Transcript A History of Christianity

Foundations: From Jerusalem to Rome
Who were the key figures in the
establishment of the Jewish sect The Way
which formed around the Galilean preacher
Yeshua in the Roman province of the Land of
Israel in the time of Emperor Tiberias?
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31 BCE:
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus
(Augustus) establishes the Roman
Empire at the battle of Actium by
defeating Mark Antony.
The Empire will last until the
abdication of the last of the Caesars in
476 CE.
Augustus is mentioned in the Luke’s
gospel as calling a census at the time of
Jesus’ birth.
Under Augustus, the known world
experienced the “Pax Romana”- an
extended period of peace and
prosperity.
The rapid expansion of the early
Christian movement was aided by the
network of safe transportation and
roads across the Empire.
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4-6 BCE
Yeshua ben Miriam is born in either
Bethlehem in Judea, or Bethlehem in
Galilee, or Nazareth in Galilee.
26 CE -27CE
Yeshua accepts the baptism of
repentance of John the Baptist and
experiences a Divine call to baptise as
John did.
28-30CE
Yeshua gathers followers and preaches
that the reign of God is near from a
base in Capernaum in Galilee. His
disciples and followers include “The
Twelve” and a number of women who
underwrite the movement.
30 CE
Jesus of Nazareth, “King of the Jews”
is crucified by Pontius Pilate
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Despite attempts to later discredit
and was women out of the
tradition, it is certain that women
played key roles in the Jesus
movement from the start.
Luke tells us that women financed
the Jesus Movement.
In John’s gospel, Mary of Magdala,
later unjustly and inaccurately
described as a reformed
prostitute, remains the first
disciple of the resurrection.
Mary the mother of Jesus, is
portrayed as a key member of the
movement.
The Gospels portray women as the
only faithful disciples to
accompany Jesus to his death- the
men having fled.
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There is an argument
that Jesus, and Paul
after him sent out
disciples two by twoone male and one
female.
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30CE-62CE
While the Jesus in Mark’s Gospel
names Peter as
the “rock” on
which the church would be built, it is
James, “the Just”, brother of
Yeshua, who heads the Jerusalembased Jewish sect the Followers of
the Way who believed that Yeshua
was Israel’s Messiah.
James is thrown from the Temple
walls to his death in 62CE.
35CE
Stephen, a Jewish convert, becomes
the first known martyr for the new
sect, stoned for challenging the
Torah and the Temple.
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35CE-64 CE
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49CE Paul challenges the
Jerusalem leadership of
the Movement (James and
Peter) to allow Gentiles to
become Christians without
observing Jewish dietary
customs and initiation.
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This was the big break with
Judaism.
Paul (formally Saul) of Tarsus, Pharisee and
persecutor of the new sect, undergoes
conversion and brings the “Good News of
Jesus Christ” by travel preaching and his
letters to churches to much of the panMediterranean world.
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Paul works in “partnership” with women
who often head the house churches, some
who are deacons. They include Lydia in
Philippi and Phoebe at Cenchreae.
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Paul’s Roman citizenship and knowledge of
Greek and Roman culture allows him to
communicate with the non-Jewish world in
a language they understood.
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Under Paul, Yeshua the founder of the
Jewish sect “The Way” becomes Jesus
Christ, universal saviour of all humanity.
 62CE
After the martyrdom
of James in
Jerusalem, Paul and
possibly Peter moved
to Rome.
The seat of spiritual
authority for
“Christians” as they
are now known, is no
longer Jerusalem, but
Rome, seat of secular
power.
It would appear that by the 50’s, leadership of
church communities revolved around
Elders/Bishops and Deacons and other “orders”
such as apostles, teachers, prophets and
prophetesses.
 There is direct evidence in the Scriptures that
house Churches formed the main meeting places
for the Agape meals and memorial bread and
wine meals (initially two separate meals).
 House churches were led by both men and
women. Women served as deaconesses, apostles,
teachers, prophetesses and in an order called
“widows”.
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It is clear that by the close of the first century, there
were many different Christian communities, which,
depending on membership, had men and women
serving in many different types of ministries. The
uniformity sometimes suggested in Acts is a reading
back into history present models.
There was no clear designation of who should
eucharistein (lead Eucharist), let alone which gender.
As Ignatius of Antioch made his way under arrest to
martyrdom in Rome in 115CE, he urged uniformity of
governance on Christian communities, naming
Episkopoi (bishops) and diaconoi (deacons). While this
structure existed, there were many other structures,
many “gifts” as Paul called them and equality
between males and females performing those roles.
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Soon after the death of Jesus, the faithful remnant of
his followers began to record his sayings and deeds
from the preaching and testimony of the original
disciples and their communities.
Paul’s letters are the earliest Christian writings in the
Canon of Scripture, but we know that lists of the
sayings and deeds of Jesus were also circulating in
communities. These sources formed the basis of the
first Gospels.
While Mark is the earliest Gospel in the Canon of
Scripture, there is evidence that there were earlier
versions of non-canonical gospels existing before
Mark, such as the Gospels of Thomas and Peter.
Despite the time gap, new evidence is still emerging
about the earliest writings about Jesus.
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world of Yeshua of Nazareth and the sect
of Judaism that emerged out of his life and
teachings were formed and framed by three
languages and world views:
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The lens of Hebrew religion
The lens of Greek culture
The lens of Roman Order
70 CE Christianity had spread rapidly and
widely. Its success was due to its use of
European languages and European customs.
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There is no doubt that the
earliest groups of Followers
of the Way of Yeshua
considered themselves the
true Israel.
Peter, James and the
Jerusalem community
followed faithfully the Jewish
laws and rituals and attended
synagogue prayers.
Paul convinced the Judeocentric followers that the
sect of the Messiah need not
require gentiles to become
Jewish and adopt Jewish
dietary and initiation laws
before accepting Christ.
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The destruction of Jerusalem
in 70 CE marked another
turning point for many Jews.
The followers of Jesus were
then expelled from
synagogues.
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Between 66-71 CE, the
Romans invaded and
conquered Israel,
destroying the temple
in Jerusalem in 70 CE,
dissolving the Jewish
state expelling Jews out
of what they renamed
Palestine.
The surviving Jewish
groups met in synod at
Jamnia to try to
regroup and preserve
what was left of
Judaism.
This council sought to
protect the “preserved”
Judaism” by expelling
the Jewish followers of
Jesus the Christian sect,
from Judaism.
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Circa 85 CE the
Pharisees established in
synagogue worship a
prayer against heretics,
which included
Christians by name.