History of Christianity

This article outlines the history of Christianity and provides links to relevant topics.

Second and third centuries

In the second century conventionally educated converts began to produce two kinds of writings that help us understand the developing shapes of Christianity - works aimed at a broad audience of educated non-Christians and works aimed at those who considered themselves inside the Church. The writing for non-Christians is usually called apologetic in the same sense that the speech given by Socrates in his defense before the Athenian assembly is called his Apology - the word in Greek meant "speech for the defense" rather than the modern more limited denotation of "statement expressing regret". The Apologists, as these authors are sometimes known, made a presentation for the educated classes of the beliefs of Christians, often coupled with an attack on the beliefs and practices of the pagans. Other writings had the purpose of instructing and admonishing fellow Christians. Many writings of this period, however, succumbed to destruction from the Early Catholic Church as heretical, or in disagreement with their message. Thus, today we are surprised by such findings as the Gospel of Thomas in 1945.

Related Topics:
Socrates - Greek - Gospel of Thomas

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• Irenaeus (bishop of Lyons and saint)
• Tertullian (became a schismatic in about 207 and became a Montanist)
• Marcion (considered by the Roman Catholic church to have been the most dangerous enemy they have ever had)
• Clement of Alexandria (bishop of Alexandria and saint)
• Origen (catechist and scholar, but some of his teachings were condemned in 588)
• The pagan revival of the third century
• Decius
• Cyprian
• Many of the early writings are translated into English in the Ante-Nicene Fathers collection. A particularly useful text found in the collection, the Apostolic Constitutions, documents much of early Christian thought.

During this period church government began to take on a hierarchical form that matched the Roman government.

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