The Praetorian Guard and Saint Paul

[Theodosius the Great]

Avete,

Acts 27:1 describes Paul being handed over to a (Praetorian?) centurion named Julius : "And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius."

I thought it was interesting that Paul was transfered to the custody of the Praetorians rather than the Urban Cohorts since the former were 'merely' the emperor's body guards. But then I figured this was done because Paul was to make his appeal directly to Nero. In other words, since Paul was considered a political prisoner, was it decided to turn him over to the Praetorians ?

How would the rendition process work ? Would the procurator of Judea (Porcius Festus) have contacted the Praetorian Prefect directly ? Or were there legal intermediaries (e.g., Praetors) taking care of the rendition process ?

Phillipians 4:22 may be alluding to such intermediaries when Paul concludes his letter saying, "All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household." Meaning the emperor's civil servants, maybe ?

Also, where would Paul have been imprisoned in Rome ? Did the Praetorians have their own cells inside their barracks ? Church tradition says, IIRC, that he may have been kept at the Mamertine Prison .


~Theo

[D B Campbell]

Acts 27:1 describes Paul being handed over to a (Praetorian?) centurion named Julius : "And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius."

My (occasionally faulty) memory suggests that this was a centurion of a speira Sebastê (Greek for cohors Augusta) stationed in Judaea. Nothing to do with Praetorians.

At Rome, he was handed over to a stratopedarchês, which is usually the Greek rendering of "praefectus castrorum". So the writer of Acts ("Luke") perhaps means the princeps peregrinorum, who seems to have been in charge of the castra peregrinorum at Rome. Again, no need for Praetorians to be involved.

But that's just from memory ...

[M. CVRIVS ALEXANDER]

M. P. Speidel, “The Roman Army in Judaea under the Procurators: The Italian and the Augustan Cohort in the Acts of the Apostles,â€

[Theodosius the Great]

My (occasionally faulty) memory suggests that this was a centurion of a speira Sebastê (Greek for cohors Augusta) stationed in Judaea. Nothing to do with Praetorians.

At Rome, he was handed over to a stratopedarchês, which is usually the Greek rendering of "praefectus castrorum". So the writer of Acts ("Luke") perhaps means the princeps peregrinorum, who seems to have been in charge of the castra peregrinorum at Rome. Again, no need for Praetorians to be involved.

But that's just from memory ...

Both explanations are plausible enough. I thought it strange that a Praetorian centurion would be sent from Rome to pick up Paul (though it isn't impossible.)

But I'm not so sure that the Praetorians were not involved in Paul's incarceration. Paul says in Phillipians 1:13 : "so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ". It sounds like there was some kind of contact with the guard. Or is there another meaning for "praetorium" ? Here are various english translations of the passage.

M. CVRIVS ALEXANDER\\n[quote]M. P. Speidel, “The Roman Army in Judaea under the Procurators: The Italian and the Augustan Cohort in the Acts of the Apostles,â€

[Timotheus]

Do we have any idea on when this was written relative to when it "happened"?

Praetorian may have been used just because it would be a rank and title that almost any reader would recognize.

Also if the section is intended to put the Romans in a poor light then having him taken by one of the Emperors own bodyguards would certainly emphasize this.

[M. Demetrius]

It was reportedly recorded not long after, some say around 63AD, with the very end verses added during the last years of Paul's life. 2 Corinthians is said to have been written (by Paul) in 60, Titus in 67, 2 Timothy in 68, the year Nero died. (Jerusalem was sacked in 70)

But I think Paul was not held for long in any prison, if at all, since Acts 28:30 says (in King James) "And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him..." More likely, he was under house arrest until his hearing before Nero, and executed (by beheading, traditional history says) as part of Nero's final persecution of Christians.

Then came the year of 4 emperors, and the rest is history.

[M. CVRIVS ALEXANDER]

But I'm not so sure that the Praetorians were not involved in Paul's incarceration. Paul says in Phillipians 1:13 : "so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ". It sounds like there was some kind of contact with the guard. Or is there another meaning for "praetorium" ?

Phil. 1:13 uses the Greek word that stands for "praetorium." The word came to designate the governor's residence, so in Mat. 27:27; Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33; 19:9. Obviously, in the gospel passages the praetorium is situated in Jerusalem, so it refers to the residence of the praefectus and not to the Praetorian Guard in Rome. Also, according to Acts 23:35, while in Caesarea, Paul was imprisoned in the "praetorium of Herod." So, Phil. 1:13 could refer to that very instance. Note that while in Caesarea, Paul preached to two Roman governors, to a Jewish king, and to others present, which would accommodate the language of Phil. 1:13 - "...became known to the entire praetorium and everyone else". The passage could also refer to any other imprisonment of Paul at governor's quarters, as well as to his imprisonment in Rome, in which case it could indeed refer to the Praetorian Guard.

[Theodosius the Great]

Thanks, everyone, for your input.

Greek writings translated by modern scholars seem
to get embellished with ficticious details very often.
(Just look at the link I posted above with the various
translations.)

I'm not sure that's the case with Paul's confinement in Rome.
The literary evidence seems tantalizingly ambiguous at least.
I would guess there's a 50/50 chance the Praetorians had a
hand in Paul's internment and execution (assuming he died in
Rome.)

Valete,
~Theo

[iacobus]

It was reportedly recorded not long after, some say around 63AD, with the very end verses added during the last years of Paul's life. 2 Corinthians is said to have been written (by Paul) in 60, Titus in 67, 2 Timothy in 68, the year Nero died. (Jerusalem was sacked in 70)

But I think Paul was not held for long in any prison, if at all, since Acts 28:30 says (in King James) "And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him..." More likely, he was under house arrest until his hearing before Nero, and executed (by beheading, traditional history says) as part of Nero's final persecution of Christians.

Then came the year of 4 emperors, and the rest is history.

There is Acts 29, a little known piece of work. It was not included in the Bible because it was determined to be of little or no use theology or spiritual wise. In it, Paul was released from his "house arrest." He traveled to Spain and elsewhere, to later be taken back to Rome where he was imprisoned and then executed. There is other evidence that backs this up in the "Early Church Fathers" volumes.