How was the early Christ movement embedded in the urban fabric of Rome? This is the leading question the first volume of the Early Christian Centres series (Mohr-Siebeck) tackles with. The volume explroes the history, economy, social and religious background of the city and the development of the Christ believers movement within this urban setting. With more than 70 contributors and contributions, this handbook style reference work is a real editorial challenge. In order to homongenise the volume in terms of concepts, frameworks and terminology, all secition editors were invited for a 3-days meeting to Rome to discuss both, individual contributions and overarching issues.
These 3-days were not only work intensive, but also very rewarding: great colleagues, vivid and constructive discussions, exchange of experiences and strategic planning, and last but not least, some sun and delicious food.
It was quite a pleasure to return to the Facoltà Valdese, where I used to study a semester back in 2006. Nothing really changed, except the faculty was a lot more quiet as it used to be.