Early Christianity Apostolic Age on
Mount Zion in
Jerusalem, claimed to be the location of the
Last Supper and
Pentecost Christianity originated as a
Jewish movement in
Judaea during the 1st century AD, within the context of late
Second Temple Judaism. The earliest followers of Jesus were Jews who understood his life, death and expected return through familiar
Jewish apocalyptic and
messianic frameworks. They remained embedded in
Jewish religious life and did not initially conceive of themselves as departing from Israel or founding a new faith. Following their conviction that Jesus had been
raised from the dead, Early Jewish Christianity maintained a high
Christology alongside monotheism. This early community was led by the three
Pillars of the Church, namely
James the Just,
Peter, and
John. What eventually became of this earliest
Christ-following community remains unclear; they were possibly displaced, relocated, or killed when the
Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. This had a formative effect on the emerging
Christian identity as
separate from Judaism. Over time, such developments contributed to the gradual differentiation between the Jesus movement and other Jewish communities, a process that resulted in the emergence of Christianity as a separate religion.
Ante-Nicene period , an early-3rd-century collection of
Pauline epistles This formative period was followed by the early
bishops, whom Christians consider the
successors of Christ's apostles. From the year 150, Christian teachers began to produce theological and apologetic works aimed at defending the faith. These authors are known as the
Church Fathers, and the study of them is called
patristics. Notable early Fathers include
Ignatius of Antioch,
Polycarp,
Justin Martyr,
Irenaeus,
Tertullian,
Clement of Alexandria and
Origen. During this period, there was no unified Christian movement but rather
multiple competing sects, which held radically different beliefs. Christian authors began using the Greek term
hairesis, meaning "school of thought", to describe rival communities, which gave rise to the concept of
heresy. Christianity spread to
Aramaic-speaking peoples along the
Mediterranean coast and also to the inland parts of the
Roman Empire and beyond that into the
Parthian Empire and the later
Sasanian Empire, including
Mesopotamia, which was dominated at different times and to varying extents by these empires. The presence of Christianity in Africa began in the middle of the 1st century in Egypt and by the end of the 2nd century in the region around
Carthage.
Mark the Evangelist is claimed to have started the
Church of Alexandria in about 43 AD; various later churches claim this as their own legacy, including the
Coptic Orthodox Church. Important Africans who influenced the early development of Christianity include
Tertullian,
Clement of Alexandria,
Origen of Alexandria,
Cyprian,
Athanasius, and
Augustine of Hippo. monastery in the shadow of
Mount Ararat;
Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as the state religion in the early 4th century AD. It was not an entirely new religion in Armenia, having penetrated into the country from at least the third century, but it may have been present even earlier.
Constantine I was exposed to Christianity in his youth, and throughout his life his support for the religion grew, culminating in baptism on his deathbed. During his reign, state-sanctioned persecution of Christians was ended with the
Edict of Toleration in 311 and the
Edict of Milan in 313. At that point, Christianity was still a minority belief, comprising perhaps only 5% of the Roman population. Influenced by his adviser
Mardonius, Constantine's nephew
Julian unsuccessfully tried to suppress Christianity. On 27 February 380,
Theodosius I,
Gratian, and
Valentinian II issued the
Edict of Thessalonica establishing
Nicene Christianity as the
State church of the Roman Empire. As soon as it became connected to the state, Christianity grew wealthy; the Church solicited donations from the rich and could now own land. Constantine was also instrumental in the convocation of the
First Council of Nicaea in 325, which sought to address
Arianism and formulated the Nicene Creed, which is still used by in
Catholicism,
Eastern Orthodoxy,
Lutheranism,
Anglicanism, and many other
Protestant churches. The
Church of the East did not accept the third and following ecumenical councils and is still separate today by its successors (
Assyrian Church of the East). In terms of prosperity and cultural life, the
Byzantine Empire was one of the peaks in
Christian history and
Christian civilization, and
Constantinople remained the leading city of the
Christian world in size, wealth, and culture.
There was a renewed interest in classical Greek philosophy, as well as an increase in literary output in vernacular Greek. Byzantine art and literature held a preeminent place in Europe, and the cultural impact of
Byzantine art on the West during this period was enormous and of long-lasting significance. The later rise of
Islam in North Africa reduced the size and numbers of Christian congregations, leaving in large numbers only the
Coptic Church in Egypt, the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the Horn of Africa and the
Nubian Church in the Sudan (Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia).
Middle Ages Early Middle Ages With the decline and
fall of the Roman Empire in the West, the
papacy became a political player, first visible in
Pope Leo's diplomatic dealings with
Huns and
Vandals. the
Celtic, the
Baltic and some
Slavic peoples. Around 500, Christianity was thoroughly integrated into Byzantine and
Kingdom of Italy culture and
Benedict of Nursia set out
his Monastic Rule, establishing a system of regulations for the foundation and running of
monasteries. Part of the Muslims' success was due to the exhaustion of the Byzantine Empire in its decades long conflict with
Persia. Beginning in the 8th century, with the rise of
Carolingian leaders, the Papacy sought greater political support in the
Frankish Kingdom. The Middle Ages brought about major changes within the church.
Pope Gregory the Great dramatically reformed the
ecclesiastical structure and administration. In the early 8th century,
iconoclasm became a divisive issue, when it was sponsored by the
Byzantine emperors. The
Second Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (787) finally pronounced in favor of icons. In the early 10th century, Western Christian monasticism was further rejuvenated through the leadership of the great Benedictine monastery of
Cluny.
High and Late Middle Ages mosaic at the
Hagia Sophia in
Constantinople at the
Council of Clermont, where he preached the
First Crusade. Illustration by
Jean Colombe from the ''
Passages d'outremer'', . In the West, from the 11th century onward, some older cathedral schools
became universities (see, for example,
University of Oxford,
University of Paris and
University of Bologna). Previously, higher education had been the domain of Christian
cathedral schools or
monastic schools (
Scholae monasticae), led by
monks and
nuns. Evidence of such schools dates back to the 6th century AD. These new universities expanded the curriculum to include academic programs for clerics, lawyers, civil servants, and physicians. The university is generally regarded as an institution that has its origin in the
Medieval Christian setting. Accompanying the rise of the "new towns" throughout Europe,
mendicant orders were founded, bringing the
consecrated religious life out of the monastery and into the new urban setting. The two principal mendicant movements were the
Franciscans and the
Dominicans, founded by
Francis of Assisi and
Dominic, respectively. Both orders made significant contributions to the development of the great universities of Europe. Another new order was the
Cistercians, whose large, isolated monasteries spearheaded the settlement of former wilderness areas. In this period, church building and ecclesiastical architecture reached new heights, culminating in the orders of
Romanesque and
Gothic architecture and the building of the great European cathedrals.
Christian nationalism emerged during this era in which Christians felt the desire to recover lands in which Christianity had historically flourished. From 1095 under the pontificate of
Urban II, the
First Crusade was launched. These were a series of military campaigns in the
Holy Land and elsewhere, initiated in response to pleas from the Byzantine Emperor
Alexios I for aid against
Turkish expansion. The Crusades ultimately failed to stifle Islamic aggression and even contributed to Christian enmity with the sacking of
Constantinople during the
Fourth Crusade. The Christian Church experienced internal conflict between the 7th and 13th centuries that resulted in a
schism between the
Latin Church of
Western Christianity branch, the now-Catholic Church, and an
Eastern, largely Greek, branch (the
Eastern Orthodox Church). The two sides disagreed on a number of administrative, liturgical and doctrinal issues, most prominently
Eastern Orthodox opposition to papal supremacy. The
Second Council of Lyon (1274) and the
Council of Florence (1439) attempted to reunite the churches, but in both cases, the Eastern Orthodox refused to implement the decisions, and the two principal churches remain in schism to the present day. However, the Catholic Church has achieved union with various
smaller eastern churches. In the thirteenth century, a new emphasis on Jesus' suffering, exemplified by the Franciscans' preaching, had the consequence of turning worshippers' attention towards Jews, on whom
Christians had placed the blame for Jesus' death. Christianity's limited tolerance of Jews was not new—Augustine of Hippo said that Jews should not be allowed to enjoy the citizenship that Christians took for granted—but the growing antipathy towards Jews was a factor that led to
the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290, the first of many such expulsions in Europe. Beginning around 1184, following the crusade against
Cathar heresy, various institutions, broadly referred to as the
Inquisition, were established with the aim of suppressing
heresy and securing religious and doctrinal unity within Christianity through
conversion and prosecution.
Modern era Reformation and response initiated the
Reformation with his
Ninety-five Theses in 1517. The 15th-century
Renaissance brought about a renewed interest in ancient and classical learning. During the
Reformation,
Martin Luther posted the
Ninety-five Theses 1517 against the sale of
indulgences. Printed copies soon spread throughout Europe. In 1521 the
Edict of Worms condemned and excommunicated Luther and his followers, resulting in the schism of the
Western Christendom into several branches. Other reformers like
Zwingli,
Oecolampadius,
Calvin,
Knox, and
Arminius further criticized Catholic teaching and worship. These challenges developed into the movement called
Protestantism, which repudiated the
primacy of the pope, the role of tradition, the
seven sacraments, and other doctrines and practices.
Thomas Müntzer,
Andreas Karlstadt and other theologians perceived both the Catholic Church and the confessions of the
Magisterial Reformation as corrupted. Their activity brought about the
Radical Reformation, which gave birth to various
Anabaptist denominations. 's 1498–99
Pietà in
St. Peter's Basilica; the Catholic Church was among the patronages of the
Renaissance. Partly in response to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church engaged in a substantial process of reform and renewal, known as the
Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reform. The
Council of Trent clarified and reasserted Catholic doctrine. During the following centuries, competition between Catholicism and Protestantism became deeply entangled with political struggles among European states. Meanwhile, the discovery of America by
Christopher Columbus in 1492 brought about a new wave of missionary activity. Partly from missionary zeal, but under the impetus of
colonial expansion by the European powers, Christianity spread to the Americas, Oceania, East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Throughout Europe, the division caused by the Reformation led to outbreaks of
religious violence and the establishment of separate state churches in Europe.
Lutheranism spread into the northern, central, and eastern parts of present-day Germany,
Livonia, and Scandinavia.
Anglicanism was established in England in 1534.
Calvinism and its varieties, such as
Presbyterianism, were introduced in Scotland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Switzerland, and France.
Arminianism gained followers in the Netherlands and
Frisia. Ultimately, these differences led to the outbreak of
conflicts in which religion played a key factor. The
Thirty Years' War, the
English Civil War, and the
French Wars of Religion are prominent examples. These events intensified the
Christian debate on persecution and toleration. In the revival of neoplatonism
Renaissance humanists did not reject Christianity; quite the contrary, many of the greatest works of the
Renaissance were devoted to it, and the Catholic Church patronized many works of
Renaissance art. Much, if not most, of the new art was commissioned by or in dedication to the Church. Many well-known historical figures who influenced
Western science considered themselves Christian such as
Nicolaus Copernicus,
Galileo Galilei,
Johannes Kepler,
Isaac Newton and
Robert Boyle.
Post-Enlightenment in a 19th-century
Kakure Kirishitan Japanese woodcut In the era known as the
Great Divergence, when in the West, the
Age of Enlightenment and the
Scientific Revolution brought about great societal changes, Christianity was confronted with various forms of
skepticism and with certain modern
political ideologies, such as versions of
socialism and
liberalism. Events ranged from mere
anti-clericalism to violent outbursts against Christianity, such as the
dechristianization of France during the French Revolution, the
Spanish Civil War, and certain
Marxist movements, especially
the Russian Revolution and the
persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union under
state atheism. Especially pressing in Europe was the formation of
nation states after the
Napoleonic era. In all European countries, different Christian denominations found themselves in competition to greater or lesser extents with each other and with the state. Variables were the relative sizes of the denominations and the religious, political, and ideological orientation of the states. Urs Altermatt of the
University of Fribourg, looking specifically at Catholicism in Europe, identifies four models for the European nations. In traditionally Catholic-majority countries such as Belgium, Spain, and Austria, to some extent, religious and national communities are more or less identical. Cultural symbiosis and separation are found in Poland, the Republic of Ireland, and Switzerland, all countries with competing denominations. Competition is found in Germany, the Netherlands, and again Switzerland, all countries with minority Catholic populations, which to a greater or lesser extent identified with the nation. Finally, separation between religion (again, specifically Catholicism) and the state is found to a great degree in France and Italy, countries where the state actively opposed itself to the authority of the Catholic Church. The combined factors of the formation of nation states and
ultramontanism, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, but also in England to a much lesser extent, often forced Catholic churches, organizations, and believers to choose between the national demands of the state and the authority of the Church, specifically the papacy. This conflict came to a head in the
First Vatican Council, and in Germany would lead directly to the
Kulturkampf. of new pastors in
Cameroon, 2014 Christian commitment in Europe dropped as modernity and secularism came into their own, particularly in the
Czech Republic and
Estonia, while religious commitments in America have been generally high in comparison to Europe. Changes in worldwide Christianity over the last century have been significant, since 1900, Christianity has spread rapidly in the
Global South and Third World countries. The late 20th century has shown the shift of Christian adherence to the
Third World and the Southern Hemisphere in general, with the West no longer the chief standard bearer of Christianity. Approximately 7 to 10% of
Arabs are
Christians, most prevalent in Egypt,
Syria and
Lebanon. == Beliefs ==