<i>Collegia</i> of Brothers? The Semantics of Brotherhood in Greco-Roman Associations and the New Testament

In recent decades, there has been a proliferation of studies assimilating Greco-Roman associations and first Christian communities. One of the analogies between these groups proposed by some scholars is the use of the vocabulary of brotherhood to denote their members. The article reviews epigraphic and papyrological sources using this language for associations and New Testament passages in which Christians are referred to as brothers. The common use of this vocabulary is not sufficient to establish an analogy, but it is necessary to consider the different connotations it takes on.