The History of Early Christians
- The time frame of the early Christians is slightly more than three centuries. It begins with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, around 33 A.D. and ends at 325 A.D., which marks the First Council of Nicaea.
- The spread of Christianity began in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, which was 10 days after Jesus Christ had ascended into heaven, or 50 days following Passover. Before leaving His disciples to return to God the Father, Jesus Christ had told them to gather in the Upper Room in Jerusalem and wait until receiving power to spread the Gospel by receiving His Holy Spirit. It was there, as recorded in Acts 2:5-11, that men from all nations gathered to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, giving them the power to evangelize their faith with the rest of the world.
- The Apostolic Age, from 30 and 130 A.D., is the first historical time period of the early Christians. It's during the Apostolic Age that the foundation of the Christian church was established. This is when a portion of Jesus' original twelve apostles were still living. Several of them wrote accounts of the New Testament. Early followers of Christ were made up of the apocalyptic and Second Temple Jewish sect. It was during the Apostolic Age the apostle Paul of Tarsus experienced great success in furthering Christianity to the Gentiles in his missionary journeys. Many early Christians, including several of the original apostles, died as martyrs for their beliefs. During the Apostolic Age, Christianity grew as a distinct religion from Judaism, launching itself as mostly a Gentile faith.
- The Ante-Nicene period, from the mid-first century through the early fourth century, followed the Apostolic Age. Different religious movements arose in the Roman Empire besides Christianity such as Green Pagan religion, Mithraism and Roman Pagan religions. Christianity underwent extreme diversity and there was a growing rejection of Judaism and its practices. Various conflicts arose between Christians and the Roman authorities, with many early Christians continuing to be martyred for their faith. However, the Christian faith continued to grow, spreading throughout the Mediterranean, the Western Europe, North Africa and the Near East. Although this period isn't as thoroughly studied as the historical ages that came before and after it, it does have an important influence on how Christianity developed.
- At the First Counsel of Nicaea in 325 A.D., Christianity was promoted by the Roman Empire's Emperor Constantine I. It was here that the Christian church's first ecumenical council met. As a result the Creed of Nicaea (or the Nicene Creed) was written, which is the earliest uniform Christian doctrine. The creed created a precedent for later councils where church bishops could produce canons and belief statements that identified and shared the common beliefs of the Christian church, encompassing all Christians.
- Although Christians, throughout the history of their faith, have had theological differences, the Nicene Creed (with its roots in the First Counsel of Nicaea) has continued to bind Christians together. In other words, the First Counsel of Nicaea focused on what Christians shared in their belief of a triune God, who had three distinct roles, which included God in the form of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.