The Church discoverd by archeologists called Dura Europos is the earliest Christian Synogauge known. You can look at pictures of it's ruins online. The paintings on the walls were taken to museums. This is proof that Christians did have places of worship despite the danger of presectuion.
2007-06-29 04:22:43 · 10 answers · asked by java348 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Constantine set up the rules for the Catholic Church. Catholic just means universal. The same doctrine and books everywhere. Of course there were older Churches. The Catholics claim them as theirs. The sects that did not accept Roman Bishops ruling them from Rome were exterminated.
2007-06-29 04:27:53 · answer #1 · answered by ? 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The first church was founded by Jesus Christ and the apostles. And yes, there was a church before Constantine started the Catholic church.
That church has always been around, even amongst fierce persecution. The have had different names throughout history, but there have always been a people that believed what Jesus taught and has held to those fundamental doctrines. They were never part of a Catholic church, therefore they never broke away from the Catholic church during the Protestant Reformation.
They are neither Protestant nor Catholic. They are today called Baptist. Throughout history though, they have been called many things....Christians, Waldenses, Monotists, Dontanist, Anabaptists(and many more) and now Baptist.
2007-06-29 11:33:16 · answer #2 · answered by Me 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Dura Europos church and synagogue also show that there were Jews in the 3rd centAD that thought covering their synagogues with religious icons was perfectly Torah -observant and that even borderland Christians were into icons as perfectly New Testament very early on.
2007-06-29 11:33:51 · answer #3 · answered by James O 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, of course there was a Church way before Constantine. Well, what we now came to know as Church, anyway. In fact, we could say it started right after Jesus' death in 33 A.D.
2007-06-29 11:26:41 · answer #4 · answered by AZ 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Everybody knows there was a "church" pre-dating Constantine. It was simply during Constantine's reign that all the important dogmatic aspects of Christianity as we know it today were ratified by vote. But have fun poking that strawman.
Now I wonder who's thumbing me down - the atheists or the Christians...lol. I simply made a neutral, fact-based statement.
2007-06-29 11:26:01 · answer #5 · answered by jonjon418 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
There were a bunch of churches before Constantine. What he tried to do was consolidate them to control them easier
2007-06-29 11:28:34 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
They had places of worship, but they didn't have a very organized church SYSTEM. There is a difference.
2007-06-29 11:26:56 · answer #7 · answered by ~Heathen Princess~ 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I never doubted it how could the church of christs followers have died and been brought back from the dead ??
2007-06-29 11:30:42 · answer #8 · answered by Mim 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Okay, what now ?
2007-06-29 11:26:51 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I'm gonna go have a look. Thanks.
2007-06-29 11:26:31 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋