Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 8
Kyle contrasts Pax Romana coercion with Pax Christi formed through “innumerable reenactments…of the Eucharist” and “communion with the sufferings of Christ”; what early-Christian assumptions about church unity, power, and worship are embedded in that claim, and how might our churches have absorbed more “Rome” than we realize?
Another way to ask: Kyle contrasts Rome’s peace by force with Christ’s peace formed through the Eucharist and sharing in Jesus’ suffering. What does that assume about church unity, power, and worship, and in what ways might our churches act more like Rome than we think?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Kyle’s contrast assumes the church’s unity and identity are formed not by coercion or imposed conformity but by repeated, embodied practices—especially Eucharist and willing communion with Christ’s sufferings. It implies churches may absorb “Rome” when they rely on pressure, control, or power to produce unity rather than christlike self-offering.
- Kyle describes Rome as “absolute in its demands… [using] coercive force” to enforce “commitment to the Roman imperial cult and… ideals.”
- He says Pax Romana “could press members of society into certain social forms by demonstrating its power.”
- In contrast, Pax Christi’s “corporate identity… is achieved through… ritual and… embodied reenactments of the Eucharist.”
- He links this to “the practice of communion with the sufferings of Christ.”
- For Ignatius, church order and unity flow from “union with Christ and the practice of the Eucharist,” along with “hospitality.”