Early Christianity

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. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish diaspora throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. The first followers of Christianity were Jews who had converted to the faith, i.e. Jewish Christians, as well as Phoenicians, i.e. Lebanese Christians.^[1] Early Christianity contains the Apostolic Age and is followed by, and substantially overlaps with, the Patristic era.

The Apostolic sees claim to have been founded by one or more of the apostles of Jesus, who are said to have dispersed from Jerusalem sometime after the crucifixion of Jesus, c. 26–33, perhaps following the Great Commission. 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.

Many early Christians were merchants and others who had practical reasons for traveling to Asia Minor, Arabia, the Balkans, the Middle East, North Africa, and other regions.^[5]^[6]^[7] Over 40 such communities were established by the year 100,^[6]^[7] many in Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, such as the Seven churches of Asia. By the end of the first century, Christianity had already spread to Rome, Ethiopia, Alexandria, Armenia, Greece, and Syria, serving as foundations for the expansive spread of Christianity, eventually throughout the world.

^ Khalaf, Salim G. (March 2013). "Jesus Visits Phoenicea". Touristica International. No. 49. pp. 22–35. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
^ Paul, for example, greets a house church in Romans 16:5.
^ ἐκκλησία. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
^ Bauer lexicon
^ Vidmar 2005, pp. 19–20.
^ ^a ^b Hitchcock, Susan Tyler; Esposito, John L. (2004). Geography of Religion: Where God Lives, where Pilgrims Walk. National Geographic Society. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-7922-7313-4. By the year 100, more than 40 Christian communities existed in cities around the Mediterranean, including two in North Africa, at Alexandria and Cyrene, and several in Italy.
^ ^a ^b Bokenkotter, Thomas S. (2004). A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Doubleday. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-385-50584-0. The story of how this tiny community of believers spread to many cities of the Roman Empire within less than a century is indeed a remarkable chapter in the history of humanity.