The Hand of God and the Growth of Christianity Part One--30 A.D. to 476 A.D.

The Hand of God and the Growth of Christianity

Part One--30 A.D. to 476 A.D.

The growth of Christianity in its first 400 years is an almost unbelievable story. But it happened. I don't believe that it would have happened without the hand of God guiding its development.

It begins with Jesus proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is at hand at the start of his ministry (something that did not receive a warm reception at his home town of Nazareth). Jesus chooses twelve apostles to work in the conversion of people to the ends of the earth. Jesus performs many signs and wonders in Judea, and more disciples join the fold. At one point (the 10th chapter of Luke), Jesus sends out 72 disciples to spread the word of his teaching. These disciples are able to perform signs and wonders in the name of Jesus. Crowds of thousands of people come to hear Jesus speak.

After three years of rigorous ministry, the leadership of the Jewish Sanhedrin declare Jesus as being blasphemous, and to satisfy the high priest and others, the Roman governor agrees to crucify Jesus. Jesus dies on the cross. End of story. No!

Unusual things begin to happen. Three days later, the stone is rolled from the entrance to the tomb of Jesus, while Roman guards sleep. The body of Jesus is gone. Easter morning. Reports spread that the apostles and disciples have seen Jesus and have talked to him. What's this about--lies to develop a compelling fiction? Well, Jesus did make allusions about returning after he died. Within a few weeks, all of the apostles and disciples firmly believe in the Resurrection. They have seen him, and know he is alive--albeit in some mysterious way.

For forty days after Easter, Jesus talked to the apostles about the Kingdom of God. Then at Mt. Olivet, near Jerusalem, he said to the apostles: "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” On that Thursday Jesus was lifted into heaven--the Ascension."

The New Testament depicts the apostles as having numerous remarkable vision-type experiences during the ministry of Jesus. Something strongly influenced their faith. They held their faith to their hearts even to their deaths. All twelve of the apostles, except John, died of martyrdom--and some pretty tortuous deaths. The Romans even tried to martyr the apostle John, but failed.

At the time of the Ascension, the Christian church consisted of Mary, the apostles, and about 120 disciples (Acts: 1: 15). Some experts suggest that this number might have been as high as 500 disciples. People were terrified of being a disciple for fear that they might too be declared as blasphemers, and suffer as Jesus did.

Ten days after the Ascension was the feast of Pentecost. It was then that the Holy Spirit came to Mary and the apostles. Tongues of fire over each of their heads while gathered together in their upper room. Fear left the apostles. They went outside the house and began preaching to the Jews there for the feast. The Holy Spirit spoke through Peter, and the miracle of the languages happened. Peter proclaimed the coming of God's Kingdom. That day, some 3,000 people became Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 2:41).

The ideas of Jesus had not disappeared with the Crucifixion. In fact, Christianity was going stronger than ever.

Shortly after Pentecost, Peter cured a cripple in the name of Jesus at the temple. And Peter again proclaimed the word of Jesus. A great many people saw this, and many were deeply moved by what they saw and heard. That day, the number of Christians rose to 5,000 people (Acts 4:4).

In the Gospels, Jesus says his disciples must take up their crosses and follow him (Matthew 16:24)..Discipleship could be costly.

There were about 280 years of persecutions and martyrdoms of Christians in the Roman Empire, beginning with the stoning of Stephen in 36 A.D. and ending with Roman Emperor Constantine's Edict of Milan in 313 A.D.

The Romans had swords, shields, and spears to force their will. Christians only had the cross in one hand and the book in the other hand. The image of their redemption and the word of God.

So Christians were rounded up in the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, arenas, and hippodromes to be massacred. The painful Roman massacre of Christians began under Nero in the year 64--after the huge fire in Rome.

Would the Romans be able to wipe out the perhaps 10,000 Christians in the world before the year 100 A.D.? The answer is No! Somehow the cross and the book were winning. .

According to estimates from Yale University, by the year 200 A.D. there were about 200,000 Christians in Roman Empire (one half of 1 percent of population). By 250 A.D, this number rose to 1 million Christians. By 300 A.D., some estimates suggest that one out of ten persons in the Roman Empire were Christians--perhaps 6 million Christians in the world..

Numerous modern revisionist historians today work to diminish the story of the Roman persecution of Christians. I don't agree with them. For one example, about 30 of the 32 Bishops of Rome ( the Popes) lost their lives to Roman martyrdom between St. Peter in 67 A.D. and the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. Christians could not have churches in these years--they had Mass in private homes and in catacombs. More will be said of this later.

Huge persecutions of Christians occurred under the Emperor Diocletian in the early 300s. After he retired, two men battled to become the next Roman Emperor--Constantine and Maxentius. In October 312, Constantine had a remarkable vision. He saw a cross in the sky, and heard a voice from heaven say "by this sign you shall conquer." Constantine had his soldiers paint an emblem of the cross (the chi-rho) on their shields before the battle with Maxentius. Constantine had an overwhelming victory at this Battle of the Milvian Bridge, and Maxentius died in the battle. Constantine the Great became the Emperor of Rome.. The following year, in 313, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan ending persecution of Christians and allowing Christianity to be practiced in the Roman Empire.

Constantine did a lot to help form early Christianity--like build the first Basilica of St. Peter on Vatican Hill. And also forming the Council of Nicaea, which was the beginning point of a uniform creed of Christianity. Constantine eventually was baptized a Christian himself.

The Hand of God and stories of Constantine the Great. More will be said of this later. But things went further. In the year 380 the Roman Emperor Theodosius the Great. issued the Edict of Thessalonica which made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. The worship of Jupiter, Minerva, and Apollo became illegal. The Vestal Virgins in Rome were discontinued. The Delphi Oracle in Greece was disbanded. Christianity was now the religion of the Roman people.

In a way, the cross and the book had defeated the swords of the Roman Empire.

By the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D., probably just about everyone in the empire was either a Christian or a barbarian. The following pages support the main thesis of this essay--that the Hand of God steered this remarkable transformation in the history of the West. A second essay--Part Two--will argue how the Hand of God turned barbarian Europe into Christian Europe--in the Dark Ages, after the Fall of Rome.

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Historical Notes on the The Book of Acts of the Apostles--

First Thirty Years of Christianity and the Power of the Holy Spirit



When describing the first three hundred years of Christianity, Professor Elaine Pagels of Princeton University states the history of the Jesus movement is "utterly astonishing." And when considering that it was able to grow as it did while under persecution, she said "this story is enormously unlikely." But it happened, as she well knows. Prof. Pagels is known for her book suggesting credence of the Gnostic gospels, which were clearly identified as heretical by St. Irenaeus in 180 A.D. I don't know if Prof. Pagels believes in God or the Holy Trinity. Or believes in the power of the Holy Spirit. She just knows that something remarkable happened to cause the growth of Christianity, and from a secular viewpoint there is no adequate explanation.

I'm suggesting that the hand of God was behind this phenomenal development..The Book of Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament is like a set of historical notes on the first thirty years of the Christian Church after Jesus Ascended into heaven. The Age of the Apostles. Time after time Acts reports that the Holy Spirit, or an angel of the Lord, or the Lord himself influenced a sign and wonder of the early apostles and disciples of Jesus. The notes below are intended to identify chapter by chapter these divine influences working in the generation after the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. As will be seen, 24 of the 28 chapters in the Book of Acts of the Apostles show sign of the hand of God through supernatural activity.

Chapter 1 of Acts. circa 33 A.D. Ascension Thursday; Matthias is Chosen

After the Crucifixion, the community of Christians in Jerusalem numbered between 120 and 500 men and women--including Mary and the apostles. After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the apostles for a period of forty days, speaking of the Kingdom of God. And Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come and help them. After this, Jesus Ascended into Heaven at Mt. Olivet--lifted up on a cloud and taken out of sight. And after this moment, two angels appeared to the apostles and spoke reassurance to them. For the next week Mary, the apostles, and disciples met in an Upper Room in Jerusalem and agreed to pray in one accord. Peter led the effort to replace the place of Judas among the twelve apostles. Through the casting of lots, Matthias was chosen from a choice of two devout believers. Many of us speculate that these first Christians were afraid to go out and proclaim their faith, because of what the Jewish leaders and Romans had done to Jesus. -------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2 of Acts. c. 33 A.D. The First Pentecost

Ten days after the Ascension, was the Jewish feast of Pentecost--Christians have taken the same feast name for this the beginning of the Church. .Mary, the disciples, and apostles were in the Cenacle (upper room) together. Suddenly there came from Heaven a noise like a strong driving wind. There were tongues as of fire over each of them. Just as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit came upon them. There were thousands of Jews in Jerusalem this day, from all around the Mediterranean world. A huge number of the Jews came to this house, because they too heard the noise of the driving wind. The apostles were no longer afraid. They went out of the house to proclaim their faith to those who would but listen. Peter took the lead. A miracle occurred. Peter began to proclaim his faith to these Jews so that they could gain saving faith also. No matter what language these differing Jews spoke, they could understand exactly what Peter was saying--these were Jews from the lands of the Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome; both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. And they realized that Peter was a simple Galilean from this accent, and was unlettered. So many of the Jews were astounded by this, and the with the hope of God's kingdom, that 3,000 were baptized that day.

And the Christian community held things in common, and the new disciples devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles, and the prayers surrounding the breaking of bread. The second chapter of the book of Acts ends by saying--"Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved." ----------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3 of Acts. c. 33 A.D. Miracle of Peter at the Temple

Peter and John were going to the temple every day for prayer about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Peter cured a crippled beggar at the Beautiful Gate area of the temple. He cured the man in the name of Jesus. A miracle that astonished everyone who saw it. Peter then proclaimed his faith to all in Solomon's Portico at the temple. The events were so amazing that the number of men in the Christian community grew that day to a number of about 5,000. ------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4 of Acts. c. 33 A.D. Peter and John are Arrested.

The Sadducees, the priests, and the captain of the temple guard were disturbed by all of this and proceeded to arrest Peter and John. Acts says that Peter was filled by the Holy Spirit when he was made to answer. And the leaders of the Sanhedrin could not deny that a notable sign had been performed by Peter at the temple. The Sanhedrin decided to release Peter and John, but told them to stop preaching about Jesus--something that the two said they could not do. They went back to the Christian community in Jerusalem, and prayed--the ground shook and the Holy Spirit filled them. The chapter ends with a description of life in the Christian community in Jerusalem, which thrived with high ideals. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5 of Acts. c. 34 A.D. Ananias and Sapphira; the Apostles are Arrested.

Ananias and Sapphira died on the spot when Peter sensed that they had "lied to the Holy Spirit." Many "signs and wonders" were done by the apostles at Solomon’s Portico at the temple. The Jews there held them in high esteem.. Multitudes of men and women joined the ranks of the believers. People brought their sick in hope that they would be healed in the name of Jesus. Not just in Jerusalem, but people from towns around Jerusalem came to the city to be healed. The high priest and the Sadducees were enraged and had the apostles arrested, but an angel of the Lord released them at night, and told them to continue teaching about Jesus in the morning. Which they did. And the captain of the temple guard arrested them again. But it was concluded by the Jewish leaders to release the apostles after Gamaliel the Pharisee said that if the Jesus movement is false, it will fall apart by itself. But if it is for real, harming them might anger God. The apostles were released. The text then says "And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Messiah, Jesus." ----------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6 of Acts. c. 34-36 A.D. The Apostles Appoint Seven Deacons

As the number of disciples increased, requests reached the apostles for additional helpers to care for the weaker members of the Christian community. It was decided that seven deacons should be chosen for these purposes--reputable men "filled with the Holy Spirit." Among those chosen were Stephen and Phillip. Stephen was able to perform signs and wonders in the name of Jesus in Jerusalem. He was accused of blasphemy and brought before the Sanhedrin. When he was brought in, the men who sat on the Sanhedrin thought that Stephen had the :"face on an angel." --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7 of Acts. c. 36 A.D. Stephen is Stoned to Death.

Stephen proceeded to give a long explanation of his Christian faith to the Sanhedrin, within the context of the Old Testament. At a certain point the Jews present become enraged at what Stephen was saying. "But he, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'” The elders took Stephen outside the city walls and stoned him. "As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them'; and when he said this, he fell asleep." Thus, Stephen became the first martyr of the Christian faith. -----------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8 of Acts. c. 36 A.D. Philip Baptizes the Ethiopian Eunuch

Saul of Tarsus was there, and consented to Stephen's martyrdom. The day of Stephen's death began a persecution of the Christians of Jerusalem. The apostles remained in Jerusalem, but the rest of the disciples scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Philip went to Samaria and spread the word of Jesus. He performed many signs and healings there. Peter and John went to Samaria to witness the progress made by Philip. "Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, 'Get up and head south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.'” There Philip found an Ethiopian eunuch attached to the royal house of Ethiopia. The Holy Spirit told Philip to preach the story of Jesus to him. The Ethiopian eunuch was so moved by Philip's message of Jesus, that he asked to be baptized, which Philip did. Immediately afterwords, "the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but continued on his way rejoicing. Philip came to Azotus [ancient Ashdod], and went about proclaiming the good news to all the towns until he reached Caesarea." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 9 of Acts. c. 36 A.D. The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus

Saul of Tarsus went to the high priest in Jerusalem and received permission to bring back bounded any Christians who were active in Damascus. As Saul and his assistants approached that city "a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' He said, 'Who are you, sir?' The reply came, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting '" Saul had been blinded by the light. He was taken to Damascus. At the same time a disciple in Damascus named Ananias had a vision of the Lord in which Ananias was told to help Saul, who was destined to help convert the Gentiles to Christianity. Saul received a similar vision in which a man named Ananias would come and help him. Ananias found Saul, prayed over him, and scales dropped from Saul's eyes--and Saul was able to see again. Saul now had faith in Jesus, and was baptized by Ananias. Saul began immediately preaching the Gospel in the synagogues of Damascus. The Jews began to conspire to kill Saul. Then Saul went to Arabia for three years, and then back to Damascus (Galatians 1:16-18). After this, Saul went to Jerusalem, but the disciples were afraid and would not see him. So he preached the Gospel in Jerusalem, and again the Jews conspired to kill him. So Barnabas sent him to Caesarea, then to Tarsus.

Now the Church was at peace in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. Peter preached in these regions. When he was in the town of Lydda (Lod), Peter cured a man who had for eight years been bedridden with paralysis. People in that region heard about this, and became new disciples. In Joppa, Peter again used the name of Jesus to restore to life a woman named Tabitha. This brought many new disciples to the Church in the region of Joppa. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 10 of Acts. c. 36 A.D. The Visions of Cornelius and Peter.

While Peter was still in Joppa, something remarkable happened in Caesarea. A Roman centurion named Cornelius had a clear vision of an angel of God who told Cornelius to send men to Joppa to bring the apostle Peter to talk to him. This Cornelius did. At the same time, Peter at Joppa saw a vision three times while in a trance, telling him that it was allowable under God for Christians to eat all sorts of foods that are forbidden in Judaism. And the Holy Spirit told him that men from another city were looking for him. Cornelius's men arrived and told Peter that Cornelius needed him in Caesarea. So Peter traveled there with the men. Once there, Peter preached the word of God to Cornelius and his household. The Holy Spirit descended on these Gentiles. Cornelius and the people gathered around him were baptized that day.. --------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 11 of Acts. c. 36 to 44.A.D. Peter defends Baptism of Gentiles; the Church in Antioch becomes Important

The word spread throughout Judea that Peter had baptized Gentiles. The disciples in Jerusalem criticized him on this. Peter explained to them the visions he and Cornelius had. Upon hearing this, the disciples stopped the criticism and rejoiced at the idea that Gentiles might be saved. The Church in Antioch in Syria became important as an area where Christians from Jerusalem fled after the stoning of Stephen. (In fact, Antioch was where followers of the Way of Jesus were first called Christians). The apostles in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch to observe the events. Barnabas rejoiced at what he saw. Barnabas then went to Tarsus to locate Saul. He found Saul and brought him back to Antioch. The two of them spread the word of Jesus there for a year, and many are baptized, --------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 12 of Acts. c. 44.A.D. to 46 A.D. Herod Agrippa I persecutes James the Greater and Peter

Jewish King Herod Agrippa I captured James, the brother of John, and had him beheaded. He then put Peter in prison. At night, an angel of the Lord appeared to Peter, and the chains fell off his wrists. The angel led him past the guards, who were sleeping. Then he took Peter to the entrance gate, which opened on its own accord. Peter thus escaped prison. After contacting some of the Christian leaders in Jerusalem, Peter "went to another place." (Other sources say that in 44 A.D, Peter went to Antioch, and became the first bishop there.) Barnabas and Saul brought contributions to Jerusalem during a famine, and then returned to Antioch with John Mark (the evangelist Mark). In this chapter, King Herod Agrippa I dies. ----------------------------------------------------

Chapter 13 of Acts. c. 45 A.D to 49 A.D. Paul's First Missionary Journey--Cyprus and Antioch in Pisidia

The Holy Spirit sent Paul (Saul) on the first missionary journey--to what we call Asia Minor. First they went to the island of Cyprus. They met up with the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus and a certain magician. Paul got into a dispute with the magician over the latter's use of dark power, and Paul through the power of the Holy Spirit was able to blind the magician. The Roman proconsul witnessed this, and became a believer in Jesus. Paul and Barnabas then went to the mainland, to the area of Antioch in Pisidia (not to be confused with Antioch in Syria). Paul addressed the synagogue there. Afterwards, Paul was asked to speak again on another occasion. Instead Paul decided to speak to the Gentiles, saying "the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.'’” Many of the Gentiles became believers in Jesus. The Jewish leadership became angry that Paul went to the Gentiles, and made trouble for him. So Paul and Barnabas left Antioch in Pisidia, and headed for Iconium. -----------------------------------------------------

Chapter 14 of Acts. c. 45 A.D to 49 A.D. Paul's First Missionary Journey--Iconium, Lystra, Derbe; End of the First Missionary Journey;

Paul preached at the synagogue in Iconium. They caused such a stir that it looked like the Jewish leadership might stone Paul. So Paul and Barnabas headed for Lystra. There, Paul cured a man who had been crippled for life. The crowds then thought Paul and Barnabas to be gods. However, some Jewish leadership from other cities came and stoned Paul, and left him for dead outside the city's walls. But Paul was still alive, and the next day Paul and Barnabas traveled to Derbe, where they made disciples. Then "they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch in Pisidia. They strengthened the spirits of the disciples." Paul appointed presbyters for each church of those cities. After this, they traveled back to Antioch in Syria, and preached in each city they passed through. (It's worth noting that Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra,and Derbe were at one time part of Galatia.) -------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 15 of Acts. c. 50 A.D The Council of Jerusalem

Some believers from Judea said that unless one is circumcised and obeys Mosaic law, one cannot be a Christian. A Church Council was held in Jerusalem to settle this question. All of the Christian leaders were there. "The whole assembly fell silent, and they listened while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders God had worked among the Gentiles through them." Peter got up and reported from his own experience that Gentiles received the Holy Spirit just as the people with Jewish background did. James the Lesser then got up and stated that all peoples can be Christians as long they are baptized and they abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. A letter to this effect was written and taken to Antioch, and then spread eventually to the ends of the earth. ----------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 16 of Acts. c. 50 A.D. Paul's Second Missionary Journey--Derbe, Lystra, Philippi

Paul traveled back to Derbe, then to Lystra. There Paul met Timothy, a disciple whose mother had been Jewish and was a believer and whose father was Greek. Paul decided that Timothy would accompany him on the journeys. They preached in Phrygia and Galatia, and increased the the number of disciples daily. They preached in Mysia and Troas. The Holy Spirit guided them away from certain cities. In a vision Paul saw a man from Macedonia begging for help, so they next day they sailed for Europe, and made their way to Philippi in Macedonia. They were almost immediately able to reach people and establish a Christian community there. In the city, they were confronted with a fortuneteller who was exorcised by Paul. The fortuneteller then lost her ability, which angered her owners who made money from her practice. Paul was dragged to the Roman magistrates, beaten, and thrown into prison. That night an earthquake knocked down the walls of the jail, and jailer was so amazed by Paul that he and his entire family was baptized. The magistrates released Paul and became concerned that he was a Roman citizen. They asked that Paul and his group leave the city, which they did. ------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 17 of Acts. c. 51 A.D, Paul's Second Missionary Journey--Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens

Paul then went to Thessalonica in Macedonia. There he preached in the synagogue and made a number of new disciples for Jesus. But soon later controversies arose there, and Paul went on to the next city. He chose Beroea in Macedonia. Again Paul preached the Gospel, and many new disciples were added. But again commotion arose, so Paul decided to preach in Greece. Paul reached Athens. Paul saw Athens as a city full of philosophers and statues of idols. He engaged some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in discussion, but they were not able to be converted. They took Paul to the Areopagus to explain his new religion. The Athenians mostly scratched their heads, said he was interesting, and invited Paul back to talk. Paul did make some new disciples of Jesus, principally Dionysius, a member of the Court of the Areopagus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 18 of Acts. c. 51 A.D, to 53 A.D Paul's Second Missionary Journey--Corinth, End of the Second Missionary Journey

Paul made his way to Corinth in Greece. There he met Aquila and his wife Priscilla, and they built a Christian community there. Soon they were joined by Timothy and Silas. Paul worked as a tent maker there and stayed for more than one year, preaching the Gospel to Jews and Greeks alike. The Jewish leadership eventually rose up against Paul and brought him to the tribunal when Gallio was Roman proconsul of Achaia. (According to historical records, Gallio’s proconsulship in Achaia is dated to A.D. 51–52.) Gallio refused to cast judgment on Paul and released him. Later in the year Paul decided to travel to Ephesus in Asia Minor. He preached there for a while, then sailed back to Antioch in Syria. Almost as soon as arriving homeward, Paul was working on plans for another missionary journey. ----------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 19 of Acts. c. 54 A.D.- 57 A.D. Paul's Third Missionary Journey--Ephesus

At the end of the previous chapter, it recounts how Paul returned to Caesarea, then traveled to greet the church at Jerusalem, and then made his way to Antioch in Syria. After this, he began his next missionary journey. He reached Galatia and Phrygia to give the new Christian communities encouragement. He then came to Ephesus, where he preached for more than two years and built up a Christian community there. After not making much headway in the synagogue, he held daily discussions in the lecture hall owned by Tyrannus. Paul was able to bring healings to people through the name of Jesus. There was an encounter with some Jewish exorcists. And another encounter with silversmiths who crafted shrines to the pagan goddess Artemis. The latter episode resulted in a crowd shouting in unison “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” In both cases, with the exorcists and the silversmiths, the resolution worked out in Paul's favor. In these two chapters, a Jewish convert to Christianity named Apollos worked with Paul in Ephesus and Corinth.

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Chapter 20 of Acts. c. 54 A.D.- 57 A.D. Paul's Third Missionary Journey--Macedonia, Greece, Troas, and Miletus. End of the Third Missionary Journey Paul next traveled to Macedonia and gave encouragement to the new Christian communities there. After spending three months preaching in Greece, he came back to Macedonia. Then he crossed over to Troas in Asia Minor. There he restored life to a young man. After this he reached Miletus, where he summoned the presbyters of Ephesus. At Miletus he gave a farewell address to the Christians in the region, Paul said that Holy Spirit had been warning him that imprisonment and hardships awaited him. Now his plan was to go to Jerusalem. -----------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 21 of Acts. c. 57 A.D. Paul returns to Jerusalem and is Arrested

Paul sailed from Asia Minor to Tyre, and then made his way to Caesarea where Philip (one of the seven deacons) lived. Paul stayed there for a number of days and then traveled to Jerusalem. He met there with James and the elders of the Christian community in Jerusalem. Paul went to the temple for almost seven days, but then a riot broke out as Jews from Asia Minor made accusations against Paul. The tribune in charge of a Roman cohort of soldiers arrested Paul and brought him to the barracks. Paul addressed the Jews in self-defense. ----------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 22 of Acts. c. 57 A.D. Paul tries to address Jews, but is imprisoned in Jerusalem

As Paul spoke boldly, a near-riot broke out. Paul reported: “After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry, leave Jerusalem at once, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ But I replied, ‘Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you'..."Then he said to me, ‘Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles.’" The Roman commander brought Paul back to the compound, and gave orders that he be interrogated by whipping. But Paul informed them that he was a Roman citizen. Paul was then untied, and the Roman commander planned to have Paul speak before the Sanhedrin the next day. ----------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 23 of Acts. c. 57 A.D. Paul is rescued at the Sanhedrin; he sees a vision of Jesus; Paul is transferred from Jerusalem to Caesarea

Paul spoke to the Sanhedrin, and an uproar occurred. The Pharisees rose the point that maybe a spirit or an angel spoke to Paul. Then the Sadducees and Pharisees began disputing with each other. The Roman soldiers retrieved Paul and took him back to the compound to be safe. The next night Paul had a vision where Jesus stood by him and said, “Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.” The Jews formed a group with the intention of killing Paul on his next trip to the Sanhedrin. Paul's nephew heard of this and brought the information to Paul and and the Roman guards. A decision was made to take Paul to Caesarea at night under heavy guard, There he could present his case to Felix, the Roman governor of the region. The plan worked, and Paul reached Caesarea safely. ---------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 24 of Acts. c. 57 A.D. - 60 A.D. Paul's Trial before Felix; Captivity in Caesarea

Within a week. Paul's trial before the Roman governor Felix began in Caesarea. The Jews came as a group and brought with them an advocate, named Tertullus. This Tertullus referred to the Christians as the Nazoreans. Felix listened to both sides, and then ordered that Paul should be kept at close custody, but given some liberty. Paul remained in prison for two years.. ---------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 25 of Acts. c. 60 A.D. Paul's Hearing before Festus, and then King Herod Agrippa II

After two years passed, Felix was replaced by Festus as the Roman governor of Judea. Paul was brought before Festus, answered his questions, and then appealed to a hearing before Caesar in Rome. Festus agreed to that resolution. King Herod Agrippa II came to Caesarea, so Festus had Paul be questioned by King Agrippa. ----------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 26 of Acts. c. 60 A.D. Paul finishes his Testimony before Festus and Agrippa

Paul spoke before King Agrippa, and went so far as to describe his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Festus was there, and said that too much learning had driven Paul mad. Agrippa joked that Paul was trying to make him a Christian. But after all the testimony was heard, Agrippa said to Festus that Paul had done nothing to deserve a death sentence or imprisonment. But Festus had promised Paul a trial before Caesar, so to Rome he would be sent. (Just like the vision of Jesus had prophesied.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 27 of Acts. c. 60 A.D. Paul is sent to Rome by Ship. Storm occurs. Shipwreck

Paul was sent to Rome by sea under the custody of a Roman centurion. The chapter gives a detailed account on the ports they visited on the way. As they left Crete they experienced a huge storm. Paul said to the crew: "I urge you now to keep up your courage; not one of you will be lost, only the ship. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood by me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You are destined to stand before Caesar; and behold, for your sake, God has granted safety to all who are sailing with you.’" Their sailing vessel shipwrecked, and all on board reached land safely. -----------------------------------------

Chapter 28 of Acts. c. 60 A.D..- 63 A.D. Paul reaches Rome. Is in Rome for Two Years

The place that Paul was shipwrecked on was the island of Malta. They spent the winter there. Then they made it to Italy, and Rome. "When he entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him...He remained for two full years in his lodgings. He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ."

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As mentioned earlier, some 24 of the 28 chapters in the Book of Acts of the Apostles show sign of the hand of God through supernatural activity. The four chapters where there wasn't a clear sign of the hand of God were chapter 17, chapter 24, chapter 25, and chapter 26.

[Addendum Note. In Chapter 11 it is also mentioned that a Christian prophet from Jerusalem came to Antioch and predicted that a famine would soon hit the world, and one did during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. In Chapter 15, the apostle James the Lesser said that the Holy Spirit wanted to lessen the burden on the on the Gentile converts. In Chapter 18, while Paul was in Corinth, "in a vision the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city.” In Chapter 21, a Christian prophet said that the Holy Spirit said that Paul would be apprehended if he went to Jerusalem. In Chapter 28, It is mentioned that Paul was bitten by a viper on Malta, and a miracle happened that no harm came to him.}

St. Paul kept the Christian communities he founded connected with Christ's teachings through letters, which have became important Epistles of the New Testament, decade after decade for almost two thousand years. Through letters, Paul remained connected to the Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians, Corinthians, Ephesians, Romans, and Hebrews. He also became connected to the Colossians by letter, even though he never had visited them. Paul also wrote his associate Timothy, who at the time was the head of the Christian community in Ephesus. And he writes Titus, who is the head of the Christian community on Crete.

This was largely the span of Christianity when Paul was martyred in about 67 A.D., and at the end of the Age of the Apostles in 100 A.D,



* * *

The Age of the Apostles

Just as Jesus asked, the apostles brought the good news to the ends of the earth. Peter reached Rome. James the Greater preached in Spain. Thomas reached India, and Andrew made it to Russia. Matthew testified about God's kingdom in Ethiopia.

Of the twelve apostles after Pentecost, eleven were martyred. Only John died of natural causes--after an attempt to martyr him failed. The twelve apostles saw supernatural phenomena to an extent of being deeply convincing in order to go to their deaths holding to their faith.

As the Catholic Encyclopedia observes: "As one of the Twelve, [an apostle] was admitted to the closest familiarity with Our Lord during His public life; he was present at the Last Supper; beheld the risen Lord; witnessed the Ascension; shared in the graces and gifts of the first Pentecost, and helped, amid threats and persecution, to establish the Faith in Palestine."

Here is a summary of what became of the twelve apostles after Pentecost.

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1. St. Peter

For about ten years after the Ascension, Peter preached the Gospel in Jerusalem, Joppa, and areas of Judea and Samaria. He became the first Bishop of Antioch in c. 44 A.D., and held that post for perhaps five years. (The dates and other information are quite tentative because experts from antiquity and the present differ quite a bit on these matters.)

St. Peter apparently preached in Asia Minor and Corinth also before going to Rome.

Eusebius of Caesarea (c.260 - 340), the early Church historian, reports that Peter reached Rome and became the first Bishop of Rome during the reign of Emperor Claudius. St. Jerome (c. 400) agrees with this notion. We might estimate that St. Peter reached Rome in 52 A.D, There are stories of St. Peter winning a remarkable trial by ordeal with the magician Simon Magus in the presence of the Emperor Claudius.

St. Peter was the Bishop of Rome (the first Pope) until he was martyred in about 67 A.D, He was crucified upside down at the bottom of Vatican hill in Rome, near or in the Circus of Nero.

Before St. Peter was martyred, he appointed St. Mark the Evangelist as Bishop of Alexandria, the second largest city in the Roman Empire. The third largest city was Antioch, and Peter appointed Saint Evodius as his successor bishop there. St Paul appointed his helper St Timothy to become the first Bishop of Ephesus, the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire.

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2. St. James the Greater, son of Zebedee, brother of John

Ancient traditions speak of James the Greater preaching the Gospel in Spain, and forming a Christian community there. In recent centuries the Bollandists have supported this claim. James returned to Jerusalem and was martyred there by KIng Herod Agrippa I in 44 A.D. The apostle was beheaded.

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3. St. Bartholomew

According to ancient traditions, Bartholomew preached the Gospel in India, then in Armenia. He was martyred there near Mt. Ararat by being skinned alive and beheaded.

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4. St. Andrew

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia: "Andrew preached in Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia, then in the land of the anthropophagi and the Scythian deserts [modern Russia], afterwards in Byzantium itself, where he appointed St. Stachys as its first bishop, and finally in Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Achaia [modern Greece]. It is generally agreed that he was crucified by order of the Roman Governor, Aegeas or Aegeates, at Patrae in Achaia [Patras, Greece], and that he was bound, not nailed, to the cross, in order to prolong his sufferings. The cross on which he suffered is commonly held to have been the decussate cross, now known as St. Andrew's... His martyrdom took place during the reign of Nero in A.D. 60... St. Andrew is the patron saint of Russia and Scotland.

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5. St. Matthew

According to ancient traditions, St. Matthew preached among the Hebrews for fifteen years, during which time he wrote the Gospel in Aramaic--to be understood by the people in Judea and the Levant. After this, he traveled to Ethiopia where he preached and was martyred. The Roman Martyrology states in Latin: "S. Matthæi, qui in Æthiopia prædicans martyrium passus est".

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6. St. Thomas

According to Eusebius' record, Thomas and Bartholomew were assigned to Parthia and India. According to tradition, Thomas made it to the Punjab in India, then extensively and successfully preached in the Malabar region of India, the southwest coast. Some sources say that Thomas was eventually martyred in Madras on the southeast coast of India. There are Christian populations in Malabar, India who trace their origins to St. Thomas the Apostle.

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7.. St. Simon the Zealot According to ancient traditions, St. Simon joined St. Jude the Apostle to evangelize in the Parthian Empire [Persia], made many converts, and then preached in Beirut, Lebanon, where both were martyred in 65 AD. In the Roman Catholic Church. St. Simon and St. Jude have their feast day on the same day of the year. ---------------------------------------------------------------

8. St. Jude the Apostle

According to ancient traditions, St. Simon joined St. Jude the Apostle to evangelize in the Parthian Empire [Persia], made many converts, and then preached in Beirut, Lebanon, where both were martyred in 65 AD. In the Roman Catholic Church. St. Simon and St. Jude have their feast day on the same day of the year.

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9. St. James, son of Alpheus

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

"The identity of the Apostle James, the son of Alpheus [with] James, the brother of the Lord and Bishop of the Church of Jerusalem, although contested by many critics and, perhaps, not quite beyond doubt, is at least most highly probable, and by far the greater number of Catholic interpreters is considered as certain... There is, at any rate, very good ground (Galatians 1:19, 2:9, 2:12) for believing that the Apostle James, the son of Alpheus is the same person as James, the brother of the Lord, the well-known Bishop of Jerusalem of the Acts."

This St. James is often called James the Lesser--even though St. Paul considered St. James, son of Alpheus, as one of the pillars of the Church, along with Peter and John. It is believed that this St. James was the brother of St. Jude the Apostle, and that these two were cousins of some type with Jesus.

James, son of Alpheus, was the first Bishop of Jerusalem. And he wrote the Epistle of James in the New Testament. He was a key figure in the Book of Acts, including an active role in the Council of Jerusalem in c. 50 A.D,

According to Josephus, St. James, son of Alpheus, was martyred by the Jews in Jerusalem.

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10. St. Philip the Apostle

According to ancient traditions, Philip the apostle was martyred in Hierapolis, a town in western Asia Minor. The story is that he was crucified upside down.

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11. St. Matthias the Apostle

According to traditions, Matthias preached in Armenia and the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. One tradition is that he was then martyred in Jerusalem when he returned to Judea.

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12. St. John the Apostle

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

"The Christian writers of the second and third centuries testify to us as a tradition universally recognized and doubted by no one that the Apostle and Evangelist John lived in Asia Minor in the last decades of the first century and from Ephesus had guided the Churches of that province...St. Irenæus speaks in very many places of the Apostle John and his residence in Asia and expressly declares that he wrote his Gospel at Ephesus, and that he had lived there until the reign of Trajan... With Eusebius and others we are obliged to place the Apostle's banishment to Patmos in the reign of the Emperor Domitian (81-96). Previous to this, according to Tertullian's testimony, John had been thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil before the Porta Latina at Rome without suffering injury. After Domitian's death the Apostle returned to Ephesus during the reign of Trajan, and at Ephesus he died about A.D. 100 at a great age."

John the Apostle wrote the Gospel of John, three Epistles of John, and the Book of Revelations.

John the Apostle was the fourth Bishop of Ephesus, and was succeeded by St. Polycarp of Smyrna at that post.

John was the only apostle who not martyred (after the accession of Matthias). This circumstance was alluded to perhaps in John (chapter 21: 18-23).



Regarding the persecution of Christians during the Age of the Apostles, these persecutions were quite heavy during the reigns of Nero and Domitian. To give an idea of this, all four of the Popes in this period were martyred by pagan Romans.

The Age of the Apostles continued to the death of the Apostle John in about 100 A.D. Along with the writings already mentioned, the apostles (or someone very close to them) left us two important documents: 1) The Apostles Creed, and 2) The Didache, called in English--The Teaching of the Apostles.

The Apostles Creed is an expression of core beliefs about God, Jesus, and our place in the universe. It goes--

Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

The Didache, on the other hand, deals with how a Christian should behave in this world while alive. The wording is in this link--

https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm

By the year 100 A.D., there may have been perhaps 10,000 Christians in the world, double the size of disciples reported early on in Acts in c. 33 A.D, Along with the towns and cities already mentioned, there were Christian communities in Antioch, Damascus, Tarsus, and the current towns of Lebanon. In western Asia Minor, Christian communities were established in Miletus, Pergamum, Troas, and Smyrna. In North Africa, there were Christian communities in Alexandria, Memphis, and Cyrene, In Greece, the communities spread from Corinth to Patras, and in Athens to include the region of Thebes. In Italy, a Christian community had developed in the region of Naples.

The apostles had gone to the ends of the earth. Some ancient sources say that Thomas even reached China. Well, probably not. The thing is, that even though the apostles were martyred, Christian communities were strong in the areas they preached a century or a few after the apostles' passing. A remarkable growth continued under the hand of God.



* * *



The Apostolic Fathers



The next generation of Church leadership fell to the Apostolic Fathers--Christian leaders who actually knew one of the twelve apostles. Three examples of of the Apostolic Fathers were St. Clement of Rome (who had known Peter), St. Ignatius of Antioch (who also had known Peter), and St. Polycarp of Smyrna (who had known the apostle John).

These three church leaders kept up the written connection to the Christian community, and these letters still exist. Clement of Rome was the fourth Pope--Bishop of Rome. He wrote an important Epistle to the Corinthians. Ignatius was the Bishop of Antioch, and he wrote an Epistle to the Ephesians (and letters to other Christian communities). Polycarp was the Bishop in Smyrna near Ephesus, and wrote an epistle to the Philippians in Macedonia.

All three of these saints were martyred by the Romans. Ignatius and Polycarp were killed in arena spectacles, and Clement was sent to stone quarries in Crimea. A miracle happened at the stone quarry, and Clement was able to convert many prisoners. So the Roman drowned him by throwing him off a ship in the Black Sea. Although Ignatius and Polycarp were martyred in arenas--in the case of Polycarp, a miracle occurred which would have quelled the spectators.



* * *



The Persecutions

The persecution of Christians began in Judea in 33 A.D. with the arrests of the apostles by Jewish authorities and Roman soldiers in Jerusalem. It expanded with the stoning to death of St. Stephen in about 36 A.D. The persecutions of Christians in Rome began after 64 A.D. under the Emperor Nero. It spread to the entire Roman Empire soon after.

I was taught by Dominican nuns in grade school through daily religion classes. They reported that the persecutions of Christians by Romans were quite widespread. In an Internet source, it was reported that there were ten periods of great Roman persecutions of Christians. My college Ancient History course reported that the worse periods of such persecutions were under these five Roman emperors--Nero (54–68 AD), Domitian (81–96 AD), Marcus Aurelius (161–180 AD), Decius (249–251 AD), Diocletian (284–305 AD)

One measure of the extent of the persecutions is the number of Bishops of Rome (Popes) who were martyred. According to the stories, 30 of the 32 Popes were killed by martyrdom by the Romans between 67 A.D. and 313 A.D. Only Pope Zephyrinus (199-217) and Pope Miltiades (311-14) appear to have survived.



Ancient sources report that the Romans martyred these following Popes--Bishops of Rome:



Popes martyred by Romans in the 1st Century

Saint Peter (d.c.67)
Pope Linus (Saint; c.67-c.76)
Pope Cletus (Saint; c.79-c.92)
Pope Clement I (Saint; c.92-c.99)


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Popes martyred by Romans in the 2nd Century

Pope Evaristus (c.99-c.108)
Pope Alexander I (Saint; c.106-c.119)
Pope Sixtus I (Saint; c.119-c.128)
Pope Telesphorus (Saint; c.128-c.136)
Pope Hyginus (Saint; 136-140)
Pope Pius I (Saint: 140-155)
Pope Anicetus (Saint; 155-166)
Pope Soter (Saint; 166-175)
Pope Eleuterus (Saint; 175-189)
Pope Victor I (Saint; 189-199)


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Popes martyred by Romans in the 3rd Century

Pope Calixtus I (Saint; 217-222)
Pope Urban I (Saint; 222-230)
Pope Pontian (Saint; 230-235)
Pope Anterus (Saint; 235)
Pope Fabian (Saint; 236-350)
Pope Cornelius (Saint; 251 253)
Pope Lucius I (Saint; 253- 254)
Pope Stephen I (Saint; 254-257)
Pope Sixtus II (Saint; 257)
Pope Dionysius (Saint; 259- 268)
Pope Felix I (Saint; 269-274)
Pope Eutychian (Saint; 275-283)
Pope Caius (Saint; 283- 296)


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Popes martyred by Romans in the 4th Century

Pope Marcellinus (Saint; 296-304)
Pope Marcellus I (Saint; 308- 309)
Pope Eusebius (Saint; 309-310)


We have mentioned the martyrdom of the Apostolic Fathers and most of the Popes during this time period. Another group who were martyred were the thinkers and scholars of the early Church. Among these were Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyon, and Origen.

Justin Martyr (100-165) was the first to apply the ideas of Greek philosophy to defend Christianity. He was an apologist, and sought to convince the Roman emperors and magistrates to stop persecuting Christians. He wrote on the subject, and these writings are still in existence. He dressed as a philosopher, argued openly with other philosophers, and set up his own school of Christian philosophy in Rome. He and some of his students were executed during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.

Irenaeus (c. 130 – c. 202) came originally from Smyrna in Asia Minor, and studied under Polycarp of that city. He later became Bishop of Lyon in Gaul/France. Irenaeus is considered the first theologian of Christianity, and wrote an important book against the heresy of Gnosticism. According to Catholic literature, he was executed during the joint reign of Septimius Severus and Caracalla.

Origen (c. 184 – c. 253) was a widely read and celebrated Christian philosopher. He combined Christianity with Neoplatonism, in fact he met Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism. But during the reign of Decius, he was imprisoned and tortured severely because of his Christian faith. When Decius died, Origen was released, but he died soon thereafter from the damage done to his body during the tortures endured in prison.





How does the hand of God tie into the persecutions and martyrdom of Christians? Jesus said that to be his follower, one would have to take up his cross. Why this is leads to a supernatural mystery. The thing is, that these early Christians had a faith that strengthened them, and that faith likely had divine strength behind it in the face of death--and likely had the hand of God behind it. All during this persecution the numbers of Christians grew and grew. And more people were entering Heaven than before the sacrifice made by Jesus. And God had the power to transform the suffering of these martyrs into something good, the concept of redemptive suffering.

The hand of God can be seen in the stories connected with the harsh treatment that the Romans gave to the early martyrs. An example would be St. Barbara, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. She lived in Phoenicia in the mid third century. She was a convert to Christianity, and her father remained a pagan. Because she would not worship idols, she was sent to torture. At night Jesus appeared and healed her wounds. An attempt to burn her skin failed when torches went out as soon as they were brought near her. This enraged her father so much that he beheaded her with a sword. He was immediately killed by lightning. Being a martyr, Barbara was immediately declared a saint, and she went to Heaven, and eternal happiness. The supposition is that her torturers were headed for hell.





Constantine and the Cross



The Emperor Diocletian, emperor from 284 to 305, began what many experts believe were the worst Roman persecutions of Christians. Diocletian had consulted the pagan Delphi Oracle about the future, and the answer was that the Roman gods would lose power as the Christian population grew. In order to protect the influence of the Roman gods, Diocletian began the expanded identification and execution of Christians.

Diocletian was pestered by ill health, and retired from the emperor position in 305. This led to a violent scramble as to who would become the next emperor. The result was that there were two powerful men who opposed each other as the future Roman emperor--Constantine and Maxentius.

The key event in all of this was that Constantine had a religious experience in the form of a vision and an associated dream. There are two sources about the vision--the early Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea, and an advisor to the emperor, named Lactantius. Both of these men knew Constantine and had discussed the vision with him. As the story goes, before the battle with Maxentius, Constantine looked in the sky and saw a huge cross. The message associated with the cross was "by this sign you shall conquer." In a dream that night Constantine saw Jesus, who told him to paint the heavenly sign on the shields of his soldiers, and they then would be protected. Constantine did so.

The history is that Constantine defeated Maxentius in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312, and Maxentius himself was drowned in the river. And Constantine became the emperor of Rome

In 313 Constantine the Great, as he became known, issued the Edict of Milan, which made it legal in the Roman Empire to be a Christian, and that there would be no more persecutions of Christians.

For the first time, it was legal for there to be church buildings in the Roman Empire. Christians chose the Roman basilica style as the architectural form for their places of worship. (The Roman basilica buildings were ancient .structures designed as law courts and places of secular business negotiations.)

Constantine did a great deal to establish major basilicas for Christians in Rome and the Holy Land. He built the original St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, which was in use until the current basilica there replaced it in the Renaissance. Constantine also built the papal bishop's cathedral of Rome, St. John's Lateran. Constantine and his Christian mother St. Helena built the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

For decades, Constantine had problems in how to publicly express his religious views. He sympathized with orthodox Christianity, what became called Catholicism. But he also had some sympathies for Arian Christians. At the same time, as emperor he also had the title of pontifex maximus--the head of the Roman religion. So on the Arch of Constantine in Rome, one can see Constantine officiating over the pagan ceremonies. (He eventually renounced the title, and the Pope soon became the pontifex maximus.) After age forty he declared himself a Christian, and he was baptized Catholic before he died.

Among the key contributions Constantine made to Christianity was the Council of Nicaea, held in a town by that name in Asia Minor, near Constantinople. This was the first Ecumenical Council. It was convened by the Emperor Constantine in 325, and had as its goal to settle differences between orthodox Christianity and Arianism. Constantine invited western and eastern bishops, and a total of about 318 attended. Arianism was soundly defeated at Nicaea, and the beginning portion of the Nicene Creed was approved. (The complete Nicene Creed was completed in the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 in Constantinople.)

Constantine the Great lived until the year 337. A decade before his passing, Constantine decided to turn the Greek city of Byzantium into the capital of the eastern portion of the Roman Empire. The new city was called Constantinople. It became a great Christian city, and within a generation of Constantine's passing, work on constructing the Hagia Sophia began--the incredible basilica of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Again, the question of the hand of God comes up in these discussions. In less than ten years, Rome went from an empire whose emperor sponsored the worst persecutions of Christians in its history, to an empire whose emperor legalized Christianity and actively promoted it. The change-point was the vision that Constantine had of the cross--an example of the hand of God. Two writers from antiquity report having heard the story of the vision from Constantine himself. The first being Eusebius of Caesarea, who wrote the most quoted history of the early Church, and also wrote a biography of Constantine the Great. The second being Lactantius, who was a classical author who was an advisor to Constantine, and a tutor to the emperor's son. A remarkable change occurred, that can be most easily explained by the vision that Constantine reported as having happened.



Emperor Theodosius the Great-- Christianity Becomes Rome's Official Religion



Theodosius was the Roman emperor from 379 to 395. On February 27, 380, Theodosius as emperor did something that would have been inconceivable to the Emperor Diocletian a hundred years earlier. By the Edict of Thessalonica, Theodosius and the two other very powerful officials of Rome made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Nicene Christianity, Catholicism, was now the official religion of Rome and its territorial possessions.

The worship of Jupiter, Minerva, Venus, and Apollo became illegal. The Vestal Virgins in Rome were discontinued. The Delphi Oracle in Greece was disbanded. State support for the traditional polytheist religions and customs ended. Divination and sacrifice to pagan gods and goddesses was prohibited. Theodosius refused to restore the Altar of Victory in the Senate House, as asked by non-Christian senators.

Pagan temples and shrines were shut down, and were turned into Christian churches. For instance the Pantheon in Rome, a temple for all the Roman gods, became a Christian church. To this day, it still is a Roman Catholic Church where Mass is said.

In May 381, Theodosius the Great, as he has been named, called for another Church council of bishops to clarify matters in the Council of Nicaea. This new Council of Constantinople was the second ecumenical council of the Church. Additions were made to the Nicene Creed, such that the second half of the Nicene Creed said in Christian churches today were additions made by the Council of Constantinople in 381.

I cannot find scholarship that would help explain why the Emperor Theodosius took these major steps in favor of Christianity. One thing, he had just been baptized in 380, by bishop Ascholius of Thessalonica, during a severe illness. Both of the parents of Theodosius were orthodox Christians.

The point worth noting is that the changes that Theodosius made regarding orthodox Christianity becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire were not reversed. More and more people became Christians as time went on, and fewer and fewer people remained pagan. By the time that the Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D., just about everyone in the empire were either Christian or invading barbarians. (And eventually the barbarians were converted to Catholic Christianty.)

So the hand of God, and the martyrs and missionaries armed with the cross and the book defeated the Roman Empire. The legions and legions of Roman soldiers with swords, spears, and shields were converted to Christianity by the love and power of Almighty God. In the year 30 A.D., Christianity consisted of Jesus, Mary his mother, and twelve apostles. By spring of 33 A.D., the Book of Acts reports that there were 120 disciples openly following Jesus. By 400 A.D., there were millions of Christians and Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire, after nearly 250 years of persecution by the Romans. What has been understated in this historical essay are the reports of miracles found in the Apocrypha literature of Christianity, as in the Acts of Peter. Also understated are the miracles reported connected with the many deaths of the martyrs. It seems that every decade there were experiences of supernatural phenomena that exemplified the hand of God bolstering the growth of Christianity, and the hope for eternal happiness in God's kingdom. There are now 2.5 billion Christians on earth.





The Barbarian Invasions and the City of God



In August of 410 A.D., Alaric the Visigoth king and his army of barbarians entered the gates of imperial Rome and sacked the city. This was the first time Rome had been violated since 387 B.C. when the Celtic barbarians had sacked the city. The Celts were pagan barbarians. The Visigoth barbarians were not pagan, but were Arian Christians. The same was true of the Vandal and Ostrogoth barbarians who came after Alaric--they were Arian Christians. Not the case with Attila and the Huns, who were shamanistic pagan barbarians.

The Christian response to the Visigoth sacking of Rome began about three years after 410. It was in installments of a highly influential book of philosophy by the great Roman theologian St. Augustine. The book is called The City of God. Augustine draws out distinctions between what he calls the Earthly City (or the City of Man) and the City of God. In the following paragraphs the barbarian invasions and the fall of the Roman Empire are brought up in juxtaposition to Augustine's ideas in The City of God.

The Visigoths were Germanic barbarians who the Romans had been battling for years.. Being Arian Christians, they did not harm Romans who took refuge in churches. The great Roman monuments, the Visigoths did not bother with. They murdered aristocrats and plundered wealth over a three day period, then left. In Augustine's concept, the barbarian invasion was a crisis in the City of Man, but did no damage to the City God. The City of God is eternal and not of this world.

The second barbarian invasion came with Atilla the Hun in 452. The Huns were a nomadic people from east of the Caspian Sea in central Asia. Atilla, their leader, has been described as the "Scourge of God", and The Economic Times of India has listed Atilla the Hun as one of the ten most ruthless leaders in history. Atilla and his horde entered Italy with the intention of conquering Rome. Pope Leo the Great went out to meet him outside of Rome. Pope Leo asked Atilla to take his army and leave Italy and go back where he came from. Atilla turned around and took his army out of Italy. The report is that Atilla saw a threatening vision behind Pope Leo of a huge man in priestly clothes with a sword and telling Attila he would die soon if he did not comply with Pope Leo's request. (Atilla is the only one who saw the vision, and in some reports there were two men in the vision--and religious writers say that it was St. Peter and St. Paul coming to protect Christian Rome from bloodthirsty barbarians. Raphael did a painting of this event.) Atilla took his Huns east of the Danube, and he died the following year. Alaric of the Visigoths also died soon after invading the city of Rome.

The next barbarian invasion of Rome came three years later in 455 with Vandal King Genseric and his army. The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland, and who had converted to Arian Christianity. Again Pope Leo went outside Rome's gates to meet with them. The Vandals could not be convinced to leave Rome and Italy. Pope Leo was able to make some agreement with them. The Vandals would be allowed into Rome without a fight. In return they would not murder any of Rome's inhabitants or burn the city. The Vandals held to their bargain. For two weeks they gathered booty--"they looted the city’s patrician homes of gold, silver and furniture, and even ransacked the imperial palace and the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus." But they did not kill anyone or damage the buildings. The irony is that 25 years prior to this, Genseric and his Vandals captured the Roman-North African city that St. Augustine the theologian was the residing bishop. The elderly St. Augustine died during the siege of the city.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, St. Augustine died with admirable patience and in fervent prayer. When Augustine was young, he indulged in riotous living. Upon being baptized in the Christian faith, he had a conversion experience. He became affiliated with the City of God. And in his last years, one City of Man after the other fell to the barbarians. Even so, Augustine remained part of the City of God. And when his own City of Man fell to the Vandals, Augustine passed to the ultimate expression of the City of God--to a Heaven of eternal safety and happiness.



The Fall of Rome, the Rise of the City of God



The final barbarian onslaught to the Roman Empire came with the Ostrogoths. These were a Germanic people who had taken over Italy, declared a kingdom, then gave lip service to the Roman emperor and the Roman senate, The lip service ended on Sept. 4, 476 when Odoacer, king of the Ostrogoths, deposed the last Roman emperor. The Roman Empire had fallen--there would be no more Roman emperors in Rome. The Dark Ages had begun..

There were eleven aqueducts that had brought water into the city of Rome from the countryside. The barbarians had destroyed these aqueducts during the sieges of the city. Without water, people left Rome in huge numbers. The city which once had a million residents, now had 35,000 people--dependent on the River Tiber. The City of Man was in shambles. One cannot understate the amount of human suffering involved in this, to good and bad people alike.

. Things common in the Earthly City, the City of Man, were gone. No theaters, no libraries, luxurious bath complexes no longer operating, prestige objects impossible to get, winery villas shut down, no brothels. The citizens of Rome did have something though--they had Almighty God and Christianity. Secular art became rare and rustic, but art transformed into something devoted to Christian religious subjects. Spectacular architecture turned into simple church buildings where Mass could be said. Bawdy songs were gone, replaced by Ambrosian hymns to reach heaven. While the City of Man was breaking down, the City of God that Augustine described was growing.

During this period, St. Jerome was translating the Bible into Latin from the original .Greek and Hebrew, thus enabling learned persons in Europe to read scripture. Jerome also wrote commentaries in order to help interpret the Bible correctly. St. John Cassian brought back practices of Christian monasticism to the West, as they had been practiced in Eastern Christianity. Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite wrote about Christian mysticism, presenting the idea that Christians might be able to attain authentic mystical experiences. He also wrote a treatise on the nine choirs of angels. A while later, St. John Climacus wrote a book called The Ladder of Divine Ascent, in which the upward ascent towards Almighty God is advanced by growth in virtues and by reducing vices. I believe that the hand of God was at work in these efforts, by means of inspiration of the Holy Spirit.



Summing It Up



When the Roman Empire fell to the barbarians, Rome did not stop being the Eternal City. The Vatican was in Rome. The influence of the pope was only growing. The Roman curia of Senators was being replaced by the Church curia of ecclesiastical officials, to govern a world-wide Church. All the barbarians who had taken over Europe needed to be converted to Christianity, And that is exactly what happened, as will be seen in the second historical essay in this series. The hand of God was still with Christianity.

One way to see God's Providence is to watch two movies about ancient Rome. One is "Caligula," by Bob Guccione about the demented Roman emperor of circa 40 A.D. The other movie is "Fellini's Satyricon," based on ancient Roman writer Petronius's story about life in a Roman community in circa 60 A.D. The level of depravity and perversion in these movies is disturbing. When I saw the movies, I kept wishing that Saints Peter and Paul would arrive on the scene and convert the film characters to good. Well, Christianity did come to Rome. As we have seen, Christianity became the official religion of Rome. The kind of debased behavior portrayed in the above two films was not practiced by Romans at the end of the Roman Empire. The City of God prevailed over civil people in Europe.

Three theological ideas come together here: God’s Plan, salvation history, and supernatural destiny. These imply that the hand of God moves on mankind throughout history, and works over time to make things better. God is the Lord of History, and over the centuries the state of mankind has improved. There have been setbacks--long setbacks. God has given man free will, and that free will can be misused by making evil and darkness. Such is the case of the barbarians in their destruction of the Roman Empire. It produced a Dark Ages that lasted more than five centuries.

But two points must be made regarding the above statement. During the Dark Ages, mankind still had the City of God available. The doors of Heaven were open to mankind. This had not been the case before the sacrifice that Jesus made. As a matter of fact, more and more people were devout during the Dark Ages. More and more people reached Paradise. Then, when the Dark Ages were over, particularly by the High Renaissance, the conditions of living for Europeans were better than they had been in the Roman Empire. Progress occurred, and things had improved.

The main idea of this essay is about how Christianity spread in less than its first 400 years to become the official religion of the Roman Empire. It began with Jesus and his twelve Apostles, and after the first Pentecost, Christianity grew in an astonishing and unbelievable rate. The thesis here is that the hand of God made the difference in the huge early growth of Christianity. It's not that mass movements of ideology can't grow fast. It's how it happens. Joseph Stalin had to kill 20 million of his people to force communism on the Russian people. Mao Tse Tung killed over 20 million of his people to force communism on the Chinese people. In the case of Christianity, it was the Christians who were martyred and persecuted. The Christians did not conquer by the sword. They held up the cross and the book.

In the next historical essay in this series we will discuss how the hand of God worked during the Dark Ages, roughly from 476 to 1000 A.D. The theological ideas of God’s Plan, salvation history, and supernatural destiny will be further explored. Again, it all began with Jesus and his twelve Apostles. There are now 2.5 billion Christians on earth. Just the truth of that sounds like a miracle. The hand of God can take numerous forms, and miracles can be part of that.



SOURCES



New American Bible. (1970)

New Testament and Psalms. (Gideons}

A Journey through Western Christianity: from Persecuted Faith to Global Religion (200 - 1650). by Yale University. Internet course from Prof. Bruce Gordon. https://www.coursera.org/learn/western-christianity-200-1650/home/welcome

Church History: Complete Documentary AD 33 to Present on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFIXMM1KWyc&list=LL&index=24&t=2402s

Wikipedia articles: John Cassian, Jerome, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, John Climacus, Pope Leo I, Liber Pontificalis, Constantine the Great, List of popes, Theodosius I, Demography of the Roman Empire, Christianity in the 4th century, Golden Legend, The City of God, List of Roman emperors, Edict of Milan, Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Council of Nicaea, Edict of Thessalonica, Elaine Pagels, St. Irenaeus, Galatia, Macedonia, Areopagus, Roman cohort, Felix, Eusebius of Caesarea, Saint Evodius, Simon Magus, Bollandists, Madras, The Didache, Apostles Creed, Tertullian, Justin Martyr, Origen, Diocletian, Maxentius, Lactantius, Josephus, St. Helena, St. John's Lateran, Arianism, Arch of Constantine, Nicene Creed, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Church of the Nativity, Byzantium, Hagia Sophia, Council of Constantinople, Alaric, Visigoths, Atilla the Hun, Genseric, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Odoacer, Ladder of Divine Ascent, Petronius, Dark Ages, Satyricon, Ambrosian hymns

Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) articles: Blessed Jacopo de Voragine, St. James the Less, The Didache, Apostles Creed. St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Clement of Rome, St. Polycarp of Smyrna, St. Barbara, St. Augustine

New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967) articles: Salvation History, Supernatural Destiny

The City of God by St. Augustine of Hippo, (English translation of the early fourth century Latin)

Who's Who in the Bible. (National Geographic Society, 2013)

I Sommi Pontefici Romani (The Roman Pontiffs, 1903)

Two Versions of Constantine’s Vision https://ehrmanblog.org/two-versions-of-constantines-vision/

Visions of Constantine https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-studies/article/visions-of-constantine/63B073C2175727931D6208118D2A46AB#

How Did the Apostles Die? What We Actually Know https://overviewbible.com/how-did-the-apostles-die/

How Many Christians Were There in 200 A.D.? https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/evangelical-history/how-many-christians-were-there-in-200-a-d/

Attila--One of the Ten Most Ruthless Leaders of all Time https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/people/10-most-ruthless-leaders-of-all-time/slideshow/52120630.cms

Major Soviet Paper Says 20 Million Died As Victims of Stalin https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/04/world/major-soviet-paper-says-20-million-died-as-victims-of-stalin.html

Mao killed millions in China https://www.google.com/search

St. Paul’s Missionary Journeys https://www.avemariapress.com/engagingfaith/st-pauls-missionary-journeys

6 Infamous Sacks of Rome https://www.history.com/news/6-infamous-sacks-of-rome#

Hierarchical Succession of the Patriarchal See of Ephesus http://ephesuspat.weebly.com/list-of-patriarchs.html

More to come