The History of the Early Church from Jesus to Theodosius - Essay Example

The History of the Early Church from Jesus to Theodosius Based on the writings of the four Gospels of the Bible, the birth of Christ was estimated at around 6 BC, indicating an error in the actual chronology of his birth as popularly known (History World, 2010). Luke accounts for how Mary and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem after King David ordered a census of the population and Joseph had to register in his ancestral home in Jerusalem. There in Bethlehem, Jesus was born in a stable (History World, 2010). When Herod ordered the death of all children under 2 years old, Joseph, Mary and Jesus escaped to Egypt. Upon Herod’s death, they eventually returned home to Nazareth. Jesus grew up under the guidance of Mary and Joseph and little is known about his life during these times until he reached the age of 30 when he was said to have started his ministry (History World, 2010). His ministry was said to have lasted from one year to as many as four from AD c.29-33. It began with his baptism which was dated in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius or AD 29 (History World, 2010). Jesus soon acquired followers after his baptism and the Gospels implied that he went on to perform miracles and to further gain followers through miracle healings. His main and initial followers grew to be his apostles, numbering 12 and most were fishermen (History World, 2010). One of the followers, Peter, slowly emerged as their leader and he was known to be the predecessor of the Church leaders, more particularly, the Pope (History World, 2010). Jesus’ ministry was mostly manifested in Galilee, and before the end of his life, he and his followers moved into Jerusalem before the Passover. His arrival in Jerusalem was not welcomed by those in power. His gatherings always attracted attention and crowds and this made him an easy target for the Romans (History World, 2010). After having supper with his disciples following the tradition of the Passover, he went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. There, Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, led authorities to Jesus’ arrest. Pontius Pilate ordered Jesus’ crucifixion and thereafter, in Calvary, Jesus died (History World, 2010). The Bible goes on to narrate how after three days, he rose again. The sighting of Jesus by Mary Magdalene and the disciples and the discovery of the empty tomb all support the story of Christ’s resurrection (History World, 2010). After Jesus’ death, his followers, who called themselves Christians, grew rapidly (Religion Facts, 2009). Followers led by Jesus’ disciple Peter were leading a life of prayer and preaching. Christianity spread in Palestine and Syria, then east into Armenia and then to Greece. The apostles of Christ spread rapidly with Peter going to Rome, Thaddeus going to Armenia, and Paul going to Greece (Scaruffi, n.d). In AD 35, the first Christian martyr, Stephen was stoned to death for his proclamations about the Second Coming of Christ. Saul or Paul became one of the witnesses of Stephen’s death and the event deeply affected him and led eventually to his conversion as a Christian. He became the first great Christian missionary (History World, 2010). The first Christians were, as expected, all Jews. But Paul started to convert non-Jewish people to Christianity and these non-Jewish Christians were known as Gentiles (History World, 2010). With Gentile converts now being included in a religion dominated by Jews, controversy on the assimilation or application of Jewish practices like circumcision was seen. A round of discussions among the emerging leaders of Christianity was held and Peter and Paul were among those who advocated that the Jewish traditions be relaxed for the Gentile Christians (History World, 2010). This set the separation for the purely Judaism practices from the other Christian practices. A letter to this effect was sent to all Gentiles. This was a turning point for Christianity and its followers. Paul and the other disciples continued to share the teachings of Christ, and most of the transmission of information was done in the oral tradition. Such traditions would later be encapsulated in the Gospels of the Bible (History World, 2010). These Christians were also known by other people as a tight-knit group who were supportive of each other. For which reason, they only garnered the resentment of other sectors who very much hostile to them. Consequently, the early Christians became very secretive; and they left little physical traces of themselves (History World, 2010). There were however, hidden signs of Christianity like the ROTAS square in the Pompeii in AD 79 and then the fish in its Greek form of icthys (History World, 2010). Christianity continued to grow despite the many hostilities they faced. By the 3rd century, there were already 100 bishops throughout Italy and other priests, deacons, readers, acolytes, etc all throughout Rome. Lyons became a major centre for Christianity and even Britain became slowly organized by Christian followers in the 3rd century. More evidence of the people were now seen in Rome’s catacombs and in nearby areas as well (History World, 2010). Their growth still gained much hostility from other non-Christians, especially the Romans. So much so that it was inevitable that they would face persecution. The persecution of the Christians was started by Emperor Nero in AD 64. He set the precedent for the treatment of Christians within the Roman Empire. As he was targeting a particular group of Christians, he also made them his scapegoat for the burning of Rome in 64 AD. His orders of persecution were sporadic – some at Alexandria and some in Rome (Logan, 2002). One of Nero’s commanders, who would later ascend to the throne of emperor, was Marcus Aurelius and he also carried out more persecution acts against the Christians. And then, a period of relative peace followed from AD 211 to 250 (Logan, 2002). In AD 250, Emperor Decius set forth a new policy in Rome, wherein everyone was required to publicly sacrifice to the Roman gods (History World, 2010). Many of the Christian leaders were killed by this edict and this lowered the morale and the faith of the Christians. The Valerian intensified this policy by outlawing any gathering of Christians for worship. In 258 AD, a pope was executed and the bishop of Carthage, Cyprian was also martyred (History World, 2010). Gallienus (AD 254-268) however, countermanded the previous edicts and then called for religious tolerance. For more than half a century, Christianity was again able to enjoy a period of relative calm. At this time, it also grew in number (History World, 2010). Emperor Constantine coming into power and converting to Christianity was a major turning point for the religion in the early 4th century AD (Religion Facts, 2009). Christianity was able to gain legality and protection as a religion during his time. Many pagans also found it convenient to convert to their Emperor’s religion at this point (Religious Facts, 2009). As it was now under the protection of the Roman Empire, Christianity rose in power and its hierarchy was also set. It became known as the ‘Christendom’ and it covered the entire Western world in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period (Religion Facts, 2009). During Constantine’s time, Christianity flourished and gained much power and influence. It was seemingly united until a dispute arose over Arianism. Arianism held that Christ was more than a man, but less than God himself (Religious Facts, 2009). This concept or belief was condemned by Constantine and many Christians were not sure which beliefs to follow. Constantine then ordered a meeting of Church authorities, including the bishops, priests, deacons, etc. This meeting was knows as the Council of Nicaea. In this meeting or council, the bishops condemned Arius and Arianism and declared Christ to be “one substance” with the Father (Religious Facts, 2009). In this Council, about 200 bishops from different parts of the empire congregated for the Council. They met in Constantine’s palace with the emperor himself presiding over the proceedings (History World, 2010). With Emperor Constantine presiding, the belief that the Son and the Father were one substance was the belief which gained more popularity and support. After the council, the orthodox view affirming Christ’s divinity, eventually won out. The church then considered its issues about Christ’s divinity and human nature and these were eventually resolved in the Council of Chalcedon (Religious Facts, 2009). Theodosius was the emperor from AD 379 and when he was in power he immediately settled religious factions within the empire by declaring that pagan worships and Arianisms were illegal and heretical. About 380 orders were set forth and were all mandated to subscribe to the Catholic doctrines (History World, 2010). A close relationship between the church and the state was seen and became a main characteristic of the eastern empire. One of the clerics who set the importance of the western church in relation to the secular powers was the bishop Ambrose. When Theodosius was in Milan, a riot in Greece by supporters of a popular charioteer occurred. A city governor was killed and Theodosius sent orders for violent reprisals (History World, 2010). The fans of the charioteer were invited and the gates were locked and all the supporters were massacred. When news of such massacre reached Milan, Bishop Ambrose refused to give communion to the emperor unless the latter did public penance for his acts. Theodosius eventually did penance and was later given communion (History World, 2010). During Theodosius’ time, orthodox Christians in the Roman Empire were living triumphant lives and it was at peace with the state and with each other. It was also a time of rapid growth for the religion; a growth which reached even beyond the realms and territories of the Roman Empire. Works Cited History World. (2010) History of Jesus Christ. History World.net. Retrieved 13 May 2010 from http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac34 History World (2010) History of Christianity. History World.net. Retrieved 13 May 2010 from http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=200&HistoryID=aa22>rack=pthc Logan, D. (2002) A history of the church in the Middle Ages. London: Routledge Publishing Religious Facts. (2009) A One-Page Overview of Christian History. Religious Facts.com. Retrieved 13 May 2010 from http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/history/overview.htm Scaruffi, J. (n.d) Jesus and Christianity. Scaruffi.com. Retrieved 13 May 2010 from http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/jesus.html Read More