D. St. Paul (Christianity Spreads among the Gentiles):                                     back to Rome page

   -  the person who is now known as St. Paul started his life as SAUL OF TARSUS.  He was a Jewish Roman citizen.  At first he was a persecutor of Christians, seeking them out and turning them over to the Roman authorities for punishment which was at times death.

  -  on the road to Damascus, he had an experience which converted him to Christianity.  He changed his name to Paul and became the most effective of the early Christian missionaries.

  -  being a Roman citizen, he could travel safely throughout the Empire under the protection of Roman law, and he was thus able to become the first Christian APOSTLE  (teacher or missionary) to the GENTILES (all those people who are not Jewish)

  -  he would travel to a city, settle in and start contacting and converting people to his new religion, organizing them into expanding groups or congregations and, when he felt confident that they could continue on their own, moving on to do the same thing in another city.

  -  he kept in touch with the groups he left behind by writing long letters (EPISTLES) to them.  n these letters he instructed, scolded, explained or encouraged -  whichever he felt they needed.

  -  St. Paul’s epistles can be found today in the New Testament of the Bible (ex. his letters to the Romans, Ephesians, Corinthians, etc.)

  -  by taking the new religion to the Gentiles, he started Christianity on the way to becoming universal (catholic) - for all people.

  - Paul was finally caught by the Romans and he died a martyr’s death.

  E. The Rapid Growth of Early Christianity:

     This new religion grew very quickly in the Roman Empire.  This was because conditions were favourable for its growth and because the religion itself had an appeal for many people.

     i) Factors Favouring the Spread of Christianity

     1.  Many of the early missionaries were hard working dedicated people.
     2. Greek and Latin were common languages throughout the Empire so early missionaries spoke to a huge
          number of people.
     3. The Empire provided good roads, peace and safe travel for those missionaries who were Roman citizens,
         like St. Paul.
     4. The religion itself was appealing to many  (see next section)

   ii) Appeal of Christianity:

     Any salesman likes to sell a product that has features that people will like. It makes his selling job easier. The early  missionaries were "selling "  their religion, and it had a number of attractive points in comparison with other religions:

       1. It offered a happy, everlasting life to the faithful - many other religions didn't.
      2. It appealed to the sick, poor, aged and downtrodden because it said people should help those in need.
      3. It emphasized peace, love and brotherhood, which would help to produce a better life on earth.
      4. Through its scriptures, it offered a clear guide to conduct - enabled Christians to know what was
          expected of them.
       5. It was a personal religion, stressing the right of the  individual to contact God through prayer and not to
          have to go through the medium of a priest.

 All the above things helped the religion to grow quickly.

  F. Early Christian Communities:

  -  in each town where missionaries had success, the new Christians organized themselves for worship and
     cooperative help.

  -  their meetings were mostly in private homes, particularly when it was illegal to be Christian; see next section 

  -  leaders of "elders" were appointed to guide in worship, help members  in need, visit the sick, etc.

  -  at each worship, service or meeting, the following things were done:
        -  reading from the scriptures (holy writings)
        -  singing of hymns
        -  the eating of a symbolic meal of bread and wine (which today is called "communion" or "the Eucharist") 
           (Please note that the above elements are still parts of Christian services today)

   -  it was from the very first a regular Christian practice to share with those who were in need - to give charity.