The Spread of Christianity

Christianity became established in nearly all parts of the Roman Empire and in the Middle East during the first two centuries. As it continued to grow and expand, it became the object of persecution by the Roman authorities. The religion was almost extinguished by Emperor Diocletian (284-305 AD). But in 313 Constantine the Great issued a law of toleration for all religions. In 380, Theodosius I made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Pretty soon most of Europe was Christian. It was the biggest and strongest religion in history. It dominated people's lives and changed their previous beliefs. Essentially Jesus commended to his followers the same type of life he led: selfless obedience to the will of God. He called himself a servant and stated that every good Christian is a servant as well. They were told to love God above all else. Their obedience was to be an active participation in life of the world and to directly obey the teachings of the bible as directed by the church.

From the middle Ages to the modern ages Rome was the center for Christianity. Constantinople was the second epicenter. Although the basic belief in Jesus was the same between the two cities, they had major differences that would usually be solved by Church Councils. The Roman church, headed by its bishop eventually diverged in both belief and practice from that of the Constantinople Church, which was headed by its patriarch. The Roman church became dominant in Western Europe, while the church at Constantinople dominated the East. In 1054 the two churches separated entirely.

Though the problems that were faced with Christianity were at times too great to handle the faith of the people persevered. Even though by the end of the Middle Ages Christianity split up into many different belief groups, their belief in Jesus Christ gave them something in common. And even though there were even greater battles ahead for the Catholics and for the Protestants they stuck to their unique beliefs and they never gave up.