Opposition to the early Christian church was immediate, as early as 37 A.D., with an angry mob stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, the persecution of the Christ's followers began. Christians would be tortured, humiliated and sometimes killed, for the next 200 years by Jews and Romans alike. It has been said that, "Where God raises up a church, the Devil builds a chapel nearby." Of such discouragement, we read of the Apostle Paul writing a letter to his church members in Galatia expressing his dismay over their departure from the faith, he says, "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" Galatians 3:1

We know little or nothing about how many Christians there were by the end of the first century. Undoubtedly the congregations were small and were from the middle to lower classes of society. The New Testament tells of fishermen, slaves and common people. St. Paul says, "Now remember what you were, my brothers, when God called you. From the human point of view few of you were wise and powerful or of high social standing." (1 Corinthians 1:26 TEV). Probably people met in little groups in their homes.

The second period of church history is called the Age of the Early Church Fathers (100 A.D.- 321 A.D. During this time the apostles had passed from the scene and the generations of church leaders who followed, grew more and more distant, time-wise, from Christianity's birth. Persecution continued, off and on, but the courage of the martyrs and the unjust treatment of the Christians served only to encourage the spread of Christianity. Although this era begins with the Christian church as a tiny minority, the church grows and prospers until it becomes officially accepted in the Roman empire.

In this period the church becomes organized, and it is about the year 155 A.D. that a church leader named Ignatius mentions the Catholic Church as an organization versus the catholic church (small c) which means the universal church. Actually he was pointing out the difference between the heretics and the true believers but the name stuck and was generally adopted by the end of the century. Many point to this time as early recognition of what is known as the Roman Catholic church of today.

During this, The Age of the Early Church Fathers, the Roman emperor Constantine ends persecution, legalizes Christianity, and makes Sunday the official day of worship in 321 A.D. The law reads, "One the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost."

Of this unbelievable triumph of Christianity, the historian Philip Schaff, states, "Romans, with all their might and policy, could bring conquered nations only into a mechanical conglomeration, a giant body without a soul; Christianity, by purely moral means, founded a universal spiritual empire and a communion of saints, which stands unshaken to this day..." Volume 1, p. 449. Schaff continues, "Christianity reformed society from the bottom, and built upwards until it reached the middle and higher classes, and at last the emperor himself." Volume 2, p.386.

It is guessed that the church may have reached a membership of ten or twelve million or about one-tenth of the population of the Roman empire.

Blessings in your study of God's Word!

Marvin Hunt

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Blessings!
Marvin Hunt

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