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122-605: The Apostolic sees claim to have been founded by one or more of the apostles of Jesus , who are said to have dispersed from Jerusalem sometime after the crucifixion of Jesus , c. 26–33, perhaps following the Great Commission . Early Christians gathered in small private homes, known as house churches , but a city's whole Christian community would also be called a " church "—the Greek noun ἐκκλησία ( ekklesia ) literally means "assembly", "gathering", or "congregation" but

244-617: A communion meal. Initially, Christians kept the Jewish custom of fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. Later, the Christian fast days shifted to Wednesdays and Fridays (see Friday fast ) in remembrance of Judas' betrayal and the crucifixion. James was killed on the order of the high priest in AD 62. He was succeeded as leader of the Jerusalem church by Simeon , another relative of Jesus. During

366-623: A stress accent system , and the monophthongization of several diphthongs: The Koine-period Greek in the table is taken from a reconstruction by Benjamin Kantor of New Testament Judeo-Palestinian Koine Greek. The realizations of most phonemes reflect general changes around the Greek-speaking world, including vowel isochrony and monophthongization, but certain sound values differ from other Koine varieties such as Attic, Egyptian and Anatolian. More general Koine phonological developments include

488-699: A city in Galilee . He was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist . Jesus began his own ministry when he was around 30 years old around the time of the Baptist's arrest and execution . Jesus' message centered on the coming of the Kingdom of God (in Jewish eschatology a future when God actively rules over the world in justice, mercy, and peace). Jesus urged his followers to repent in preparation for

610-612: A future king from the House of David who would establish and reign over an idealized kingdom. In the Second Temple period, there was no consensus on who the messiah would be or what he would do. Most commonly, he was imagined to be an end times son of David going about the business of "executing judgment, defeating the enemies of God, reigning over a restored Israel, [and] establishing unending peace". Yet, there were other kinds of messianic figures proposed as well—the perfect priest or

732-686: A key locus of trade that made it the third-most important city of the Roman Empire. In the Book of Acts , it is said that it was at Antioch where followers of Jesus were first called Christians; it was also the location of the Incident at Antioch , described in the Epistle to the Galatians . It was the site of an early church traditionally said to be founded by Peter; later traditions also attributed

854-450: A more open pronunciation than other Koine dialects, distinguished as open-mid /ɛ/ vs. close-mid /e/ , rather than as true-mid /e̞/ vs. close-mid /e̝/ as has been suggested for other varieties such as Egyptian. This is evidenced on the basis of Hebrew transcriptions of ε with pataḥ/qamets /a/ and not tsere/segol /e/ . Additionally, it is posited that α perhaps had a back vowel pronunciation as /ɑ/ , dragged backwards due to

976-507: A ruin near modern Corinth in southern Greece, was an early center of Christianity. According to the Acts of Apostles , Paul stayed eighteen months in Corinth to preach. He initially stayed with Aquila and Priscilla , and was later joined by Silas and Timothy . After he left Corinth, Apollo was sent from Ephesus by Priscilla to replace him. Paul returned to Corinth at least once. He wrote

1098-460: A very important source of information on the ancient Koine is the modern Greek language with all its dialects and its own Koine form, which have preserved some of the ancient language's oral linguistic details which the written tradition has lost. For example, Pontic and Cappadocian Greek preserved the ancient pronunciation of η as ε ( νύφε, συνέλικος, τίμεσον, πεγάδι for standard Modern Greek νύφη, συνήλικος, τίμησον, πηγάδι etc.), while

1220-706: Is Attic. In other words, Koine Greek can be regarded as Attic with the admixture of elements especially from Ionic, but also from other dialects. The degree of importance of the non-Attic linguistic elements on Koine can vary depending on the region of the Hellenistic world. In that respect, the varieties of Koine spoken in the Ionian colonies of Anatolia (e.g. Pontus , cf. Pontic Greek ) would have more intense Ionic characteristics than others and those of Laconia and Cyprus would preserve some Doric and Arcadocypriot characteristics, respectively. The literary Koine of

1342-520: Is a term used for present tense verbs that are used in some narrative sections of the New Testament to describe events that are in the past with respect to the speaker. This is seen more in works attributed to Mark and John than Luke . It is used 151 times in the Gospel of Mark in passages where a reader might expect a past tense verb. Scholars have presented various explanations for this; in

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1464-462: Is known for an apology addressed to Emperor Hadrian during his visit to Athens, contributing to early Christian literature. Aristeides and Athenagoras also wrote apologies during this time. By the second century, Athens likely had a significant Christian community, as Hygeinos , bishop of Rome, write a letter to the community in Athens in the year 139. Gortyn on Crete was allied with Rome and

1586-466: Is more recent and, being different, is erroneous. Jurisdictional authority of particular episcopal sees over others is not necessarily associated with the apostolic origin of the see. Thus, the fourth canon of the First Council of Nicaea of 325 attributed to the bishop of the capital (metropolis) of each Roman province (the " metropolitan bishop ") a position of authority among the bishops of

1708-402: Is on this account only that they will be able to deem themselves apostolic, as being the offspring of apostolic churches". Tertullian himself and the slightly earlier Irenaeus (c. 130 – c. 200) speak of the succession of bishops of sees founded directly by the apostles as sources for sure Christian doctrine. Irenaeus argues that, to know what is true Christian doctrine, it is enough to learn

1830-773: Is sometimes used for the Greek written by the Greek Church Fathers , the Early Christian theologians in late antiquity. Christian writers in the earliest time tended to use a simple register of Koiné, relatively close to the spoken language of their time, following the model of the Bible. After the 4th century, when Christianity became the state church of the Roman Empire , more learned registers of Koiné also came to be used. Koine period Greek differs from Classical Greek in many ways: grammar , word formation , vocabulary and phonology (sound system). During

1952-593: Is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. Damascus is the capital of Syria and claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. According to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul was converted on the Road to Damascus . In the three accounts ( Acts 9:1–20 , 22:1–22 , 26:1–24 ), he is described as being led by those he was traveling with, blinded by

2074-631: Is translated as " church " in most English translations of the New Testament . Many early Christians were merchants and others who had practical reasons for traveling to Asia Minor , Arabia , the Balkans , the Middle East , North Africa , and other regions. Over 40 such communities were established by the year 100, many in Anatolia , also known as Asia Minor, such as the Seven churches of Asia . By

2196-493: Is used in the Old Testament to designate Jewish kings and in some cases priests and prophets whose status was symbolized by being anointed with holy anointing oil . 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

2318-782: The cross of Christ , after removing a Temple to Venus (attributed to Hadrian) that had been built over the site. Jerusalem had received special recognition in Canon VII of the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. The traditional founding date for the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre (which guards the Christian Holy places in the Holy Land) is 313, which corresponds with the date of the Edict of Milan promulgated by

2440-547: The 12 tribes of Israel (10 of which were "lost" by this time) to symbolize the full restoration of Israel that would be accomplished through him. The gospel accounts provide insight into what early Christians believed about Jesus. As the Christ or "Anointed One" (Greek: Christos ), Jesus is identified as the fulfillment of messianic prophecies in the Hebrew scriptures. Through the accounts of his miraculous virgin birth ,

2562-726: The Byzantine Empire , which lasted till 1453. The First seven Ecumenical Councils were held either in Western Anatolia or across the Bosphorus in Constantinople. Caesarea , on the seacoast just northwest of Jerusalem, at first Caesarea Maritima , then after 133 Caesarea Palaestina , was built by Herod the Great , c. 25–13 BC, and was the capital of Iudaea Province (6–132) and later Palaestina Prima . It

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2684-863: The Council of Serdica . Cyrene and the surrounding region of Cyrenaica or the North African " Pentapolis ", south of the Mediterranean from Greece, the northeastern part of modern Libya , was a Greek colony in North Africa later converted to a Roman province. In addition to Greeks and Romans, there was also a significant Jewish population , at least up to the Kitos War (115–117). According to Mark 15:21 , Simon of Cyrene carried Jesus' cross. Cyrenians are also mentioned in Acts 2:10 , 6:9 , 11:20 , 13:1 . According to Byzantine legend,

2806-671: The Crisis of the Third Century , Nicomedia became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire in 286. The Synod of Ancyra was held in 314. In 325 the emperor Constantine convoked the first Christian ecumenical council in Nicaea and in 330 moved the capital of the reunified empire to Byzantium (also an early Christian center and just across the Bosphorus from Anatolia , later called Constantinople ), referred to as

2928-659: The Danube River . The spread of Christianity among the Thracians and the emergence of centers of Christianity like Serdica (present day Sofia ), Philippopolis (present day Plovdiv ) and Durostorum (present day Silistra ) was likely to have begun with these early Apostolic missions . The first Christian monastery in Europe was founded in Thrace in 344 by Saint Athanasius near modern-day Chirpan , Bulgaria , following

3050-756: The First Epistle of Clement written to the Corinthian church, dated around 96. The bishops in Corinth include Apollo, Sosthenes , and Dionysius . Athens , the capital and largest city in Greece, was visited by Paul. He probably traveled by sea, arriving at Piraeus , the harbor of Athens, coming from Berœa of Macedonia around the year 53. According to Acts 17 , when he arrived at Athens, he immediately sent for Silas and Timotheos who had stayed behind in Berœa. While waiting for them, Paul explored Athens and visited

3172-550: The First Epistle to the Corinthians from Ephesus approximately in 54-55 which focused on sexual immorality, divorces, lawsuits, and resurrections. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians from Macedonia was written around 56 as a fourth letter discussing his proposed plans for the future, instructions, unity, and his defense of apostolic authority. The earliest evidence of the primacy of the Roman Church can be seen in

3294-727: The First Jewish-Roman War (AD   66–73), Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed after a brutal siege in AD   70. Prophecies of the Second Temple's destruction are found in the synoptic gospels , specifically in the Olivet Discourse . According to a tradition recorded by Eusebius and Epiphanius of Salamis , the Jerusalem church fled to Pella at the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt . The church had returned to Jerusalem by AD 135, but

3416-565: The Great Fire of AD 64. It is possible that Peter and Paul were in Rome and were martyred at this time. Nero was deposed in AD 68, and the persecution of Christians ceased. Under the emperors Vespasian ( r.  69–79 ) and Titus ( r.  79–81 ), Christians were largely ignored by the Roman government. The Emperor Domitian ( r.  81–96 ) authorized a new persecution against

3538-665: The Hebrew Bible called the Septuagint . The Septuagint was the translation of the Old Testament used by early Christians. Diaspora Jews continued to make pilgrimage to the Temple , but they started forming local religious institutions called synagogues as early as the 3rd century BC. The Maccabean Revolt caused Judaism to divide into competing sects with different theological and political goals, each adopting different stances towards Hellenization. The main sects were

3660-602: The Hebrew Bible ), the Christian New Testament , and of most early Christian theological writing by the Church Fathers . In this context, Koine Greek is also known as "Biblical", "New Testament", "ecclesiastical", or "patristic" Greek. The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote his private thoughts in Koine Greek in a work that is now known as Meditations . Koine Greek continues to be used as

3782-583: The Hellenistic period when the Ancient Near East underwent Hellenization (the spread of Greek culture ). Judaism was thereafter both culturally and politically part of the Hellenistic world; however, Hellenistic Judaism was stronger among diaspora Jews than among those living in the land of Israel. Diaspora Jews spoke Koine Greek , and the Jews of Alexandria produced a Greek translation of

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3904-779: The New Testament . By a long-standing usage, evidenced already in 431, when the Council of Ephesus , the third ecumenical council , employed the phrase "our most holy and blessed pope Cœlestine , bishop of the Apostolic See", the expression, " the Apostolic See ", is used in the singular and capitalized to mean specifically the Holy See and represent the Pope as head of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church and successor of Saint Peter . In Catholic canon law ,

4026-575: The Pauline epistles , letters written to various Christian congregations by Paul the Apostle in the 50s AD. The four canonical gospels of Matthew ( c.  AD 80  – c.  AD 90 ), Mark ( c.  AD 70 ), Luke ( c.  AD 80  – c.  AD 90 ), and John (written at the end of the 1st century) are ancient biographies of Jesus' life. Jesus grew up in Nazareth ,

4148-533: The Persian Empire permitted Jews to return to their homeland of Judea , there was no longer a native Jewish monarchy. Instead, political power devolved to the high priest , who served as an intermediary between the Jewish people and the empire. This arrangement continued after the region was conquered by Alexander the Great (356–323 BC). After Alexander's death, the region was ruled by Ptolemaic Egypt ( c.  301  – c.  200 BC ) and then

4270-630: The Persians in 614 or the Saracens around 637. The first major church historian, Eusebius of Caesarea , was a bishop, c. 314–339. F. J. A. Hort and Adolf von Harnack have argued that the Nicene Creed originated in Caesarea. The Caesarean text-type is recognized by many textual scholars as one of the earliest New Testament types. Paphos was the capital of the island of Cyprus during

4392-513: The Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire . It evolved from the spread of Greek following the conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC, and served as the lingua franca of much of the Mediterranean region and the Middle East during the following centuries. It was based mainly on Attic and related Ionic speech forms, with various admixtures brought about through dialect levelling with other varieties. Koine Greek included styles ranging from conservative literary forms to

4514-454: The Roman Empire . The central tenets of Second Temple Judaism revolved around monotheism and the belief that Jews were a chosen people . As part of their covenant with God , Jews were obligated to obey the Torah . In return, they were given the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem , where God dwelled in the Temple. Apocalyptic and wisdom literature had a major influence on Second Temple Judaism. Alexander's conquests initiated

4636-406: The Sadducees , Pharisees , and Essenes . The Sadducees were mainly Jerusalem aristocrats intent on maintaining control over Jewish politics and religion. Sadducee religion was focused on the Temple and its rituals. The Pharisees emphasized personal piety and interpreted the Torah in ways that provided religious guidance for daily life. Unlike Sadducees, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of

4758-418: The Seleucid Empire ( c.  200  – c.  142 BC ). The anti-Jewish policies of Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( r.  175 – 164 BC ) sparked the Maccabean Revolt in 167   BC, which culminated in the establishment of an independent Judea under the Hasmoneans , who ruled as kings and high priests. This independence would last until 63   BC when Judea became a client state of

4880-420: The Synoptic Gospels , specifically in Jesus's Olivet Discourse . Romans had a negative perception of early Christians. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Christians were despised for their "abominations" and "hatred of humankind". The belief that Christians hated humankind could refer to their refusal to participate in social activities connected to pagan worship—these included most social activities such as

5002-547: The Thessalonians and to Philippi , which is often considered the first contact of Christianity with Europe. The Apostolic Father Polycarp wrote a letter to the Philippians , c. 125. Nicopolis was a city in the Roman province of Epirus Vetus , today a ruin on the northern part of the western Greek coast. In the Epistle to Titus , Paul said he intended to go there. It is possible that there were some Christians in its population. According to Eusebius , Origen (c. 185–254) stayed there for some time Ancient Corinth , today

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5124-485: The Tsakonian language preserved the long α instead of η ( ἁμέρα, ἀστραπά, λίμνα, χοά etc.) and the other local characteristics of Doric Greek . Dialects from the southern part of the Greek-speaking regions ( Dodecanese , Cyprus , etc.), preserve the pronunciation of the double similar consonants ( ἄλ-λος, Ἑλ-λάδα, θάλασ-σα ), while others pronounce in many words υ as ου or preserve ancient double forms ( κρόμμυον – κρεμ-μυον, ράξ – ρώξ etc.). Linguistic phenomena like

5246-415: The early Christian communities in Asia Minor , was the inclusion of Gentiles into God's New Covenant , sending the message that faith in Christ is sufficient for salvation . ( See also : Supersessionism , New Covenant , Antinomianism , Hellenistic Judaism , and Paul the Apostle and Judaism ). The Council of Jerusalem did not end the dispute, however. There are indications that James still believed

5368-427: The metropolitan see with the bishop of Jerusalem as one of its "suffragans" (subordinates). Origen (d. 254) compiled his Hexapla there and it held a famous library and theological school , St. Pamphilus (d. 309) was a noted scholar-priest. St. Gregory the Wonder-Worker (d. 270), St. Basil the Great (d. 379), and St. Jerome (d. 420) visited and studied at the library which was later destroyed, probably by

5490-591: The papyri , for being two kinds of texts which have authentic content and can be studied directly. Other significant sources are the Septuagint , the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible , and the Greek New Testament . The teaching of these texts was aimed at the most common people, and for that reason, they use the most popular language of the era. Other sources can be based on random findings such as inscriptions on vases written by popular painters, mistakes made by Atticists due to their imperfect knowledge of Attic Greek or even some surviving Greco-Latin glossaries of

5612-536: The theater , the army, sports, and classical literature . They also refused to worship the Roman emperor , like Jews. Nonetheless, Romans were more lenient to Jews compared to Gentile Christians. Some anti-Christian Romans further distinguished between Jews and Christians by claiming that Christianity was "apostasy" from Judaism. Celsus , for example, considered Jewish Christians to be hypocrites for claiming that they embraced their Jewish heritage. Emperor Nero persecuted Christians in Rome, whom he blamed for starting

5734-460: The Apostle Paul was from Tarsus (in south-central Anatolia) and his missionary journeys were primarily in Anatolia. The First Epistle of Peter ( 1:1–2 ) is addressed to Anatolian regions. On the southeast shore of the Black Sea , Pontus was a Greek colony mentioned three times in the New Testament. Inhabitants of Pontus were some of the first converts to Christianity. Pliny, governor in 110 , in his letters, addressed Christians in Pontus. Of

5856-447: The Bishop of Aelia should be honoured, let him, saving its due dignity to the Metropolis, have the next place of honour." The metropolis in question is generally taken to be Caesarea Maritima , though in the late 19th century Philip Schaff also mentioned other views. The see of Constantinople was elevated to a position of jurisdictional prominence not on the grounds of apostolic origin but because of its political importance as

5978-486: The Christians. It was at this time that the Book of Revelation was written by John of Patmos . In the 2nd century, Roman Emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as a Pagan city and renamed it Aelia Capitolina , erecting statues of Jupiter and himself on the site of the former Jewish Temple, the Temple Mount . In the years AD 132–136, Bar Kokhba led an unsuccessful revolt as a Jewish Messiah claimant , but Christians refused to acknowledge him as such. When Bar Kokhba

6100-458: The Common Greek dialect had been unclear since ancient times. During the Hellenistic period , most scholars thought of Koine as the result of the mixture of the four main Ancient Greek dialects, " ἡ ἐκ τῶν τεττάρων συνεστῶσα " (the composition of the Four). This view was supported in the early twentieth century by Paul Kretschmer in his book Die Entstehung der Koine (1901), while Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff and Antoine Meillet , based on

6222-509: The Heaven which he had now entered, to love and save from destruction all who acknowledged him as Lord. For his followers, Jesus' death inaugurated a New Covenant between God and his people. The apostle Paul, in his epistles, taught that Jesus makes salvation possible. Through faith , believers experience union with Jesus and both share in his suffering and the hope of his resurrection. While they do not provide new information, non-Christian sources do confirm certain information found in

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6344-453: The Hellenistic age resembles Attic in such a degree that it is often mentioned as Common Attic . The first scholars who studied Koine, both in Alexandrian and Early Modern times, were classicists whose prototype had been the literary Attic Greek of the Classical period and frowned upon any other variety of Ancient Greek . Koine Greek was therefore considered a decayed form of Greek which was not worthy of attention. The reconsideration on

6466-408: The Johannine works traditionally and plausibly occurred in Ephesus , c. 90–110, although some scholars argue for an origin in Syria . This includes the Book of Revelation , although modern Bible scholars believe that it to be authored by a different John, John of Patmos (a Greek island about 30 miles off the Anatolian coast), that mentions Seven churches of Asia . According to the New Testament,

6588-440: The New Testament , W.F. Howard argues that the heavy use of the historical present in Herodotus and Thucydides , compared with the relatively infrequent usage by Polybius and Xenophon was evidence that heavy use of this verb tense is a feature of vernacular Koine, but other scholars have argued that the historical present can be a literary form to "denote semantic shifts to more prominent material." The term patristic Greek

6710-422: The Roman Emperor Constantine the Great , which legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire. Jerusalem was later named as one of the Pentarchy , but this was never accepted by the Church of Rome . ( See also : East–West Schism#Prospects for reconciliation ). Antioch (modern Antakya , Turkey) was the capital of the Roman province of Syria and a center of Greek culture in the Eastern Mediterranean , as well as

6832-449: The Roman period, e.g.: Καλήμερον, ἦλθες; Bono die, venisti? Good day, you came? Ἐὰν θέλεις, ἐλθὲ μεθ' ἡμῶν. Si vis, veni mecum . If you want, come with us. Ποῦ; Ubi? Where? Πρὸς φίλον ἡμέτερον Λύκιον. Ad amicum nostrum Lucium. To our friend Lucius. Τί γὰρ ἔχει; Quid enim habet? Indeed, what does he have? What is it with him? Ἀρρωστεῖ. Aegrotat. He's sick. Finally,

6954-439: The Roman years and seat of a Roman commander. In 45 AD, the apostles Paul and Barnabas , who according to Acts 4:36 was "a native of Cyprus", came to Cyprus and reached Paphos preaching the message of Jesus, see also Acts 13:4–13 . According to Acts, the apostles were persecuted by the Romans but eventually succeeded in convincing the Roman commander Sergius Paulus to renounce his old religion in favour of Christianity. Barnabas

7076-402: The See of Rome. Koine Greek Koine Greek ( ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος , hē koinḕ diálektos , lit.   ' the common dialect ' ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek , common Attic , the Alexandrian dialect , Biblical Greek , Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek , was the common supra-regional form of Greek spoken and written during the Hellenistic period ,

7198-503: The Torah (such as food laws , male circumcision , and Sabbath observance) gave rise to various answers. Some Christians demanded full observance of the Torah and required Gentile converts to become Jews. Others, such as Paul, believed that the Torah was no longer binding because of Jesus' death and resurrection. In the middle were Christians who believed Gentiles should follow some of the Torah but not all of it. In c.  48–50 AD , Barnabas and Paul went to Jerusalem to meet with

7320-400: The Torah was binding on Jewish Christians. Galatians 2:11-14 describe "people from James" causing Peter and other Jewish Christians in Antioch to break table fellowship with Gentiles. ( See also : Incident at Antioch ). Joel Marcus, professor of Christian origins, suggests that Peter's position may have lain somewhere between James and Paul, but that he probably leaned more toward James. This is

7442-509: The above imply that those characteristics survived within Koine, which in turn had countless variations in the Greek-speaking world. Biblical Koine refers to the varieties of Koine Greek used in Bible translations into Greek and related texts. Its main sources are: There has been some debate to what degree Biblical Greek represents the mainstream of contemporary spoken Koine and to what extent it contains specifically Semitic substratum features. These could have been induced either through

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7564-440: The beginning of the First Jewish–Roman War in AD 66. Jerusalem's bishops became suffragans (subordinates) of the Metropolitan bishop in nearby Caesarea , Interest in Jerusalem resumed with the pilgrimage of the Roman Empress Helena to the Holy Land ( c.  326–328 AD ). According to the church historian Socrates of Constantinople , Helena (with the assistance of Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem ) claimed to have found

7686-422: The capital of the Roman Empire . The First Council of Constantinople (381), held in what by then had been the political capital for half a century, decreed in a canon of disputed validity: "The Bishop of Constantinople, however, shall have the prerogative of honour after the Bishop of Rome; because Constantinople is New Rome." It was later ranked second among the sees in the theory of Pentarchy : "[F]ormulated in

7808-400: The celestial Son of Man who brings about the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment . Christianity centers on the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth , who lived c.  4 BC  – c.  AD 33 . Jesus left no writings of his own, and most information about him comes from early Christian writings that now form part of the New Testament . The earliest of these are

7930-541: The cities of Asia Minor . By the early 50s, he had moved on to Europe where he stopped in Philippi and then traveled to Thessalonica in Roman Macedonia . He then moved into mainland Greece, spending time in Athens and Corinth . While in Corinth, Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans , indicating that there were already Christian groups in Rome . Some of these groups had been started by Paul's missionary associates Priscilla and Aquila and Epainetus . Social and professional networks played an important part in spreading

8052-403: The connection between Acts 15 and the seven Noahide laws. In roughly the same time period, rabbinic Jewish legal authorities made their circumcision requirement for Jewish boys even stricter. The primary issue which was addressed related to the requirement of circumcision , as the author of Acts relates, but other important matters arose as well, as the Apostolic Decree indicates. The dispute

8174-401: The day-to-day vernacular . Others chose to refer to Koine as "the dialect of Alexandria " or "Alexandrian dialect" ( ἡ Ἀλεξανδρέων διάλεκτος ), or even the universal dialect of its time. Modern classicists have often used the former sense. Koine Greek arose as a common dialect within the armies of Alexander the Great . Under the leadership of Macedon , their newly formed common variety

8296-539: The dead and an afterlife. The Essenes rejected Temple worship, which they believed was defiled by wicked priests. They were part of a broader apocalyptic movement in Judaism, which believed the end times were at hand when God would restore Israel. Roman rule exacerbated these religious tensions and led the radical Zealots to separate from the Pharisees. The territories of Roman Judea and Galilee were frequently troubled by insurrection and messianic claimants . Messiah ( Hebrew : meshiach ) means "anointed" and

8418-415: The disruptions severely weakened the Jerusalem church's influence over the wider Christian church . Jerusalem was the first center of the Christian Church according to the Book of Acts . The apostles lived and taught there for some time after Pentecost . James the Just, brother of Jesus was leader of the early Christian community in Jerusalem, and his other kinsmen likely held leadership positions in

8540-583: The earliest New Testament types. It had a significant Jewish population , of which Philo of Alexandria is probably its most known author. It produced superior scripture and notable church fathers, such as Clement, Origen, and Athanasius; also noteworthy were the nearby Desert Fathers . By the end of the era, Alexandria, Rome, and Antioch were accorded authority over nearby metropolitans . The Council of Nicaea in canon VI affirmed Alexandria's traditional authority over Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis (North Africa) (the Diocese of Egypt ) and probably granted Alexandria

8662-420: The early 20th century some scholars argued that the use of the historical present tense in Mark was due to the influence of Aramaic , but this theory fell out of favor in the 1960s. Another group of scholars believed the historical present tense was used to heighten the dramatic effect, and this interpretation was favored in the New American Bible translation. In Volume II of the 1929 edition of A Grammar of

8784-620: The end of the first century , Christianity had already spread to Rome , Ethiopia , Alexandria , Armenia , Greece , and Syria , serving as foundations for the expansive spread of Christianity , eventually throughout the world. Christianity originated as a minor sect within Second Temple Judaism , a form of Judaism named after the Second Temple built c.  516 BC after the Babylonian captivity . While

8906-587: The extant letters of Ignatius of Antioch considered authentic , five of seven are to Anatolian cities, the sixth is to Polycarp . Smyrna was home to Polycarp, the bishop who reportedly knew the Apostle John personally, and probably also to his student Irenaeus . Papias of Hierapolis is also believed to have been a student of John the Apostle. In the 2nd century, Anatolia was home to Quartodecimanism , Montanism , Marcion of Sinope , and Melito of Sardis who recorded an early Christian Biblical canon . After

9028-544: The first bishop was Lucius , mentioned in Acts 13:1. Apostolic see An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism , the phrase "The Apostolic See" when capitalized refers specifically to the See of Rome . Tertullian (c. 155 − c. 240) gives examples of apostolic sees: he describes as churches "in which

9150-449: The gospels present Jesus as the Son of God . The gospels describe the miracles of Jesus which served to authenticate his message and reveal a foretaste of the coming kingdom. The gospel accounts conclude with a description of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus , ultimately leading to his Ascension into Heaven . Jesus' victory over death became the central belief of Christianity. In

9272-579: The gospels. The Jewish historian Josephus referenced Jesus in his Antiquities of the Jews written c.  AD 95 . The paragraph, known as the Testimonium Flavianum , provides a brief summary of Jesus' life, but the original text has been altered by Christian interpolation . The first Roman author to reference Jesus is Tacitus ( c.  AD 56 – c.  120 ), who wrote that Christians "took their name from Christus who

9394-407: The historical and linguistic importance of Koine Greek began only in the early 19th century, where renowned scholars conducted a series of studies on the evolution of Koine throughout the entire Hellenistic period and Roman Empire . The sources used on the studies of Koine have been numerous and of unequal reliability. The most significant ones are the inscriptions of the post-Classical periods and

9516-509: The initial stage in the fortition of the second element in the αυ/ευ diphthongs) and the loss of vowel-timing distinctions are carried through. On the other hand, Kantor argues for certain vowel qualities differing from the rest of the Koine in the Judean dialect. Although it is impossible to know the exact realizations of vowels, it is tentatively argued that the mid-vowels ε / αι and η had

9638-477: The intense Ionic elements of the Koine – σσ instead of ττ and ρσ instead of ρρ ( θάλασσα – θάλαττα , 'sea'; ἀρσενικός – ἀρρενικός , 'potent, virile') – considered Koine to be a simplified form of Ionic . The view accepted by most scholars today was given by the Greek linguist Georgios Hatzidakis , who showed that despite the "composition of the Four", the "stable nucleus" of Koine Greek

9760-570: The kingdom's coming. His ethical teachings included loving one's enemies ( Matthew 5:44 ; Luke 6:28–35 ), giving alms and fasting in secret ( Matthew 6:4 –18), not serving both God and Mammon ( Matthew 6:24 ; Luke 16 :13), and not judging others ( Matthew 7:1 –2; Luke 6:37–38). These teachings are highlighted in the Sermon on the Mount and the Lord's Prayer . Jesus chose 12 Disciples who represented

9882-497: The language. The passage into the next period, known as Medieval Greek , is sometimes dated from the foundation of Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 330 AD, but often only from the end of late antiquity . The post-Classical period of Greek thus refers to the creation and evolution of Koine Greek throughout the entire Hellenistic and Roman eras of history until the start of the Middle Ages. The linguistic roots of

10004-510: The leader of the Jerusalem church. Clement of Alexandria ( c.  150–215 AD ) called him Bishop of Jerusalem . Peter, John and James were collectively recognized as the three pillars of the church ( Galatians 2:9 ). At this early date, Christianity was still a Jewish sect. Christians in Jerusalem kept the Jewish Sabbath and continued to worship at the Temple. In commemoration of Jesus' resurrection, they gathered on Sunday for

10126-472: The legislation of the emperor Justinian I (527–565), especially in his Novella 131, the theory received formal ecclesiastical sanction at the Council in Trullo (692), which ranked the five sees as Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem." For another pentarchic see, that of Alexandria , the reputed founder and close associate of the apostle Peter, Saint Mark , is not called an apostle in

10248-516: The light, to Damascus where his sight was restored by a disciple called Ananias (who is thought to have been the first bishop of Damascus) then he was baptized . Thessalonica , the major northern Greek city where it is believed Christianity was founded by Paul , thus an Apostolic See , and the surrounding regions of Macedonia , Thrace , and Epirus , which also extend into the neighboring Balkan states of Albania and Bulgaria , were early centers of Christianity. Of note are Paul's Epistles to

10370-697: The liturgical language of services in the Greek Orthodox Church and in some Greek Catholic churches . The English-language name Koine is derived from the Koine Greek term ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος ( hē koinḕ diálektos ), meaning "the common dialect". The Greek word κοινή ( koinḗ ) itself means "common". The word is pronounced / k ɔɪ ˈ n eɪ / , / ˈ k ɔɪ n eɪ / , or / k iː ˈ n iː / in US English and / ˈ k ɔɪ n iː / in UK English. The pronunciation of

10492-648: The main of the Greek language. S. J. Thackeray, in A Grammar of the Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint (1909), wrote that only the five books of the Pentateuch , parts of the Book of Joshua and the Book of Isaiah may be considered "good Koine". One issue debated by scholars is whether and how much the translation of the Pentateuch influenced the rest of the Septuagint, including

10614-399: The most ancient Churches with which the apostles held constant intercourse, and learn from them what is certain and clear in regard to the present question?" Tertullian's arguing is similar: From the apostles the churches they founded received the doctrine that the apostles received directly from Christ, and from those churches the more recent churches received the same doctrine. Every heresy

10736-624: The most important cities in the empire. Early Christians referred to themselves as brethren, disciples or saints , but it was in Antioch, according to Acts 11 :26, that they were first called Christians (Greek: Christianoi ). According to the New Testament, Paul the apostle established Christian communities throughout the Mediterranean world. He is known to have also spent some time in Arabia. After preaching in Syria, he turned his attention to

10858-426: The notion of meeting and gathering of men, without any particular character. Therefore, etymologizing this word could be needless, or even misleading, when it could guide to false meanings, for example that ἐκκλησία is a name used for the people of God, Israel. The authors of the New Testament follow the Septuagint translations for over half their quotations from the Old Testament. The " historical present " tense

10980-457: The opening of ε . Influence of the Aramaic substrate could have also caused confusion between α and ο , providing further evidence for the back vowel realization. The following texts show differences from Attic Greek in all aspects – grammar, morphology, vocabulary and can be inferred to show differences in phonology. The following comments illustrate the phonological development within

11102-399: The period generally designated as Koine Greek, a great deal of phonological change occurred. At the start of the period, the pronunciation was virtually identical to Ancient Greek phonology , whereas in the end, it had much more in common with Modern Greek phonology . The three most significant changes were the loss of vowel length distinction, the replacement of the pitch accent system by

11224-534: The period of Koine. The phonetic transcriptions are tentative and are intended to illustrate two different stages in the reconstructed development, an early conservative variety still relatively close to Classical Attic, and a somewhat later, more progressive variety approaching Modern Greek in some respects. The following excerpt, from a decree of the Roman Senate to the town of Thisbae in Boeotia in 170 BC,

11346-444: The poor, sick, and widows. Women actively contributed to the Christian faith as disciples, missionaries, and more due to the large acceptance early Christianity offered. Historian Keith Hopkins estimated that by AD 100 there were around 7,000 Christians (about 0.01 percent of the Roman Empire's population of 60 million). Separate Christian groups maintained contact with each other through letters, visits from itinerant preachers , and

11468-505: The practice of translating closely from Biblical Hebrew or Aramaic originals, or through the influence of the regional non-standard Greek spoken by originally Aramaic-speaking Hellenized Jews . Some of the features discussed in this context are the Septuagint's normative absence of the particles μέν and δέ , and the use of ἐγένετο to denote "it came to pass". Some features of Biblical Greek which are thought to have originally been non-standard elements eventually found their way into

11590-524: The principal authority of the early Christian church. Clement of Alexandria ( c.  150–215 AD ) called him Bishop of Jerusalem . A 2nd-century church historian, Hegesippus , wrote that the Sanhedrin martyred him in 62 AD. In 66 AD, the Jews revolted against Rome . After a brutal siege, Jerusalem fell in 70 AD . The city, including the Jewish Temple, was destroyed and the population

11712-542: The province, without reference to the founding figure of that bishop's see. Its sixth canon the same council recognized the wider authority, extending beyond a single imperial province, traditionally held by Rome and Alexandria , and the prerogatives of the churches in Antioch and the other provinces. Of Aelia , the Roman city built on the site of the destroyed city of Jerusalem , the council's seventh canon reads: "Since custom and ancient tradition have prevailed that

11834-563: The religion as members invited interested outsiders to secret Christian assemblies (Greek: ekklēsia ) that met in private homes (see house church ). Commerce and trade also played a role in Christianity's spread as Christian merchants traveled for business. Christianity appealed to marginalized groups (women, slaves) with its message that "in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female, neither slave nor free" ( Galatians 3:28 ). Christians also provided social services to

11956-476: The right to declare a universal date for the observance of Easter (see also Easter controversy ). Some postulate, however, that Alexandria was not only a center of Christianity, but was also a center for Christian-based Gnostic sects. The tradition of John the Apostle was strong in Anatolia (the near-east , part of modern Turkey, the western part was called the Roman province of Asia ). The authorship of

12078-598: The role of Bishop of Antioch as first being held by Peter. The Gospel of Matthew and the Apostolic Constitutions may have been written there. The church father Ignatius of Antioch was its third bishop. The School of Antioch, founded in 270, was one of two major centers of early church learning. The Curetonian Gospels and the Syriac Sinaiticus are two early (pre- Peshitta ) New Testament text types associated with Syriac Christianity . It

12200-575: The sharing of common texts, some of which were later collected in the New Testament. Jerusalem was the first center of the Christian Church according to the Book of Acts . The apostles lived and taught there for some time after Pentecost. According to Acts, the early church was led by the Apostles, foremost among them Peter and John . When Peter left Jerusalem after Herod Agrippa I tried to kill him, James, brother of Jesus appears as

12322-429: The spirantization of Γ , with palatal allophone before front-vowels and a plosive allophone after nasals, and β . φ, θ and χ still preserve their ancient aspirated plosive values, while the unaspirated stops π, τ, κ have perhaps begun to develop voiced allophones after nasals. Initial aspiration has also likely become an optional sound for many speakers of the popular variety. Monophthongization (including

12444-469: The spoken vernaculars of the time. As the dominant language of the Byzantine Empire, it developed further into Medieval Greek , which then turned into Modern Greek . Literary Koine was the medium of much post-classical Greek literary and scholarly writing, such as the works of Plutarch and Polybius . Koine is also the language of the Septuagint (the 3rd century BC Greek translation of

12566-499: The start of a split between Jewish Christianity and Gentile (or Pauline) Christianity . While Jewish Christianity would remain important through the next few centuries, it would ultimately be pushed to the margins as Gentile Christianity became dominant. Jewish Christianity was also opposed by early Rabbinic Judaism , the successor to the Pharisees. When Peter left Jerusalem after Herod Agrippa I tried to kill him, James appears as

12688-515: The surrounding area after the destruction of the city until its rebuilding as Aelia Capitolina in c.  130 AD , when all Jews were banished from Jerusalem. The first Gentiles to become Christians were God-fearers , people who believed in the truth of Judaism but had not become proselytes (see Cornelius the Centurion ). As Gentiles joined the young Christian movement, the question of whether they should convert to Judaism and observe

12810-591: The synagogue, as there was a local Jewish community . A Christian community was quickly established in Athens, although it may not have been large initially. A common tradition identifies the Areopagite as the first bishop of the Christian community in Athens, while another tradition mentions Hierotheos the Thesmothete . The succeeding bishops were not all of Athenian descent: Narkissos was believed to have come from Palestine, and Publius from Malta. Quadratus

12932-507: The teaching of some of the oldest churches or at least one, in particular that of Rome: "If the apostles had known hidden mysteries, which they were in the habit of imparting to 'the perfect' apart and privily from the rest, they would have delivered them especially to those to whom they were also committing the Churches themselves. [...] Suppose there arise a dispute relative to some important question among us, should we not have recourse to

13054-460: The term koine to refer to the Proto-Greek language , while others used it to refer to any vernacular form of Greek speech which differed somewhat from the literary language. When Koine Greek became a language of literature by the first century BC, some people distinguished two forms: written as the literary post-classical form (which should not be confused with Atticism ), and vernacular as

13176-802: The term is applied also to the various departments of the Roman Curia . The Code of Canon Law states: "In this Code the terms Apostolic See or Holy See mean not only the Roman Pontiff, but also, unless the contrary is clear from the nature of things or from the context, the Secretariat of State, the Council for the public affairs of the Church, and the other Institutes of the Roman Curia." The bodies in question are seen as speaking on behalf of

13298-579: The three Pillars of the Church : James the Just, Peter, and John . Later called the Council of Jerusalem , according to Pauline Christians , this meeting (among other things) confirmed the legitimacy of the evangelizing mission of Barnabas and Paul to the Gentiles . It also confirmed that Gentile converts were not obligated to follow the Mosaic Law , especially the practice of male circumcision , which

13420-427: The translation of Isaiah. Another point that scholars have debated is the use of ἐκκλησία ekklēsía as a translation for the Hebrew קָהָל qāhāl . Old Testament scholar James Barr has been critical of etymological arguments that ekklēsía refers to "the community called by God to constitute his People". Kyriakoula Papademetriou explains: He maintains that ἐκκλησία is merely used for designating

13542-480: The very thrones of the apostles are still pre-eminent in their places, in which their own authentic writings are read, uttering the voice and representing the face of each of them severally" the following churches: Corinth , Philippi , Ephesus , and Rome . Tertullian says that from these "all the other churches, one after another, derived the tradition of the faith, and the seeds of doctrine, and are every day deriving them, that they may become churches. Indeed, it

13664-669: The word koine itself gradually changed from [koinéː] (close to the Classical Attic pronunciation [koi̯.nɛ̌ː] ) to [cyˈni] (close to the Modern Greek [ciˈni] ). In Modern Greek, the language is referred to as Ελληνιστική Κοινή , "Hellenistic Koiné", in the sense of "Hellenistic supraregional language "). Ancient scholars used the term koine in several different senses. Scholars such as Apollonius Dyscolus (second century AD) and Aelius Herodianus (second century AD) maintained

13786-409: The words of historian Diarmaid MacCulloch : Whether through some mass delusion, some colossal act of wishful thinking, or through witness to a power or force beyond any definition known to Western historical analysis, those who had known Jesus in life and had felt the shattering disappointment of his death proclaimed that he lived still, that he loved them still, and that he was to return to earth from

13908-578: Was between those, such as the followers of the "Pillars of the Church", led by James , who believed, following his interpretation of the Great Commission , that the church must observe the Torah , i.e. the rules of traditional Judaism, and Paul the Apostle , who called himself "Apostle to the Gentiles", who believed there was no such necessity. The main concern for the Apostle Paul, which he subsequently expressed in greater detail with his letters directed to

14030-610: Was condemned as execrable and repulsive in the Greco-Roman world during the period of Hellenization of the Eastern Mediterranean , and was especially adversed in Classical civilization from ancient Greeks and Romans , who valued the foreskin positively. The resulting Apostolic Decree in Acts 15 is theorized to parallel the seven Noahide laws found in the Old Testament . However, modern scholars dispute

14152-481: Was defeated, Hadrian barred Jews from the city, except for the day of Tisha B'Av , thus the subsequent Jerusalem bishops were Gentiles ("uncircumcised") for the first time. The general significance of Jerusalem to Christians entered a period of decline during the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire . According to Eusebius , Jerusalem Christians escaped to Pella , in the Decapolis ( Transjordan ), at

14274-666: Was executed in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate" (see Tacitus on Jesus ) . The decades after the crucifixion of Jesus are known as the Apostolic Age because the Disciples (also known as Apostles ) were still alive. Important Christian sources for this period are the Pauline epistles and the Acts of the Apostles . After the death of Jesus, his followers established Christian groups in cities, such as Jerusalem. The movement quickly spread to Damascus and Antioch , capital of Roman Syria and one of

14396-472: Was mostly killed or removed. According to a tradition recorded by Eusebius and Epiphanius of Salamis , the Jerusalem church fled to Pella at the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt . According to Epiphanius of Salamis, the Cenacle survived at least to Hadrian's visit in 130 AD . A scattered population survived. The Sanhedrin relocated to Jamnia . Prophecies of the Second Temple's destruction are found in

14518-528: Was one of the three whose bishops were recognized at the First Council of Nicaea (325) as exercising jurisdiction over the adjoining territories. Alexandria , in the Nile delta , was established by Alexander the Great . Its famous libraries were a center of Hellenistic learning. The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament began there and the Alexandrian text-type is recognized by scholars as one of

14640-628: Was spoken from the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt to the Seleucid Empire of Mesopotamia . It replaced existing ancient Greek dialects with an everyday form that people anywhere could understand. Though elements of Koine Greek took shape in Classical Greece , the post-Classical period of Greek is defined as beginning with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, when cultures under Greek sway in turn began to influence

14762-533: Was there that Peter baptized the centurion Cornelius , considered the first gentile convert. Paul sought refuge there, once staying at the house of Philip the Evangelist , and later being imprisoned there for two years (estimated to be 57–59). The Apostolic Constitutions (7.46) state that the first Bishop of Caesarea was Zacchaeus the Publican . After Hadrian's siege of Jerusalem (c. 133), Caesarea became

14884-691: Was thus made capital of Roman Creta et Cyrenaica . St. Titus is believed to have been the first bishop. The city was sacked by the pirate Abu Hafs in 828. Paul the Apostle preached in Macedonia , and also in Philippi , located in Thrace on the Thracian Sea coast. According to Hippolytus of Rome , Andrew the Apostle preached in Thrace , on the Black Sea coast and along the lower course of

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