116-560: Apostolic Church may refer to: In the history of Christianity, the church of the Apostolic Age (1st century AD) Any apostolic see , being any episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus Armenian Apostolic Church , the Oriental Orthodox national church of Armenia Apostolic Christian Church , worldwide Christian denomination in
232-649: A Christian ritual meal distinct from the Lord's Supper. During the first three centuries of Christianity, the Liturgical ritual was rooted in the Jewish Passover , Siddur , Seder , and synagogue services, including the singing of hymns (especially the Psalms ) and reading from the scriptures . Most early Christians did not own a copy of the works (some of which were still being written) that later became
348-636: A Christian, and in 313, just two years after the close of Diocletian's persecution, issued the Edict of Milan expressing tolerance for all religions. The Edict was a pluralist policy, and throughout the Roman Empire of the fourth to sixth centuries, people shifted between a variety of religious groups in a kind of "religious marketplace". Constantine also took important steps to support and protect Christianity. He gave bishops judicial power and established equal footing for Christian clergy by granting them
464-461: A High Christology. Fragments of their beliefs in an exalted and deified Jesus, what Mack called the "Christ cult," can be found in the writings of Paul. Yet, Hurtado notes that Paul valued the linkage with "Jewish Christian circles in Roman Judea," which makes it likely that his Christology was in line with, and indebted to, their views. Hurtado further notes that "[i]t is widely accepted that
580-998: A Jewish audience in Galilee and Judea, after his death his followers extended their outreach to all of Israel, and eventually the whole Jewish diaspora, believing that the Second Coming would only happen when all Jews had received the Gospel. Apostles and preachers traveled to Jewish communities around the Mediterranean Sea , and initially attracted Jewish converts. Within 10 years of the death of Jesus, apostles had attracted enthusiasts for "the Way" from Jerusalem to Antioch , Ephesus , Corinth , Thessalonica , Cyprus , Crete , Alexandria and Rome. Over 40 churches were established by 100, most in Asia Minor , such as
696-837: A Roman Emperor is under Nero , probably in 64 AD, in the city of Rome. Scholars conjecture that the Apostles Peter and Paul were killed then. The Hellenized Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria had produced the Septuagint , a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, between the third and first centuries BC. This was the translation of the Hebrew Bible used by the apostles and early Christians. Christian writings in Koine Greek, including Gospels containing accounts of Jesus's ministry, letters of Paul, and letters attributed to other early Christian leaders, were written in
812-662: A distinct religion including predominantly Gentile adherence. Jerusalem had an early Christian community, which was led by James the Just, Peter, and John . According to Acts 11:26, Antioch was where the followers were first called Christians. Peter was later martyred in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire . The apostles went on to spread the message of the Gospel around the classical world and founded apostolic sees around
928-576: A distinction between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith , and two different accounts can be found in this regard. Academic scholars have constructed a variety of portraits and profiles for Jesus. Contemporary scholarship places Jesus firmly in the Jewish tradition, and the most prominent understanding of Jesus is as a Jewish apocalyptic prophet or eschatological teacher . Other portraits are
1044-531: A freedom otherwise denied to them. The Pauline epistles in the New Testament provide some of the earliest documentary sources of women as true missionary partners in the early Jesus movement. Female figures in early Christian art are ubiquitous. In the church rolls from the second-century, there is conclusive evidence of groups of women "exercising the office of widow". Judith Lieu affirms that influential women were attracted to Christianity. Much of
1160-573: A group part of the abovementioned denomination Apostolic Church (Czechoslovakia), a Pentecostal denomination now divided into: Apostolic Church (Czech Republic) Apostolic Church (Slovakia) Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus Apostolic Church of Johane Maranke See also [ edit ] Catholic Apostolic Church (disambiguation) Apostle (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
1276-595: A million. This provided enough adopters for its growth rate to be self-sustaining . In the first-century, it spread into Asia Minor ( Athens , Corinth , Ephesus , and Pergamum ). Egyptian Christianity probably began in the first-century in Alexandria. As it spread, Coptic Christianity , which survives into the modern era, developed. Christianity in Antioch is mentioned in Paul's epistles . Early Christianity
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#17327655217431392-403: A number of points, to considering them to provide very little historical information about his life beyond the basics. According to Bart Ehrman , the gospels are "filled with nonhistorical material, accounts of events that could not have happened", and contradictory accounts of the same events. As historical sources, the gospels have to be "weighed and assessed critically". Scholars often draw
1508-503: A pharisee who became Paul the Apostle , persecuted the early Jewish Christians, then converted . Paul was influential in the early spread of Christianity making at least three missionary journeys and writing letters of instruction and admonishment to the churches he founded. Beginning with less than 1000 people, Christianity had grown to around one hundred small household churches consisting of an average of seventy members each, by
1624-512: A proponent of an Early High Christology , the devotion to Jesus as divine originated in early Jewish Christianity, and not later or under the influence of pagan religions and Gentile converts. The Pauline letters, which are the earliest Christian writings, already show "a well-developed pattern of Christian devotion [...] already conventionalized and apparently uncontroversial." Some Christians began to worship Jesus as Lord . Ehrman and other scholars believe that Jesus' early followers expected
1740-531: A real appearance of Jesus, raised from dead. The belief in the resurrection of Jesus gave the impetus in certain Christian sects to the exaltation of Jesus to the status of divine Son and Lord of God's Kingdom and the resumption of their missionary activity. His followers expected Jesus to return within a generation and begin the Kingdom of God. Traditionally, the period from the death of Jesus until
1856-502: A resurrected and transformed physical body. According to N.T. Wright , there is substantial unanimity among the early Christian writers (first and second century) that Jesus had been bodily raised from the dead. Craig L. Blomberg argues there are sufficient arguments for the historicity of the resurrection. In secular and Liberal Christian scholarship, these appearances are argued to be descriptions of visionary post-mortem experiences of Jesus. According to this view, Jesus' death
1972-521: A savior figure or messiah . Messiah ( Hebrew : meshiach ) means "anointed" and is used in the Bible to designate Jewish kings and in some cases priests and prophets whose status was symbolized by being anointed with holy anointing oil . It can refer to people chosen by God for a specific task, such as the whole Israelite nation ( 1 Chronicles 16 :22; Psalm 105 :15) or Cyrus the Great who ended
2088-550: A set of scriptural readings adapted from synagogue practice, and use of sacred music in hymns and prayer. Other passages in the New Testament gospels reflect a similar observance of traditional Jewish piety such as baptism , fasting , reverence for the Torah , and observance of Jewish holy days . Early Christian beliefs regarding baptism probably predate the New Testament writings. It seems certain that numerous Jewish sects and certainly Jesus's disciples practised baptism. John
2204-502: A variety of hostile and discriminatory imperial laws aimed at suppressing sacrifice and magic and closing temples that continued their use. Blood sacrifice had been a central rite of virtually all religious groups in the pre-Christian Mediterranean, but it disappeared by the end of the fourth-century. This is "one of the most significant religious developments of late antiquity," writes Scott Bradbury, and "must be attributed to ...imperial and episcopal hostility". Christian emperors wanted
2320-609: A version of the Noachide laws . The New Testament 's Acts of the Apostles and Epistle to the Galatians record that an early Jewish Christian community centered on Jerusalem , and that its leaders included Peter , James, the brother of Jesus , and John the Apostle . The Jerusalem community "held a central place among all the churches," as witnessed by Paul's writings. Reportedly legitimised by Jesus' appearance , Peter
2436-492: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Apostolic Age Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus ( c. 27 –29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles ( c. 100 ) and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age . Early Christianity developed out of
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#17327655217432552-748: The Christian Bible or other church works accepted by some but not canonized, such as the writings of the Apostolic Fathers , or other works today called New Testament apocrypha . Similar to Judaism, much of the original church liturgical services functioned as a means of learning these scriptures, which initially centered around the Septuagint and the Targums . At first, Christians continued to worship alongside Jewish believers, but within twenty years of Jesus' death, Sunday (the Lord's Day )
2668-592: The Diocletianic Persecution , took place in 303–311. There was also periodic persecution of Christians by Persian Sassanian authorities, and popular opposition from Graeco-Roman society at large. Christian authors of the second and third centuries were on the defensive, and the term Hellene became equated with pagan during this period. The Edict of Serdica was issued in 311 by the Roman Emperor Galerius , officially ending
2784-590: The Early Middle Ages , Eastern and Western Christianity had already begun to diverge, while missionary activities spread Christianity across Europe. Monks and nuns played a prominent role in establishing a Christendom that influenced every aspect of medieval life. From the ninth-century into the twelfth, politicization and Christianization went hand-in-hand in developing East-Central Europe , influencing culture, language, literacy, and literature of Slavic countries and Russia . The Byzantine Empire
2900-731: The Epistle to the Hebrews , the Epistle of James , the First and Second Epistle of Peter , the First Epistle of John , and the Book of Revelation . Gnostic texts emerged in the early second century challenging the physical nature of Jesus. In 172, Montanism suggested that current prophecy could supersede the apostles, and Monarchianism emphasized the unity of God over the Trinity. In
3016-585: The First Jewish–Roman War (AD 66–73). The Jerusalem community consisted of "Hebrews," Jews speaking both Aramaic and Greek, and "Hellenists," Jews speaking only Greek, possibly diaspora Jews who had resettled in Jerusalem. According to Dunn, Paul's initial persecution of Christians probably was directed against these Greek-speaking "Hellenists" due to their anti-Temple attitude. Within the early Jewish Christian community, this also set them apart from
3132-671: The Great Commission , an event where they describe the resurrected Jesus Christ instructing his disciples to spread his eschatological message of the coming of the Kingdom of God to all the nations of the world. The most famous version of the Great Commission is in Matthew 28 ( Matthew 28:16–20 ), where on a mountain in Galilee Jesus calls on his followers to make disciples of and baptize all nations in
3248-494: The Kingdom of Heaven ), in aphorisms and parables , using similes and figures of speech . In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself is the main subject. The Synoptics present different views on the Kingdom of God. While the Kingdom is essentially described as eschatological (relating to the end of the world), becoming reality in the near future, some texts present the Kingdom as already being present, while other texts depict
3364-454: The Roman province of Judea during the first-century. It was impacted by - and impacted - the geographical, cultural and socio-economic context in which it first developed. In the Roman Empire around the ancient Mediterranean, elites (2 - 5 % of the population) controlled the means of economic production, had a virtual monopoly on literacy, and most of the political power. Life for peasants
3480-535: The Torah (Law) to guide them in their worship of God and in their interactions with each other. The law required Jews to observe the Sabbath , follow kosher food laws, and circumcise their male children. Judaism's holiest place was the Temple in Jerusalem . It was there that a hereditary priesthood offered sacrifices of incense , food , and various kinds of animals to God. Sacrifices could only be offered at
3596-504: The early centers of Christianity . The last apostle to die was John in c. 100 . Early Jewish Christians referred to themselves as "The Way" ( ἡ ὁδός ), probably coming from Isaiah 40:3 , "prepare the way of the L ORD ". Other Jews also called them "the Nazarenes ". According to Acts 11:26 , the term Christian ( Greek : Χριστιανός ), meaning "follower of Christ", was first used in reference to Jesus's disciples in
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3712-415: The eschatological ministry of Jesus . Subsequent to Jesus' death, his earliest followers formed an apocalyptic messianic Jewish sect during the late Second Temple period of the 1st century. Initially believing that Jesus' resurrection was the start of the end time, their beliefs soon changed in the expected Second Coming of Jesus and the start of God's Kingdom at a later point in time. Paul
3828-660: The fall of Constantinople in 1453. The fall of the Byzantine Empire put an end to the institutional Christian Church in the East as established under Constantine, though it survived in altered form. Various catastrophic circumstances, combined with a growing criticism of the Catholic Church in the 1300–1500s, led to the Protestant Reformation and its related reform movements . Reform, and
3944-430: The ministry of Jesus ( c. 27–30 ) Virtually all scholars of antiquity accept that Jesus was a historical figure . His crucifixion is well attested. He was a complex figure, which many see as a sage, a holy man, a prophet, a seer, or a visionary. Jesus saw his identity, mission, and that of his followers, in light of the coming kingdom of God and the prophetic tradition of Israel. His followers believed he
4060-555: The second coming of Jesus and the start of God's Kingdom . They pressed fellow Jews to prepare for these events and to follow "the way" of the Lord. They believed Yahweh to be the only true God, the god of Israel, and considered Jesus to be the messiah ( Christ ), as prophesied in the Jewish scriptures , which they held to be authoritative and sacred. They held faithfully to the Torah, including acceptance of Gentile converts based on
4176-605: The seven churches of Asia , and some in Greece in the Roman era and Roman Italy . According to Fredriksen, when early Christians broadened their missionary efforts, they also came into contact with Gentiles attracted to the Jewish religion. Eventually, the Gentiles came to be included in the missionary effort of Hellenised Jews, bringing "all nations" into the house of God. The "Hellenists," Greek-speaking diaspora Jews belonging to
4292-455: The "Hebrews" and their Tabernacle observance. The sources for the beliefs of the apostolic community include oral traditions (which included sayings attributed to Jesus, parables and teachings), the Gospels, the New Testament epistles and possibly lost texts such as the Q source and the writings of Papias . The texts contain the earliest Christian creeds expressing belief in
4408-485: The "evolutionary model" c.q. "evolutionary theories," the Christological understanding of Christ developed over time, as witnessed in the Gospels, with the earliest Christians believing that Jesus was a human who was exalted, c.q. adopted as God's Son, when he was resurrected. Later beliefs shifted the exaltation to his baptism, birth, and subsequently to the idea of his eternal existence, as witnessed in
4524-639: The Anabaptist tradition Apostolic Christian Church of America Apostolic Christian Church (Nazarene) Catholic Apostolic Church , formed in 1835, the church movement associated with Edward Irving Old Apostolic Church , Christian faith community with roots in the Catholic Apostolic Church Reformed Old Apostolic Church New Apostolic Church , formed in 1863, a chiliastic Christian church that split from
4640-609: The Apostle , a Pharisee Jew, who had persecuted the early Christians of the Roman Province of Judea , converted c. 33 –36 and began to proselytize among the Gentiles . According to Paul, Gentile converts could be allowed exemption from Jewish commandments , arguing that all are justified by their faith in Jesus . This was part of a gradual split between early Christianity and Judaism, as Christianity became
4756-540: The Babylonian captivity ( Isaiah 45:1 ). The term is most associated with King David , to whom God promised an eternal kingdom ( 2 Samuel 7:11–17 ). After the destruction of David's kingdom and lineage, this promise was reaffirmed by the prophets Isaiah , Jeremiah , and Ezekiel , who foresaw a future Davidic king who would establish and reign over an idealized kingdom. In the Second Temple period , there
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4872-517: The Baptist had baptized many people, before baptisms took place in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul likened baptism to being buried with Christ in his death. Early Christian rituals included communal meals. The Eucharist was often a part of the Lovefeast, but between the latter part of the 1st century AD and 250 AD the two became separate rituals. Thus, in modern times the Lovefeast refers to
4988-677: The Biblical accounts of Jesus. The Gospels are theological documents, which "provide information the authors regarded as necessary for the religious development of the Christian communities in which they worked." They consist of short passages, pericopes , which the Gospel-authors arranged in various ways as suited their aims. Non-Christian sources that are used to study and establish the historicity of Jesus include Jewish sources such as Josephus , and Roman sources such as Tacitus . These sources are compared to Christian sources such as
5104-599: The Black Sea, in Ethiopia , India , Nubia , South Arabia , Soqotra , Central Asia and China . By the sixth-century, there is evidence of Christian communities in Sri Lanka and Tibet . Early Christianity was inclusively open to men and women, rich and poor, slave and free ( Galatians 3:28 ). Baptism was free, and there were no fees, which made Christianity a substantially cheaper form of worship compared with
5220-755: The Catholic Counter-Reformation , were followed by the European wars of religion , the development of modern political concepts of tolerance, and the Age of Enlightenment . Christianity also influenced the New World through its connection to colonialism , its part in the American Revolution , slavery in the west, and the long-term impact of Protestant missions. In the twenty-first century, traditional Christianity has declined in
5336-814: The Catholic Apostolic Church during an 1863 schism in Hamburg, Germany United Apostolic Church , independent communities in the tradition of the catholic apostolic revival movement which started at the beginning of the 19th century in England and Scotland. The church also includes: Apostolic Church of Queensland Apostolic Church of South Africa – Apostle Unity Several Pentecostal denominations: Apostolic Faith Church Apostolic Church (1916 denomination) , formed in Wales Apostolic Church Nigeria ,
5452-447: The Gospel of John. This evolutionary model was very influential, and the "low Christology" has long been regarded as the oldest Christology. The other early Christology is "high Christology," which is "the view that Jesus was a pre-existent divine being who became a human, did the Father's will on earth, and then was taken back up into heaven whence he had originally come," and from where he appeared on earth . According to Hurtado,
5568-405: The Greek word for "messengers"). Specifically, early Christians wrote in the New Testament books that angels "heralded Jesus' birth, Resurrection, and Ascension; ministered to Him while He was on Earth; and sing the praises of God through all eternity." Early Christians also believed that protecting angels —assigned to each nation and even to each individual—would herald the Second Coming , lead
5684-428: The King of Armenia, to convert to Christianity. Driven by a universalist logic, Christianity has been, from its beginnings, a missionary faith with global aspirations. It first spread through the Jewish diaspora along the trade and travel routes followed by merchants, soldiers, and migrating tribes. It achieved critical mass in the years between 150 and 250 when it moved from fewer than 50,000 adherents to over
5800-403: The Kingdom as a place in heaven that one enters after death, or as the presence of God on earth. . Jesus talks as expecting the coming of the " Son of Man " from heaven, an apocalyptic figure who would initiate "the coming judgment and the redemption of Israel." According to Davies, the Sermon on the Mount presents Jesus as the new Moses who brings a New Law (a reference to the Law of Moses ,
5916-444: The Messianic Torah. Jesus' life was ended by his execution by crucifixion . His early followers believed that three days after his death, Jesus rose bodily from the dead. Paul's letters and the Gospels contain reports of a number of appearances after his death and burial. Conservative Christian scholars (in addition to apologists and theologians ) generally present these as being descriptions of real appearances of
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#17327655217436032-414: The New Testament, Saul of Tarsus first persecuted the early Jewish Christians , but then converted . He adopted the name Paul and started proselytizing among the Gentiles , calling himself "Apostle to the Gentiles." Paul was in contact with the early Christian community in Jerusalem , led by James the Just . According to Mack, he may have been converted to another early strand of Christianity, with
6148-405: The Nicaean council. Clement , a first-century bishop of Rome, refers to the leaders of the Corinthian church in his epistle to Corinthians as bishops and presbyters interchangeably. The New Testament writers also use the terms overseer and elders interchangeably and as synonyms. It is unlikely that Christian offices were derived from the synagogue. The Second and Third centuries included both
6264-452: The Pauline epistles and the Synoptic Gospels . These sources are usually independent of each other (e.g. Jewish sources do not draw upon Roman sources), and similarities and differences between them are used in the authentication process. Biblical scholar Graham Stanton notes that "nearly all historians, whether Christian or not, accept that Jesus existed", and more is known about him than any other 1st or 2nd-century religious teacher with
6380-446: The Roman Empire , and then throughout the Hellenistic world and even beyond the Roman Empire . Early Christian beliefs were proclaimed in kerygma (preaching), some of which are preserved in New Testament scripture. The early Gospel message spread orally , probably originally in Aramaic , but almost immediately also in Greek . The scope of the Jewish-Christian mission expanded over time. While Jesus limited his message to
6496-493: The Second Temple by Roman Emperor Titus in 70 contributed to the divergence of Judaism and Christianity as did disagreements about Jewish law, Jewish insurrections against Rome which Christians did not support, and the development of Rabbinic Judaism . What had begun as a Jewish messianic movement becomes a largely Gentile movement that is increasingly divorced from Judaism and its practices. However, Jewish Christianity remained influential in Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor into
6612-479: The Temple, but Jews in both Palestine and throughout the Diaspora established synagogues as centers of prayer and study of Judaism's sacred scriptures . Christianity "emerged as a sect of Judaism in Roman Palestine" in the Hellenistic world of the first century AD, which was dominated by Roman law and Greek culture . A major challenge for Jews during this time was how to respond to Hellenization and remain faithful to their religious traditions. During
6728-439: The West, while new forms have developed and expanded throughout the world. Today, there are more than two billion Christians worldwide and Christianity has become the world's largest , and most widespread religion. Within the last century, the centre of growth has shifted from West to East and from the North to the Global South becoming a global religion in the twenty-first century . Early Christianity begins with
6844-442: The apostles. The creed has been dated by some scholars as originating within the Jerusalem apostolic community no later than the 40s, and by some to less than a decade after Jesus' death, while others date it to about 56. Other early creeds include 1 John 4 ( 1 John 4:2 ), 2 Timothy 2 ( 2 Timothy 2:8 ) Romans 1 ( Romans 1:3–4 ) and 1 Timothy 3 ( 1 Timothy 3:16 ). Two fundamentally different Christologies developed in
6960-429: The celestial Son of Man who brings about the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment . The concept has its root in the apocalyptic literature of the 2nd century BC to 1st century BC. Christian sources, such as the four canonical gospels , the Pauline epistles , and the New Testament apocrypha , include detailed stories about Jesus, but scholars differ on the historicity of specific episodes described in
7076-425: The charismatic healer, the Cynic philosopher, the Jewish Messiah, and the prophet of social change. In the canonical gospels , the ministry of Jesus begins with his baptism in the countryside of Roman Judea and Transjordan , near the Jordan River , and ends in Jerusalem , following the Last Supper with his disciples . The Gospel of Luke ( Luke 3:23 ) states that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at
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#17327655217437192-449: The charitable distributions connected to it. Accordingly, Christian bishops began forming an alternative elite. The first Christian communities were predominantly Jewish, although some also attracted God-fearers : Gentiles who visited Jewish synagogues. The religious, social, and political climate in Judea was extremely diverse and characterized by turmoil. Judaism itself included numerous religious and political movements. One
7308-451: The city of Antioch . The earliest recorded use of the term "Christianity" (Greek: Χριστιανισμός ) was by Ignatius of Antioch , in around 100 AD. The earliest Christians were an apocalyptic sect within Second Temple Judaism . The basic tenet of Second Temple Judaism was ethical monotheism . Jews believed God had chosen them to be his people and had made a covenant with them. As part of this covenant, God gave his people
7424-410: The costly aristocratic models of patronage, temple building, and cult observances. Inclusivity extended to women who made up significant numbers of Christianity's earliest members. Traditional social expectations of women in the Roman Empire did not encourage them to engage in the same activities as men of the same social class. However, through religious activities, women were sometimes able to attain
7540-425: The dead. Christianity began as a Jewish sect and remained so for centuries in some locations, diverging gradually from Judaism over doctrinal, social and historical differences. In spite of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire , the faith spread as a grassroots movement that became established by the third-century both in and outside the empire. New Testament texts were written and church government
7656-521: The death of the last of the Twelve Apostles is called the Apostolic Age, after the missionary activities of the apostles. According to the Acts of the Apostles the Jerusalem church began at Pentecost with some 120 believers, in an "upper room," believed by some to be the Cenacle , where the apostles received the Holy Spirit and emerged from hiding following the death and resurrection of Jesus to preach and spread his message. The New Testament writings depict what orthodox Christian churches call
7772-472: The early 1st century AD, there were many competing Jewish sects in the Holy Land , including Pharisees , Sadducees , Essenes , and other groups. Each group adopted different stances toward Hellenization. In this context of foreign domination, Jewish apocalypticism became widespread. Apocalypticism is the belief that God would soon destroy the cosmic forces of evil currently ruling the world and establish an eternal kingdom. To accomplish this, God would send
7888-419: The early Church, namely a "low" or adoptionist Christology, and a "high" or "incarnation Christology." The chronology of the development of these early Christologies is a matter of debate within contemporary scholarship. The "low Christology" or "adoptionist Christology" is the belief "that God exalted Jesus to be his Son by raising him from the dead," thereby raising him to "divine status." According to
8004-562: The early Jerusalem Jesus-movement, played an important role in reaching a Gentile, Greek audience, notably at Antioch, which had a large Jewish community and significant numbers of Gentile "God-fearers." From Antioch, the mission to the Gentiles started, including Paul's, which would fundamentally change the character of the early Christian movement, eventually turning it into a new, Gentile religion. According to Dunn, within 10 years after Jesus' death, "the new messianic movement focused on Jesus began to modulate into something different ... it
8120-507: The early fifth-century, continuing in parts of the empire into the seventh-century, and into the ninth-century in Greece. Jews and Christians were both religious minorities, claiming the same inheritance, competing in a direct and sometimes violent clash. Augustine's ethic regarding the Jews rejected those who argued they should be killed or forcibly converted. Instead, he said Jews should be allowed to live in Christian societies and practice Judaism without interference because they preserved
8236-528: The empire to become a Christian empire, and they used imperial law to make it easier to be Christian and harder to be pagan. However, there was no legislation forcing the conversion of pagans until the sixth-century, during the reign of the Eastern emperor Justinian I, when there was a shift from generalized legislation to actions that targeted individual centers of paganism. Despite threatening imperial laws, occasional mob violence, and imperial confiscations of temple treasures, paganism remained widespread into
8352-571: The exception of Paul . The two events of Jesus' life subject to "almost universal assent" are that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and was crucified by the order of Pontius Pilate , the Roman prefect . Biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine summarizes the scholarly consensus on Jesus' life as follows: Most scholars agree that Jesus was baptized by John, debated with fellow Jews on how best to live according to God's will, engaged in healings and exorcisms, taught in parables, gathered male and female followers in Galilee, went to Jerusalem, and
8468-435: The expected endtime. When the Kingdom of God did not arrive, Christians' beliefs gradually changed into the expectation of an immediate reward in heaven after death, rather than to a future divine kingdom on Earth, despite the churches' continuing to use the major creeds' statements of belief in a coming resurrection day and world to come . Coming from a Jewish background, early Christians believed in angels (derived from
8584-400: The face of such diversity, the scriptures commonly used in worship provided some unity. The early church fathers rejected the making of images. This rejection, along with the necessity to hide Christian practice from persecution, left behind few early records. What is most likely the oldest Christian art emerged on sarcophagi , and in burial chambers in frescoes and statues, sometime from
8700-626: The first-century and had considerable authority even in the formative period. The letters of the Apostle Paul sent to the early Christian communities were circulating in collected form by the end of the first-century. According to Gerd Theissen , institutionalization began very early when itinerant preaching transformed into resident leadership in the first-century. Edwin Judge argues that there must have been organization long before 325 since many bishops were established enough to participate in
8816-468: The fluidity and the consolidation of Christian identity. A more formal Church structure grew, and according to Carrington, that hierarchy developed at different times in different locations. Bishops began presiding over multiple churches and rose in power and influence. The Ante-Nicene period included increasing but sporadic persecution from Roman authorities, and the rise of Christian sects , cults , and movements . The destruction of Jerusalem and
8932-552: The government's action. Augustine's authority on coercion was undisputed for over a millennium in Western Christianity, and according to Peter Brown, "it provided the theological foundation for the justification of medieval persecution". Opponents of Gnosticism used it to develop better Christian theology. Montanism was mentioned at Nicea but not condemned, however, there were repeated and ongoing writings against it after 324. Traditionally, scholars have seen
9048-566: The greatest controversy as that between Arianism and trinitarianism . Exactly what occurred has long been a matter of intense debate. Sometime around 320, Arius wrote a letter to his bishop, Alexander, distinguishing three distinct "substances" of God with the Father alone as eternal and not having a beginning. In this metaphysic, the Son is not of the same substance as the Father. Alexander responded by taking formal action against Arius and advising
9164-542: The immediate installment of the Kingdom of God, but that as time went on without this occurring, it led to a change in beliefs. In time, the belief that Jesus' resurrection signaled the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God changed into a belief that the resurrection confirmed the Messianic status of Jesus, and the belief that Jesus would return at some indeterminate time in the future, the Second Coming , heralding
9280-493: The late second to the early third-century. This art is symbolic rather than representative. Much of it is a fusion of Graeco-Roman style and Christian symbolism. Jesus as the good shepherd is the most common image of this period. In 250, the emperor Decius made it a capital offense to refuse to make sacrifices to Roman gods , resulting in widespread persecution of Christians. Valerian pursued similar policies later that decade. The last and most severe official persecution,
9396-714: The name of the Father , the Son , and the Holy Spirit . Paul's conversion on the Road to Damascus is first recorded in Acts 9 ( Acts 9:13–16 ). Peter baptized the Roman centurion Cornelius , traditionally considered the first Gentile convert to Christianity, in Acts 10 . Based on this, the Antioch church was founded. It is also believed that it was Antioch where the name Christian
9512-534: The pagan world. Late Antiquity can be seen as an era of economic struggle with periods of stagnation and periods of tremendous activity. The Christian faith grew and spread through the Empire into Western Europe and around the Mediterranean basin . Different doctrines and practices emerged as schisms and heresies due to its multiple geographic and cultural contexts. Church organization began to mirror
9628-550: The persecution of Christians in the East. With the promulgation of the Edict of Milan in 313, in which co-emperors Constantine and Licinius legalized all religions, persecution of Christians by the Roman state ceased. The Kingdom of Armenia became the first country in the world to establish Christianity as its state religion when, in an event traditionally dated to 301, Gregory the Illuminator convinced Tiridates III ,
9744-454: The powerful psychological attraction of elitism. Christian and non-Christian witnesses testify to the zealousness of Christian communities for almsgiving and charity. Christians showed the poor great generosity. Early Christianity redefined family by burying together church members not related by blood and extending funeral rites to include the Christian community. Christians had no sacrificial cult, and this set them apart from Judaism and
9860-540: The resurrected Jesus, such as 1 Corinthians 15:3–41 : [3] For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, [4] and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, [5] and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. [6] Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. [7] Then he appeared to James, then to all
9976-463: The saints into Paradise , and cast the damned into Hell ." Satan ("the adversary"), similar to descriptions in the Old Testament, appears in the New Testament "to accuse men of sin and to test their fidelity, even to the point of tempting Jesus." The Book of Acts reports that the early followers continued daily Temple attendance and traditional Jewish home prayer , Jewish liturgical ,
10092-468: The same immunities polytheistic priests had long enjoyed. By intervening in church disputes, he initiated a precedent for ecclesiastical councils. Constantine was the first emperor to order the restoration of properties to the churches. There was a burst of church building under Constantine, and Christian art and literature blossomed. By the late fourth-century, there were churches in essentially all Roman cities. Overt pagan-Christian religious conflict
10208-429: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Apostolic Church . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Apostolic_Church&oldid=1137641800 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
10324-416: The second and third centuries. By the early third-century, there existed a set of early Christian writings similar to the current New Testament . Although a general acceptance of the four gospels and the letters of Paul as authoritative is found in the second and third centuries, it is significant that church leaders assigned different degrees of authority to different writings. There were disputes over
10440-542: The start of his ministry . A chronology of Jesus typically has the date of the start of his ministry estimated at AD 27–29 and the end in the range AD 30–36. In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), Jewish eschatology stands central. After being baptized by John the Baptist , Jesus teaches extensively for a year, or maybe just a few months, about the coming Kingdom of God (or, in Matthew,
10556-475: The structure of the Roman Empire. The Theodosian Age embracing the last twenty years of the fourth century and the first twenty years of the fifth has been described as "the last renaissance of the Roman Empire". By the second half of the fifth-century, cities were in decline, streets were no longer being built, and fortifications were decaying. Constantine the Great became emperor in the West, declared himself
10672-596: The teachings of the Old Testament and were "living witnesses" of the New. According to Anna Sapir Abulafia , scholars agree that "with the marked exception of Visigothic Spain in the seventh-century, Jews in Latin Christendom lived relatively peacefully with their Christian neighbors" until they 1200s. Sometime before the fifth-century, the theology of supersessionism emerged, claiming that Christianity had displaced Judaism as God's chosen people. Supersessionism
10788-410: The third-century had already produced a decline of urbanism and prosperity. Further economic disruption in the fourth and fifth-centuries occurred when various Germanic peoples sacked Rome, and invaded Britain, Gaul, and Iberia. Such disruption made fewer public funds and private donations available to support expensive pagan festivals and temples. Under Constantine, non-Christians became subject to
10904-546: The tradition that Paul recites in 1 Corinthians 15:1-7 must go back to the Jerusalem Church." History of Christianity The history of Christianity begins with the ministry of Jesus , a Jewish teacher and healer who was crucified and died c. AD 30–33 in Jerusalem in the Roman province of Judea . Afterwards, his followers, a set of apocalyptic Jews , proclaimed him risen from
11020-592: The vociferous anti-Christian criticism of the early church was linked to "female initiative" which indicates women were playing a significant role. Monasticism was one area of antique life that gave women who practiced charismatic asceticism some control over their destinies. Ross Kraemer theorizes that the ascetic life was attractive to large numbers of women. It offered an escape from marriage and motherhood and offered an intellectual life with access to social and economic power that would otherwise have eluded them. A key characteristic of these inclusive communities
11136-553: The year 100. The earliest date for the council is 47, but most likely it was held in 49 or 50. The issue concerned Gentiles joining the movement in increasing numbers and the Judaizers who wanted them to follow Jewish law. "The faith that was Jewish in form, and universal in content, had to be adjusted to non-Jewish people". In its first three centuries, some saw Christianity as a threat which led to localized persecution by mobs and governors. The first reference to persecution by
11252-528: Was Jewish messianism with its roots in Jewish apocalyptic literature . Its prophecy and poetry promised a future anointed leader (messiah or king) from the Davidic line to resurrect the Israelite Kingdom of God and replace the foreign rulers. The nature of the earliest communities and the texts they produced indicate Jesus' first followers saw him as that promised Messiah. Saul of Tarsus,
11368-457: Was a much higher priority than paganism for Christians of this period. In North Africa during the reign of Constantine, Donatism formed as a schism. Donatists refused - sometimes violently - to accept back into the Church those who had handed over sacred texts during Diocletian's persecution. After many appeals, the empire responded with force, and in 408 in his Letter 93, Augustine defended
11484-411: Was at Antioch that we can begin to speak of the new movement as 'Christianity'." Christian groups and congregations first organized themselves loosely. In Paul 's time there were no precisely delineated territorial jurisdictions for bishops , elders , and deacons . Paul's influence on Christian thinking is said to be more significant than that of any other New Testament author . According to
11600-403: Was being regarded as the primary day of worship . With the start of their missionary activity, early Jewish Christians also started to attract proselytes , Gentiles who were fully or partly converted to Judaism . Christian missionary activity spread "the Way" and slowly created early centers of Christianity with Gentile adherents in the predominantly Greek -speaking eastern half of
11716-485: Was crucified by Roman soldiers during the governorship of Pontius Pilate (26–36 CE). But, to use the old cliché, the devil is in the details. There is widespread disagreement among scholars on the details of the life of Jesus mentioned in the gospel narratives, and on the meaning of his teachings. Concerning the accuracy of the accounts, viewpoints run the gamut from considering them inerrant descriptions of Jesus's life, to doubting whether they are historically reliable on
11832-428: Was first used. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Christianity first emerged as a sect of Judaism as practiced in the Roman province of Judea . The first Christians were all Jews , who constituted a Second Temple Jewish sect with an apocalyptic eschatology . Among other schools of thought, some Jews regarded Jesus as Lord and resurrected messiah , and the eternally existing Son of God , expecting
11948-800: Was in Gaul , North Africa, and the city of Rome. It spread (in its Arian form) in the Germanic world during the latter part of the third-century, and probably reached Roman Britain by the third-century at the latest. From the earliest days, there was a Christian presence in Edessa (modern Turkey). It developed in Adiabene in the Parthian Empire in Persia (modern Iran). It developed in Georgia by
12064-427: Was loosely organized in its first centuries, though the biblical canon did not become official until 382. Constantine the Great was the first Roman Emperor that converted to Christianity . In 313, he issued the Edict of Milan expressing tolerance for all religions. He did not make Christianity the state religion, but he did provide crucial support. Constantine called the first of seven ecumenical councils . By
12180-653: Was more prosperous than the Western Roman Empire , and Eastern Orthodoxy was influential, however, centuries of Islamic aggression and the Crusades negatively impacted Eastern Christianity. During the High Middle Ages , Eastern and Western Christianity had grown far enough apart that differences led to the East–West Schism of 1054. Temporary reunion was not achieved until the year before
12296-419: Was needed. The owner of the house was patron and host. The typical setting for worship was the communal meal which was not yet formally distinguished from the eucharistic meal. These house churches would each have been overseen by a presbyter/bishop whose primary role was economic. Any liturgical role would still have been linked to the substantial character of the eucharistic meal, the resources needed for it, and
12412-544: Was never official or universally held, but replacement theology has been part of Christian thought through much of history. Many attribute the emergence of antisemitism to this doctrine, while others make a distinction between supersessionism and modern antisemitism. There has been a paradigm shift in modern scholarship that questions the existence of heresy and orthodoxy before the Council of Nicea (325) and differentiates heresy from schism. The Church of Late Antiquity
12528-565: Was no consensus on who the messiah would be or what he would do. Most commonly, he was imagined to be an Endtimes son of David going about the business of "executing judgment, defeating the enemies of God, reigning over a restored Israel, establishing unending peace". The messiah was often referred to as "King Messiah" ( Hebrew : מלך משיח , romanized : melekh mashiach ) or malka meshiḥa in Aramaic. Yet, there were other kinds of messianic figures proposed as well—the perfect priest or
12644-402: Was not an "usurpation of power," but a consequence of Peter's involvement in missionary activities. The relatives of Jesus were generally accorded a special position within this community, which also contributed to the ascendancy of James the Just in Jerusalem. According to a tradition recorded by Eusebius and Epiphanius of Salamis , the Jerusalem church fled to Pella at the outbreak of
12760-408: Was not easy, and hunger was common. 'Religion' in this context did not exist separately from politics or the family household. The 'house church' was the earliest stage of development and organization in the new Jesus movement. Voluntary associations known as collegia served as a model. Some church members were of higher social and economic standing than others and used their means to provide what
12876-554: Was once the dominant view of Late Antiquity. Twenty-first-century scholarship indicates that, while hostile Christian actions toward pagans and their monuments did occur, violence was not a general phenomenon. As Jan N. Bremmer writes, "religious violence in Late Antiquity is mostly restricted to violent rhetoric". Support for the polytheistic religions had been declining since the second-century B.C. and continued to decline throughout Late Antiquity. The economic crisis of
12992-400: Was reinterpreted as an eschatological event, feeding exstatic experiences of Jesus, and the sense of Jesus being alive "signalled for earliest believers that the days of eschatological fulfilment were at hand." Gerd Lüdemann argues that Peter had a vision of Jesus, induced by his feelings of guilt for betraying Jesus. The vision elevated this feeling of guilt, and Peter experienced it as
13108-426: Was seen by its supporters as a universal church. Membership was based on belief, and correct belief - defined by apostolic tradition - identified variations as heresies according to their degrees of difference from the "true church". Ancient authors labeled anyone with doctrinal variations and different practices as heretical. The sheer number of laws directed at heresy in the fourth and fifth centuries indicate it
13224-661: Was the Son of God, the Christ , a title in Greek for the Hebrew term mashiach (Messiah) meaning “the anointed one", who had been raised from the dead and exalted by God . As Frances Young has written, "The incarnation is what turns Jesus into the foundation of Christianity". The Christian church established these as its founding doctrines, with baptism and the celebration of the Eucharist meal (Jesus' Last Supper) as its two primary rituals. Christianity initially emerged in
13340-592: Was the first leader of the Jerusalem ekklēsia . Peter was soon eclipsed in this leadership by James the Just, "the Brother of the Lord," which may explain why the early texts contain scant information about Peter. According to Lüdemann, in the discussions about the strictness of adherence to the Jewish Law, the more conservative faction of James the Just gained the upper hand over the more liberal position of Peter, who soon lost influence. According to Dunn, this
13456-403: Was their unique type of exclusivity. Believing was the crucial and defining characteristic of membership. Correct belief identified and separated believers from the "unbeliever" creating a high social boundary. Such exclusivity formed an important part of Christianity's success by enabling independence in a society that syncretized religion. In Daniel Praet's view, exclusivity gave Christianity
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