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Roman House
The church in Rome was a mixture of Jewish and Gentile believers who probably met separately in a number of different house churches. This historical reality created certain tensions and required a response from Paul to the effect that all believers should respect their ethnic, religious and social diversity and live together in unity.1 There is currently no accurate way to determine how many house churches existed in Rome in Paul's day. Most of the evidence appears in Romans 16, which contains Paul's greetings and commendations to a number of individuals. Some of the named individuals were simply Paul's friends and coworkers, but when Paul names certain individuals and refers to "other" people in the same verse, he may have churches in mind. The possibilities include:2
- 1. the house of Prisca and Aquila;3
- 2. "those who belong to the family of Aristobulus;"4
- 3. a group belonging "to the family of Narcissus;"5
- 4. Asyncritus and other named individuals whom Paul knew personally as well as "the brothers and sisters who are with them;"6 and
- 5. Philologus, other acquaintances "and all the saints who are with them."7
1Romans 14:1-15:6 2"The Emergence of the Church - Context, Growth, Leadership and Worship" by Arthur G. Patzia. 3Romans 16:3-5 4Romans 16:10 5Romans 16:11 6Romans 16:14 7Romans 16:1 5
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