The History of Christianity, Part 1

How Did Christianity Begin? The Jewish Roots of the World's Largest Religion

Christianity is the largest faith in the world. Of the approximately 8 billion people living on Earth, over 2 billion identify as Christian. At the core of Christianity is the belief that a little over 2,000 years ago, a man named Jesus Christ preached about the kingdom of God, was God's son, died on a cross for the sins of humanity, and rose again on the third day. And of course, the belief that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Pretty simple, right? Well, while Jesus may have had one kind of church in mind, his followers tend to disagree.

The Christian faith currently has 45,000 denominations. Why so many? From the time Jesus began preaching about his church, there have been disagreements and questions on how to interpret his words and the rest of the bible. Do we eat meat? Is the Son of God equal to God? Is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit one or three separate entities? And probably the most important: How much power are church leaders meant to have? While piety has spurred on church separations and reformations, power and politics have certainly played their part as well.

Christianity is so deeply embedded in Western culture that our calendar is based on when we believe Jesus Christ was born. Anything prior to his life was B.C. ("Before Christ"), and anything after is A.D., meaning "Anno Domini" — Latin for "the year of our Lord". The folks who followed Jesus during his life on Earth and shortly after his death would be the first Christians, and they were not part of a denomination. Though in a sense, Christianity in and of itself was a denomination of Judaism since most of God's followers—and Christ himself—were Jewish.

Saint Peter preaching the Gospel in the Catacombs

Jewish prophets throughout time promised God's restoration of Israel after several military defeats to their neighbors, the Babylonians and Assyrians. They preached that "God would designate a descendant of David, an 'anointed one,'" which is "Messiah" in Hebrew, or "Christos" in Greek. This savior would establish a new kingdom, the kingdom of God. When Jesus of Nazareth began to preach that he was the Messiah, those who believed and followed him created the branch of Judaism we know as Christianity. First-century Christians still held on to many of their Jewish customs for decades, and Jesus himself adhered to Jewish law up until he began his ministry. He did not begin preaching until he turned 30, the age when it was custom in Jewish culture for a man to become a rabbi.

CATHOLICISM

Most resources will corroborate what the Catholic Church believes — that it is not a denomination but a continuation of the first century Church and Saint Peter, its first pope. Peter was one of the first followers of Christ. After confessing his belief that Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus said, "on this rock I will build my church". How one interprets what was meant by "rock" determines whether you're a Catholic or not. Catholics believe the rock was Peter, and Protestants believe the rock was his confession of faith.

Catholics believe in the papal system which is a religious government with the pope as the head. Peter established a church in Antioch, where he ordained Saint Ignatius as its bishop. Ignatius' letters to the church were written around A.D. 107 and are the earliest appearance of the term "Catholic Church" in physical records. Notably, he used the Greek term "katholike ekklesia," which simply means "universal assembly."

The Catholic Church believes Peter founded the church in Rome, was martyred there in the time of Nero (A.D. 60s), and St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican was built over his burial site. The Vatican in Rome is where the present-day pope lives and is the center of the Church's establishment. Indeed, the Catholic Church is the largest Christian organization in the world. There are over a billion Catholics covering all five continents, all bound together by their faith in Jesus Christ and the supremacy of the pope.

ORTHODOX

In the A.D. 300s, the Catholic Church began to solidify its position as the religion of the Roman Empire. In 313, Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal, effectively ending centuries of persecution. In 325, he moved the center of government from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium, which became Constantinople, and later Istanbul. Constantine encouraged the writing of the Nicene Creed, which stated what the Church believed and is still used by the denomination to this day. While Constantine is often credited for making Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire, this was not actually accomplished until 380 — after his death. Even so, he was clearly a heavy influence on the religion's wide-reaching acceptance and proliferation.

Constantine's move to Byzantium created two separate church cultures over time—one of the West in Rome and one of the East in Byzantine. By the year 1054, this led to what is known as the Great Schism, a time when Eastern Catholics broke from the West and became what is called "Orthodox". While the two churches disagreed on minor rituals—such as whether or not to use leavened bread for the sacrament—the schism was caused by political differences, including whether or not the pope in Rome had authority over the patriarch of the Eastern Church. When the Eastern Church did not accept Rome's papal authority, Rome excommunicated the church in Constantinople. The Eastern Church returned the favor by excommunicating the West. Today, over 260 million people consider themselves Eastern Orthodox, making it the second-largest Christian denomination.

One Faith, Two Billion Voices: The Unstoppable Story of Christianity

Crucifixion Scene, Evan Walters (1893–1951) Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales

The story of Christianity is both incredible and inspiring, from a small sect of followers of Jesus to two billion people around the globe. In part two, we will cover more denominations of Christianity, but something clear is that the unifying message is Jesus as Savior, linking us together through the Lord. While there have been disagreements and even wars fought because of the differences between Christians, our great faith has not been extinguished. Every believer who has ever prayed, served, loved their neighbor, or simply held on to hope in difficult times has played their own irreplaceable part in the story of Christianity. And that story is far from over. Born in faith and tested by time, our story is carried forward by ordinary people each day.

Tune in next Tuesday for Part 2, where Fr. Ron explores various Christian denominations!