Christianity, early history

The activities of the disciples and first followers of Jesus and his teachings. Jesus was Jewish, as were his disciples and his first followers, and both Jesus and his disciples occasionally used the synagogues to teach. From the time of the Jewish festival of Shavuot, which is regarded as the birthday of Christianity, the Gospel (‘good news’) about Jesus began to spread. The first Christians in Jerusalem still thought of themselves as Jews. They believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah referred to in the Old Testament, and by the prophets. They hoped that, in time, other Jews would come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah.

Spread of Christianity In the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles describes how the church community grew after the death of Jesus, from Jerusalem to Samaria and beyond. It spread to Antioch in Syria (now in Turkey) and from there went west, establishing churches through Asia Minor to Greece. Acts ends with the faith having spread to Rome. St Paul was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, the most active in spreading Christianity and became a great missionary to the Gentiles (non-Jews).

Division between Jews and Christians As Christianity grew, its teaching became increasingly unacceptable to the Jews. After AD 70, Jews and Christians had grown irretrievably apart. There were more Gentile Christians than Jewish Christians, and they did not understand the Jewish laws and traditions. The Romans and the Jews were at war and Christians refused to take part; they had fled the city of Jerusalem. In AD 70, Jerusalem fell to the Romans, and Christians were expelled from the synagogues in some places. In other places they were allowed to attend the synagogue, but not to preach. Instead of Jerusalem, Rome became the headquarters of the Christian movement.

Organization and activities In the early days, Christians were not properly organized into a church. The Romans persecuted them; in AD 64, Nero put many Christians to death. There were no church buildings, and early Christians met secretly in houses or catacombs. The persecutions continued intermittently until Constantine the Great became the first Christian emperor following his conversion in AD 313.

Letters written to Christians in the New Testament speak of those who had special duties, such as deacons, elders, and bishops, but on the whole the early Christians were more concerned with spreading the gospel about Jesus in preparation for his ‘Second Coming’ (Parousia). They believed that the world would end during their lifetime and that they had to be ready for the final judgement. Converting others to the Christian faith was seen as a matter of urgency.

Establishment of the church As time went on, it became clear that the Second Coming of Jesus was to be delayed and Christians began to organize themselves into a church. Bishops were appointed and church buildings sprang up. By AD 175, there was a list of men who had been bishops of Rome, now known by the title of pope. In the early years of the Church, no bishop was more important than any other. They each had their own responsibilities, but it was not until much later that arguments about rank and authority arose. The church survived the fall of the Roman Empire in the West in AD 476, and the power of the pope increased enormously.