Explain the reasons for the spread of Christianity in the first three centuries.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Explain the reasons for the spread of Christianity in the first three centuries. (35)

Christianity is the world's most popular religion, but how did it grow from one man and his group of twelve disciples turn into a religion which today has over two billion followers? There are many factors which contributed to the spread of Christianity, many of which were clearly prominent it's the first three centuries. These are a mix of numerical and geographical, social, political and religious factors and the impact of martyrdom, all of which will be discussed in this essay.

Before we begin it must be mentioned that there is a lack of precise data on the numerical growth of the early Church. This, however, does not mean that we know nothing about it; from various pieces of writing we are able to piece together an idea of how quickly, and to what extent, early Christianity spread.

First, he location of Palestine is a key factor in the spread of Christianity. Despite being small, about one hundred and fifty miles from north to south and seventy five miles from east to west, Palestine is extremely central. In the Old Testament Palestine is