the Christians for Christians inscriptions pre-dated the rise of Constantine, c.312 CE., is stated in the introduction, as follows:

Date of the "Christians for Christians" Formula

The "Christians for Christians" formula [1] is pre-Constantinian. One inscription is dated to 248/9 (#22). The presence of Aurelii [2] dates the epitaphs securely after 212. The approximate dates of #8 to #13, and #15 can be determined, as #16 is dated to 304/5 CE [3] and seems to be of the same workshop [4] as these.

Numbers 32, #36 and #42, from southern Phrygia, are dated to 296/7, 278/9, and 242/3 CE, respectively. Numbers 25 to 30, from northern Phrygia, from the appearance of the letters and indications of contemporary pronunciation probably date from the early fourth century.

The decades when the "Christians for Christians" formula was most popular must parallel closely the period of use of the Eumeneian Formula. [5] The date occurrences of the latter are all in the third quarter of the third century, between 246 and 273, but I have recently published an example which seems to date from the early fourth century.

p.4; "The Christians for Christians Inscriptions of Phrygia"
Elsa Gibson, Harvard Theological Studies XXXII
[Note: Footnotes in square brackets are editorial, and are discussed below]

The author presents the following series of five citations in support of a pre-Constantinian dating:

Summary of Data Presented

Inscription #42

Described as "nine fragments of a white marble grave altar; some of these fragments join, so that five pieces can be said to be extant. At Uckuyu, "Three Wells", in a place called Bahceler Mevkii, "Region of Gardens", about 500 meters south of the village, on the road to Bekilli; in a wall of a garden belonging to Hasan Gurden, opposite the well called Galaklar Kuyusu. Said to have been found at this spot before the second World War and to have been broken into pieces by the owner of the garden. It is dated to 242/3. There are eight plates of photographs of the fragments of this altar.

Inscription #22

Dated to 248/9; Described as "square funerary altar without reliefs, damaged on the right. At Altintas town; in Mosque." The author claims this inscription as the "sole dated "Christians for Christians", and for this reason it appears obvious that the rest of the datings with respect to these "Christians for Christians inscriptions, are questionable with respect to their dating.

However, notably, the author mentions that the very first to publish upon this specific inscription, one G. Perrot, did not see the dating. The author writes "Date is very faint", and that the Lines 1-2 (containing the date) was "not seen by Perrot." (p.56).

Inscription #36

Described as a "white marble doorstone; bottom third broken away; large crack through center of stone from top of hole to top of stone. First seen at Usak; now in Izmir archeological museum. It is dated to 278/9.

Inscription #32

Described as a white marble funerary altar with projecting moulding. All visible parts complete; bottom set in cement. Dated to 296/7; At Kizilcasogut; in a courtyard, supporting a wooden column.

Inscription #16

Described as a white marble grave stele in the shape of a naiskos, containing three large standing figures. It is dated to 304/5; located in the Kutahya museum. Its precise provenance is unknown. However it has nothing to do with "Christians", only that it is similar to many other inscriptions.

The following editorial footnotes correspond to the above claims:

[1] The "Christians for Christians" formula

The author admits that the "Christians for Christians" formula is subject to change throughout the distribution of citations presented. There are two main variants, of the original Greek, identified in the spelling of the word "christian". These two main variants are shown in the following summary tabulations in the columns labelled XPIC- and XPHC-. It is not the purpose or the scope of this article to explore this fact further. Rather it is noted that there is no single and unambiguous greek wording, but multiple. It is also admitted that in some of the inscriptions (#2), the "Christians for Christians" is identified as ungramatical.

However, a far more serious issue is emergent from a number of these inscriptions, because it is freely admitted that certain (#2 and #30) of the "Christians for Christians" phrases look to have been added by a later hand. This raises all sorts of possibilities which do not auger well for the integrity of the remaining citations, especially considering note [4] below, that most of this class of greek inscriptions

[2] The presence of "Aurelii"
Many of the inscriptions contain reference to the greek word "Aurelii". This was entirely unexpected, and required further research to determine that the word is to be regarded as a praenomen, or a first name, to be loosely translated as "citizen", or in full meaning "Roman citizen". For example "Aurelii Satorneinos" would translate loosely as "Roman citizen Satorneinos". This practice appears to have been evident from the rule of Caracalla. I have not yet been able to determine what the distribution of this praenomen is with respect to all other Greek prenicene inscriptions.

[3] Approximate dating of #8 to #13, and #15 from #16.
The author has cited many of the inscriptions to be dated to the early fourth century. In progressing through the book sequentially, the dating of the inscriptions numbered 8 through 13, and #15, are all noted to be related to the dating of inscription #16. When we reach inscription #16, however, we note that it does not contain any "Christians for Christians" formula, and in fact does not mention anything at all "christian". Although it appears to be dated to the year 304/5 CE, and addressed with the name "Aurelios Markeianos", there is nothing in it related to "christian".

[4] The "seems to be of the same workshop"
The author makes a point in a number of places that the "Christians for Christians" inscriptions appear to have been made by the same workshop, and in some instances, the same hand. That "over half of the inscriptions" may be attributed to one workshop is significant for a number of reasons.

[5] The use of the Eumeneian Formula"
The so-called "Eumeneian formula," warns that if anyone should disturb the grave, "he will reckon with (the living) God." In the past, this phrase has been seen to indicate christian identity, however there is absolutely no justification for the reference to be perceived as exclusively christian. An article entitled Connections with Elites in the World of the Early Christians qualifies this, by saying:
At Eumeneia and the surrounding Phrygian region, at least, the phrase indicates Christian identity, but not necessarily in the case of inscriptions from other regions (see Calder 1939; Robert 1960: 405-13; Johnson 1995: 41-43).

It seems clear to this reviewer that a certain license has been permitted in the hypothetical significance of specific phrases as they may relate to the hypothetical existence of christians in the prenicene epoch. However, there is absolutely no justification for such theoretical conclusions.

Additional issues raised in the work

[6] The so-called "Montanist Inscriptions"

The so-called "Montanist Inscriptions" of southern phrygia mention the word "Montanus" and have thus sometimes been associated with the (heretical) figure of Montanus, a native of Phrygia, according to the report of Eusebius of Caesarea, Historia Ecclesiae, 5.16–18, and also via Eusebius, Tertullian. The author discloses that the hypothetical association between the "Montanists" as reported by Eusebius (whether or not via Tertullian) and a certain subset of the Phrygian inscriptions bearing the reference to "Montanus" is supported by some, and disputed by others.

Ten pages are spent in exploring the basis for "academic" attribution of "Montanist" to a subset of these inscriptions. Eusebius of Caesarea is heavily quoted, since it is his research, and his alone, by whom our knowledge of the pre-Nicene "christans" was gathered up in the fourth century.

[7] Inscriptions which "seem to date from the early fourth century"
There are a large distribution of these greek inscriptions of Phrygia that have been dated by the author, and others, to the early fourth century. In fact, excluding the handful of citations which are listed below (See the section "Summary of Critical and Exceptional Citations") by default, all other citations are from the early fourth century onwards.

There are no problems with inscriptions dated from the rule of Constantine. Everyone openly acknowledges that "christianity" was embraced as a state religion in the fourth century by this Roman emperor, who then built hundreds of basilicas around the empire. The question that needs to be asked, in an historical sense, is whether in fact there were christians in the prenicene epoch.

[8] Photo Quality: very poor
Although the data content is rich, the quality of the plates is very poor, even for a 1970's standard. The book was never written to provide proper scientific citations that included high resolution photography, or indeed any other technological tests that today are more amenable. It appears to me to represent a quick sketch of the field, and to introduce a few new inscriptions for citation.

[9] Is the case of Oded Golan relevant to this review?
For many many centuries since the first christian pigrim is recorded to have travelled back to "The Holy Land", there have been "people seeking relics". (The first christian pilgrim recorded was Constantine's mother-in-law. The second was Helena, his mother, who found the one true cross, and the nails)

Summary Tabulations follow

As an addendum to this review I have summarised twice in a tabular fashion the list of citations presented in this work, where the first column represents Elsa Gibson's Plate Number and citation references. The first tabulation presents a list of all citations, the second tabulation presents a list of all citations claimed to be derived from the prenicene epoch.

Summary of Citations

The "Christians for Christians" Inscriptions of Phrygia - Elsa Gibson
				(praenomen)
PL	DATING	General Location	Type	Aurelia Name?	"C4C"?	Comments	XPIC-	XPHC-	Plate/Photo?	In Memory?
										C4C pos'n
1		Abiye; in dry fountain beside road		Yes	Yes		XPIC-			separated
2		Abiye; in a field		Yes	Yes	Ungramatical C4C, and "Added by later hand"	XPIC-			prefatory
3		Yalnizsaray; in a cemetry	Altar	Yes	Yes					still alive'
4		Cal; Bare Mountain Peak	Altar	n/a		inscription presumed				no
5		Karaagac; in fountain	Altar	n/a	Yes	Digression: name of christ	XPIC-	XPHC-		no
6			Altar	n/a				XPHC-	no	.
7		Keciller	Altar	No	Yes		XPIC-			still alive'
8	See 16	Upper Tembris Valley	Stelai	Yes	Yes		XPIC-			still alive'
9	See 16	Upper Tembris Valley	Stelai	Yes	Yes			XPHC-		no
10	See 16,35	Upper Tembris Valley	Stelai	Yes	?	"A christian" repeated		XPHC-		no
11	See 16	Mr.Ali's 'House step'; Alibey	Stelai	Yes	?	"both christians"				suffixed
12	See 16	Bursa museum	Stelai	Yes	Yes					still alive'
13	See 16	Kutahya museum	Stelai	Yes	Yes					suffixed
14		Mr.Ali's 'House step'; Alibey	Stelai	Yes	Yes					suffixed
15	See 16	Kutahya museum	Stelai	Yes	no
16	304/5	Kutahya museum	Stelai	Yes	no	More than half of the "C4C' from same workshop			YES	in mem + sa
17		Abiye, private collection	Stelai	Yes	Yes				YES	prefatory
18		Karaagac	Stelai	n/a		no photo	XPIC-
19		Eymir	Stelai	yes	yes				YES	at end
20		Altintas	Stelai	no	yes					still alive
21		Gecek (Mosque wall)	Stelai	yes	yes					still alive
22	248	Altintas town; in Mosque	Altar	yes	yes	Sole dated C4C; Date very faint; not seen by Perrot	XPIC-		NO	no
23				n/a	yes		XPIC-
24				n/a	yes	no photo
25	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Stelai	no	no	non christian			YES	concludes in mem
26	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Stelai	no	no				YES	still alive
27	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Stelai	no	yes	"the lover of the good"			YES	???
28	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Altar	no	yes				YES	(prefatory)
29	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Stelai	no	yes	Domnus; c-presbyters?			YES	still alive
30	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Stelai	no	yes	"Christians" - added by later hand			YES	prefatory +
31				yes	no				YES
32	296/7	Kizilcasogut; in a courtyard; Southern Phyrgia	Altar	yes	yes	"Christians"			YES	prefatory +
33		Ahat	Altar	no	yes	"Hedia, Christian" (brief!)			YES
34		Usak museum	Altar	no	yes	"A christian"			YES	at end
35	Early 4th		Stelai	Theodore	yes	"A christian"			YES	at end, suffixed
36	278/9	Izmir museum; Southern Phyrgia	doorstone	no	yes	"Christians, in memory"			YES	suffixed
37				yes	yes	"A christian"
38		Near Dikici; in family burial ground		yes	yes	"Christians"				no
39		Near Dinar, in a field		no	no	"may he have to reckon with god"				no
40		Dinar, in a vineyard		yes	yes	no photo - question marked c4c				no
41		Isikli		yes	yes	"a christian bishop"
42	242/3	Southern Phyrgia	Altar	yes	yes	"A christian" (fragmentary relic)			YES	still alive
43	Early 4th	Karapinar		no	yes	"Christians"				no
44				yes	yes	he who was a christian				at end
45		Karapinar		Yes	Yes	"Christians"??				still alive

LEGEND: Editorial notes to the tabulated data

PL - Plate Number, and/or Reference Number used by Elsa Gibson.
DATING - A chronological assessment has been attempted.
General Location - Geographical description.
Type - Whether a funerary inscription on an altar, stellai, stone, etc.
Aurelia Name? - This notes the presence in the inscription of the term "Aurelia".
"C4C"? - Denotes whether or not the phrase "christians for christians" appears.
Comments - Editorial comments and notations.
XPIC- and XPHC - Denotes useage of the two main variants of the C4C formula.
Plate/Photo? - Denotes whether there is a photographic plate for the citation.
In Memory? - Denotes useage of the term, or variants, in the inscription.

Summary of Critical and Exceptional Citations

In the following table I have represented separately those citations in the work which are claimed to date from before the rise of Constantine. Each of these citations will be treated in detail below:

				(praenomen)
PL	DATING	General Location	Type	Aurelia Name?	"C4C"?	Comments	In Memory?	XPIC-	XPHC-	Plate/Photo?
							C4C pos'n
42	242/3	Southern Phyrgia	Altar fragments	yes	yes	"A christian" (fragmentary relic)	still alive			YES
22	248	Altintas town; in Mosque	Altar	yes	yes	Sole dated C4C; Date very faint; not seen by Perrot	no	XPIC-		NO
36	278/9	Izmir museum; Southern Phyrgia	doorstone	no	yes	"Christians, in memory"	suffixed			YES
32	296/7	Kizilcasogut; in a courtyard; Southern Phyrgia	Altar	yes	yes	"Christians"	prefatory			YES
16	304/5	Kutahya museum	Stelai	Yes	no	More than half of the "C4C' from same workshop	in mem + sa			YES
25	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Stelai	no	no	non christian	concludes in mem			YES
26	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Stelai	no	no		still alive			YES
27	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Stelai	no	yes	"the lover of the good"	???			YES
28	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Altar	no	yes		(prefatory)			YES
29	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Stelai	no	yes	Domnus; c-presbyters?	still alive			YES
30	Early 4th	Northern Phyrgia	Stelai	no	yes	"Christians" - added by later hand	prefatory +			YES
35	Early 4th		Stelai	Theodore	yes	"A christian"	suffixed			YES
43	Early 4th	Karapinar	?	no	yes	"Christians"	no

LEGEND: Editorial notes to the tabulated data

PL - Plate Number, and/or Reference Number used by Elsa Gibson.
DATING - A chronological assessment has been attempted.
General Location - Geographical description.
Type - Whether a funerary inscription on an altar, stellai, stone, etc.
Aurelia Name? - This notes the presence in the inscription of the term "Aurelia".
"C4C"? - Denotes whether or not the phrase "christians for christians" appears.
Comments - Editorial comments and notations.
XPIC- and XPHC - Denotes useage of the two main variants of the C4C formula.
Plate/Photo? - Denotes whether there is a photographic plate for the citation.
In Memory? - Denotes useage of the term, or variants, in the inscription.

Conclusion

The work offers insufficient data to support
the hypothesis of a pre-Constantinian dating.






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