What was it like to be a Christian during the Roman Empire?

Christians were occasionally persecuted—formally punished—for their beliefs during the first two centuries CE. But the Roman state’s official position was generally to ignore Christians unless they clearly challenged imperial authority.

How did Christianity affect the Roman Empire?

By approving Christianity, the Roman state directly undermined its religious traditions. Finally, by this time, Romans considered their emperor a god. But the Christian belief in one god — who was not the emperor — weakened the authority and credibility of the emperor.

How did Christianity spread in medieval times?

As the political boundaries of the Roman Empire diminished and then collapsed in the West, Christianity spread beyond the old borders of the Empire and into lands that had never been under Rome.

How did Christianity develop in Rome?

Over time, the Christian church and faith grew more organized. In 313 AD, the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which accepted Christianity: 10 years later, it had become the official religion of the Roman Empire.

What religion did Romans believe in before Christianity?

The Roman Empire was a primarily polytheistic civilization, which meant that people recognized and worshiped multiple gods and goddesses. Despite the presence of monotheistic religions within the empire, such as Judaism and early Christianity, Romans honored multiple deities.

What is the point of origin of the Christian faith?

The point of origin and central figure of the Christian faith is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This page reviews the transmission of the Christian faith from Jesus Christ and the Apostles through the Traditions of the early Christian Church and the formation of the Canon of the New Testament of the Bible.

What did early Christians struggle with from the beginning?

From the beginning, early Christians struggled to define for themselves the identity of Jesus and the meaning of his message. What is the account that we get from Acts about the early history of the Christian church?

How did the church get organized?

Jesus Christ selected certain men whom he personally trained to govern his Church under one whom he appointed its head. He told them what they were to aim at and how they were to do it, with his help. Years passed and that simple society grew; its organization became more complex, but we can trace its history through the centuries.

Was there more diversity in the early stages of the Christian movement?

So there was much more diversity in the early stages of the Christian movement than the Book of Acts suggest…. Christianity, or one would rather say “Christianities,” of the second and third centuries were a highly variegated phenomenon. We really can’t imagine Christianity as a unified coherent religious movement.