From Jesus to Constantine: 30-313 Birth, Growth, Change Imagine a time Christians had no written Gospels but only a spoken tradition of the sayings and stories of Jesus. So it was for the earliest Christians. Between Jesus life and the year 313 the Church went through many changes. At first. Christians scriptures were only the Jewish Law and the prophets and some of the Jewish Writings, such Psalms.though they used simple affirmations of faith, such as Jesus is Lord, they did not have formal Creeds or confessions. Worship was not highly structured and existed in a variety of forms. The Center Shifts The earliest center of Christianity was Jerusalem but, in 70 A.D. A Jewish revolt failed. The Romans sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. These events were a major turning for both Judaism and Christianity. This relief from the Arch of Titus in Rome, ca. 81 A.D. Commemorates the end of the Jewish wars. The spoils from the temple at Jerusalem, the Table at Jerusalem, the table of Shewbread, the Seven-branched candlestick, and the silver trumpets, are carried triumphantly into the city. After 70, Christians became dispersed, moving out more beyond Israel. Christianity increasingly became Hellenized. Greek, not Aramaic, became the primary language of Christians, instead of Jerusalem, three cities: . Antioch in Syria . Alexandria in Egypt . And Rome in Italy Became the most important centers for Christians Communities. Ignatius of Antioch Ignatius ( died c. 110 ) was the second bishop of Antioch during a time of severe persecution. At that time, the office of a bishop was simply the Pastor of a local Congregation; Ignatius did not have far-flung authority over a broader area. Condemned to fight wild beasts in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of Letters on the way to his death, including a one to Polycarp, which is his shortest epistle. In the another epistle, Ignatius warned Polycarp and his Congregation of the danger of a New Theology, which were later named Docetism. Persecution of Christians Persecutions of the Christian minority group began in the middle of the first century as it became separated from Judaism. The book of Acts describes how Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul, persecuted Christians and the martyrdom of Stephen. Martyr comes from a Greek word meaning witness. Famous early Christian martyrs include: . Peter and Paul . Ignatius of Antioch . Justin Martyr . Perpetual and Felicitas . Origen of Alexandria.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 13:35:41 +0000
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