A new study of Christian amulets suggests that Roman protection practices survived major religious change, with people continuing to wear or place protective objects even as Christianity reshaped the language and symbols used on them.
The research by Leiden University historian Patricia Kret examines amulet use from about 100 B.C. to A.D. 600, focusing on how the objects worked in everyday settings. Kret’s research looks beyond inscriptions alone to consider where amulets were placed and what people expected them to protect.
In the Roman world, written charms on metal, papyrus, or parchment could be worn around the neck, while gemstones, animal materials, and protective images were also used. Other objects were positioned at homes, fields and workplaces. The practice was already centuries old before Christianity became the dominant religious framework.
Christian amulets kept Roman protection practices but changed their sacred language
Christianization did not bring an immediate break with those habits. “In a way, nothing changed,” Kret said in a 2025 discussion hosted by the Open University. She explained that the same types of objects and methods of use continued, while Christian elements were increasingly added to their texts and images.
Independent scholarship supports that pattern. Studies of late antique amulets show Christians using crosses, sacred abbreviations, biblical passages, psalms, references to Jesus, angels and saints, and language drawn from Christian prayer and liturgy.
Some objects still used older ritual formulas or names from several religious traditions, showing that the shift was gradual rather than a simple replacement of one system by another.
Church condemnations did not end everyday protective use
The practice also created tension inside early Christianity. Bishops and other church authorities repeatedly condemned amulets and incantations. Yet surviving papyri and archaeological finds show that Christians continued to use them for healing, safety, and protection of homes and property.
Evidence also suggests that some clergy took part in making them. A late fourth-century papyrus known as P.Ryl. III.471 uses a formula linked to Christian baptism in an amuletic context. Another fifth-century healing amulet from Oxyrynchus, made for a woman named Joannia, has been linked by scholars to clergy associated with a local shrine.
The continuity reaches back to clearly Roman examples. The physician Serenus Sammonicus prescribed the word “abracadabra” in a shrinking written pattern to be worn around the neck against fever.
Centuries later, Christian texts could be carried in much the same way. The symbols had changed, but the idea that a physical object could protect a body or place remained familiar.
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