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==Pax Romana==
The concept of ''Pax Romana'' as a historical phenomenon was first presented by English historian Edward Gibbonin ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, who proposed '' proposing a period of moderation and peace under Augustus and his successors.
<blockquote>The Age of Augustus was celebrated by the poets (especially [[w:Virgil|Virgil]]) as a new era–the dawn of the age of gold. The empire was expanding in every area: law, culture, arts, humanities, military might, religious revival. The economy boomed, the temples were full–any and every new cult had opportunity to erect a temple in Rome. Reform was in the air–reform of manners–reform of religion–reform of the republic.<ref>James T. Dennison, Jr. ''[http://www.kerux.com/documents/KeruxV02N3A1.asp Pax Romana, Pax Christi: Luke 2:1-20]''. '''The Online Journal of Biblical Theology'''. April 23, 1987.</ref></blockquote>
The ''Pax Romana'' witnessed the great Romanization of the western world, including the spread of the legal system that brought law and order to the provinces, and which forms the basis of many western court systems today.<ref>[http://www.unrv.com/early-empire/pax-romana.php Pax Romana] at UNRV History</ref> The arts and architecture flourished, along with commerce and the economy. The networks of good and safe roads and sea routes was greatly improved, there were free movements of peoples and mixing of cultures, as well as tolerance of foreign cults.<ref>Seyoon Kim. ''"An Appreciation of Pax Romana."'' in: '''Christ and Caesar: The Gospel and the Roman Empire in the Writings of Paul and Luke'''. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, Sept. 15 2008. pp.179.</ref> The Roman alphabet became the basis for the western world alphabet, and aqueducts brought water from the mountains to Roman cities.<ref>[http://www.conservapedia.com/Pax_Romana Pax Romana] at Conservapedia.</ref>
<blockquote>The Romans called the ''Pax Romana'' a "Time of Happiness." It was the fulfillment of Rome's mission - the creation of a world-state that provided peace, security, ordered civilization, and the rule of law. The cities of the Roman Empire served as centers of Greco-Roman civilization, which spread to the furthest reaches of the Mediterranean. Roman citizenship, gradually granted, was finally extended to virtually all free men by an edict in A.D. 212.<ref>Marvin Perry, Margaret Jacob, James Jacob. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=T8SLtC23ZzEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society - from 1600].'' Volume 2 of Western Civilization. 9th Edition. Cengage Learning, 2008. p. xxiv.</ref></blockquote>
==Pax Romana as a Divine Will (Pax Christi)==
<blockquote>For righteousness has arisen in His days, and there is abundance of peace, which took its commencement at [[Nativity|His birth]], God preparing the nations for His teaching, that they might be under one prince, the king of the Romans, and that it might not, owing to the want of union among the nations, caused by the existence of many kingdoms, be more difficult for the apostles of Jesus to accomplish the task enjoined upon them by their Master, when He said, "''Go and teach all nations.''" Moreover it is certain that Jesus was born in the reign of Augustus, who, so to speak, fused together into one monarchy the many populations of the earth. Now the existence of many kingdoms would have been a hindrance to the spread of the doctrine of Jesus throughout the entire world; not only for the reasons mentioned, but also on account of the necessity of men everywhere engaging in war, and fighting on behalf of their native country, which was the case before the times of Augustus, and in periods still more remote,...How, then, was it possible for the Gospel doctrine of peace, which does not permit men to take vengeance even upon enemies, to prevail throughout the world, unless at the [[Nativity|advent of Jesus]] a milder spirit had been everywhere introduced into the conduct of things?<ref>[[Origen]]. ''Against Celsus''. Book 2, Ch.30. '''The Early Church Fathers (38 Vols.)''' </ref></blockquote>
It may also be noted that later on in the Roman Empire, major codifications of Roman law such as the [[w:Codex Theodosianus|Codex Theodosianus]] (AD 438), and the [[w:Corpus Juris CivilisCode of Justinian|Codex Justianianus]] (AD 529-534) saw the introduction of Christian principles formalized into law. These deeply influenced the [[Canon Law]] of the Western Church and the civil law of Medieval Europe.
===Biblical===
==Historical Criticism==
Given the above, one of the ironic trends during the ''Pax Romana'' was that Christianity was widely persecuted throughout the Roman empire. Although the spread of the ''[[w:Roman Empire|Imperium Romanum]]'' was associated with the idea of ''Pax Romana'', the ''Pax Romana'' in its turn was also associated with the compulsory recognition of the [[w:Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|Roman emperor cult]], in spite of all the religious tolerance which we know the Romans to have exercised.<ref>Jürgen Moltmann, R. A. Wilson. ''The crucified God: the cross of Christ as the foundation and criticism of Christian theology.'' Fortress Press, 1993. p.136.</ref> In spite of this however the overriding trend was the growth and mission of the Church of Christ, and its ultimate victory as the Roman Empire was eventually Christianized.
Also, despite the term the period was not without armed conflict, as Emperors frequently had to quell rebellions. Both border skirmishes and Roman wars of conquest also happened during this period. Trajan embarked on a series of campaigns against the Parthians during his reign and Marcus Aurelius spent almost the entire last decade of his rule fighting against the Germanic tribes. Nonetheless the interior of the Empire remained largely untouched by warfare. The ''Pax Romana'' was an era of relative tranquility in which Rome endured neither major civil wars, such as the [[w:Crisis of the Third Century|perpetual bloodshed of the third century AD]], nor serious invasions, or killings, such as those of the [[w:Second Punic War|Second Punic War]] three centuries prior.
==Summary==
According to the deeper understanding of the Church fathers, ''Pax Romana'' becomes almost a metaphor<ref>Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.</ref> and a vehicle for ''Pax Christi''. Metropolitan [[Makarios (Tillyrides) of Kenya]] has written that "it was the ''pax romana'' which accounted in no small degree to the amazing rapidity with which the Christian faith was disseminated in every territory under Roman rule."<ref>[[Makarios (Tillyrides) of Kenya]]. ''“Orthodoxy in Britain: Past, Present, and Future.”'' In: John Behr, [[Andrew Louth]], Dimitri Conomos (eds.). '''Abba, The Tradition of Orthodoxy in the West: Festschrift for Bishop Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia.''' Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2003. pp.135-155.</ref>
In the [[New Testament]], the [[Apostle Luke]], writing in the [[Acts of the Apostles|Book of Acts]] does not present the Roman Imperial order and its officers in as negative a light as does the [[Book of Revelation|Revelation of John]], but frequently in a positive light as well, highlighting a number of important factors:
==External Links==
'''Wikipedia'''
* [[w:Ara Pacis|Ara Pacis]]
* [[w:Christianization#Early_Christianity_.28pre-Nicaean.29|Christianization: Early Christianity (pre-Nicaean)]]
* [[w:Christianization#Late_Antiquity_.284th-6th_centuries.29|Christianization: Late Antiquity (4th-6th centuries)]] (Christianization of the Roman Empire).
* '''"Pax Romana."''' Encyclopædia Britannica. ''Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009.
* James T. Dennison, Jr. ''[http://www.kerux.com/documents/KeruxV02N3A1.asp Pax Romana, Pax Christi: Luke 2:1-20]''. '''The Online Journal of Biblical Theology'''. April 23, 1987.
* Jürgen Moltmann, R. A. Wilson. ''The crucified God: the cross of Christ as the foundation and criticism of Christian theology.'' Fortress Press, 1993. * Marvin Perry, Margaret Jacob, James Jacob. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=T8SLtC23ZzEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society - from 1600].'' Volume 2 of Western Civilization. 9th Edition. Cengage Learning, 2008. * Seyoon Kim. ''"An Appreciation of Pax Romana."'' in: '''Christ and Caesar: The Gospel and the Roman Empire in the Writings of Paul and Luke'''. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, Sept. 15 2008. pp.177-179. ISBN 978-0802860088
* [[w:Pax Romana|Pax Romana]] at Wikipedia.
* [http://www.conservapedia.com/Pax_Romana Pax Romana] at Conservapedia.
[[Category:Church History]]
[[ro:Pax Romana]]
