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CORNELIUS

(Gk. Kornḗlios)

A centurion of the Roman army stationed in Caesarea Maritima, the seat of Roman imperial rule in Palestine. Cornelius appears as the first gentile convert to Christianity (Acts 10:1-48; 11:1-18; 15:7-9, 13-18). That his conversion is told or alluded to four times in Acts suggests something of its paradigmatic significance, particularly in the latter two instances where both Peter and James invoke the memory of Cornelius at the Jerusalem Council to justify the full inclusion of the Gentiles in the Church. Portrayed as righteous and devout, Cornelius may represent that class of Gentiles known as “God-fearers,” who attached themselves to the synagogue and whom Acts presents as particularly responsive to the gospel.

After inviting Peter to his house, Cornelius, with his entire household, hears the words of salvific peace and receives the Holy Spirit in what has been described as a “Gentile Pentecost.” The participation of the household in the salvation of Cornelius results in the founding of a gentile congregation and establishes the pattern for other instances of household salvation in Acts (16:14-15, 31-34; 18:8). The table fellowship that ensues between Peter and the newly converted household occasions heated criticism from certain circumcised believers back in Jerusalem (Acts 11:3), leading Peter to recount his own experience of the “cleansing” of the Gentiles (10:15, 28) and to persuade the Church to adopt his new point of view in the process (11:18). As a result, the conversion of Cornelius inaugurates the mission to the Gentiles, who eventually eclipse Jewish Christians as the dominant members in the people of God (Acts 28:28).

Bibliography. B. R. Gaventa, From Darkness to Light: Aspects of Conversion in the New Testament. OBT 20 (Philadelphia, 1986), 96-122; D. L. Matson, Household Conversion Narratives in Acts. JSNTSup 123 (Sheffield, 1996), 86-134.

David Lertis Matson






Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)

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