Welcome to five minutes in church history hosted by Dr Stephen Nichols, where we take a little

break from the present to go exploring the past. Travel back in time as we look at the people,

events, and even the places that have shaped the story of Christianity.

This is our story, our family history. Let's get started.

Plinius Secundus, that's his Latin name. In English we can just simply call him Pliny the

Younger. We call him Pliny the Younger to distinguish him from Pliny the Elder.

Now, Pliny the Elder was not his father.

He was in fact his uncle.

Both of them were there at Vesuvius when it erupted

and that took the life of Pliny the elder but Pliny the younger survived.

He went on to be a very significant figure in early Rome.

He's counted as not only a brilliant administrator and orator, even sort of an early lawyer, if you will,

but also as a writer and as an historian.

He's one of three early Roman historians that we like to talk about and give us great insight into the Roman world in those early centuries.

That of course would be Tacitus and Suetonius and then Pliny. Pliny new Tacitus and Suetonius and then Pliny.

Pliny knew Tachitus and actually for a while he hired Suetonius and had him as one of his

members of his staff.

Towards the end of his life, Pliny was appointed governor of Bethany Back. This was an area where Paul planted churches and where the early church in the gospel took root.

Pliny is sent there by the Emperor Trajan, and he is sent there to govern that region, and when he gets

there, he discovers a significant problem and he's not sure what to do with it.

The problem is Christians.

He doesn't know how to handle them.

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