The Early Church and the Apostles

The Early Church and the Apostles

The first century of Christianity saw a remarkable transformation: a small Jewish sect centred on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth grew into a movement that spread across the entire Roman Empire. This lesson examines the founding events recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, the missionary journeys of Paul, the persecution faced by early Christians, the rapid spread of the faith, and the writings of the Apostolic Fathers who shaped the Church in its earliest decades.

The Day of Pentecost and the Birth of the Church

According to Acts 2, the Christian Church was born at Pentecost, approximately fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus. The Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles gathered in Jerusalem, enabling them to speak in other languages (glossolalia). Peter delivered the first Christian sermon, proclaiming that Jesus, who had been crucified, was both Lord and Messiah. Around 3,000 people were baptised that day, forming the first Christian community.

The early Jerusalem church was characterised by several distinctive practices:

• Communal living — believers shared their possessions and held all things in common (Acts 2:44–45)
• The breaking of bread — a shared meal that became the Eucharist, central to Christian worship
• Teaching of the apostles — authoritative instruction from those who had witnessed Jesus’s ministry
• Prayer and worship in the Temple — the earliest Christians continued to worship as Jews, attending the Temple in Jerusalem

Key Term: Ekklesia — the Greek word translated as ‘church’, meaning ‘assembly’ or ‘those called out’. In the New Testament it refers to the gathered community of believers rather than a building.

The Jerusalem Council (c. AD 49)

One of the most significant events in early Christianity was the Council of Jerusalem, described in Acts 15. The central question was whether Gentile (non-Jewish) converts to Christianity needed to be circumcised and observe the Mosaic Law. This was not merely a ritual question but a fundamental theological issue: was Christianity a sect within Judaism, or a universal faith open to all peoples on equal terms?

James, the brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church, delivered the decisive judgement: Gentile converts did not need to be circumcised but should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. This decision was revolutionary — it effectively separated Christianity from Judaism and opened the way for the Gentile mission that would transform Christianity into a world religion.

Paul’s Missionary Journeys

The Apostle Paul (c. AD 5–64/67) is arguably the single most important figure in the spread of early Christianity. Originally named Saul of Tarsus, he was a Pharisee who actively persecuted Christians until his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), where he experienced a vision of the risen Christ.

Paul undertook three major missionary journeys recorded in Acts:

• First Journey (c. AD 46–48) — With Barnabas, Paul travelled to Cyprus and southern Asia Minor (modern Turkey), establishing churches in Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe
• Second Journey (c. AD 49–52) — Paul crossed into Europe for the first time, establishing churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens, and Corinth. His speech at the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17:22–31) represents an early attempt to present Christianity in philosophical terms accessible to a Greek audience
• Third Journey (c. AD 53–57) — Paul spent extended time in Ephesus, consolidated the churches he had founded, and collected a financial contribution from Gentile churches for the poor in Jerusalem as a symbol of unity

Pauline Theology

Paul’s letters (epistles) constitute the earliest Christian writings and form a substantial portion of the New Testament. His theological contributions include:

• Justification by faith — humans are made right with God not through obedience to the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21–26). This doctrine would become central to the Protestant Reformation 1,500 years later
• The body of Christ — the Church is the mystical body of Christ, in which each member has a different function but all are united (1 Corinthians 12)
• Christology — Paul articulated an early ‘high Christology’, presenting Christ as pre-existent and divine (Philippians 2:5–11), the ‘image of the invisible God’ (Colossians 1:15)
• The resurrection — Paul insisted on the bodily resurrection of Jesus as the foundation of Christian faith: ‘If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile’ (1 Corinthians 15:17)
• Eschatology — Paul expected the imminent return (parousia) of Christ, though his later letters suggest he came to terms with a possible delay

Key Definition: Justification by faith — the Pauline doctrine that sinful human beings are declared righteous before God not through their own works or obedience to the Law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. This became the cornerstone of Protestant theology.

Persecution of Early Christians

The early Church faced persecution from both Jewish and Roman authorities:

• Jewish persecution — Stephen became the first Christian martyr (Acts 7), stoned to death for blasphemy. James the brother of John was executed by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:2). The Jewish authorities viewed Christians as heretics who threatened the integrity of Judaism
• Nero’s persecution (AD 64) — Following the Great Fire of Rome, Emperor Nero blamed Christians and subjected them to horrific punishments. According to tradition, both Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome during this persecution
• Domitian’s persecution (AD 81–96) — Emperor Domitian demanded to be addressed as dominus et deus (‘lord and god’), and Christians who refused to participate in emperor worship faced execution
• The Great Persecution under Diocletian (AD 303–311) — the most systematic and severe persecution, involving the destruction of churches, burning of scriptures, and execution of clergy and laypeople who refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods

Paradoxically, persecution often strengthened the Church. The theologian Tertullian (c. AD 155–220) famously observed that ‘the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church’ — the courage of those who died for their faith inspired others to convert.

The Apostolic Fathers

The Apostolic Fathers were Christian writers of the late first and early second centuries who were believed to have had personal contact with the apostles or their immediate disciples. Their writings provide invaluable evidence for the beliefs and practices of the earliest Church:

• Clement of Rome (fl. c. AD 96) — his First Epistle to the Corinthians is one of the earliest Christian documents outside the New Testament. It addresses a leadership dispute in Corinth and asserts the authority of the ordained ministry, providing early evidence for a structured church hierarchy
• Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 35–108) — wrote seven letters while being transported to Rome for execution. Ignatius emphasised the authority of the bishop (episkopos), the reality of the Eucharist as the ‘flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ’, and the importance of unity against heresy
• Polycarp of Smyrna (c. AD 69–155) — a disciple of the Apostle John, Polycarp was martyred at the age of 86. His martyrdom became a model for subsequent Christian accounts of suffering for the faith
• The Didache (late first century) — a short manual of Christian instruction covering ethics, liturgy (including baptism and the Eucharist), and church organisation. It provides the earliest evidence for Christian practices outside the New Testament

The Spread of Christianity

Several factors contributed to the rapid spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire:

• The Pax Romana — the Roman peace provided safe travel routes and a common language (Greek) across the Mediterranean world
• The Jewish diaspora — synagogues in every major city provided ready-made audiences for the Christian message. Paul’s strategy was typically to preach first in the local synagogue before turning to Gentiles
• Social inclusivity — Christianity welcomed slaves, women, and the poor, offering dignity and community to those marginalised by Roman society
• Moral seriousness — Christians were known for their care of the sick, support for widows and orphans, and sexual ethics that contrasted with aspects of Roman culture
• Monotheism with personal relationship — Christianity offered a single, personal God who loved humanity and offered salvation, which appealed to many who found Roman polytheism unsatisfying

Exam Tip: When discussing the early Church, examiners reward candidates who can distinguish between the Jerusalem church (Jewish-Christian, led by James) and the Pauline churches (Gentile-Christian, more theologically developed). The tension between these two traditions — resolved at the Jerusalem Council — is a key theme in early Christian history. Strong answers will engage with specific primary sources (Acts, Paul’s letters, the Apostolic Fathers) rather than making generic claims.