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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.
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.
1631 – Kingdom of Matamba (Roman Catholic Church) 1633 – Ethiopia returns from Catholic to Coptic; 1640 – Piscataway (Roman Catholic Church) 1642 – Huron-Wendat Nation (Roman Catholic Church) 1650 – Kingdom of Larantuka (Roman Catholic Church) 1654 – Onondaga (Roman Catholic Church) 1663–1665 – Kingdom of Loango (briefly Roman ...
202 Roman Emperor Severus issues an edict forbidding conversion to Christianity [44] 206 Abgar , King of Edessa , embraces the Christian faith [ 45 ] 208 Tertullian writes that Christ has followers on the far side of the Roman wall in Britain where Roman legions have not yet penetrated [ 46 ]
As Christianity gradually became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire through late antiquity, and eventually became the only legal faith, the Christianised Roman aristocracy had to redefine their Roman identity in Christian terms. The rise of Christianity did not go unnoticed or unchallenged by the conservative elements of the pagan Roman ...
154: The teachings of Marcion, the gnostic Valentinus and pentecostal Montanists cause disruptions in the Roman community. Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire continues. 155: Justin Martyr composes his First Apology in Rome. [9] 156: Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, disciple of John, and teacher of Irenaeus, is martyred. [10]
Christians were initially identified with the Jewish religion by the Romans, but as they became more distinct, Christianity became a problem for Roman rulers. Around the year 98, the emperor Nerva decreed that Christians did not have to pay the annual tax upon the Jews, effectively recognizing them as distinct from Rabbinic Judaism.
[9] [10] Scholars view it as establishing three separate facts about Rome around AD 60: (i) that there was a sizable number of Christians in Rome at the time, (ii) that it was possible to distinguish between Christians and Jews in Rome, and (iii) that at the time pagans made a connection between Christianity in Rome and its origin in Roman Judaea.