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The content on this website is maintained by
Robert Myallis, pastor at Zion's Lutheran Church, of Jonestown, PA.
The photos were taken by
Emily Myallis, a diaconal minister in the ELCA who also serves at Zion's Lutheran.
This website and travel to
Greece was made possible by a grant from the
Fund for Theological Education,
which provides grants to assist the education and formation of
Christian leaders from numerous denominations.
Bible quotes are taken from the New
Revised Standard Version, unless cites otherwise.
The above photo of Greece comes from
NASA; The icon of Saint Paul comes from George Mitrevski's website. |
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Corinth
 Corinth's
geographic position made it a commerce hub in Paul's time.
People would carry cargo -- and even ships -- across the isthmus
(a thin strip of land separating two sea; near Corinth only a
few miles separated the Adriatic from the Aegean). The actual ancient city (at most 300 meters by 300
meters) is shown in a larger view right below. The city existed
in Ancient Greece, but was destroyed by the Romans around 146
and reestablished by Julius Caesar in 44 BC.
In some ways, Corinth in Paul's day is like many newer American
cities.
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Immigrants (Roman
colonists) built the city.
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It was only 100 years
old.
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No established
upper-class existed; the poor agriculture possibilities
around Corinth meant that the city was the source of power
and income.
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New people arrived all
the time hoping to make a name and money for themselves.
The entrepreneurial nature of the city shows up in numerous
inscriptions people make -- not to gods, but to their own
acts of philanthropy.
Furthermore, in that small space were temples to Aphrodite,
Poseidon, Apollo and Asklepius.
Corinth in Paul's Ministry
We have more of Paul's correspondence with Corinthians than
any other community. Many scholars believe there is
additional correspondence that has been lost. Paul worked
quite a bit in Corinth and put a great amount of energy into
the community there; apparently one of his visits he and the
Corinthian congregation had a falling out.
The problem in Corinth is that the Christian community was
plagued by divisions. This division reflects theological but
also social strata differences. To combat this Paul has to
shake things up a bit and gives us some of the most powerful
imagery and theology of the Bible. The famous hymn to love
(often read at weddings) comes from Paul's letters to the
Corinthian church:
If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels, but
have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging
cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all
mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can
move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give
all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the
flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not
boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record
of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with
the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will
cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where
there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part
and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the
imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a
child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When
I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see
but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face
to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even
as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the
greatest of these is love. (Paul's first letter to the
Corinthians, 13th chapter)
These words were not written to a people smitten with each
other, but to a people who could not get along, suing each
other in court and refusing to have communion together
because of social class.
In addition to this hymn of love, Paul uses some other
metaphors to explain what love and life in Christ is
supposed to look like. You can see where a bit of
Paul's adventures in Corinth happened; go to the
Bema to start following Paul in
Corinth.
sources:
info about corinth's history and people: Meeks, Wayne. The
Urban Environment of Pauline Christianity. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1983.
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