Following the earthly time of Jesus, Christianity first spread around the Jewish lands. The Jewish religious leaders intensely persecuted Christians, including Stephen, a deacon in Judea. After confessing his faith, Stephen was stoned to death by the Jews, including Saul of Tarsus, who would become a Christian apostle. 

Saul later traveled to the Syrian city of Damascus to arrest Christians. While Saul was on the road, he saw a vision of Jesus Christ, who told him to stop fighting Christianity and to go to Damascus and join the Christian movement there. Saul changed his name to Paul and was converted to Christianity, going on to teach that the Christian message was not only intended for Jews. Additionally, Paul preached that the Law of Moses did not need to be followed anymore because it had already been fulfilled by Christ. Paul traveled more than 13,000 miles until he was beheaded in Rome because of his faith. 

The emperor Nero was one of the first rulers of Rome to start an empire-wide persecution of Christians, who he blamed for the suffering during his reign. The emperors Domitian and Diocletian also fervently fought against the Christian faith. 

During the 3rd Century, many Romans in the cities stopped practicing the traditional pagan religion, which was still only widely followed in the countryside. Christianity was not officially outlawed until 250, after the reign of Nero. During a three-year span under the emperor Diocleitan known as the “Great Persecution,” thousands of Christians were tortured and killed for their faith. At the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312, the emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity after seeing a vision of a cross in the sky. Constantine later legalized Christianity by the Edict of Milan in 313. 

Didache wrote down the teachings of the Twelve Apostles. These works weren’t rediscovered until 1873. Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp were notable Christian writers. All were martyred in 107. The Apologists were a group of Christians who defended the Church against heresy and persecution with logic and reason. 

Since the Empire had become Christian, bishops of the Church started having power over the emperor. Theodosius, the emperor after Constantine, was not allowed into the Church by Bishop Ambrose because he slaughtered 3,000 rebels who had already surrendered. 

Before the 11th Century, all of the main Bishops were first among equals, until the Western Church tried to get more power for the Bishop of Rome. This caused the Great Schism in 1054 between the Western Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. 

In the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, the traditional Greek religion was being undermined by many new mystery religions and cults. Greek philosophers either tried to explain their religion using logic and reason, or just became atheists. The Romans even continued the Greek religion, but changed the names of the gods and started the cult of the emperor. 

After the Jews were conquered by Alexander the Great, they returned to Israel, but shortly after were occupied by Rome. Some Jews never returned to Israel, instead settling in Egypt and Europe. The Jewish religious leaders taught that their messiah would be an earthly, political leader and would free them from Roman bondage. 

When the Jews arrived back in Israel, the only religious record they had left was the Law of Moses, which they strictly followed. The main Jewish religious leaders were the Scribes and the Sanhedrin, who were a group of Scribes and Priests, along with a group called the Elders. 

Jesus was born in Bethlehem to his virgin mother Mary and spent His childhood in the Galilean town of Nazareth. Jesus first taught in the Temple at age 12, and started His public ministry around 30 AD when He was baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus gathered 12 of His most loyal followers to preach with Him, and taught them to spread the gospel and heal diseases. Jesus eventually grew a large following, many of them persuaded by His great miracles.

The Jewish religious leaders did not believe Jesus was the Son of God, so when He proclaimed Himself to be the Christ, they took it as blasphemy, which was punishable by death under their law. The High Priests paid one of Jesus’s unfaithful disciples, Judas Iscariot, to hand in Jesus to the authorities. Jesus stood in front of the Roman Provincial Governor, Pontius Pilot, who found him innocent of treason against Caesar, but to prevent a revolt sentenced him to death by crucifixion. 

Three days after His death, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, instructing them to continue preaching the Gospel in other countries. After 40 days, Jesus ascended into heaven. His disciples preached that in order to receive salvation, you must repent of your sins, follow Jesus’s teachings, and be baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity. 

The disciples wrote down Jesus’s life and teachings into the Gospel of the New Testament, which was written between 50 and 100 AD. The first Bibles were composed in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The Book of Matthew was written for Jewish Christians, and Mark and Luke were directed towards Gentiles. John’s Gospel emphasized the divinity of Christ and repentance. Later, letters and books recorded by the Apostles Paul, James, Jude, and the Disciple Peter were added to the Bible.

As Christianity spread, so did its enemies. First the Jews, then Romans, Greeks, and eventually other religions like Islam and heresies inside the Church. Many early Christians sacrificed their lives for the Holy faith.