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The Early Christians were the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth before the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century. The term largely refers to the Christians of the early period of Christianity who were baptized by the apostles and their immediate successors.

Emperor Constantine I issued the Edict of Milan in 312 AD and the Christian faith became tolerated throughout the Roman Empire. The faith became the official religion of the empire in the reign of Theodosius I in 392.

Among those writers commonly referred to as Early Christian are:

• Paul of Tarsus
• Clement of Rome
• Ignatius of Antioch
• Papias
• Polycarp of Smyrna
• Justin Martyr
• Tatian
• Athenagoras of Athens
• Irenaeus
• Clement of Alexandria
• Tertullian
• Hippolytus
• Origen
• Cyprian
• Dionysius of Alexandria
• Arnobius
• Lactantius
• Didache
• Apostolic Constitutions

The term is less often, but with equal validity, applied to the authors of the books of the New Testament.

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Origins

Initially early Christianity emerged as a Jewish sect around the followers of Jesus Christ, but development into what may have been at least three distinct divisions within the Christian movement of the 1st century CE: the Jewish Christians (led by Jesus' brother James, with Jesus' disciples, and their followers), Pauline Christians (followers of St. Paul) and Gnostic Christians (people who believed that salvation came through secret knowledge). It spread across the Mediterranean Basin, while enduring persecution by the Roman Emperors. Some early Christian theologians such as Origen and later Church fathers such as Augustine of Hippo and the Cappadocian Fathers synthesised elements of Greek philosophy, especially Platonism, into the developing Christianity. Christianity also may have emerged, in part and out of the various mystery teachings that existed in Greece and the Middle East in antiquity, such as Gnosticism and various mystery cults. Among those these that may have had an influence on the form, language and doctrines of Christianity include the Nasseni, Essenes,Therapeutae, Gnostics, Dionysus, and there is much speculation that Mithraism may also have been partly assimilated by state-sponsored Christianity before being diposed of in name. According to Martin A. Larson, in The Story of Christian Origins (1977), Mithraism and Christianity derived from the same sources, originally from the savior cult of Osiris. Many followers of developing Gnosticism for example (Valentinius being one of the most well-known) were also Christians, and taught a synthesis of the two belief systems.

While each version of Christianity believed themselves to be the one true church, and were highly critical each other, a basic church hierarchy seems to have been in development at least by the time of the writing of the Pastoral Epistles however these structures were probably not formalized until the 3rd century. It was not until 4th century with its ascendancy as the state religion under Constantine the Great that a central and conentrated authority within the church emerged which used the power of the state to begin programs to oppress, exile or exterminate both Pagans and Gnostic Christians. The state issued a series of decrees to "suppress all rival religions, order the closing of the temples, and impose fines, confiscation, imprisonment or death upon any who cling to the older Pagan religions." The losing groups, exiled and persecuted, with their property taken, their sacred literature banned and destroyed, were condemned as heretics.

The resulting orthodoxy emphasised blind faith, which "renders the impossible possible "(Mark ix. 23, 24), produced a thnking that deprecated learning, as was shown by Draper ("History of the Conflict between Science and Religion") and by White ("History of the Warfare of Science with Theology") a craving for the miraculous and supernatural created ever new superstitions, under the form of relic-worship from old pagan forms of belief. American religious scholar Kaufmann Kohler writes, "in the name of the Christian faith reason and research were condemned, Greek philosophy and literature were exterminated, and free thinking was suppressed."

In tracing the various roots of Christianity we find a veritable potpourri of religious ideas combined from Judaic monotheism, Persian dualism, eastern otherworldliness and asceticism, and the various mystery teachings all which contributes to making the origins of Christian doctrine one whose complexity continues to shroud it in mystery. As revealed by works such as the epic poem Beowulf (c. 700-1000 CE), the actual adoption of distinct Christian beliefs was a very slow and gradual process, as they permeated society, still existing as a combination of Christian and Pagan beliefs.

See also

• Messianic Judaism
• Judeo-Christian
• Primitive Apostolic Christianity (Sabbatarian)

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