Editing History of Christianity (section)

== Early Christianity (c. 27 – fourth century) ==
{{Main|Early Christianity}}
=== First century ===
{{Main|Christianity in the 1st century}}
{{Further|Chronology of Jesus|Historical Jesus}}
[[File:Cristo crucificado.jpg|thumb|alt=image of Jesus hanging on a cross, crucified|[[Christ Crucified (Velázquez)|''Christ Crucified'']], by [[Diego Velázquez]] {{c.|1632|lk=no}}, depicting the [[crucifixion of Jesus]]]]
[[Christianity]] began with [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]], a Jewish man and itinerant preacher in Galilee and the [[Roman province of Judea]] during the first century.{{sfn|Wilken|2013|pp=6–16}}{{sfn|Young|2006|p=1}} Much about Jesus is uncertain, but [[Crucifixion of Jesus|his crucifixion]] {{circa|30}} is well attested.{{sfn|Young|2006|p=24}}{{sfn|Law|2011|p=129}}{{sfn|Köstenberger|Kellum|Quarles|2009|p=114-115}} The religious, social, and political climate in both regions was extremely diverse and characterized by turmoil with numerous religious and political movements.{{sfn|Wilken|2013|pp=6–16}}{{sfn|Schwartz|2009|pp=49, 91}}{{sfn|Young|2006|p=25}} One such movement, [[Jewish messianism]], promised a [[Messiah in Judaism|messianic redeemer]] descended from Israel's ancient king, [[King David|David]], who would save Israel. Those who followed Jesus, called [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]], saw him as that Messiah.{{sfn|Wilken|2013|pp=8, 26}}{{sfn|Young|2006|pp=2, 24-25}}{{sfn|Uthemann|2007|p=460}}

Jesus was a [[Prophets in Judaism|prophetic]] figure who proclaimed an [[Eschatology|"end-of-the-world" eschatological]] message of the coming [[Kingdom of God (Christianity)|kingdom of God]].{{sfn|Broadhead|2017|pp=123, 124}} [[Incarnation]], the belief that God (or the Word of God) was embodied in Jesus,{{sfn|Uthemann|2007|p=460}}{{sfn|Young|2006|p=34}} and [[resurrection]], the belief that after his crucifixion, he [[Resurrection of Jesus|rose from the dead]],{{sfn|Wilken|2013|pp=6–16}}{{sfn|Young|2006|p=11}} were Christianity's earliest beliefs.{{sfn|Dunn|1994|pp=253-254, 256}}{{sfn|Uthemann|2007|p=460}} Its earliest rituals were [[baptism]], a [[Initiation|rite of initiation]], and the communal [[Eucharist]], a celebration in memory of [[Last Supper|Jesus' last meal]] before death.{{sfn|Strout|2016|p=479}}{{sfn|Young|2006|pp=32–34}}

The first Christian communities were predominantly Jewish.{{sfn|Klutz|2002|pp=178–190}}{{sfn|Goodman|2007|pp=30–32}} They gathered in [[house church|small groups inside private homes]] where the typical setting for worship was the communal meal.{{sfn|Esler|2017|p=11}}{{sfn|White|2017|p=686}} Elders (called [[presbyter]]s or [[bishops]]) oversaw the small groups, providing for the economic requirements of the meal and charitable distributions.{{sfn|Stewart|2014|loc=intro.}}{{sfn|McGowan|2016|p=370}}{{sfn|Brown|2012|p=64}}{{sfn|Reed|1905|pp=1-2}} [[Women in Church history|Women]] comprised significant numbers of Christianity's earliest members.{{sfn|Lieu|1999|p=5}} Religion had appeal because women could attain greater freedom through religious activities than Roman customs otherwise permitted.{{sfn|Gardner|1991|p=67}}{{sfn|Pomeroy|1995|p=xv}}{{sfn|MacDonald|1996|p=10-11}}{{sfn|Lieu|1999|pp=20–21}} The Pauline epistles recognize their presence in early Christian congregations.{{sfn|MacDonald|1996|pp=163, 167}}{{sfn|Cloke|1995|pp=5–7, 82}} Christianity likely began with fewer than 1000 believers, which grew to approximately one hundred [[Early centres of Christianity|small household churches]], each with an average of seventy members, by the year 100.{{sfn|Hopkins|1998|p=202}}

Of the original believers, Jesus kept twelve disciples close to him who became known as [[Apostles in the New Testament|the Apostles]].{{sfn|McBirnie|2013|p=19}} Saul of Tarsus, who became [[Paul the Apostle]], was a Jewish Pharisee who had not known Jesus and persecuted early Christians. According to his own account, his life turned in the opposite direction after experiencing a vision of Christ on the road to Damascus.{{sfn|Wilken|2013|pp=18-20}} Paul, [[Saint Peter|Peter]], and [[James, brother of Jesus|James, Jesus' brother]], were probably the three most influential Christians in the first century, but all twelve Apostles crossed the ancient world to share their message, founding churches, and creating converts who then also established churches.{{sfn|Shelton|2018|pp=4, 7}}{{sfn|McBirnie|2013|pp=18, 26, 28}}{{sfn|Wilken|2013|p=18}}

Christianity was largely an urban religion{{sfn|Naerebout|2021|p=21}} that spread through the [[Jewish diaspora]]{{sfn|Humfress|2013|pp=3, 76, 83–88, 91}}{{sfn|Bokenkotter|2007|p=18}} along the trade and travel routes.{{sfn|Bundy|2007|p=118}}{{sfn|Harnett|2017|pp=200, 217}}{{sfn|Hopkins|1998|pp=192–193}} Despite the martyrdoms of [[Saint Stephen|Stephen]] and [[James the Great|James]] the brother of [[John the Apostle]], and the imprisonment of [[Saint Peter|Peter]], the movement grew, reaching [[Antioch]], where converts were first called Christian by non-Christians.{{sfn|Bickerman|1949|p=110}}{{sfn|McBirnie|2013|p=23}} From Antioch, [[Barnabas]] and Paul went out as missionaries to [[Cyprus]], then [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]], where the gospel was received by both Jewish and [[Gentile|non-Jewish people]].{{sfn|McBirnie|2013|pp=30-31}} The largest cities in the Roman Empire, such as Rome, [[Alexandria]], Antioch, [[Ephesus]], and [[Carthage]], all had Christian congregations by the end of the first century.{{sfn|Fousek|2018|loc=Discussion}}

The conversion of Gentiles led to disputes with [[Judaizers|a group]] who desired observance of [[Law of Moses|Mosaic law]] including [[circumcision]].{{sfn|Westerholm|2015|pp=4–15}}{{sfn|Adams|Adams|2012|loc=p. 297}} James, Jesus' brother, called the [[Council of Jerusalem]] ({{circa|50}}) which determined that converts should avoid "pollution of idols, fornication, things strangled, and blood" but should not be required to follow other aspects of Jewish Law ([[KJV]], Acts 15:20–21).{{sfn|Fahy|1963|p=249}} As Christianity grew in the Gentile world, it underwent [[Jewish Christian#Split of early Christianity and Judaism|a gradual separation from Judaism]].{{sfn|Dunn|1999|pp=33–34}}{{sfn|Boatwright|Gargola|Talbert|2004|p=426}} Disagreements over Jewish law, progenitors of [[Rabbinic Judaism]], and insurrections against Rome, contributed to this separation.{{sfn|Marcus|2006|pp=87–88, 99–100}}{{sfn|Neusner|1972|p=313}} Nevertheless, Jewish Christianity remained influential in Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor into the second and third centuries.{{sfn|Wylen|1995|pp=190–193}}{{sfn|Marcus|2006|pp=96–99, 101}}

In the early centuries, the languages most used to spread Christianity were [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Syriac language|Syriac]] (a form of [[Aramaic]]), and [[Latin]].{{sfn|Wilken|2013|pp=2, 26}} Christian writings in [[Koine Greek]], including the [[four gospels]] (the accounts of Jesus' ministry), [[Pauline epistles|letters of Paul]], and letters attributed to other early Christian leaders, were written in the first century and had considerable authority, even in the formative period.{{sfn|Barton|1998a|p=14}}{{sfn|Porter|2011|p=198}} Letters sent by Paul the Apostle to [[Early centers of Christianity|Christian communities]] were circulating in collected form by the end of the first century.{{sfn|Ferguson|2002|pp=302–303}}

=== Ante-Nicene period (100–312) ===
{{Main|Christianity in the ante-Nicene period}}
{{further|Great Church|Gnosticism}}
The Christian faith spread east into Syria and Mesopotamia where the population spoke Aramaic, not Greek. Aramaic Christians were in [[Adiabene]] (northern Iraq) by the second century.{{sfn|Wilken|2013|p=26}} It had spread into North Africa in the first century, and by the third century, it had spread across the Mediterranean region, from Greece and Anatolia into the Balkans in the East, and as far as [[Roman Britain]] in the northwest.{{sfn|Trombley|2006|p=311}}{{sfn|Schäferdiek|2007|loc=abstract}} 

Christianity's different ideas, combined with the social impact of the church, were pivotal to this growth.{{sfn|Judge|2010|pp=217–218}}{{sfn|Hopkins|1998|p=224}} Christianity offered people new ways of thinking.{{sfn|Van Dam|1985|p=2}}{{sfn|Brown|1997|p=28}}{{sfn|Brown|1998|pp=24–25}}{{sfn|Judge|2010|p=262}} For example, the idea that the power of God was manifested through Jesus in a reversal of power challenged Roman concepts of hierarchy.{{sfn|Van Dam|1985|p=4}}{{sfn|Judge|2010|p=197}}{{sfn|Malcolm|2013|pp=14–18; 27}} 

The Ante-Nicene period included sporadic but increasing [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|persecution from Roman authorities]], as well as the rise of Christian [[sect]]s, [[cult]]s, and [[Sociological classifications of religious movements|movements]].{{sfn|Siker|2017|pp=207–212; 213–217}} Christians were persecuted because they did not uphold fundamental beliefs of Roman society and their withdrawal from public religion made them targets of suspicion and rumor.{{sfn|Castelli|2004|pp=38-39}}{{sfn|Gaddis|2005|pp=30–31}}{{sfn|Frend|2006|p=504}}{{sfn|Dodds|1970|loc=pp. 111–112, 112 n.1}} For most of its early centuries, Christianity was tolerated, and episodes of persecution were local.{{sfn|Moss|2012|p=129}} Emperor [[Nero]]'s persecution of Christians during the mid-1st century was confined to Rome. There were no empire-wide persecutions until the 250s.{{sfn|Barnes|1968|p=50}} Official persecution [[Diocletianic Persecution|reached its height under Diocletian]] in 303–311.{{sfn|Rives|1999|p=141}}{{sfn|Croix|2006|pp=139–140}}{{sfn|Gaddis|2005|pp=30–31}}

In sociologist Rodney Stark's view, Christianity constituted an "intense community" which provided a unique "sense of belonging".{{sfn|Stark|1996|pp=207, 215}}{{sfn|Praet|1992–1993|p=73}} Early Christianity demonstrates both inclusion and exclusion.{{sfn|Mitchell|Young|2006|p=588}} Baptism was free and there were no fees, which made Christianity more affordable than traditional Roman religions.{{sfn|Welch|Pulham|2000|p=202}}{{sfn|Praet|1992–1993|pp=45–48}} Belief in the resurrection of Jesus was the crucial and defining characteristic for becoming a Christian, and early Christianity was highly inclusive of any who expressed such belief.{{sfn|Meeks|2003|pp=79–81}}{{sfn|Dowley|2018|p=14}} [[Ancient philosophy]] Professor Danny Praet writes that believers were also separated from unbelievers by a strong social boundary in a unique type of exclusivity based on belief rather than traditional Roman ritual.{{sfn|Praet|1992–1993|p=36}}{{sfn|Green|2010|pp=126–127}}{{sfn|Praet|1992–1993|pp=68, 108}}  
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | total_width = 500

 | image1 = Good shepherd 02b close.jpg
 | alt1 = photo of very old and slightly damaged representation of Jesus as the Good Shepherd from the catacombs, made {{circa|300|lk=no}}
 | caption1 = Jesus as the [[Good Shepherd]]; [[catacombs of Rome]], {{circa|300|lk=no}}

 | image2 = Half-length portrait of a virgin consecrated to God, from the book Die Malereien der Katakomben Roms, plate 80.jpg
 | alt2 = photo of very old slightly damaged portrait of a woman in robes signifying her consecration to God
 | caption2 = Virgin consecrated to God in the clothes of her office, praying in [[orans]] position; [[Catacomb of Priscilla]] {{circa|275|lk=no}}.
}}
Women are prominent in the Pauline epistles{{sfn|MacDonald|1996|p=10-11, 169}}{{sfn|Guy|2011|pp=10, 75, 188}} and [[early Christian art]],{{sfn|Tulloch|2004|p=302}} while much early anti-Christian criticism was linked to "female initiative" indicating their role in the movement.{{sfn|Gardner|1991|p=67}}{{sfn|MacDonald|1996|pp=126; 157; 167–168; 202; 242}}{{sfn|LaFosse|2017|pp=385–387}}{{refn|group=note|The ascetic life was attractive to large numbers of women because it granted them some control over their destinies,{{sfn|Stewart|2017|p=308}}{{sfn|Kraemer|1980|pp=298; 300–301; 306–307}} offered them escape from marriage and motherhood, and an intellectual life with access to social and economic power.{{sfn|Castelli|2004|p=251}}{{sfn|Milnor|2011|loc=abstract}}{{sfn|Stewart|2017|p=308}}}} The church rolls from the second century list groups of women "exercising the office of widow".{{sfn|MacDonald|2003|p=169}}{{sfn|Guy|2011|pp=10, 75, 188}} There are few records of early Christian art, but the oldest emerged in the catacombs of Rome between 200 and 400.{{sfn|Grabar|2023|p=7}}{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1998|pp=148–149}}{{sfn|Judith Anne Testa|p=80}} It typically fused Graeco-Roman style and Christian symbolism: the most common image was Jesus as the [[good shepherd]].{{sfn|Goodenough|1962|p=138}}{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1998|pp=148–151}}

By 200, Christian numbers had grown to over 200,000 people, and communities with an average size of 500–1000 people existed in approximately 200–400 towns. By 250, Christianity had grown to over a million.{{sfn|Harnett|2017|pp=200; 217}}{{sfn|Hopkins|1998|pp=192–193}} House churches were then succeeded by buildings designed to be churches, complete with assembly rooms, classrooms, and dining rooms.{{sfn|Runciman|2004|p=5}}{{sfn|Hopkins|1998|pp=203, 206}} A more formal church government developed at different times in different locations. Bishops were essential to this development, and they rose in power and influence as they began to preside over larger areas with multiple churches.{{sfn|Carrington|2011|pp=153, 266}}{{sfn|Stewart|2014|loc=intro}}{{sfn|Siker|2017|p=216}}{{sfn|Wilken|2013|p=90}}

The four gospels and the letters of Paul were generally regarded as authoritative, but other writings, such as the [[Book of Revelation]] and the epistles [[Epistle to the Hebrews|to the Hebrews]], [[Epistle of James|James]], and [[Johannine epistles|1 John]], were assigned different degrees of authority.{{sfn|Siker|2017|p=205}}{{sfn|Noll|1997|pp=36–37}}{{sfn|De Jonge|2003|p=315}} [[Gnosticism|Gnostic texts]] challenged the physical nature of Jesus, [[Montanism]] suggested that the apostles could be superseded, and [[Monarchianism]] emphasized the unity of God over the Trinity.{{sfn|Siker|2017|pp=212–217}} In the face of such diversity, unity was provided by the shared scriptures and bishops.{{sfn|Siker|2017|pp=216–217}}{{sfn|Cullmann|2018|p=1}}

The fluidity of the New Testament in the first century does not seem to have affected belief in the [[Trinity]] as it connected to Christology and salvation. Christianity's [[Sacred mysteries|central mystery]], the Trinity, defines the Holy Spirit, Father, and Son as one God in three persons.{{sfn|Olson|Hall|2002|p=15}} However, there is an evolution of thought in the [[Church Fathers|Patristic writings]], then the development of the [[Biblical canon|canon]], and later in the theological controversies of the fourth century, that shaped the concept's development and gradually created a more technical Trinitarian vocabulary.{{sfn|Emery|Levering|2011|pp=1-2, 5-6}}{{sfn|Olson|Hall|2002|pp=15-16}}