The Early Christian Church

Most scholars date the beginning of the Christian Church in 30 AD, “the year Jesus was crucified, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven” (Nickens). The Early Church is often referred to as the Apostolic Age, stretching from 30 AD to roughly 100 AD (Nickens). During this age, Christianity was largely opposed by the Roman Empire and Christians were harshly persecuted. Much of what we know about the Early Christians comes from the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the letters and epistles of the Disciple Paul. These three sources detail the lives of Jesus, the Apostles, and the Disciples of the Early Church and are a large chunk of the Christian New Testament (Palmer, 112-113).

To understand the Early Christian Church, we must first look at the life of Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew presents the most story-like account of his life. Furthermore, it presents readers with a direct link between Jesus and Ancient Hebrew history. In the Gospel of Matthew, there is a distinct Jewish background. In regards to explaining the demographics of the Early Church, it presents readers with a faction of the early Christians—Jewish decedents. The Gospel of Matthew details the life and work of Jesus and his Apostles and their ministry. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus begins His work in His home of Jerusalem. He then travels around, preaching in several different lands, landing in Galilee, and then returning to Jerusalem.  It is in Galilee that Jesus calls his first disciples, Simon Peter and Andrew. These two were fishermen, and they dropped everything to follow Jesus, believing He was the Messiah. Many of the other Apostles were also of humble beginnings. Many of them were fisherman like Peter and Andrew. For Christians, this serves as a metaphor for being the fishermen of people through the preaching of Jesus’s teachings (Hiesberger, 275-290).

After the death of Jesus, the main group of evangelists consisted of eleven Apostles and the Jewish-Convert, Paul. The Acts of the Apostles outlines the works of the Apostles and Disciples after the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, including the conversion of Paul that was said to be around 35 AD (Davies, 16). In the Acts of the Apostles, the Early Community is presented as being in harmony on the meaning of the teachings of Jesus and the need to spread the Word. However, there was some dissent as to how to spread the Word and how vocal to be in spreading the teachings due to the persecutions that were taking place at the time (Hiesberger, 334-350). During this time, the church demographic expanded as the Apostles and Disciples went out to spread Jesus’s teachings. The Apostles mainly focused in Syria, Palestine, Jerusalem, and Galilee (“The Lives of the Apostles”). The letters of Paul spread more light onto where the Apostles and Disciples spread their ministry. The Bible includes letters from Paul to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians, Ephesians, and Colossians. He also wrote letters to several men including, Philemon, Timothy, and Titus (Hiesberger, 351-353). Many consider Paul to be the most influential Disciple. Throughout his time on earth, he completed several missionary journeys to preach the Word of God. These journeys are documented in the letters he wrote. Many of these letters were written after he visited a place, serving as reminder to that particular society of the teachings of Christianity (Palmer, 115). The following image is a map of the Paul’s missionary journeys. As the map suggests, Paul had a large reach within the Gentile community, spreading the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus.

("Journeys of Paul")

Works Cited

Davies, J. G. The Early Christian Church. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965. Print.

Hiesberger, Jean Marie. The Catholic Bible: Personal Study Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.

“Journeys of Paul.” Christianity Oasis: Daily Bread Devotional. Christianity Oasis, 2014. Web. April 5, 2014.

“The Lives of the Apostles.” Religion Facts. Religion Facts, 2014. Web. April 4, 2014.

Nickens, Mark. “Resources for Studying Christianity & Church History.” Christian Timelines. n.p., 2004. Web. April 4, 2014.

Palmer, Martin. “Christianity.” World Religions. London: Times Books, 2004. Print.