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In 380, under Theodosius I, Nicene Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire. Christian heretics as well as non-Christians were subject to exclusion from public life or persecution, though Rome's original religious hierarchy and many aspects of its ritual influenced Christian forms, [215] and many pre-Christian beliefs ...
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 conversion of pre-Christian places of worship, rather than their destruction, was particularly true of temples of Mithras, a religion that had been the main rival to Christianity during the 2nd and 3rd centuries, especially among the Roman legions. An early 2nd century Mithraeum stands across the Roman street from the house and can be visited.
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 ...
Pre-Christian may refer to: Before Christianization (the spread of Christianity): Historical polytheism (the worship of or belief in multiple deities) Historical paganism (denoting various non-Abrahamic religions) Before Christ (BC), the era before the year 1 in the Julian and Gregorian calendars
The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the city's earliest basilicas.. Rome became the pre-eminent Christian city (vis-a-vis Antioch and Alexandria, and later Constantinople and Jerusalem) because of the final residence and martyrdom of Saint Peter there during the 1st century, coupled with the city's political importance.
Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant , across the Roman Empire , and beyond.
Heretics as well as non-Christians were subject to exclusion from public life or persecution, but, despite the decline of Greco-Roman polytheism, Rome's original religious hierarchy and many aspects of its ritual influenced Christian religion as a whole; [32] various pre-Christian beliefs and practices survived as well in Christian festivals ...