ABSTRACT
As Christianity has crossed frontiers and interacted with cultures, violence has been a recurrent issue. To be sure, violence in mission has many dimensions: the behaviour, violent or non-violent, of the Christian missionaries who bear the good news; the approaches that the people who convert to Christ adopt as a result of their conversions. The issue of violence in mission is never easy; it reflects the realities of the encounter between the gospel and every culture. This chapter focuses on missionary expansion of early Christianity, and examines the approaches of two great Christians of the late fourth century - Basil of Caesarea and Ambrose of Milan. Basil and Ambrose were bishops; they also were missionary theologians at a time when the church was growing rapidly. Their deep desire was to secure the conversion of the people of their areas: Cappadocia (in Asia Minor) and Northern Italy. Both Basil and Ambrose were determined to inculturate the Christian message.
