Il dossier imperiale su Gesù: il primo incontro tra l'autorità di governo romana e il Cristianesimo nascente

Since the very beginning, the Roman authorities in Judaea perceived a significant difference between Jesus and his followers and the other Jewish religious groups of the time. What was very interesting for them was the lack of any political aspect in the religious message of Jesus and of the Apostles and, moreover, the lack of any hostility towards the Romans and, on the contrary, a clear invitation to loyalty and obedience towards the imperial authorities. This is why Pilate himself opened a real dossier about Jesus and his followers when Stephanus was killed by the Jews. This dossier, sent to the emperor Tiberius, led him, in the framework of his Oriental policy, to propose to the senate to recognise Jesus as a God and his cult as a religio licita. This proposal was not approved by the Senate and created the legal basis for the persecutions at a later stage. At the moment, however, the behavious of the Roman authorities continued to be protective towards Jesus' followers. The name Christians was probably created by the Roman authorities themselves and was used for the first time in the above mentioned dossier.