This book began in an attempt to think concretely about early Christians travelling around the Mediterranean. If a Christian arrived in a new city, how would they go about finding a house-church gathering? Perhaps they would have known how to locate the group in advance, but if they did not, then we can see how important a ‘label’ for the group would be. A newcomer would need to know such a label or self-designation. But what would that be? This is the topic of this book.

Much of the work for this book has been done during two periods of research leave. In the second half of 2005 I spent some time at the University of Durham, and was very grateful to Professor John Barclay for his help at that time. I also had research leave from July 2009 to February 2010, and spent most of that time in Dunedin. I am very grateful to the Very Rev. Dr Graham Redding for providing me with an office at the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership for that time. John Barclay was in Dunedin for much of that time on research leave here, and I am hugely grateful to him for his interest in this book, and for the many conversations we had as I worked on it.