Welcome To Early Church History
If you’re interested in and searching for information about early church history, you’ve landed in the right place. All the articles, videos and images here are intended to inform, fascinate and broaden your understanding of how the the small band of early Christians lived, were persecuted, willingly sacrificed their lives as Christian martyrs and ultimately triumphed over the juggernaut of life in ancient Rome. Peruse the article titles under the topic headings and select one that gets your attention. Each article is written to provide the most information in the shortest space. Ancient Rome’s battle against the early Christians was an amazing time in history—one which shaped and in many ways resembles our lives today.
Who Were The Early Christians?
No one can better describe the early Christians than Mathetes who was a 2nd century Christian. In this letter to his friend Diognetus, he explains who the Christians were and how they lived and worshipped. “For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity—But inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct….They marry, as do all others; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh.” Epistle to Diognetus, 5 CLICK HERE to read entire epistle
Life In Ancient Rome
How did the early Christians live their day to day lives and who were these first believers? If you met them today, how would they differ from you? This blog hopes to give the readers answers to these questions about Early Church History by giving them a multi-media immersion into the Greco-Roman culture of their day and what life in ancient Rome was like. As Diognetus says, the Christians used the same language and looked just like the people around them. They dressed like the people around them. They ate like the people around them. They were, in essence, indistinguishable from the people around them in the markets, on the streets and in their daily routines. But in their minds and hearts, the early Christians were different. They believed a Jewish man by the name of Jesus had risen from the dead and was the Savior for their sins. They talked to others about their inner beliefs and that innocent act got them killed. Why?—Sandra Sweeny Silver
