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Early Christians gathered in small private homes, [2] known as house churches, but a city's whole Christian community would also be called a "church"—the Greek noun ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) literally means "assembly", "gathering", or "congregation" [3] [4] but is translated as "church" in most English translations of the New Testament.
The early Christian apologist Tertullian recorded that footwashing was a regular part of early Christian worship. [154] Footwashing was done with a basin "of water for the saints' feet" and a "linen towel". [151] Being commanded in John 13, footwashing done in the imitation of Jesus was a rite encouraged by Origen. [154]
Early Christian inscriptions are the epigraphical remains of early Christianity. They are a valuable source of information in addition to the writings of the Church Fathers regarding the development of Christian thought and life in the first six centuries of the religion's existence. [ 2 ]
[55] [56] Women in the church were prominent in church rolls, [57] [58] the Pauline epistles, [59] [60] and in early Christian art, [61] while much early anti-Christian criticism was linked to "female initiative" indicating their role in the movement. [55] [62] [63] [note 1] A key characteristic of early Christianity was its unique type of ...
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 ...
The term proto-orthodox Christianity or proto-orthodoxy describes the early Christian movement that was the precursor of Christian orthodoxy. Older literature often referred to the group as "early Catholic" in the sense that their views were the closest to those of the more organized "Catholic" Church that was the State church of the Roman ...
The Annals is among the first-known secular-historic records to mention Jesus which Tacitus does in connection with Nero's persecution of the Christians. The passage contains an early non-Christian reference to the origin of Christianity, the execution of Christ described in the Bible's New Testament gospels, and the presence and persecution of ...
In this respect, the gatherings were places where early Christian traditions could develop. [20] The communal prayer of supplication was considered to be particularly effective (cf. Mt 18:19-20) and is likely to have played an important role in the gatherings. The Lord's Prayer is the only early Christian prayer form that has been passed down. [21]