How Did Christianity Spread: 10 Important Things To Know

Christ in the Wilderness – Ivan Kramskoy – Google Cultural Institute.jpg Photo by Ivan Kramskoi – Wikimedia Commons

How Did Christianity Spread: 10 Important Things To Know

Christianity began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the 1st Century in the Roman province of Judea. From there, it spread throughout and beyond the Roman Empire. In the first century AD, Christianity emerged as a sect of Judaism in Roman Palestine. It started with the ministry of Jesus, after his death, some of his followers are said to have seen Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus signaled to the earliest believers that the days of eschatological fulfillment were at hand.

The years after Jesus until the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles is called the Apostolic Age after the missionary activities of the apostles. The Jerusalem church began at Pentecost with some 120 believers, this was where the apostles received the Holy Spirit and emerged from hiding following the death and resurrection of Jesus.

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1. The Great Commission of Jesus Christ to the Disciples

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The New Testament shows what orthodox Christian churches call the Great Commission which was an event where they describe the resurrected Jesus Christ instructing his disciples to spread his eschatological message of the coming of the Kingdom of God to all the nations of the world.

The most famous version of the Great Commission is in Matthew 28:16-20 where on a mountain in Galilee, Jesus calls on his followers to make disciples of and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

2. Early Christian Missionary Activities in the Bible

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The first Christians were all Jews who constituted a Second Temple Jewish sect with an apocalyptic eschatology. The Jerusalem community consisted of “Hebrews,” Jews speaking both Aramaic and Greek and “Hellenists” Jews who only spoke Greek. They were considered diaspora Jews who had settled in Jerusalem.

After the death of Jesus Christ, his followers spread the word to all of Israel and eventually the whole Jewish diaspora. Christian missionary activity spread the word and slowly early centers of Christianity with Gentile adherents in the predominantly Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire. This was in Assyria, Mesopotamia, Armenia, Georgia, and Persia.  

Apostles and preachers traveled to Jewish communities around the Mediterranean Sea and initially attracted Jewish converts. Within 10 years of the death of Jesus, apostles attracted enthusiasts for “the way” from Jerusalem to Antioch, Edessa, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Cyprus, Crete, Alexandria, and Rome.

3. The Historical Split of Christianity with Judaism

Jewish Christians were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Judea during the late Second Temple period, Jewish Christianity is the foundation of Warly Christianity which later developed into Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Jewish Christians drifted apart from mainstream Judaism, this eventually became a minority strand that had mostly disappeared by the fifth century. 

The split between Christianity and Judaism took place during the first centuries CE. The main events that caused the separation were the First Jewish-Roman war and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. These events were only part of a long process that seemed never-ending.

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4. The Anti-Christian Policies in The Roman Empire

In 212, universal citizenship had been granted to all freedom inhabitants of the empire, and the edict of Decius enforced religious conformity in 250. Christian citizens faced an intractable conflict where any citizen who refused to participate in the empire-wide supplication was subject to the death penalty.

The Decian persecution was a severe departure from the previous imperial policy that Christians were not to be sought out and prosecuted as inherently disloyal. At the time, orthodox Christians were subject to arrest only for their refusal to participate in Roman civic religion and were not prohibited from assembling for worship. 

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5. Missionary Work in India 

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Christianity arrived along the southern Indian Malabar Coast via Thomas the Apostle in 52 AD. This led to Thomasine Christianity. According to the third-century Acts of Thomas, he visited only Northwest India with a focus to spread the word of God. It was his journey that has developed to the growth of Christianity in this area which by the roots of Jesus Christ until this date. In addition, Northwest India has Christians known as  Saint Thomas Christians.

Today, Christianity in accounts for the third-largest religion with about 27.8 million followers making a total of 2.3 percent of the population as of the 2011 census in the world record.

6.  The Conversion of Germanic Peoples to Christianity

The Germanic people underwent gradual Christianization from the early centuries known as Antiquity. The early process of Christianization of the various Germanic people was partly facilitated by the prestige of the Christian Roman Empire amongst European pagans. These tribes are known to have migrated and immediately converted to Christianity. Historically, these tribes converted to Christianity in the 6th century AD. This was facilitated by the early missionaries basically from the Catholic Church.

7. Christianity Outside of The Roman Empire

Christianity spread to other great pre-modern states including the Kingdom of Aksum whereas, in the Roman Empire, Armenia, and in Georgia, it became the state religion. It still thrives in these areas, and in others, such as the Sasanian Empire, the Tang dynasty in China, the Mongol Empire, and in many other areas. Despite the widespread success, it never became the state religion and is now practiced by small minorities.

8. The Spread of Christianity in Africa

Christianity in Africa first arrived in Egypt in approximately 50 AD. In the 4th century, the Akusmite empire which is modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea became one of the first regions in the world to adopt Christianity as their official religion. Two centuries later, the Nubian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia followed. Africans who have influenced the early development of Christianity include Tertullian, Perpetua, Felicity, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Cyprian, Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo.

Islamization of Muslim-ruled territory occurred progressively over the next few centuries. Restriction on the church building and demolition of churches in Egypt, along with occasional persecutions. The Ethiopian Empire was the only religion in Africa to survive as a Christian state after the expansion of Islam. The Ethiopian church held its own distinct religious customs and a unique Bible canon.

Today, Christianity is embraced by the majority of the population in most Southern African, Southeast African, and Central African states and others in large parts of the Horn of Africa and West Africa.

9. The Christian Mission in the World and its Impact

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A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries to carry on evangelism or other activities such as educational or hospital work. Sometimes individuals are sent and called missionaries. Historically, they were normally based in mission stations. When groups are sent, they are often called mission teams and they do mission trips.

There are different types of mission trips, short-term, long-term, relational, and simply helping those in need. Most people choose to dedicate their whole lives to their mission. Missionaries preach the Christian faith and humanitarian aid. 

10. The Important Factors of the Spread of Christianity

The attributes for the rapid spread of Christianity include five factors, the promise of salvation and eternal life for everyone was an attractive alternative to Roman religions, stories of miracles and healings, the hope of a better future in the nest life for the lower classes, Christianity took worshipers away from other religions, and in the Roman world, converting one person often meant converting the whole household. However, during this time, if the head of the household was converted, he decided the religion of his wife, children, and slaves.

Therefore, the spread of Christianity into the world began in the early centuries AD with the Catholic Church being at the forefront in preaching the good news and converting many communities that their missionaries encountered along the way.

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