This is a condensed version of an earlier post. We have to start with Flavia’s connection to the Judean ethnic group, Princess Berenice. In the 80s, Berenice, in exile in Rome, very likely attended the pre-Papal Roman congregation. It was the best alternative to Pharisaical synagogues. (My suggestion is plausible because the Papal Roman congregation…
Category: Flavia and Clemens
Flavia Domitilla donated the use of catacombs; Mark’s play celebrated the donation
Summary I begin in Flavia Domitilla’s world. In my book, The Two Gospels of Mark: Performance and Text, I proposed that Flavia Domitilla produced a play that was privately performed for Mark’s Roman congregation. Flavia and her husband Titus Flavius Clemens were honored during the performance of the play. It was likely followed by a…
Origin of the Catacombs of Domitilla
Flavia Domitilla donated the use of her family catacombs on her suburban property. It already hosted an above-ground cemetery. (Two of her household staff were buried above-ground.*) Although Flavia Domitilla’s nuclear and extended family disappears from history after 95 CE, the Roman congregation continued to use the donated Catacombs of Domitilla for many centuries, evolving…
Flavia Domitilla’s children in Mark’s play
Summary At the time of Mark’s play c. 95 CE, Flavia was in her late twenties or early thirties. She had borne seven children, with the maximum age of 16. (We don’t know if all survived infancy). Here, I identify the roles for children in Mark’s play, propose that Flavia Domitilla’s children did play those…
Berenice was a mentor to Flavia Domitilla
In an earlier post, I identified the Judean princess Berenice as the original of Saint Veronica. In orthodox tradition, early on “Veronica” was identified with Rome. (In actuality, that meant she was identified with the congregation of proto-Christians in Rome that included Mark, Flavia Domitilla, and later the popes.) I etymologically connected “Veronica” with “Berenice.”…
The Bethsaida section, Part III: The editing
Summary In my book, The Two Gospels of Mark: Performance and Text, I discuss the Bethsaida section in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 6:45-8:26). I review the staging of each scene in Mark’s original performed play, and explain why I think some scenes in the narrative text are original and some are by an editor….
The Bethsaida section, Part II: The original sequence
Summary In Part I of this series on the Bethsaida section of the Gospel of Mark, I argued that the role of the blind man of Bethsaida was played by Titus Flavius Clemens. Mark wrote the scene ot honor Clemens. Here, I build on Part I. I discuss the second feeding miracle in the Gospel…
The Bethsaida section, Part I: The blind man of Bethsaida scene
Summary This post builds on the discussion of the blind man of Bethsaida scene in my book, The Two Gospels of Mark: Performance and Text. Here, I imagine how the scene (Mk 8:22-26) was staged. I conclude that the scene was intended for the world of the audience. I argue that Mark wrote the blind…
The origin of Saint Veronica: Berenice, Judean princess
Summary In this post I speculate that the origin of Saint Veronica was the real-life Berenice, Judean princess and mistress/fiancée to Titus Flavius Vespasianus. I suggest that in the 80s CE, after Titus’s death, Berenice participated somehow in the Roman congregation of Mark and Flavia Domitilla. I suggest that for many decades after Berenice’s death,…
Clement of Alexandria and Titus Flavius Clemens
The fact that Clement of Alexandria adopted the name “Titus Flavius Clemens” implies approval of the original Titus Flavius Clemens. So it’s no surprise that Clement allows good Christians to be wealthy. Clement cites the Gospel of Mark as primary among the synoptics. These two details are consistent with the picture I paint in The…