When and how did Christendom begin ?

Answer 1

Christiandom became official when Constantine was in office, but the apostasy had already begun soon after Jesus died.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12: "Let no one seduce YOU in any manner, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. 4 He is set in opposition and lifts himself up over everyone who is called “god” or an object of reverence, so that he sits down in the temple of The God, publicly showing himself to be a god. 5 Do YOU not remember that, while I was yet with YOU, I used to tell YOU these things?
6 And so now YOU know the thing that acts as a restraint, with a view to his being revealed in his own due time. 7 True, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work; but only till he who is right now acting as a restraint gets to be out of the way. 8 Then, indeed, the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence. 9 But the lawless one’s presence is according to the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents 10 and with every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth that they might be saved. 11 So that is why God lets an operation of error go to them, that they may get to believing the lie, 12 in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness."

The apostle Paul, under inspiration wrote the following words to Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:3 & 4: "For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories. "

What were some of the first things that went against the teachings of Jesus and the first Christians?

(1)Christians ceased to use Jehovah's name, and substituted "LORD" or "God" for it in Bible manuscripts.
(2) By the 4th century the false doctrine of the Trinity had infiltrated the congregations.
(3) During this same period, the idea of an immortal soul was being adopted.
(4) Finally, Roman Emperor Constantine made “Christianity” the State religion, and this gave birth to Christendom, where Church and State joined forces in ruling for a thousand years. It was easy to become a new-style “Christian.” Whole tribes adjusted their earlier pagan beliefs to versions of this religion. Many of the leaders in Christendom became oppressive political tyrants, enforcing their apostate views by the sword.
(5)Professed Christians quickly forgot about Christian works and soon delegated the highly important work of preaching to a small, paid clergy class.
(6& 7)Jesus had warned against idolatry and fornication. (Revelation 2:20) Yet, Christendom openly sanctioned the use of images, as well as the promoting of the more subtle idolatry of nationalism and materialism. And immorality, while sometimes preached against, has always been widely tolerated.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 may shed some light on the cause of this:
" For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light. 15 It is therefore nothing great if his ministers also keep transforming themselves into ministers of righteousness. But their end shall be according to their works."

I am sorry, this may be a little more information than you were looking for. Hope it touched on the issues you were wanting. It is sad how many people have fallen victim to all these false doctrines and traditions of man. Satan loves it though! I hope that the seeds of truth that we plant can find fertile soil!

Answer 2

about 313 C.E., during the rule of Roman Emperor Constantine, legal recognition was given to Christianity, much of which by this time had become apostate in its thinking. Religious leaders were willing to be put into the service of the State, and at first the State controlled religious affairs. (Before long, religion would control State affairs.) Thus began Christendom, part of which (the Catholic religion) in time became the official State religion of Rome. Now, the “kingdom” not only was in the world but was part of the world. What a far cry from the Kingdom that Christ preached!—John 18:36.

Answer 3

The easy answer is in the 4th century with the Roman Emperors making it first an official and then a State religion. But it was not until after the collapse of the Eastern Roman Empire that the Church was able to operate like a Kingdom with the Pope ruling in Christ's name. That would likely be a gradual shift happening in the 7th and 8th Centuries. You are not asking when it ended but I think it could be extended into modern times in a reduced state. Certainly it includes the reformation, considering the reformation as more rebellion than revolution.

The shift from religion to Christendom is all about the ability to assume temporal power by the Church and make and break Kings in Europe. They had this power before Charlemagne, and cemented it by crowning him as King, but King only by the Grace of God, (effectively the Pope).

Answer 4

One could argue several possibilities.....

1. That it started the moment mankind sinned thereby making a savior necessary.

2. When the 1st covenant was made with Abraham, initiaiting Gods kingdom here on earth.

3. When John the Baptist started his ministry, getting things ready for Jesus.

4. Jesus' conception, or birth, both monumental.

5. When Jesus started his ministry after his baptism.

6. When he died on the cross, symbolizing our sacrifice for sins.

7. When he resurrected, symbolizing new life with God.

8. The advent of the Holy Spirit which basically bbrought the full power of God to the church and inaugerated it.

I would probably say that it was probably Jesus' baptism and ministry that kicked the whole thing off officially. He was in essence the 1st Christian doing the will of God right here on earth!

Answer 5

Christendom, which is the Church, and the Kingdom of God on earth, began the moment the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived, full of grace, in her mother's womb.

The moment Jesus was born, the Kingdom of God became the most powerful force on the planet.

It still is.

Answer 6

Hi,

I assume you mean Christendom as it is defined? It is the totality of those who profess to believe in the teachings of Christ.

By definition, it started at the advent of Christ's ministry. It continues today.

If you are referring to the organization of the "Christian Faith" as a religion that has survived until today, you can look at various points of claim of the Catholic church but in reality even their points of dogma which still evolve were not really solidified until about 1200ad. They claim that they are the Divine heirs from Saint Peter ( the apostle of Christ) but there is not even remote evidence of this and the Church as it existed at the council of Nicaea is so vastly different to the Roman Catholic church that one can not legitimately lay hold to a claim of dependency.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

True Christianity began on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. That is the day the New Testament church began.
Read the whole chapter. It still stands!

Answer 8

I'd say with Constantine. He officially made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire, thus removing all remaining obstacles to the acquisition of political power by the ecclesiastical bodies.

N.B. that Constantine did NOT make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. That did not happen until some time later under the emperor Theodosius (r. 379-395).

Answer 9

It began on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and others in the upper room in Jerusalem and imbued them with his power. From there they followed the dictates of Jesus' final command to "...go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (MK 16:15).

They did (see map) http://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CN092MAPS2.htm and Christianity spread like wildfire even considering that it was made illegal from 90 A.D. until Constantine legalized it in 313 A.D.

Answer 10

The seeds of Christendom were laid in AD 306, when Emperor Constantine I became co-ruler of the Roman Empire. In 312 he converted to Christianity, and after the Edict of Milan in 313 government persecution of Christians ended. Christianity became the state religion of the Empire in 392 when Theodosius I passed legislation prohibiting the practice of pagan religions; it had before this already become the state religion of Armenia and of Aksum, and in its Arian variety, of the Gothic nations; all of these lay just beyond the peripheries of Rome.