O regresso às origens do cristianismo no alvor do protestantismo português: a problemática da identidade romana na imagética protestante oitocentista

The present article aims to discuss the reception of the theme of Ancient Rome in the 19th century Portuguese Protestan- tism. This study is structured in three points: the first one aims at developing a theoretical synthesis on the origins of Reformed Chris- tianity in general and of Portuguese Protestantism in particular; the second one focuses on the analysis of Benjamin Scott’s work – The contents and teachings of the Catacombs at Rome – an essential source for the study of the reception of Roman identity in the 19th century, both for the influence it had in the period when it was first publi- shed and through the subsequent editions and translations, namely in Portuguese; and a final and third point on the place of Ancient Rome in Portuguese Protestant imagetics, through a survey of the evangelical periodical press. We will examine the way in which, in the context of Portuguese Protestantism, the dialogue with classical antiquity was carried out in a broad context: the permanent search for reform through the return to a “pure and primitive Christianity”; the use of basic cultural references from the Classical Civilization and the marked differentiation between “true Christianity” and Roman paganism.