The Roman Church

The exact details of how the church in Rome started are unclear. Rome had a large Jewish population, and some Jews from Rome were in Jerusalem during Pentecost when the church began (Acts 2:10). It is likely that some of these Jews became Christians and brought the message of Jesus to Rome. This led to the formation of a Christian community within the Roman synagogues.

It is doubtful that Peter started the Roman church or was in Rome when Paul wrote to the Roman Christians around AD 57. If Peter had been there, Paul would have mentioned him. Therefore, Paul wrote this letter to ensure the Roman church had guidance from an apostle. He did not write to the churches in Judea, which other apostles founded. Instead, he wrote to churches he founded, like those in Corinth and Galatia, or to those without direct apostolic guidance, like Colosse and Rome.

Eventually, non-Christian Jews in Rome likely forced Jewish Christians from the synagogues, as occurred in other places. By the time Paul wrote to the Roman church, they were meeting in separate house churches in private homes (Romans 16:5, 10–11, 15). There were no central buildings, and it is unclear if all believers in Rome gathered together.

When Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome around AD 49, Jewish Christians like Priscilla and Aquila also had to leave (Acts 18:2). Without the Jews, the Roman church likely became more Gentile. When the Jews returned, probably soon after Claudius died in AD 54, questions and possibly conflicts arose between Jewish and Gentile Christians. Paul may have written Romans to address these issues among the mixed group of Jews and Gentiles worshiping Christ in the same city.

As shown in Romans 16, Paul already had many friends in the Roman church. In the spring of AD 60, about two years after writing Romans, Paul had the chance to go to Rome—a wish he had often expressed (Acts 19:21; Romans 1:13–15). He stayed in Rome for two years, living in a house while being guarded by Roman soldiers and waiting for his first trial before Nero. During this time, Paul “boldly and freely… proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:30–31).

Passages for Further Study

Acts 28:15–31; Romans 1:13–15; 16:1–16