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It has been suggested that Ante-Nicene Period be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since March 2019.

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Early Christianity covers the period from its origins (c. 30–36) until the First Council of Nicaea (325). This period is typically divided into the Apostolic Age (c. 30-100) and the Ante-Nicene Period (c. 100-325).

The first Christians were Jewish Christians, either by birth or conversion ("proselytes" in Biblical terminology).^{[note 1]} Important practices were baptism, which made one a member of the Christian community, and the communal meals, from which the Eucharist developed, the participation in Christs death and resurrection. Eventually, the inclusion of Gentile God-fearers lead to a departure from Jewish customs, and the establishment of Christianity as an independent religion.

A variety of Christianities developed throughout the 2nd and 3rd century, alongside a developing proto-orthodoxy, which eventually defined orthodoxy and heresy. Proto-orthodoxy developed in tandem with the growing number of Christians, which necessitated the devlopment of eccelsiastical structure.

Early Christians generally used and revered the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) as religious text, mostly in the Greek (Septuagint) or Aramaic (Targum) translations,^[1] but also developed their own Canon of the New Testament, which includes the canonical gospels, Acts, letters of the Apostles, and Revelation, all written before 120.^[2]

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Etymology

Early Jewish Christians referred to themselves as 'The Way' (της οδου), probably coming from Isaiah 40:3, "prepare the way of the Lord."^{[web 1][note 2]} According to Acts 11:26, the term "Christian" (Greek: Χριστιανός) was first used in reference to Jesus's disciples in the city of Antioch, meaning "followers of Christ," by the non-Jewish inhabitants of Antioch.^[8] The earliest recorded use of the term "Christianity" (Greek: Χριστιανισμός) was by Ignatius of Antioch, in around 100 AD.^[9]

Origins

Jewish-Hellenistic background

Christianity "emerged as a sect of Judaism in Roman Palestine"^[10] in the syncretistic Hellenistic world of the first century CE, which was dominated by Roman law and Greek culture.^[11] During the early first century CE there were many competing Jewish sects in the Holy Land, and those that became Rabbinic Judaism and Proto-orthodox Christianity were but two of these. There were Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots, but also other less influential sects, including the Essenes.^{[web 2][web 3]} The first century BCE and first century CE saw a growing number of charismatic religious leaders contributing to what would become the Mishnah of Rabbinic Judaism; and the ministry of Jesus, which would lead to the emergence of the first Jewish Christian community.^{[web 2][web 3]}

The Jewish messiah concept has its root in the apocalyptic literature of the 2nd century BC to 1st century BC, promising a future leader or king from the Davidic line who is expected to be anointed with holy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age and world to come.^{[web 4][web 5][web 6]} The Messiah is often referred to as "King Messiah" (Hebrew: מלך משיח‎, translit. melekh mashiach) or malka meshiḥa in Aramaic.^{[web 7]}

Jesus

New Testament

In the Synoptic Gospels Jewish eschatology stands central.^{[web 8]} After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus teaches extensively for a year, or maybe just a few months,^{[web 8][note 3]} about the Kingdom of God (or, in Matthew, the Kingdom of Heaven), in aphorisms and parables, using similes and figurs of speech.
^{[12][web 8]} In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself is the main subject.^{[web 8]}

The Kingdom is essentially described as eschatological, becoming reality in the near future.^{[web 8]} 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."^{[web 8]} According to Davies, the Sermon on the Mount presents Jesus as the new Moses who brings a New Law, the Messianic Torah.^[13]

His ministry was ended by his execution by crucifixion. His early followers believed that three days after his death, Jesus rose bodily from the dead and was exaltated to Divine status.^[14] Paul's letters and the Gospels document a number of post-resurrection appearances,^[14] and the resurrection of Jesus "signalled for earliest believers that the days of eschatological fulfilment were at hand."^{[web 9]} The resurrection was also seen as the exaltation of Jesus to the status of divine Son and Lord.^{[web 9]} His followers expected Him to return in the near future, ushering in the Kingdom of God.^{[web 8]}

Scholarly views

Since the 18th century, three scholarly quests for the historical Jesus have taken place, each with distinct characteristics and based on different research criteria, which were often developed during each specific phase.^[15][16][17] Scholars involved in the third quest for the historical Jesus have constructed a variety of portraits and profiles for Jesus,^[18][19][20] most prominently that of Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet or eschatological teacher.^{[21][note 4]}

Apostolic Age (1st century)

The first part of the period, named after the lifetimes of the Twelve Apostles as narrated in the Acts of the Apostles, is called the Apostolic Age.

Jewish Christianity

The earliest followers of Jesus composed an apocalyptic, Second Temple Jewish sect, which historians refer to as Jewish Christianity. The first Christians, as described in the first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles in the Bible, were all Jews, either by birth or conversion ("proselytes" in Biblical terminology),^{[note 1]} and historians refer to them as Jewish Christians.

The New Testament's Acts of the Apostles and Epistle to the Galatians record the existence of a Christian community centered on Jerusalem, and that its leaders included Peter, James, the "brother of Jesus", and John the Apostle.^{[25][note 5]} The Jerusalem Church "held a central place among all the churches," as witnessed by Paul's writings.^[26]

Emerging Church

Christian missionary activity spread Christianity to cities throughout the Hellenistic world and even beyond the Roman Empire. ^{[27][28][29][30]} Over forty existed by the year 100,^[28] most in Asia Minor, such as the seven churches of Asia, and some in Greece and Italy.

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,^[31] but almost immediately also in Greek.^[32] Christian groups and congregations first organized themselves loosely. In Paul's time, although certain decisions by Elders and Apostles were binding, as in the Council of Jerusalem,^[33] there were no precisely delineated functions yet for bishops, elders, and deacons.^[34] Despite its mention of bishops, there is no clear evidence in the New Testament that supports the concepts of dioceses and monepiscopacy (i.e. the rule that all the churches in a geographic area should be ruled by a single bishop). Ronald Y. K. Fung claimed that scholars point to evidence that Christian communities such as Rome had many bishops, and that the concept of monepiscopacy was still emerging when Ignatius was urging his tri-partite structure on other churches.^[35]

Paul and the inclusion of Gentiles

Paul's influence on Christian thinking is said to be more significant than that of any other New Testament author.^[36] According to 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."

According to Krister Stendahl, the main concern of Paul's writings on Jesus' role, and salvation by faith, is not the individual conscience of human sinners, and their doubts about being chosen by God or not, but the problem of the inclusion of gentile (Greek) Torah observers into God's convenant.^{[37][38][39][web 10]} The inclusion of Gentiles posed a problem for the early Christian community, since the new converts did not follow all "Jewish Law" and refused to be circumcised,^[40] as circumcision was considered repulsive in Hellenistic culture.^{[web 11]} According to Fredriksen, Paul's opposition to male circumcison for Gentiles is in line with Old Testament predictions that "in the last days the gentile nations would come to the God of Israel, as gentiles (e.g., Zechariah 8:20-23), not as proselytes to Israel."^{[web 12]} For Paul, Gentile male circumcison was therefore an affront to God's intentions.^{[web 12]} According to Hurtado, "Paul saw himself as what Munck called a salvation-historical figure in his own right," who was "personally and singularly deputized by God to bring about the predicted ingathering (the “fullness”) of the nations (Romans 11:25)."^{[web 12]}

For Paul, Jesus' death and resurrection solved this problem of the exclusion of the gentles from God's convenant,^[41] since the faithfull are redeemed by particpation in Jesus' death and rising. According to Acts, he met the leaders of the Jerusalem Church, agreeing to allow Gentile converts exemption from most Jewish commandments at the Council of Jerusalem, which opened the way for a much larger Christian Church, extending far beyond the Jewish community.

According to Mack, Paul may have been converted to another early strand of Christianity, with a High Christology.^[42] Fragments of their beliefs in an exalted and deified Jesus, what Mack called the "Christ cult," can be found in the writings of Paul.^{[43][note 6]} 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.^[45] Hurtado further notes that "[i]t is widely accepted that the tradition that Paul recites in [Corinthians] 15:1-71 must go back to the Jerusalem Church."^[46]

Acts of the Apostles

The inclusion of Gentiles is reflected in Luke-Acts, which is an attempt to answer a theological problem, namely how the Messiah of the Jews came to have an overwhelmingly non-Jewish church; the answer it provides, and its central theme, is that the message of Christ was sent to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected it.^[48]

Beliefs

Creeds and salvation

The sources for the beliefs of the early Christians include oral traditions (which included sayings attributed to Jesus, parables and teachings),^[49][50] the Gospels, the New Testament epistles and possibly lost texts such as the Q source^[51][52][53] and the writings of Papias. The texts contain the earliest Christian creeds^[54] expressing belief in the risen Jesus, such as 1 Corinthians 15:3–41:^[55]

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[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 the apostles.^[56]

The creed has been dated by some scholars as originating within the Jerusalem apostolic community no later than the 40s,^[57][58] and by some to less than a decade after Jesus' death,^[59][60] while others date it to about 56.^[61] Other early creeds include 1 John 4:2, 2 Timothy 2:8^[62]Romans 1:3–4^[63] and 1 Timothy 3:16.

Low and High Christology

Two fundamentally different Christologies developed in the early Church, namely a "low" or adoptionist Christology, and a "high" or "incarnation Christology."^[64] The chronology of the development of these early Christologies is a matter of debate within contemporary scholarship.^{[65][14][66][web 13]}

Adoptionists, such as the Ebionites, considered him as at first an ordinary man, born to Joseph and Mary, who later became the Son of God at his baptism, his transfiguration, or his resurrection.^[14][43]

According to Hurtado, 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.^[67] The Pauline letters, which are the earliest Christian writings, already show "a well-developed pattern of Christian devotion [...] already conventionalized and apparently uncontroversial."^[68] While a variety of interpretations, or "heresies," developed during the first two centuries, the divinity of Jesus was a common element of almost all variants, both proto-orthodox and other.^[67] Early Christian views tended to see Jesus as a unique agent of God,^[69] but had to incorporate both the humanity and divinity into a coherent Christology.^[67] This was accomplished by the Council of Nicaea in 325, when he was identified as both human and divine, being 'of the same substance, essence or being' as God.

The term "Logos" was used in Greek philosophy (see Heraclitus) and in Hellenistic Jewish religious writing (see Philo Judaeus of Alexandria) to mean the ultimate ordering principle of the universe. Those who rejected the identification of Jesus with the Logos, rejecting also the Gospel of John, were called Alogi (see also Monarchianism).^[70][71]

Rituals

Baptism

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, which became integral to nearly every manifestation of the religion of the Jews. John the Baptist had baptized many people, before baptisms took place in the name of Jesus Christ. Many of the interpretations that would later become orthodox Christian beliefs concerning baptism can be traced to apostles such as Paul, who likened baptism to being buried with Christ in his death (Romans 6:3–4; Colossians 2:12). On the basis of this description, it was supposed by some modern theologians that the early Christians practised baptism by submersion (Matthew 3:13–17). This interpretation is debated between those Christian denominations who advocate immersion baptism exclusively and those who practice baptism by affusion or aspersion as well as by immersion. Yet the Didache, one of the earliest Christian writings on liturgical practices, mentions that baptism may occur by pouring water on the head three times using the trinitarian formula (i.e., in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). The Orthodox Church continues this practice, submerging the baptized and then pouring water on the head in that formula.

Communal meals and Eucharist

The Agape feast or Lovefeast is a communal meal shared among Christians.^[72] The Lovefeast originated in the early Church and was a time of fellowship for believers.^[73][74] The Eucharist was often a part of the Lovefeast although at some point (probably between the latter part of the 1st century A.D. and 250 A.D.), the two became separate.^[75][76][77] Thus, in modern times the Lovefeast refers to a Christian ritual meal distinct from the Lord's Supper.^[78] The Lovefeast seeks to strengthen the bonds and the spirit of harmony, goodwill, and congeniality, as well as to forgive past disputes and instead love one another.^[79]

The practice of the lovefeast is mentioned in Jude 1:12 of the Christian Bible and was a "common meal of the early church."^[80] References to communal meals are discerned in 1 Corinthians 11:17–34, in Saint Ignatius of Antioch's Letter to the Smyrnaeans, where the term "agape" is used, and in a letter from Pliny the Younger to Trajan,^[81] in which he reported that the Christians, after having met "on a stated day" in the early morning to "address a form of prayer to Christ, as to a divinity", later in the day would "reassemble, to eat in common a harmless meal".^[78]

The Eucharist (/ˈjuːkərɪst/; also called Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper, among other names) is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper; giving his disciples bread and wine during the Passover meal, Jesus commanded his followers to "do this in memory of me" while referring to the bread as "my body" and the cup of wine as "the new covenant in my blood".^[82][83][84] Through the Eucharistic celebration Christians remember both Christ's sacrifice of himself on the cross and his commission of the apostles at the Last Supper.^[85]

The elements of the Eucharist, sacramental bread (leavened or unleavened) and sacramental wine (or by some grape juice), are consecrated on an altar (or a communion table) and consumed thereafter. Communicants, those who consume the elements, may speak of "receiving the Eucharist", as well as "celebrating the Eucharist".^[86] Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and when Christ is present.^[86]

Early Christian scriptures

Septuagint and New testamentical writings

The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint) was the dominant translation.^[87])^{[note 7]} Later Jerome would express his preference for adhering strictly to the Hebrew text and canon, but his view held little currency even in his own day. It was not until the Protestant Reformation that substantial numbers of Christians began to reject those books of the Septuagint which are not found in the Jewish Masoretic Text, referring to them as biblical apocrypha. In addition, some New Testament books were also disputed, known as the Antilegomena.

The books of the canon of the New Testament, which includes the Canonical Gospels, Acts, letters of the Apostles, and Revelation were written before 120 AD,^[2] but not defined as "canon" until the 4th century.

Apostolic Fathers

The earliest Christian writings (other than those collected in the New Testament) are a group of letters credited to the Apostolic Fathers. These include the Epistle of Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas and the Epistles of Clement, as well as the Didache. Taken as a whole, the collection is notable for its literary simplicity, religious zeal and lack of Hellenistic philosophy or rhetoric. Fathers such as Ignatius of Antioch (died 98 to 117) advocated the authority of the apostolic episcopacy (bishops).^[88]

Persecutions

Early Christians suffered under sporadic anti-Christian policies in the Roman Empire and percecution^{[note 8]} as the result of local pagan populations putting pressure on the imperial authorities to take action against the Christians in their midst, who were thought to bring misfortune by their refusal to honour the gods.^[91]

Early Christian writers used their knowledge of Hellenic language and literature to oppose Hellenocentrism. Though early Christian apologetics certainly tackled the issue of Greek religion, the criticisms of early Christian early writers also extended to what The Oxford Handbook to the Second Sophistic describes as the "cultural privilege that was deemed to accrue from the mastery of the Greek language".^[92]Tatian, a pupil of Justin Martyr, believed that Hellenic civilization was evil.^[93][94] He wrote about the privileged place of Attic Greek amongst the Greek dialects and mocked Greeks, comparing their minds to "the [leaky] jar of the Danaids". In a more muted polemic text called the Legatio, Athenagoras contrasts what he believes is the goodness of illiterate Christians with those who “reduce syllogisms, and clear up ambiguities, and explain etymologies".^[92]

Split of early Christianity and Judaism

During the late 1st century, Judaism was a legal religion with the protection of Roman law, worked out in compromise with the Roman state over two centuries (see Anti-Judaism in the Roman Empire for details). In contrast, Christianity was not legalized until the 313 Edict of Milan. Observant Jews had special rights, including the privilege of abstaining from civic pagan rites. Christians were initially identified with the Jewish religion by the Romans, but as they became more distinct, Christianity became a problem for Roman rulers. Around the year 98, the emperor Nerva decreed that Christians did not have to pay the annual tax upon the Jews, effectively recognizing them as distinct from Rabbinic Judaism. This opened the way to Christians being persecuted for disobedience to the emperor, as they refused to worship the state pantheon.^[95][96][97]

There was a slowly growing chasm between Christians and Jews, rather than a sudden split. However, certain events are perceived as pivotal in the growing rift between Christianity and Judaism. The Council of Jamnia c. 85 is often stated to have condemned all who claimed the Messiah had already come, and Christianity in particular. However, the formulated prayer in question (birkat ha-minim) is considered by other scholars to be unremarkable in the history of Jewish and Christian relations. There is a paucity of evidence for Jewish persecution of "heretics" in general, or Christians in particular, in the period between 70 and 135. It is probable that the condemnation of Jamnia included many groups, of which the Christians were but one, and did not necessarily mean excommunication. That some of the later church fathers only recommended against synagogue attendance makes it improbable that an anti-Christian prayer was a common part of the synagogue liturgy. Jewish Christians continued to worship in synagogues for centuries.^{[98][99][100]} The true end of ancient Jewish Christianity occurred only in the 5th century.^{[citation needed]} Gentile Christianity remained the sole strand of orthodoxy and imposed itself on the previously Jewish Christian sanctuaries, taking full control of those houses of worship by the end of the 5th century.^{[101][note 9]}

Ante-Nicene Period (c. 100-325)

Beliefs - Eschatology

The predominant eschatological view in the Ante-Nicene Period was Premillennialism, the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment.^[102]Justin Martyr and Irenaeus were the most outspoken proponents of premillennialism. Justin Martyr saw himself as continuing in the “Jewish” belief of a temporary messianic kingdom prior to the eternal state.^{[103][104][105]}Irenaeus devoted Book V of his Against Heresies to a defense of the physical resurrection and eternal judgement.^[106]

Other early premillennialists included Pseudo-Barnabas,^[107]Papias,^[108]Methodius, Lactantius,^[109]Commodianus^[110]Theophilus, Tertullian,^[111]Melito,^[112]Hippolytus of Rome and Victorinus of Pettau.^[113][114]
By the 3rd century there was growing opposition to premillennialism. Origen was the first to challenge the doctrine openly.^[115]Dionysius of Alexandria stood against premillennialism when the chiliastic work, The Refutation of the Allegorizers by Nepos, a bishop in Egypt, became popular in Alexandria, as noted in Eusebius’s, Ecclesiastical History.^[116] Eusebius said of the premillennialian, Papias, that he was "a man of small mental capacity" because he had taken the Apocalypse literally.^[117]

Practices

Sabbath

According to Bauckham, the post-apostolic church contained diverse practices as regards the Sabbath.^[118] It seems clear that most of the Early Church did not consider observation of the Sabbath to be required or of eminent importance to Christians and in fact worshiped on Sunday.

Infant baptism

Infant baptism was widely practised at least by the 3rd century,^[119] but it is disputed whether it was in the first centuries of Christianity. Some believe that the Church in the apostolic period practised infant baptism, arguing that the mention of the baptism of households in the Acts of the Apostles would have included children within the household.^[120] Others believe that infants were excluded from the baptism of households, citing verses of the Bible that describe the baptized households as believing, which infants are incapable of doing.^[120] In the 2nd century, Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, may have referred to it.^{[36][121][122]} Additionally, Justin Martyr wrote about baptism in First Apology (written in the mid-2nd century), describing it as a choice and contrasting it with the lack of choice one has in one's physical birth.^[123] However, Justin Martyr also seems to imply elsewhere that believers were "disciples from childhood", indicating, perhaps, their baptism.

The so-called Apostolic Tradition says to "Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them." If it was written by Hippolytus of Rome, Apostolic Tradition could be dated about 215, but recent scholars believe it to be material from separate sources ranging from the middle second to the fourth century,^[124][125] being gathered and compiled on about 375–400.
The 3rd century evidence is clearer, with both Origen (calling infant baptism "according to the usage of the Church")^[126] and Cyprian advocating the practice. Tertullian acknowledges the practice (and that sponsors would speak on behalf of the children), but, holding an unusual view of marriage, argues against it, on the grounds that baptism should be postponed until after marriage.^[127]

Interpretation of the baptismal practices of the early church is important to groups such as Baptists, Anabaptists, and the Churches of Christ who believe that infant baptism was a development that occurred during the late 2nd to early 3rd centuries. The early Christian writings mentioned above, which date from the 2nd and 3rd century indicate that Christians as early as the 2nd century did maintain such a practice.^[128]

Diversity and proto-orthodoxy

Growth of Christianity

Rodney Stark estimates that the number of Christians grew by approximately 40% a decade during the first and second centuries.^[129] This phenomenal growth rate forced Christian communities to evolve in order to adapt to their changes in the nature of their communities as well as their relationship with their political and socioeconomic environment. As the number of Christians grew, the Christian communities became larger, more numerous and farther apart geographically. The passage of time also moved some Christians farther from the original teachings of the apostles giving rise to teachings that were considered heterodox and sowing controversy and divisiveness within churches and between churches.^[130]

Diversity

The Ante-Nicene period saw the rise of a great number of Christian sects, cults and movements with strong unifying characteristics lacking in the apostolic period. They had different interpretations of Scripture, particularly the divinity of Jesus and the nature of the Trinity. Part of the unifying trend was an increasingly harsh anti-Judaism and rejection of Judaizers.

These various interpretations were called heresies by the leaders of the Proto-orthodox church, but many were very popular and had large followings. Some of the major movements were:

• 
  Gnosticism – 2nd to 4th centuries – reliance on revealed knowledge from an unknowable God, a distinct divinity from the Demiurge who created and oversees the material world.


• 
  Marcionism – 2nd century – the God of Jesus was a different God from the God of the Old Testament.


• 
  Montanism – 2nd century – relied on prophetic revelations from the Holy Spirit.


• 
  Adoptionism – 2nd century – Jesus was not born the Son of God, but was adopted at his baptism, resurrection or ascension.


• 
  Docetism – 2nd to 3rd century – Jesus was pure spirit and his physical form an illusion.


• 
  Sabellianism – 3rd century – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three modes of the one God and not the three separate persons of the Trinity.


• 
  Arianism – 3rd to 4th century – Jesus, as the Son, was subordinate to God the Father.

Proto-orthodoxy

Response to variant Christianities

A Church hierarchy seems to have developed by the late 1st century and early 2nd century^[34] (see Pastoral Epistles, c. 90–140^[34]). These structures were certainly formalized well before the end of the Early Christian period, which concluded with the legalization of Christianity by Constantine's Edict of Milan in 313 and the holding of the First Council of Nicea in 325, when the title of Metropolitan bishop first appears.

Robert Williams posits that the "origin and earliest development of episcopacy and monepiscopacy and the ecclesiastical concept of (apostolic) succession were associated with crisis situations in the early church."^[131]

Roger Haight posits the development of ecclesiology in the form of "Early Catholicism" as one response to the problem of church unity. Thus, the solution to division arising from heterodox teaching was the development of "tighter and more standardized structures of ministry. One of these structures is the tri-partite form of church leadership consisting of bishops, elders and deacons that Ignatius of Antioch urged churches to adopt, writing that "You cannot have a church without these." Over the course of the second century, this organizational structure became universal and continues to be used in the Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican churches as well as in some Protestant denominations.^[132]

Development of proto-orthodoxy

By the end of the third century proto-orthodoxy became dominant. It viewed Christian teachings as either orthodox or heterodox. Orthodox teachings were those that claimed to have the authentic lineage of Holy Tradition. All other teachings were viewed as deviant streams of thought and were possibly heretical. An important discussion in the past century among scholars of early Christianity is to what extent it is still appropriate to speak of "orthodoxy" and "heresy". Higher criticism drastically altered the previous perception that heresy was a very rare exception to the orthodoxy. Some orthodox scholars argue against the increasing focus on heterodoxy. A movement away from presuming the correctness or dominance of the orthodoxy is seen as understandable, in light of modern approaches. However, these orthodox scholars feel that instead of an even and neutral approach to historical analysis that the heterodox sects are given an assumption of superiority over the orthodox movement.^[133]

Post-Apostolic church-hierarchy

In the post-Apostolic church, bishops emerged as overseers of urban Christian populations, and a hierarchy of clergy gradually took on the form of episkopoi (overseers), presbyteroi (elders),^[134] and diakonoi (ministerial servants). This hierarchy emerged slowly and at different times for different locations. Clement, a 1st-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 "elder" interchangeably and as synonyms.^[135] The Didache (dated by most scholars to the early 2nd century),^[136] speaks of "appointing for yourself bishops and deacons".

Post-apostolic bishops of importance include Polycarp of Smyrna, Ignatius of Antioch and Clement of Rome. These men reportedly knew and studied under the apostles personally and are therefore called Apostolic Fathers. Each Christian community also had presbyters, as was the case with Jewish communities, who were also ordained and assisted the bishop; as Christianity spread, especially in rural areas, the presbyters exercised more responsibilities and took distinctive shape as priests. Lastly, deacons also performed certain duties, such as tending to the poor and sick. In the 2nd century, an episcopal structure becomes more visible, and in that century this structure was supported by teaching on apostolic succession, where a bishop becomes the spiritual successor of the previous bishop in a line tracing back to the apostles themselves.

Disputes regarding the proper titles and roles of church leaders would later become one of the major causes of schism within the Christian Church.^{[citation needed]} Such disputes include the roles of bishops and presbyters. Churches such as the Catholic and Orthodox use the word "priest" of all the baptized, but apply it in a more specific sense ("ministerial priesthood")^[137] to bishops and presbyters^[138] and sometimes, somewhat loosely, treat "presbyter" and "priest" as synonyms,^[139] applying both terms to clergy subordinate to bishops. In congregational churches, the title "priest" is rejected, keeping only "presbyter" or "elder". Some congregational churches do not include a role of bishop in their organizational polity.

Church Fathers

Since the end of the 4th century, the title "Fathers of the Church" has been used to refer to a more or less clearly defined group of ecclesiastical writers who are appealed to as authorities on doctrinal matters. Orthodoxy of doctrine, holiness of life, approval by the Church and antiquity are traditionally considered conditions for classification as a Father of the Church, but modern writers sometimes include Tertullian, Origen and a few others.^[140]

The attitude of the Church Fathers towards women paralleled rules in Jewish law regarding a woman's role in worship, although the early church allowed women to participate in worship—something that was not allowed in the Synagogue (where women were restricted to the outer court). The Deutero-Pauline First Epistle to Timothy teaches that women should remain quiet during public worship and were not to instruct men or assume authority over them.^[141] The Epistle to the Ephesians, which is also Deutero-Pauline, calls upon women to submit to the authority of their husbands.^[142]

Elizabeth A. Clark says that the Church Fathers regarded women both as "God's good gift to men" and as "the curse of the world", both as "weak in both mind and character" and as people who "displayed dauntless courage, undertook prodigious feats of scholarship".^[143]

Important Church centers

Jerusalem was the first church and an important church center up to 135.^[144] The First Council of Nicaea recognized and confirmed the tradition by which Jerusalem continued to be given "special honour", but did not assign to it even metropolitan authority within its own province, still less the extraprovincial jurisdiction exercised by Rome and the other sees mentioned above.^[145]

Constantinople came into prominence only after the early Christian period, being founded officially in 330, five years after the First Council of Nicaea, though the much smaller original city of Byzantium was an early center of Christianity largely due to its proximity to Anatolia.

By the end of the early Christian period, the church within the Roman Empire had hundreds of bishops, some of them (Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, "other provinces") holding some form of jurisdiction over others.^[146]

Development of the Christian Canon

The books of the canon of the New Testament, which includes the Canonical Gospels, Acts, letters of the Apostles, and Revelation were written before 120 AD,^[2] but not defined as "canon" until the 4th century.

Debates about scripture were underway in the mid-2nd century, concurrent with a drastic increase of new scriptures, both Jewish and Christian. Debates regarding practice and belief gradually became reliant on the use of scripture other than what Melito referred to as the Old Testament, as the New Testament canon developed. Similarly, in the 3rd century a shift away from direct revelation as a source of authority occurred, most notably against the Montanists. "Scripture" still had a broad meaning and usually referred to the Septuagint among Greek speakers or the Targums among Aramaic speakers or the Vetus Latina translations in Carthage. Beyond the Torah (the Law) and some of the earliest prophetic works (the Prophets), there was not agreement on the canon, but this was not debated much at first.

By the mid-2nd century, tensions arose with the split of early Christianity and Judaism, which some theorize led eventually to the determination of a Jewish canon by the emerging rabbinic movement,^[147] though, even as of today, there is no scholarly consensus as to when the Jewish canon was set. For example, some scholars argue that the Jewish canon was fixed earlier, by the Hasmonean dynasty (140–137 BC).^[148] There is a lack of direct evidence on when Christians began accepting their own scriptures alongside the Septuagint. Well into the 2nd century Christians held onto a strong preference for oral tradition as clearly demonstrated by writers of the time, such as Papias.^[147]

Spread of Christianity

Various theories attempt to explain how Christianity managed to spread so successfully prior to the Edict of Milan (313). Despite sometimes intense persecutions, the Christian religion continued its spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin.^[149] By 201 or earlier, under King Abgar the Great, Osroene became the first Christian state.^{[150][151][dubious – discuss]} In 301, the Kingdom of Armenia became the second state to declare Christianity as its official religion, following the conversion of the Royal House of the Arsacids in Armenia. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest national church.

In The Rise of Christianity, Rodney Stark argues that Christianity replaced paganism chiefly because it improved the lives of its adherents in various ways.^[152] Another factor, more recently pointed out, was the way in which Christianity combined its promise of a general resurrection of the dead with the traditional Greek belief that true immortality depended on the survival of the body, with Christianity adding practical explanations of how this was going to actually happen at the end of the world.^[153] According to Will Durant, the Christian Church prevailed over paganism because it offered a much more attractive doctrine, and because the church leaders addressed human needs better than their rivals.^[154]

Bart D. Ehrman attributes the rapid spread of Christianity to five factors: 1) the promise of salvation and eternal life for everyone was an attractive alternative to Roman religions; 2) stories of miracles and healings showed that the one Christian God was more powerful than the many Roman gods; 3) Christianity began as a grassroots movement providing hope of a better future in the next life for the lower classes; 4) Christianity took worshipers away from other religions since converts were expected to give up the worship of other gods, unusual in antiquity where worship of many gods was common; 5) in the Roman world, converting one person often meant converting the whole household, if the head of the household was converted, he decided the religion of his wife, children and slaves.^[155]

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Printed sources

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Web-sources

External links

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