{"id":206729,"date":"2025-01-30T00:01:45","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T05:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?p=206729"},"modified":"2025-01-30T00:02:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T05:02:22","slug":"pliny-the-younger-describes-the-early-christians-as-vegetarian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?p=206729","title":{"rendered":"Pliny the Younger describes the Early Christians as Vegetarian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his letter to Emperor Trajan (Epistle 10.96), Pliny mentions that Christians would &#8220;assemble again to partake of food\u2014but ordinary and innocent food.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pliny the Younger is describing the practices of early Christians. He notes that they customarily met before dawn to sing hymns to Christ and bound themselves by oath to abstain from crimes such as fraud, theft, and adultery. After these gatherings, they would &#8220;reassemble to partake of food\u2014but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many scholars interpret Pliny&#8217;s description of the Christians&#8217; meals as potentially vegetarian. In&nbsp;<strong>Pliny the Younger&#8217;s Letter 10.96<\/strong>, he writes to Emperor Trajan describing the Christians, stating that they would &#8220;reassemble to partake of food\u2014but food of an ordinary and innocent kind&#8221; (<em>cibum&#8230; promiscuum tamen et innoxium<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Pliny does not explicitly state the type of food consumed, the phrase \u201cinnocent kind\u201d has led some scholars to speculate that it might refer to vegetarian meals. This interpretation arises from the possibility that early Christian communities, influenced by Jewish dietary laws or ascetic traditions, may have avoided meat due to ethical, ritualistic, or symbolic reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, this view is debated. Other scholars argue that &#8220;ordinary and innocent&#8221; likely refers to simple, unadulterated food and not necessarily vegetarianism. Pliny&#8217;s goal in describing the Christians&#8217; practices was to refute rumors of their alleged immoral feasts, such as cannibalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some scholars suggest that the term &#8220;innocent&#8221; (<em>innoxium<\/em>) could imply a vegetarian diet, reflecting a commitment to non-violence and purity. This perspective is informed by the fact that certain religious groups in antiquity, such as the Pythagoreans, practiced vegetarianism for ethical reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pliny the Younger&#8217;s observation of early Christians abstaining from animal sacrifices and consuming a simple, &#8220;ordinary and innocent&#8221; meal aligns with historical evidence that the earliest followers of Jesus, including the Ebionites and Nazoreans, practiced vegetarianism. These groups not only rejected animal sacrifices but also upheld a vegetarian <em>Love Feast<\/em> or <em>Agape Meal<\/em>, reflecting their commitment to compassion, purity, and the original teachings of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"474\" height=\"474\" data-attachment-id=\"206728\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?attachment_id=206728\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2246.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1024,1024\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"img_2246\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2246.jpg?fit=474%2C474&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2246.jpg?resize=474%2C474\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-206728\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2246.jpg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2246.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2246.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2246.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2246.jpg?w=948 948w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Early Christian Vegetarian Agape Love Feast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thanks for visiting my blog! To learn more about this Esoteric Wisdom and Gnosis, and to connect deeper with a circle of like-minded and inspired Wisdom Seekers, like you\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Click here &amp; listen to our&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2Audio\">Daily Mastermind Call<\/a>&nbsp;(recorded live Mon-Fri) &amp; also I invite you to work directly with me. I\u2019m here to help! Send me a message to discuss your interests and questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>~Sakshi Zion<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In his letter to Emperor Trajan (Epistle 10.96), Pliny mentions that Christians would &#8220;assemble again to partake of food\u2014but ordinary and innocent food.&#8221; Pliny the Younger is describing the practices of early Christians. He notes that they customarily met before dawn to sing hymns to Christ and bound themselves by oath to abstain from crimes &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?p=206729\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Pliny the Younger describes the Early Christians as Vegetarian<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1727,1924,1776,1162,1790,1240,20,21,651,2002,29],"tags":[2929,2954,1047,1049,2096,1501,652,210,1205,1893,211,1215,1672,282,283,2955,1515,1474,2958,559,2957,2956],"class_list":["post-206729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animal-rights","category-animals","category-art","category-christ","category-gnostic","category-history","category-mystical","category-natural-healing","category-spiritual","category-stories","category-vegetarian-2","tag-agape","tag-agape-meal","tag-christ","tag-christ-consciousness","tag-early-christianity","tag-ebionites","tag-gnosis","tag-gnostic","tag-gnostic-christ","tag-gnostic-church","tag-gnostic-gospels","tag-gnostic-jesus","tag-gnostics","tag-jesus","tag-jesus-christ","tag-love-feast","tag-nazarenes","tag-nazoreans","tag-pliny-the-younger","tag-vegetarian","tag-vegetarian-agape-meal","tag-vegetarian-love-feast"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pliny the Younger describes the Early Christians as Vegetarian - Sakshi Zion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?p=206729\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pliny the Younger describes the Early Christians as Vegetarian - Sakshi Zion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In his letter to Emperor Trajan (Epistle 10.96), Pliny mentions that Christians would &#8220;assemble again to partake of food\u2014but ordinary and innocent food.&#8221; Pliny the Younger is describing the practices of early Christians. He notes that they customarily met before dawn to sing hymns to Christ and bound themselves by oath to abstain from crimes &hellip; Continue reading Pliny the Younger describes the Early Christians as Vegetarian &rarr;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?p=206729\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sakshi Zion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-30T05:01:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-30T05:02:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2246.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"sakshizion\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"sakshizion\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sakshizion.com\\\/?p=206729#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sakshizion.com\\\/?p=206729\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"sakshizion\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sakshizion.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc2c1aa9dcb605a2f6af1b99522e143c\"},\"headline\":\"Pliny the Younger describes the Early Christians as Vegetarian\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-30T05:01:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-30T05:02:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sakshizion.com\\\/?p=206729\"},\"wordCount\":417,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sakshizion.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc2c1aa9dcb605a2f6af1b99522e143c\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sakshizion.com\\\/?p=206729#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/sakshizion.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/img_2246.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"agape\",\"agape meal\",\"Christ\",\"Christ consciousness\",\"early christianity\",\"ebionites\",\"gnosis\",\"gnostic\",\"gnostic Christ\",\"gnostic church\",\"gnostic gospels\",\"gnostic Jesus\",\"Gnostics\",\"Jesus\",\"Jesus Christ\",\"love feast\",\"Nazarenes\",\"Nazoreans\",\"Pliny the Younger\",\"vegetarian\",\"vegetarian agape meal\",\"vegetarian love feast\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Animal Rights\",\"Animals\",\"Art\",\"Christ\",\"Gnostic\",\"History\",\"Mystical\",\"Natural Healing\",\"Spiritual\",\"Stories\",\"Vegetarian\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sakshizion.com\\\/?p=206729#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sakshizion.com\\\/?p=206729\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sakshizion.com\\\/?p=206729\",\"name\":\"Pliny the Younger describes the Early Christians as Vegetarian - 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These sects emphasized the idea of Christ as a spiritual teacher who imparted secret\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?cat=1776"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2036.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2036.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2036.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2036.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":206700,"url":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?p=206700","url_meta":{"origin":206729,"position":1},"title":"The Gnostic Rejection of Violence and Sacrifice","author":"sakshizion","date":"December 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Jesus \/ Yeshua the Nazorean Gnosticism, as a broader movement, typically emphasizes asceticism, the rejection of materialism, and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. The material world, including acts of violence such as killing animals, is often seen as the creation of the\u00a0demiurge\u00a0(a lesser, corrupt deity). Many Gnostics sought to transcend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Animal Rights&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Animal Rights","link":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?cat=1727"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_1653-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_1653-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_1653-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_1653-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_1653-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":206710,"url":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?p=206710","url_meta":{"origin":206729,"position":2},"title":"The Case for Jesus and Early Christian Vegetarianism","author":"sakshizion","date":"December 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear friends, today I invite you to reflect on evidence that has been largely overlooked but deserves our serious consideration: the possibility that Jesus and the earliest Christians lived a vegetarian lifestyle. This is not just an idea born out of modern concerns but a perspective deeply rooted in ancient\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Animal Rights&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Animal Rights","link":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?cat=1727"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_1737.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_1737.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_1737.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img_1737.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":206719,"url":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?p=206719","url_meta":{"origin":206729,"position":3},"title":"The Holy Family of the Ebionites","author":"sakshizion","date":"January 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ebionites, an early Jewish-Christian sect, revered Jesus not as a divine being but as a prophet chosen by God to guide humanity. For them, the Holy Family was an embodiment of humility and piety, a testament to God\u2019s ability to work through the ordinary. Mary, in their view, was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?cat=1776"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_1800-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_1800-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_1800-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_1800-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":206741,"url":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?p=206741","url_meta":{"origin":206729,"position":4},"title":"Nazorean Baptism","author":"sakshizion","date":"February 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"John baptizing Jesus (Ethiopian depiction) John the Baptist (Yahya Yuhana) baptizing Yeshua the Nazorean Christ (Yeshua Ha Mashiah \/ Yishu Mshiha \/ Jesus Christ) In Mandaean and early Nazorean Gnostic traditions, baptism is a central ritual symbolizing spiritual purification, enlightenment, and the soul\u2019s connection to the divine world. Unlike the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?cat=1776"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_2145-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_2145-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_2145-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_2145-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_2145-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_2145-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":206509,"url":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?p=206509","url_meta":{"origin":206729,"position":5},"title":"James the brother of Jesus","author":"sakshizion","date":"April 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"After the crucifixion of Jesus, James, who is traditionally identified as the brother of Jesus, became a prominent leader in the early Christian movement in Jerusalem. James continued to participate in the Jewish Temple and observed Jewish laws and customs. He is described in the New Testament and other early\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/?cat=1725"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sakshizion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_7835-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=206729"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206730,"href":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206729\/revisions\/206730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=206729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=206729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sakshizion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=206729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}