early Christianity
First-century church
Early Christianity refers to the Christian religion in its formative centuries, roughly from Jesus's death through the establishment of orthodox doctrine—typically the first three to five centuries CE.
The period encompasses the apostolic era, persecution under Rome, theological debates, and eventual imperial adoption under Constantine.
Scholars use the term to distinguish the diverse, evolving movement from later institutionalized Christianity: Early Christianity had no single creed or hierarchy.
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
- baptismRitual water purification ceremony
- speaking in tonguesEcstatic religious vocalization
- theologyStudy of the divine
- Roman EmpireAncient state from Augustus onward
Gospels · New Testament · orthodoxy · martyrdom · eschatology · Jewish diaspora · Jesus Christ · Son of God · Last Supper · breaking bread · Apostle Paul · road to Damascus · doctrine · Trinity · original sin · house churches · Church Fathers · apocrypha
- religious historyJewish history, church councils, Protestant Reformation, Great Schism, Counter-Reformation
- Roman EgyptRoman province, prefects, Roman governors, Cleopatra, Augustus
- Caucasus historyArmenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Chechnya, Dagestan
- Korean religionConfucianism, folk religion, shamans, Korean temples, Buddhist temples
- Late AntiquityConstantine, Theodosius I, Constantinople, fall of Rome, Roman Empire
- Biblical TextsJudith, Susanna, Septuagint, Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls
early Christianitystate religion
Government-backed official faith
established church · Christendom · state church · theocracy · Holy Roman Empire
early Christianityestablished church
Officially recognized national religion
early, Christian, christen, Christianity, Christians, christening, unchristian, christened, Christendom