Paul’s Ekklesia as a Civic Assembly: Understanding the People of God in their Politico-Social World. By Young-Ho Park.

Abstract

Park completed his dissertation at the University of Chicago under the supervision of Hans-Josef Klauck in 2012. This volume represents a revision of that dissertation. The book’s main premiss is that early Christians’ choice of self-designators reflects something accessible about their identity. Park’s primary concern is with Paul’s usage of the title ἐκκλησία for his groups. The first chapter is particularly strong. In addition to highlighting the most salient evidence of civic ἐκκλησίαι functioning autonomously in the Roman East during the imperial period, Park makes many important observations. For example, in opposition to the idea that the term ἐκκλησία would have been understood as inconsequential during Paul’s time, he observes that the continuation of the institution into the period of Roman rule was tied to the classical Greek ideal that to be free was to participate in the polis. On this point, he proposes that ‘[t]he most fundamental way of being a part of ruling is participating in the ἐκκλησία’ (p. 15). A few points are made here that could illuminate aspects of Paul’s groups. Namely, Park highlights the specifically ‘trans-local’ function of the Athenian ἐκκλησία, and he also discusses the role of the ἰδιῶται (cf. 1 Cor. 14:16–25) in civic contexts.