Ancient Christianity

Summary

1 First Christian Community

1.1 What is meant by ancient Christianity

1.2 The question of Christian dating

1.3 First Christian community or first Christian communities?

1.4 Kerygma, conversion, faith, and baptism

2 First Christian Expansion

2.1 The context of Christian expansion

2.2 A plural Christianity in a plural world

2.3 Protagonists of the Christian mission

2.4 Ministries

3 Paul: Missionary Journeys

3.1 Biographical traits of the Apostle Paul

3.2 The missionary journeys

3.3 The Pauline letters

3.4 Paul: true founder of Christianity?

4 Christianity in the Roman World

4.1 A plural world

4.2 Citizens of another city

4.3 The first dissensions and heresies

4.4 The councils and the birth of Christian theology

5 Persecutions in Antiquity

5.1 Causes of the persecutions

5.2 The various phases of the persecutions

5.3 The blood of the martyrs: seed of new Christians

5.4 The end of the persecutions and the “Constantinian shift”

6 Bibliographic references

1 First Christian Community

1.1 What is meant by ancient Christianity

In general terms, ancient Christianity refers to the Christianity of the first four centuries of the Christian Era, a period that stretches from the birth of the Church, at the event of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2), when the disciples of Jesus Christ received the Holy Spirit to proclaim his Gospel (c. 30 AD), to the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476 AD). This period of four and a half centuries is divided, in turn, into two major stages: from apostolic preaching (c. 30 AD) to the “Constantinian shift” (313 AD) or to the Council of Nicaea (325), and from there to the fall of Rome (476 AD). In this section, we will consider the first stage of ancient Christianity. Some authors prefer to refer to this first stage as “primitive Christianity” or “pre-Nicene”, such as R. Markus, J. Hill, or H. Drobner.

1.2 The question of Christian dating

Christians, inserted into the Greco-Roman world, initially used the common dating systems of the cultures in which they lived. There were several calendars, based on the lunar and solar cycles. Among the most common were the Julian calendar and the calendar that counted dates from the founding of Rome (c. 753 BC). In the 6th century, the monk Dionysius Exiguus organized the events of known history based on the central event of Christianity, the Incarnation of Christ. Hence the common Western terminology “before Christ” (BC), “after Christ” (AD), or “Christian Era” or “Common Era” (CE). In his calculations, the monk made some errors, which would be corrected in the 17th century. In fact, Jesus Christ was born 5 or 6 years earlier than the date proposed by Dionysius.

1.3 First Christian community or first Christian communities?

Jesus preached in Galilee, Judea, Samaria, and in some pagan territories, concluding his mission in Jerusalem. The first Christian community, idealized in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-35), reflects not only the community in Jerusalem but also the other communities. The event of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1-13), which gave birth to the Church with the coming of the Holy Spirit, where people from all regions were present, likely illustrates the places where Christians had already formed communities. Thus, we can speak, already in the first decade after the “Paschal event” (death and resurrection of Jesus), of the emergence of Christian communities in the places where he had proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom.

1.4 Kerygma, conversion, faith, and baptism

Early Christianity presented itself, from the beginning, with great vitality, to the point of continually receiving new converts (cf. Acts 2:41,47; 6:7). The enthusiasm of the preaching about the Risen Jesus and the fraternal witness of life in the first Christian communities soon attracted not only Jews but also pagans. The proclamation of the kerygma, centered on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (cf. Acts 2:24-36; 3:13-26; 4:10-12; 5:30-32; 10:36-43; 13:17-41), constituted the fundamental preaching that aroused the conversion of listeners. Faith in the person and message of Jesus led to entry into the Christian community through baptism. Around baptismal catechesis, a formula that condensed the doctrine of the Apostles developed: the creed or apostolic symbol. Soon, the fundamental catechesis of baptismal preparation would be organized into the catechumenate.

2 First Christian Expansion

 2.1 The context of Christian expansion

Most of Jesus’ disciples were Jews. The first expansion of Christianity occurred in this environment; the language, customs, traditions, and Jewish practices were reinterpreted in the light of Jesus’ message. Since the 2nd century BC, Jews had been dispersed throughout the Hellenized world (Diaspora). In Antioch, the capital of the province of Syria, the followers of Christ were called “Christians” for the first time (cf. Acts 11:26). From the synagogues and Hellenized Jewish communities, Christianity expanded beyond the traditional Jewish context. Finally, Christianity spread to Rome, reaching the borders of the Roman Empire, within the context of the Gentile or pagan world.

2.2 A plural Christianity in a plural world

The efficient road system of the Empire, the koiné (a kind of popular Greek), the urban world of the Mediterranean basin, and the Hellenized culture facilitated the Christian proclamation. Judaism, in which Jesus and his first disciples were inserted, was already diverse. After the destruction of Jerusalem (70 AD) and the Bar Kokhba revolt (130 AD), the Pharisaic branch would come to represent traditional Judaism. The world of the Roman Empire was even more diverse. The Christianity of the first expansion thus also presented itself as very plural and diverse. The texts of the New Testament, the literature of the Apostolic Fathers and Apologists (1st and 2nd centuries), as well as the heterodox Christian literature of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, arouse great interest in the study of ancient Christianity.

 2.3 Protagonists of the Christian mission

Jesus lived surrounded by followers: crowds followed him in his movements, and there were temporary and permanent disciples (cf. Mt 8:18-21; Lk 6:12-13,20; 8:2-3; 10:1; Jn 11:1; 12:1-11). These male and female disciples were the initial protagonists of the Christian mission. Among all of them, he chose the Twelve, constituted as the leaders of the “new Israel” (cf. Mt 10:1-4; 20:17; Mk 3:14; Mk 6:7; 10:32,35-40; 11:11; 14:17; Lk 8:1; 22:28-30; Jn 6:67-68). Jesus’ mandate to “make disciples of all nations” (cf. Mt 28:19) expresses the conviction that his message was not limited to the house of Israel. The message of the Galilean Master thus found resonance in the Jewish, Hellenized Jewish, and broader Gentile context. In each of these contexts, new disciples emerged. Christian tradition holds that, after Pentecost, the Twelve, after praying together, dispersed to the various regions of the known world to fulfill the mandate. In each place, accompanied by disciples, they founded communities. By the end of the 1st century and beginning of the 2nd, there is news of Christian presence beyond the borders of the Empire, such as in Edessa, an important commercial center in the kingdom of Osroene. From there, Christianity extended to Asia, reaching Persia and India.

2.4 Ministries

The New Testament presents a wide range of ministries, or services for the coordination and organization of Christian communities. In the 1st century, in each context of Christian expansion, forms of organizing these services began to emerge. From the beginning, the group of the Twelve chosen by Jesus enjoyed a kind of primacy of honor among the disciples. They should not be confused with the apostles; later tradition, at the end of the 1st century, identified them as the “twelve apostles.” After Judas’ betrayal, it was necessary to choose another to replace him and complete the number “twelve” (cf. Mt 28:16; Mk 16:14; Lk 24:9,33; Jn 20:19,24,26; 1 Cor 15:5; Acts 1:15-26). In the Jewish context, modeled on the community of Jerusalem, the council of elders (presbyters) was adopted, presided over by an elder (a kind of presbyter-bishop). In the context of Hellenized Judaism, deacons—administrators of goods—were soon associated with the Twelve and the presbyters (Acts 6:1-6). In the communities founded by Paul, the Apostles (itinerant missionaries, founders and general leaders of the communities: cf. Acts 13:2; 14:27; 15:27; 18:22), Prophets (local leaders and presiders of celebrations: cf. 1 Cor 14:15-17,29-32), and Teachers (a kind of catechists: Acts 13:1; 18:4; 22:3) stood out. At the end of the 1st century, when dissensions arose with “false prophets” and other preachers (cf. Acts 20:29-31), guardians of the “tradition” and the “deposit of faith” were instituted: the epískopoi (bishops). Missionaries began to be called evangelists (Eph 4:11; 2 Tim 4:5). By the end of the 2nd century, the evolution of ministries reached the structure generally adopted by all Churches: bishop-presbyter-deacon.

3 Paul: Missionary Journeys

3.1 Biographical traits of the Apostle Paul

The Apostle Paul is, without a doubt, the most remarkable figure of the first Christian century. The two main sources about him, not always easy to reconcile, are the Acts of the Apostles and the group of writings known as the corpus paulinum. Paul was born in Tarsus, a city near Antioch. He was from the same era as Jesus, although he never met Him. A skilled tentmaker, he was a typical Jew of the diaspora, an authentic Pharisee who studied under the Pharisee Gamaliel in Jerusalem. He was one of the leaders who organized the persecution of Christians in an attempt to suppress the new religion, and he witnessed the martyrdom of Stephen (cf. Acts 9). However, on the road to Damascus, he had an extraordinary mystical experience in which he encountered Jesus. Upon his conversion, he changed his name from Saul to Paul. Shortly after his baptism, he began preaching Christ, first in Arabia and then in Damascus. After his first imprisonment, he went to Jerusalem to meet the Apostles and later traveled to Tarsus, where he remained for several years.

3.2 The missionary journeys

Around the age of 40, Paul began his famous three “missionary journeys.” In reality, these were comings and goings throughout the Eastern Empire—a true missionary journey in which he preached the Gospel, founded communities, trained leaders, wrote letters, and developed his theology. This journey culminated in his final imprisonment and death in Rome around 64-67 AD. On the first journey, Paul went to Anatolia, then to Jerusalem and Antioch. On the other two, he traveled through the Greek peninsula. The main cities he visited were Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Thessalonica, and Philippi. Upon returning to Jerusalem, Paul was attacked by a crowd. As a Roman citizen, he invoked his right to be judged in Rome, where he was taken as a prisoner. He hoped to be released and continue his mission. Later traditions state that he went to Iberia and Gaul. However, the most reliable account is that he was executed in Rome.

 3.3 The Pauline Letters

During his journeys, Paul was accompanied by several companions, including Timothy, Titus, Barnabas, and Luke. Thirteen New Testament letters or epistles bear Paul’s name. Modern scholars consider the following as authentic: the Letter to the Romans, the First and Second Letters to the Corinthians, the Letter to the Philippians, the Letter to the Galatians, the First Letter to the Thessalonians, and the shortest one—a sort of note—to Philemon. The letters reflect his missionary experiences and testify to his theological concerns. Many of his ideas were used to address the pastoral problems of his communities. The role of the crucified and risen Christ in the history of salvation occupies a central place in Pauline theology.

3.4 Paul: the true founder of Christianity?

It has sometimes been claimed that Paul was “the true founder of Christianity,” even overshadowing the original message of Jesus and the role of the Apostles, as if he had founded a “new religion.” Paul undoubtedly occupies an exceptional place in the spread of early Christianity. However, he himself said that he had difficulty being accepted as an Apostle (cf. Gal 1:15-24; 1 Cor 15:8; Eph 3:1-9). One of the fundamental issues raised by Paul was whether, in order to be a true follower of Christ, one had to accept all the prescriptions of the Jewish tradition. The conflict found a solution in the meeting with the Apostles in Jerusalem, where a consensus was reached on the fundamental points of Christian life and doctrine (cf. Acts 15; Gal 2:1-10). This agreement recognized the legitimacy of the mission among the Gentiles, ensuring the expansion of Christianity and establishing criteria for resolving conflicts and maintaining unity among the Churches.

4 Christianity in the Roman World

4.1 A plural world

The world in which early Christianity expanded, despite signs of decline, was a vigorous one. In the 1st century AD, Roman civilization, heir to Hellenistic civilization, had reached its full expansion. This was during the reigns of Augustus (30 BC) and Tiberius (14–37 AD). Rome extended its civilizing dominion with the pax Augusta, a militarized peace, to the edges of the East. In the 2nd century, under the Antonine emperors, order, law, and effective administration still prevailed within a relatively liberal State. Even with the great crisis of the 3rd century, under Diocletian (284–305), its history gained new momentum: during his rule, an absolute monarchy supported by a powerful administrative apparatus was established.

Many cultures, many peoples, many gods. The Roman Empire showed great tolerance toward the religions of conquered peoples. In Rome, there was even a “pantheon,” a temple for all the deities of the Empire. The Romans required only that citizens observe the imperial cult, of a civic nature, with its public ceremonies, in which all citizens were to participate by offering sacrifices and praying for the Emperor: dominus ac divus (lord and god). The official religion was the foundation of imperial unity. To attack it was a crime. Christians, by affirming that their only Lord was Christ, were considered suspicious, strange, and enemies of the State.

In a world marked by insecurity, misery, oppression, and slavery, many religions from the East proliferated and became very popular. These included the cults of Horus, Isis, and Osiris (Egypt); Mithras (Persia); Asclepius and Aesculapius were among the most popular “savior” gods. These religions had an initiatory character: they required conversion or a passage, a new birth, a period of initiation into the “mysteries,” and an initiation ceremony. The “initiated” joined the “brotherhood,” became brothers, associated with the divinity, and their lives gained new meaning, with a promise of eternity. The Empire treated them as superstitio, religio nova, and considered them illicit. Christianity was classified as one of these religions.

Philosophers considered polytheism an “allegory” of higher realities, which they had transcended through the exercise of asceticism and reason, in search of the true doctrine or philosophy. Many philosophical systems sought to answer the great questions of the origin and purpose of the universe, of all things, of issues related to humanity and its relations in the polis and with the divine world, the meaning of justice, happiness, and immortality. They usually postulated the existence of a God, principle, or transcendent cause, along with a superior, immaterial world. Not a few people from this cultural background would seek the “true philosophy,” which they would find in Christianity.

In this pluralistic universe, a syncretic movement emerged in the 1st century, blending elements of many cultural, religious, and philosophical traditions. This was Gnosticism: through gnosis, a higher knowledge revealed to those capable of receiving it—the gnostics—human beings could know the mysteries of the divine world and attain salvation. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, there was an explosion of Gnostic sects and groups, present among pagans, Jews, and Christians alike.

4.2 Citizens of another city

The first Christian generations, although they radically opposed the “world” and the surrounding civilization, were not insensitive to its values. They condemned the limitations and vices of that pagan civilization: cruelty (gladiator fights, abandonment of newborns and the elderly); immorality (debauchery, lust, orgies: cf. Rom 1:2-32); and idolatry and attachment to this transient world.

The Church initially welcomed the humble, the poor, women, and slaves. But soon merchants, soldiers, imperial officials, and later members of the aristocracy and even the imperial household would convert to the religion of the Nazarene. They all lived in this world but felt like citizens of an imperishable city (cf. Letter to Diognetus).

4.3 The first dissensions and heresies

Jesus announced and inaugurated the Good News of the Kingdom in a pluralistic context. His message spread in a plural world. His message and person, his life were transmitted first within a Semitic mindset, later requiring a Hellenized language to be understood, and then successively Germanic, Celtic, etc. It is natural that there were different interpretations of his person and work. Even in the New Testament, we find several “theologies” and warnings against antichrists and false prophets. Among the first partial “choices” (“heresies”), which failed to correctly comprehend Jesus Christ and his message or which extrapolated its content, we find the Docetists (who believed Jesus only had the “appearance” of a man, thus denying his “humanity”) and the Ebionites (who believed he was the Messiah, a man sent from God, but not the Son of God, denying his “divinity”). Around these two proclaimed truths and the way of living and practicing Jesus’ message, many heresies and schisms emerged during the first three centuries: Gnosticism (various branches), Montanism, Millenarianism, Subordinationism, Adoptionism, Modalism, Manichaeism, among many others.

 4.4 The councils and the birth of Christian theology

To face these challenges, already at the end of the 2nd century and throughout the 3rd century, Churches began to hold meetings with their leaders to resolve issues and find unity in essential matters. These were the synods or councils. In this sense, the meeting that took place in Jerusalem around the year 49 AD is symbolically considered the first council of Christianity. These councils dealt with doctrinal and practical issues. In the end, they issued determinations on the topics discussed, through dogmatic and disciplinary canons, along with a “synodal letter” to be sent to sister Churches. Based on this successful experience, Emperor Constantine convened, in 325, the First Ecumenical Council to address the problem of Arianism.

In seeking to understand Christ and his message, salvation, and the meaning of the Church—responding to heresies and divisions and deepening the Christian faith—Christian theology developed. In this process, the formulation of Christian doctrine made use of the cultural resources of Greco-Roman civilization: the Greek and Latin languages, rhetoric, philosophy, law, customs, and institutions. This appropriation of culture, using its best elements to express Christ’s message from within, is commonly called inculturation. This phenomenon would remain a constant feature of Christian expansion. The next stage would occur in the Germanic world.

5 Persecutions in Antiquity

5.1 Causes of the persecutions

During the first three centuries of the Christian era, Christianity was persecuted, first by the Jews and later by the Romans. Until the fire of Rome under Emperor Nero (c. 64), Christians had gone largely unnoticed, confused with a Jewish sect that enjoyed a certain level of freedom and privileges. It is likely that the Jews were the ones who denounced the Christians to Nero as responsible for the fire.

To this were added popular prejudices, which saw Christians as people who hated the human race—atheists, impious, sacrilegious, and accused of committing abominations and infamies. In truth, Christians were not “separatists” but refused to follow idolatrous and pagan customs such as public festivals, theater attendance, approval of gladiatorial games, prostitution, statue worship, or emperor deification.

Rumors circulated among the people that, in their secret meetings, Christians worshiped the head of a donkey, performed child sacrifices followed by cannibalism, and engaged in incestuous unions and orgies (since they all called each other “brothers” and practiced the “kiss of peace”!).

Intellectuals and authorities classified the Christian religion as a superstitio, later condemned by the State as an associatio illicita, a religio nova, and a religio illicita, for threatening the unity and sacredness of the Empire. Legislation evolved in the first century from some tolerance toward Christians to condemnation simply for being Christian. Being Christian became a crime of lèse-majesté.

5.2 The various phases of the persecutions

The persecutions of the first two centuries were sporadic, local or regional, intermittent, and motivated by denunciations or specific incidents. However, the persecutions of the third and early fourth centuries were triggered by imperial authority through general decrees aimed at exterminating Christianity.

In the first phase, they occurred due to popular agitation and were later submitted to the magistrates for evaluation. The authorities sought to control popular fury and public disorder. Nevertheless, Christianity was already considered illegal. But these persecutions were still intermittent, with long periods of tolerance and peace in between.

With Septimius Severus in 202, a new practice began: on certain occasions, the authorities themselves promoted persecutions. At this time, the targets were catechumens (those preparing for baptism), neophytes (newly baptized), and catechists (those who instructed them). The goal was to prevent anyone from becoming Christian.

In the mid-third century, systematic persecutions began, aimed at effectively exterminating Christianity. Decius was the first to decree a general persecution (250–251). Although short, it reached an intensity and scale never seen before. The objective, more than creating martyrs, was to create apostates. Indeed, many succumbed and betrayed their faith or community (the lapsi), raising internal problems within the Church. In 257, Valerian launched another persecution: it primarily targeted the clergy and Church property, but also affected the people with a series of bans that threatened their safety, confiscated their goods, and led to exile and imprisonment. The last violent persecution was under Diocletian (303–313).

It is estimated that the number of martyrs ranged between one hundred and two hundred thousand. In any case, throughout this period, Christians lived in constant insecurity and suffered hostility from the people.

5.3 The blood of the martyrs: seed of new Christians

Tertullian of Carthage (†220) observed that it was in the shadow of Judaism that Christianity was able to take its first steps without confronting the Empire. Along with Justin of Rome, Athenagoras of Athens, Theophilus of Antioch, Irenaeus of Lyon, and Origen of Alexandria, he was a thinker, philosopher, and theologian who wrote an apology for Christianity: a defense against attacks from the people, the Jews, philosophers, and authorities; and a counterattack against the immorality of pagan religion, the incoherencies of the people of the old law, the absurdity of the theories about God, and the decadence of the Empire, to present the beauty, sublimity, and honesty of the religion of Christ.

The more Christians were persecuted and martyred, the more they multiplied. In this context, simply joining the group of catechumens or requesting baptism already demonstrated the seriousness of the candidates. Only after the persecutions did the catechumenate become more rigorous, already in a context of freedom and greater laxity.

The first model of holiness found in ancient Christianity is martyrdom. The martyr is the ultimate witness, who imitates Christ to the point of shedding blood. Many of Jesus’ disciples, apostles, Church leaders, and unknown individuals—men, women, children, youths, adults, and elders—became martyrs. From early on, a “spirituality of martyrdom” developed. The tombs of martyrs soon became places of pilgrimage and worship.

In addition to several ancient sources, the privileged sources for learning about Christian martyrs are the acta martyrum: documents made by the authorities themselves during the trials of the condemned and later read in the communities; the gesta: accounts written during the time of the persecutions, mixing historical and fictional elements; and the legenda, mostly from a later period, with many fanciful motifs, forming a type of edifying literature.

5.4 The end of the persecutions and the “Constantinian shift”

In 313, emperors Licinius and Constantine jointly signed a document, the Edict of Milan, which granted freedom of worship to Christians and other religions. This marked the end of the era of persecution against Christians and the beginning of a new stage, referred to by some historians as the Constantinian shift (cf. F. Pierini, H. Matos, and D. Mondoni). Constantine granted Christians not only freedom of worship but also a series of exemptions and privileges, giving lands, properties, prestige, and power to the Catholic Church. In 380, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire: this was the phase of the “Imperial Church” or “Golden Age of Patristics.”

During this new phase, the catechumenate was restructured; liturgy and ecclesiastical discipline developed; patristic theology reached its peak; it was also a period of major schisms and heresies; the Christological and Trinitarian dogmas reached their fullest formulations; the Church’s organization across the Empire was refined with dioceses, parishes, and patriarchates; religious life emerged, with monasticism; and a new missionary surge reached out to the “barbarian” peoples. It was the time of the ecumenical councils: Nicaea (325), Constantinople I (381), Ephesus (431), and Chalcedon (451).

Luiz Antônio Pinheiro, OSA. ISTA. Original text in Portuguese.

6 Bibliographical References

MATOS, Henrique Cristiano José. Introduction to Church History. vol.1. 5th ed. Belo Horizonte: O Lutador, 1997. p.7-90.

MONDONI, Danilo. Christianity in Antiquity. São Paulo: Loyola, 2014.

PIERINI, Franco. Church History Course I. The Ancient Age. São Paulo: Paulus, 1998. p.5-129.

Further Reading

COMBY, J.; LEMONON, J.-P. Life and Religions in the Roman Empire during the Time of the First Christian Communities. Documents of the World of the Bible 5. São Paulo: Paulinas, 1988.

COTHENET, E. Saint Paul and His Time. Biblical Notebooks 26. 2nd ed. São Paulo: Paulinas, 1985.

DANIÉLOU, J.; MARROU, H. From the Beginnings to Saint Gregory the Great. New History of the Church. Vol. I. 3rd ed. Petrópolis: Vozes. p.23-250.

DROBNER, Hubertus R. Manual of Patrology. Petrópolis: Vozes, 2003.

GONZÁLEZ, Justo L. The Age of Martyrs. An Illustrated History of Christianity. vol.1. 3rd ed. São Paulo: Vida Nova, 1986.

HAMMAN, A.-G. Daily Life of the First Christians (95–197). Patrology. São Paulo: Paulus, 1997.

HILL, Jonathan. History of Christianity. São Paulo: Rosari, 2009. p.12-77.

HOORNAERT, Eduardo. The Memory of the Christian People. Theology and Liberation Collection. Series I. Experience of God and Justice. Petrópolis: Vozes, 1986.

MARKUS, Robert A. The End of Ancient Christianity. São Paulo: Paulus, 1997.

MARROU, Henri Irénée. The Church within a Hellenistic and Roman Civilization. In: Concilium, n.67, p. 840-850, Petrópolis. 1971/7.

MEEKS, Wayne A. The First Urban Christians. The Social World of the Apostle Paul. Bible and Sociology. São Paulo: Paulinas, 1992.

PIERINI, Franco. Church History Course I. The Ancient Age. Paulus: São Paulo, 1998.

POTESTÀ, G. L.; VIAN, Giovanni. History of Christianity. São Paulo: Loyola, 2013. p.11-62.