Christianity in Rome?

Question

I've read that in Rome there was only a hand full of Christians maybe 5000, during this time Jesus gets crucified and a few years later there are Millions of Christians. Can someone explain why so many people reverted to Christianity, what other religon people converted from and how/why it grew so quickly?

Answer 1

I doubt there were even that many in Rome at the time of the crucifixion. It was only years later that the term Christian was even heard and that was in Antioch.

Christianity spread in the large Jewish centers of the world....Rome was one. After the decision to modify the requirements for Gentiles who wished to become Christians were put into writing and delivered (refer to the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15), scores of Gentiles -- non-Jews -- joined the new branch of Judaism. For decades, Christinaity was a sect within Judaism...like the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, etc. Many Greeks had been admirers of the Jewish faith (there was even a Court of the Gentiles as part of the Second Temple...it was in this court that Jesus overturned the tables and booths) but would not join as they could not justify circumcision nor the Jewish diet. For the Greek, the human body is too beautiful to have any permanent mark on it....or removed as in circumcision and the Jewish diet was too different from that of the Greeks. Once these two barriers were lifted, tons of Gentiles came into the Church.

Answer 2

Catholicism became the state religion of Rome.

Here is a time line.
313 Edict of Milan by Constantine. Christianity was tolerated in the Roman Empire. That ended the persecution. New problems arose for the Church after the Edict of Milan: 1. Heresies e.g. Montanism, Arianism, etc. 2. Emperors began to interfere in Church matters. This problem lasted for centuries. 3. Tension between Rome (West) and Constantinople (East) emerged, though Rome was always recognized as the Chief See. This lasted for centuries, finally coming to a head in 1054 when Constantinople broke away. 4. Roman Empire began to fall apart.
300's

The heroes of the Faith were the martyrs. Now, new heroes emerge - the Desert Fathers - these men left everything and went into the desert to pray, do penance, and to be alone with God. Many of these monks lived in Egypt. The most famous was Anthony, who stayed in the desert for more than 30 years. St. Athanasius (c.297-373) wrote about him. The most important spiritual force in the making of Catholic Europe was the popes; the second most important force was the monks. Monks still serve the Church today. Great intellectuals arose in the Church. They are called "Fathers of the Church". Some of them are: St. Clement, martyred in 98; St. Ignatius of Antioch, who was martyred about 110; St. Polycarp, who was born about 69 and martyred about 155; St. Justin the Martyr (c.105-c.165); St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (205-258), who was beheaded and wrote "The Unity of the Catholic Church"; St. Athanasius (c.297-373); St. Basil the Great (330-379); St. Gregory of Nyssa (331-396); St. Gregory of Nazianzen (393-396); St. Ambrose (339-397), Bishop of Milan; St. John Chrysostom (345-407); St. Jerome (347-419), the Father of Biblical Scholarship; St. Augustine (c.354-430), Bishop of Hippo in North Africa; etc.

325 Council of Nicaea (a council is a meeting of bishops called together by their lawful head, in order to decide questions of faith, morals or discipline). The Council condemned Arianism, set the date for Easter, and declared that God the Father and God the Son were of the same substance.

Answer 3

The Council of Nicea under emperor Constantine in 325 AD, united paganism with Christianity to prevent the empire from falling apart.

Answer 4

I'd be interested in the source for these numbers, considering it's a question historians have been trying to answer for years.

Answer 5

Gamaliel said if it were of human origin it would fail and disappear but if it were of God, you would only find yourself fighting against God Himself....meaning it will not fail, but grow.

Thats the answer...it is real and it is of God.

Answer 6

when in rome do as the romans.