Church history in the middle of the first century - the apostolic era
Pentecost - the birth of the church - happened in about AD 30, and Paul's missionary journeys lasted until about AD 68. The Christian church was born into a society which had encompassed both Greek and Roman influences. Greek was the spoken and written language of the region, while travel and technology were developed by the Romans. Plato's philosophies were widely followed, including the idea of the immortality of the soul, and an ideal heavenly world of which everything on earth was a copy. But the rulers were Romans, and the Emperors had absolute authority, insisting on varying amounts of obedience or worship.
During the earlier part of Paul's missionary journeys, most of the opposition to Christianity came from the Jewish religious leaders, who were not impressed by the new teachings about Jesus as Messiah. In many cases, it was the secular authorities who put a stop to the persecution. But this changed when Nero was made Emperor in AD 54.
Nero is remembered as one of the most unpleasant rulers of history, and he particularly distrusted Christians. In the summer of AD 64 a terrible fire broke out in Rome. Nobody knew who started it, but Nero decided to blame it on the Christians, whom he saw as a threat to peace. He ordered that many of them be thrown to the dogs, or burned to death. You can read more about him on the Wikipedia page about Nero.
Persecution of Christians
By this time, persecution - the arrest, torture and killing of Christians - was become more widespread. Part of this was due to the concern that this growing group would pose a danger to the Roman authorities. Part of it was due to misunderstandings, and claims of illogic. It was rumoured that Christians were cannibals, for instance, because their communion service referred to the Body and Blood of Jesus.
Some people whom we call apologists then wrote books to deny some of these rumours, and to explain the sound Christian beliefs. Some were hostile to the Greek and Roman culture, which probably made things worse. Others tried to argue that any value in the pagan religions must have grown out of Judaism, which came first. So Plato, they claimed, must have got his ideas from Moses' teaching.
Most of the persecution was somewhat sporadic. If people were brought before the courts for any reason, and found to be Christians, they would be asked to recant - to deny their faith in Jesus. If they refused, they would be killed. But on the whole, the government didn't seek them out as such. Sometimes angry mobs killed Christians and looted their homes, but there were also periods of peace where there was steady growth in the Chrisitan communities.
Christian martyrs in the second century
The people who died for their faith are known as martyrs. We don't know even the names of most of these early Christians. However a few have become famous. Ignatius of Antioch was a martyr during the first part of the second centuary AD. He was the bishop of Antioch in Syria, and wrote several letters to young churches.
This was the period when one bishop - or overseer - was appointed for each town. Ignatius thought it was important to have strong church leaders during the persecutions, so suggested that each church should have a bishop, and that no baptism or communion should take place unless a bishop was present. Ignatius said he would rather die for Christ than rule the earth - and was fed to the wild animals at the Colosseum in Rome.
In the middle of the second century, an enraged mob brought several Christian to the authorities. One of them was Polycarp of Smyrna, another bishop who had served God for many years. He was asked to recant his faith, and told that he would live if he did so. But he insisted that he had served God for 86 years and was not about to renounce him at this stage. So he was burned at the stake.
Perhaps the greatest second century apologist was Justin; he said the LOGOS (or living word) of God gives light to all in the world, from its creation. Anything good is due to God and the LOGOS, whom we know as Jesus, who was born as a man. Thus, he claimed, any value in pagan culture or philosophy is good - and so it must come originally from God. So it should not automatically be rejected, because God is the source of all truth and light.
Justin spoke out against some of the heresies (false teachings) within the church. You can read more about these at the page on heresies in the early church. However, the Emperor of the time, Marcus Aurelius, had been turned against Christians. He was persuaded that most of the problems in the Roman Empire were due to the church. So once again Christians were persecuted, and Justin was among many who were beheaded, for refusing to recant. For this reason, Justin is often known as Justin Martyr.
More persecutions and Christian martyrs in the third century
By around the year 200, the church was still growing rapidly, and so was opposition from the Roman rulers. Early in the third century, the Emperor Severus (193-211 AD) instituted the death penalty for any exclusive religion - which included both Jews and Christians. The Emperor Decius (249 to 251 AD) insisted that everyone should make sacrifices to the Roman gods and goddesses. The Emperor Valerian (253 - 260 AD) made it illegal to be a Christian.
Then the greatest major persecution of all took place under the Emperor Diocletian (284-305 AD). He was a strong militarist, and counted all Christians as his enemies. In March 303 he made an official edict or announcement: all services were to be disbanded, all Bibles were to be burned, all church officers were to be deposed, all church buildings were to be destroyed, and all resistors were to be imprisoned.
Besides that, all Christians were required to sacrifice to pagan gods, or die. One of the most significant early writers of church history, Eusebius, says that the prisons were so full of Christians that there was no room for criminals.
Many people in Rome hid in the catacombs, which were originally tombs. Christians lived and worshipped there as they waited for freedom. Paintings and inscriptions dating from then are some of the earliest Christian art. When caught, some of them were sent to slave labour camps, others were sent into exile, or tortured and killed. Yet others were sent to fight wild animals in the arenas.
In 305, Diocletian abdicated. His successor, Emperor Galerius, continued the persecutions; he only lived until 311 but on his deathbed passed an edict of toleration of Christianity, on condition that Christians should not violate the peace of the Empire. Persecutions came to a complete halt in 313 when the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, an official recognition of religious toleration throughout the whole Roman Empire.
Christian worship in the Church in the first three centuries
The central core of Christian worship during this period, from the mid-first century to the end of the third century, was the celebration of Communion - when groups of believers would break bread and drink wine together, as Jesus told them to do at the Last Supper before he died. This ceremony was used to remember the Resurrection, and also as a foretaste of the banquet which will be prepared for believers in heaven. A communion service usually took place on a Sunday, since the Resurrection was a Sunday, and included a full meal.
Baptism was also important. This was a ritual where new believers and their families would be immersed in water, usually in a river, as a picture of having been washed clean of all their sins by Jesus. They would make some promises before the other believers, that they would follow Jesus for the rest of their lives. Baptisms usually took place on Easter Sunday, after a lengthy period of preparation. During the last few weeks bfeore Easter, believers who had already been baptised would also prepare themselves to re-affirm their promises at the same time. This was the origin of the season which we now know as Lent.
There were various forms of Church government in the church. The people in charge of the earliest groups of believers were usually known as 'elders' or 'bishops', and the two titles were roughly equivalent. By the end of the second century, a hierarchy had developed, with Bishops at the top, taking charge of several areas. Elders were those who oversaw individual congregations, and deacons were the people who saw to the practical matters.
More church history pages:
Church history begins
Paul's Missionary Journeys
Early church heresies
Constantine and the council of Nicea