Corinth: The Troubled Church
- Cosmopolitan city in which Paul spent a year and a half at the end of his first trip to Greece
- Due to anger at his conversions, Paul was brought before the proconsul Gallio, a Roman whose inscriptions help to date parts of the New Testament
- The Church of Corinth, whose members are addressed in two Epistles, depict the trials of the early Church
Paul arrived at Corinth as the last stop in his first trip to Greece. Staying with Aquila and his wife Priscilla, fellow tent makers, Paul made his home in Corinth for a year and a half (Acts 18:1-3, 11). He spent many weeks in the synagogue of Corinth discussing the Scriptures with Jews and Greeks. Although he could count the head of synagogue as a new believer, Paul later was brought into court and charged under Gallio, the proconsul of Achaea. Gallio, however, had no desire to deal with the case, as Paul had done no crime (Acts 18:12-17). The Corinthians were the recipients of two Epistles from Paul, written several years later, after Paul had moved to Ephesus. It is clear from the letters that the Church at Corinth reflected the cosmopolitan nature of the city, as they struggled to express their new faith within the cultural milieu of the city.
Located at the border between Attica and the Peloponnese, the city of Corinth became a major Greek commercial power beginning in the eighth century BC due to its excellent harbors. A period of growth under the tyrant Periander in the late seventh and early sixth centuries saw the building of the Temple of Apollo, the fountain of Peirene, and the diolkos (the road which allowed ships to be taken across the Isthmus of Corinth). Although its power waned during the rule of Athens and Sparta in the Classical period, it again became more powerful during the Hellenistic period. The biggest disaster to occur to the city occurred in 146 BC, when the city was razed to the ground by the Romans. Re-founded again as a military colony in 44 BC under Julius Caesar, Corinth became the capital of the Roman province Achaea. It continued to flourish under the Roman Empire, when it had the reputation of being a city with particularly loose morals. The apostle Paul spent eighteen months in Corinth c.51-52 (Acts 18) and later would write two epistles to the Corinthians. Although it declined in power during the late Roman Empire, it continued to be inhabited during the Byzantine and Frankish periods.
Among the major structures of interest in Corinth is the Temple of Apollo, built originally in the seventh century BC (and as such, one of the earliest temples built in Greece). It was later rebuilt in the sixth century, but only seven of these original columns remain in situ. Also of interest is the Peirene fountain, which provided much of the water for many of Corinth’s inhabitants. With its reservoirs of water hidden by a fountain house and with six separate basins for drawing water, the fountain also contained an elaborate court that was remodeled in during the later Roman Empire. The Agora, a large city center measuring 200 by 100 meters, contained shops and bath houses, many of which were built in Roman times. Within the Forum, the South Stoa (dating from the fourth century BC) was perhaps the largest non-religious building within all of Greece. Parallel with the South Stoa are the Central Shops. Halfway down the length of the Central Shops is a bema, or platform, which may have been the location of Paul’s appearance before the Roman governor Gallio.
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