Catholic Christianity developed in the period of 70-312 C.E.  Catholic here was with a little “c”.  It meant simply universal Christianity, not Roman Catholic Church which is a much later development.

This catholic Christianity was a rapidly expanding movement that in this period spread throughout the Roman Empire and probably east all the way to India.  It did this in spite of pagan ridicule and some Roman persecution.

To face the hard challenges of their times the people increasingly turned to their Bishops and their educated leadership.  This led to a church marked by a universal vision, by orthodox (majority opinion) beliefs, and by episcopal (bishop’s rule ) church government.

The church spread so rapidly in this period for many historical reasons.  One was that Jews were present throughout the Empire and their religious teaching permeated the Empire.  This laid a foundation of knowledge and interest that the Christian Church could and did easily build upon.  For this reason you cannot compare the evangelistic success of the early church with any other period because the historical circumstances are so different.  By the reign of Constantine in 312 C.E. every large town in the Empire had a Church.  Rome’s church numbered over 25,000 members by 250 C.E.

Some other major reasons for the gospel’s quick spread are the following.  First, the Christians were gripped by a burning conviction, the Christ event of life, death and resurection had really happened.  Two, the gospel met a deeply felt need for hope in the hearts of the people.  The old religions of the Empire were dead and every where there was a yearning for a new source of hope.

The third and most powerful cause of the gospel’s success was the practical expressions of Christian love.  They dearly loved one another.  They took care of the poor, the widows and the orphans.  They visited the prisons and the mines which were basically a slave prison.  They showed compassionate help during famines, earthquakes and wars when no one else did.  They provided burial service for the poor and acquired burial grounds.  This earned them tremendous respect in their culture.  How they generally handled persecution helped to publicize their faith to the popular mind.  Even the pagan Emperor Julian recognized the tremenous drawing power of Christian love in practice.

They had many problems and crises.  The majority of the church being from the poor and illiterate people they turned increasingly to their educated Bishops for answers and leadership when facing heresies and persecution.  By 251 C.E. the church had by general consensus granted to the Bishops the power to forgive sins, even the gravest sins.  The Bishop’s power evolved into the power to open or close the door of the church and thus the door of salvation to anyone.  For by this time many Bishops declared that outside the church their was no salvation.  But one must remember that the people gladly consented to power to the Bishops because they were looking for security they could see and feel.

In this time we also see the birth of the Saints which later became strong Roman Catholic doctrine in The Treasury of Merit and the practice of selling indulgences.  In the periods of harsh persecution that occurred, those who were martyred for their faith were held in tremendous awe and admiration by the church.  The martyrs’ birthdays were remembered and celebrated.  In time the people came to believe that those who confessed Christ faithfully unto death had achieved special power from God and could cover with their merits the demerits or sins of those who had lapsed in their faith.  In some areas of persecution such as North Africa nearly 75% of the church members lapsed in their faith during severe persecution.  So in their insecurity and fear they wanted some concrete assurance that their unfaithfulness was forgiven and they could be restored to the church.  Thus the saints were born to meet this need.

Numerous other great things happened and developed in this period of  the Church.  Some were negative and some were positive.  But most all of them are still around influencing Christians today for better or worse.  Only by understanding our history can we choose the good and reject the bad or inadequate.

Join me for a course in church history this fall at Clovis Community College beginning on Monday, Aug. 24, 12:15 to 2:45 P.M.

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