Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (c. 61–c. 113), nephew of the encyclopaedist Pliny the Elder, was a senator, lawyer and letter-writer. Trajan sent him to govern Bithynia and Pontus on the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor, where he died in office.
His Letter 10.96 asks Trajan how to deal with Christians brought before him. It reports that they met before dawn on a fixed day to sing a hymn ‘to Christ as to a god’ and bound themselves by oath to avoid crime. It is the earliest Roman description of Christian worship and an important witness to their numbers in the province.
Where to start
Every mention
7 writings- AD 112Pliny the Younger and Trajan, Letters 10.96–97: on the trials of ChristiansWitnesses Outside the Church6×
- AD 125Hadrian’s Rescript to Minucius Fundanus (Eusebius, Church History 4.9)Witnesses Outside the Church1×
- AD 320Eusebius, Church History, Book IIIThe Early Church3×
- 2026Guide to the research and the world before JesusThe Dossier2×
- 2026The documentary record of Jesus and the movements that interpreted himThe Dossier5×
- 2026From medieval devotion to the presentThe Dossier1×
- 2026Sources and further readingThe Dossier1×