Essay about History of the Eartly Christian Church

Eusebius explains that he feels he must add a tenth book to his "History of the Church," dedicating them to one Paulinus, so as to chow god's gret deliverance he has bestwoed on the Christians. Furthermore with the addition of this sectio the work becomes a "perfect number" (10:1). The churches which had only shortly previously endured the intense persecution of the empure now enjoyed the great favor of this same empire (10:2).

The process by which Scripture has been preserved and compiled is one whose history is worth noting. The early church had many opportunities to share the Good News of Christ via word of mouth, but from the time of Christ’s resurrection until the mid-second century, there had not been a single culmination of writings considered to be essential for the purposes of

In response to the how and why the papacy in Rome became the center of power as it did. Shortly after

The power of the Bishop in Rome resulted from several factors, including the barbarian invasions, the failure of the emperors to defend their homeland, the success of Christianity, and the fame of the Church. The Roman generals battled over who would rule and thus failed to defend their borders adequately. This created gaps in the land, which was a factor the fall of Rome. With the invasion of the barbarians, it was up to the Church to defend the lands. Pope Gregory greatly influenced the situation. He was responsible for the improved standing of the papacy. He became Rome’s financial officer, and he managed food and water supplies. He created peace with the Lombards, and was able to ransom prisoners from them in the 6th century. He created a new Liturgy of the church, and he believed the purpose of the papacy was to help the poor, thus establishing the papal title “Servant of the servants of Christ.” Gregory turned a self-seeking papacy into an office of kindness and humility.

Kings, at the time, were appointing bishops to the Church. This was an act called lay investiture. Popes disagreed with this, they

Religion spread across Europe and people followed different ones. Because there were so many religions, it became harder to unite since each had different beliefs. Christianity was a major religion that spread during the year 380 AD, and it was a major contributor to the fall of Rome. Christians were being persecuted because leaders didn't believe in such a religion which caused a division between Christians and other people in Rome. Christians also believed that their leader should've been the leader of Rome which also caused a division for those who believed that and those who didn't.

People were still afraid of practicing this religion, leading to many people still being reluctant to join, but when Constantine legalized Christianity, practicing Christians weren’t persecuted and many non-Christians joined this religion. People who wanted to join and people who practiced Christianity weren’t afraid anymore due to the legalization of Christianity. This led to many more people joining this religion, and therefore, more people to follow and spread the message of Christianity. Despite the fact that there were many components to Christianity’s spread, it is clear Constantine’s actions as the emperor of Rome and his imperial support made sure that Christianity would be

The rise of universal religions across the continents was greatly influenced by commerce, politics and the political leaders at the time. Political leaders were accepting the teachings and foundations of various faiths, and this allowed for these regions to thrive. In the Roman Empire, the conversion of Emperor Constantine played a key role in the spread of Christianity. Constantine and the people who succeeded him were pleased with the teachings of Christianity, and this allowed for the religion to spread beyond the cities into hinterlands. In addition, the collapse of the Roman Empire further led to the spread of Christianity since the church was the only source of unity around which people coalesced. Also, trade and commerce further facilitated

From being a persecuted religion, Christianity rose up to be an official religion of Rome with the support of the Emperor Constantine and Theodosius I in the fourth century. By the early Middle Ages, the Church had become extremely powerful and was one of the two dominant forces that controlled the entire Europe, with the other being the State. Although the popes and the kings were ought to be supportive of each other, there usually existed between them a constant struggle for ultimate authority over the kingdoms. More than often, these conflicts created tension between the State and the Church eventually resulted in the people's sufferings.

The beginning of the third century marked the beginning and end of Christian prosecution. Rome was looking for something to unite the region back together, and prosecution of Christians did present a common enemy; however, it did not last long. Theodosius, in en effort to unit Rome, decides to make the division of Diocletian official, separating Rome into two Western and Eastern portions (Smith, pg. 206&210, 2012). These portions would be co-ruled, and each portion had it’s own capital, one in Constantinople and one near the port of Ravenna. Constantinople, formally known as the ancient city Byzantium, was renamed after Constantine in 324, claiming it to be the “new Rome”(Smith, pg. 210, 2012). The western capital Ravenna was strategically picked because it was considered to be easier to defend. But the highly commercialized port did not

By The Middle Ages, one understands a relatively long historical period extending from the end of the Roman Empire to the 1500's. The conquest of The Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, and synthesis of Germanic and Roman ways of life formed the civilization which we call medieval (medieval-from Latin words; medium (middle) and aevum (age)). Medieval civilization was greatly influenced by the Muslims in Spain and The Middle East, and by Byzantine Empire and Christians in Southeast Europe.

Over the past years of my life I have seen many changes, some for the good and others not as good. Change can be demanding and also crucial. The early believers would encounter this. One can see that significant change happened, when reading through the gospels and the book of acts it is obvious to the reader that the believers who followed Jesus would never be the same again.

The Middle Ages were a period in Europe dating from the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, around the 5th century. However, the fixing of dates for the beginning and end of the Middle Ages is arbitrary. According to the Norton Anthology, "Medieval social theory held that society was made up of three 'estates': the nobility, composed of a small hereditary aristocracy,...,the church, whose duty was to look after the spiritual welfare of that body, and everyone else..."( Norton 76).

The Middle Ages was a time of rebirth for the Church. The Church had a growing amount of power, and used this power to get messages sent to its followers. One important message created an ever-growing distance between believes and nonbelievers of the Church. Throughout the Middle Ages there have been inconsistencies with the doctrines and actions of the Church. There is one constant within the Church, throughout the Middle Ages the Church has opposed outsiders and has mistreated those outsiders from the Church.

Saint Peter the Apostle, original name Simeon, or Simon (died AD 64, Rome), disciple of Jesus Christ, recognized in the early church as the leader of the disciples and the Roman Catholic Church as the first of its unbroken succession of popes. Peter a fisherman, was called to be a disciple of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. He received from Jesus an Aramaic appellation Cephas which means “Rock.” This was translated into Greek as Petros (from the Greek Petra, “rock”) and became a Latin Petrus and the English Peter. Jesus told Peter he was the Rock upon whom the Christian Church would be built. Throughout the public life of Jesus, Peter is represented in the Gospel as the Spokesman and principal member of Jesus’ followers. He is the first named in the entire list given of these followers and was present with a privilege at few special occasions, example, the daughter of Jairus brought back to life by Jesus. He was also the first to see Jesus after his resurrection from the dead.