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In the year before the First Council of Constantinople in 381, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire when Theodosius I, emperor of the East, Gratian, emperor of the West, and Gratian's junior co-ruler Valentinian II issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, [1] which recognized the catholic orthodoxy [a] of Nicene Christians as the Roman Empire's state religion.
Map of the Roman Empire with the distribution of Christian congregations of the first three centuries AD. The growth of early Christianity from its obscure origin c. AD 40, with fewer than 1,000 followers, to being the majority religion of the entire Roman Empire by AD 400, has been examined through a wide variety of historiographical approaches.
The first recorded official persecution of Christians on behalf of the Roman Empire was in AD 64, when, as reported by the Roman historian Tacitus, Emperor Nero attempted to blame Christians for the Great Fire of Rome. According to Church tradition, it was during the reign of Nero that Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome.
The departure of Christians before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70, alongside the development of what would become Rabbinic Judaism, disagreements about Jewish law, and insurrections against Rome, contributed to Jewish Christianity and Gentile Christianity growing apart.
361 – Rome returns to paganism under Julian the Apostate; 364 – Rome returns to Christianity, specifically the Arian Church; c. 364 – Vandals (Arian Church) 376 – Goths and Gepids (Arian Church) 380 – Rome goes from Arian to Catholic/Orthodox (both terms are used refer to the same Church until 1054) 402 – Maronites (Nicene Church)
Bart D. Ehrman attributes the rapid spread of Christianity to five factors: (1) the promise of salvation and eternal life for everyone was an attractive alternative to Roman religions; (2) stories of miracles and healings purportedly showed that the one Christian God was more powerful than the many Roman gods; (3) Christianity began as a ...
Christianity was introduced late in Mani, with the first Greek temples converted into churches during the 11th century. Byzantine monk Nikon "the Metanoite" (Νίκων ὁ Μετανοείτε) was sent in the 10th century to convert the predominantly pagan Maniots. Although his preaching began the conversion process, it took over 200 years ...
E. R. Dodds writes that Christianity offered a fuller sense of community "than any corresponding group of Isis followers or Mithras devotees". [130] In Christianity's earliest communities, candidates for baptism were introduced by a teacher or other person willing to stand surety for their character and conduct. [131]