Before we begin this amazing journey, I lack the words to express how important history is to a people. Wayne E. King1 said “humanity is a continuous process and without a past there is no future.” I concur with that statement. I also agree with Henry S. Commager2 that “For a people to be without history, or to be ignorant of its history, is as for a person to be without memory”
Church history plays a very significant role in understanding what the church is or is supposed to be. Through church history you will be able to eliminate unnecessary traditions and practices from the church which are a hindrance to the fulfilment of the Great Commission and the mandate of Jesus Christ. It is a journey that I welcome you to take with me. Please note that this is not a detailed history of the church of Christ, I might have skipped some areas that you deem important, I did not do that intentionally, it is because of lack of enough time. Hence I ask you to bear with me.
The word ‘Church’ is the English rendition of the Greek word ‘Ekklesia’ which means ‘of or belonging to the Lord’. Even though ‘Ekklesia’ became a Christian word, its origin can be traced to pre-Christian time. Up to the New Testament times, the word Ekklesia was used to refer to a gathering of the whole body of citizens in a free city-state, called out by the herald for the discussion and decision of public business.
According to Strong3, the word Ekklesia, to the Greek mind suggested a self-governing democratic society while to the Jewish mind a theocratic society whose members were the subject of the King of Heaven. Lindsay4 states that “These two distinctive views laid the foundation upon which its Christian meaning was built, for the Ekklesia of the New Testament is a ‘theocratic democracy’, a society of those who are free, but are always conscious that their freedom emanates from obedience to their king”.
The name Ekklesia or church was adopted by Jesus to refer to a Christian body of believers during his famous conversation with his disciples at Caesarea Philippi, where he exhorts Peter for accurately describing who he was. It is upon that description, that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, offered by Peter that Jesus promised to build his church and which the gates of hell shall not prevail against5.
The Early Church
When Jesus was about to depart to Heaven, he commissioned his disciples to go to the nations of the world to make disciples6. At first, the disciples did their outreach in Jerusalem and when they were reluctant to take the gospel to other parts the world, God allowed a persecution against the church to arise, which dispersed the believers to other regions6. This movement enabled the spread of Christianity to other regions hence growth of the church. (click here to read about the Temple)
Christianity spread its roots very fast because those who became Christians could not resist the urge to share the good news, and as they were dispersed or moved naturally or sent as Paul was, they spread the gospel. Soon the movement was experienced in Rome, which was the global super power at that time. In Rome it spread very fast and soon there were great numbers of Christians in Rome. McDougal Little7, while commenting about the growth of Christianity in Rome, stated that “The worship of Roman gods, was impersonal, practiced without a great deal of emotion. Priests used sacred rites to intercede on behalf of worshippers. A new religion called Christianity born as a movement within Judaism, emphasized the personal relationship between God and people. It attracted many Romans”.
Church Persecutions (64 AD-313 AD)
Christianity enjoyed peace and prosperity in Rome up to 64 AD, afterwards, their peace bubble was burst open with the start of the deadliest persecution recorded in the history of Christianity. In July 64 AD, Emperor Nero set Rome on fire in order to destroy the city so that he could later rebuild it hence his name to be remembered. For six days the fire ravaged the city destroying nearly 70% of the city which left a majority of the people homeless. It is said that he did nothing to ease the situation hence the historical expression “Nero, fiddled while Rome burned”.
When the fire was put off, Nero was blamed for the incident and probably, to evade mass action against him, he shifted the blame to Christians and ordered their persecution. These persecutions went on for almost 250 years. It was during this persecutions that the Apostle Paul was beheaded, Peter crucified head facing down, Thomas was speared while in India, John boiled in oil but refused to die and was instead banished to Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelations and afterwards died of old age.
The Fox's Book of Martyrs gives a detailed account of the persecution and other persecutions afterwards. Interestingly enough, during the persecutions rather than diminish the growth Christianity and the church in particular, they enhanced the growth. The conduct of Christians during these tough times elicited respect and a yearning for the faith.
During the persecution era, Christianity grew in all directions with no boundaries, a fact that can be attributed to its faith which met the needs of every culture, giving meaning to life. The church (a body of believers) met in different places but in most cases in houses8. It was basically a movement which even the gates of hell had no power to restrict its growth.
In 312 AD, Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity and a year later, in 313 AD, he announced end to all Christian persecution. In the edict of Milan, Constantine declared Christianity to be one of the religions approved by the emperor. The edict granted ‘both to the Christians and all men’, freedom to follow the religion that they choose.
Organization of the Church of Christ
Constantine legalized Christianity throughout the empire. He also took a leadership position in the affairs of Christianity and the church in particular. It is he who is credited with setting pace for the organization of the church. The church before Constantine was simple and free from political influence and worldly splendor, a fact that Phillip Schaff10 states “The characteristics, however of the Pre-Constantinian church, in distinction from the Post-Constantinian, both Greek and Roman are first, its grand simplicity, and secondly, its spirituality, or freedom from all connection with political power and worldly splendor”
The organization of the church had adverse effects on the growth of individual followers of Christ later on. First to diminish was the priesthood of all believers in contrast to the early church. Philip Schaff10 further notes “The consolidation of the church and its compact organization implied a restriction of individual liberty in the interest of order and a temptation to the abuse of authority”. Hence church leadership positions were set up which were political in nature and those who took these positions, in most cases, had political inclination rather than spiritual calling. This led to a church without spiritual authority.
The Dark Ages (476 AD-1453 AD)
As the church grew financially, it also grew politically and its influence left a dirty mark in the history of the church. The church could no longer say ‘silver and gold we have none’, but also neither could the church say ‘in the name of Jesus arise and walk’. The church had become wealthy but lost its spiritual authority while at it. This ushered in the period known as the dark ages, it was so, due to lack the word of God in the church of Christ. The Bible was translated to Latin, a language of the learned and few, leaving the masses without the word.
In 398 AD, at the fourth general council at Carthage, laymen were prohibited from teaching in the presence of clergymen without their permission. This is directly opposite to what we see in the early church11. The rift between church leadership and the followers grew wider to the extent that Charlemagne enacted a law that stated “A layman ought not to say the Hallelujah but only the Psalm or responses without the Hallelujah”
The few who knew what the truth was, kept it from the masses and as time went by, the masses grew dumb. The church capitalized on this ignorance to conduct it business of extortion. The selling of indulgences (or spiritual privileges) became part of church practices, which brought much wealth to the church. This ushered in the reformations.
Church Reformations
In the medieval times discontent was growing in the church which prompted the rise of some reformers such as St. Francis of Assisi, Jan Hus and John Wycliffe who addressed some issues of the church. In 16th century, Erasmus of Rotterdam, who was a humanist scholar, attacked popular superstitions in the church and urged that Christ be the center of the church.
In October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed the famous 95 theses which unlike his predecessors who attacked the corruption in the church, Luther attacked the theological root of the problem, which was the perversion of the church’s doctrine of redemption and grace.
From Luther’s reformations there followed a split from the Roman Catholic Church, a move that gave birth to the protestant movement with John Calvin spearheading it. From John Calvin the spread of the protestant movement has been global. Although the written word was restored to the masses, the priesthood of all believers is yet to be restored. The church hierarchy leadership is still dividing the church. But all is not lost. There is a new breed of Christians who are arising, who are ready to practice the 1st century church no matter the cost. That is the only church of Christ that knows no boundaries when it comes to reaching unreached people groups, it is a church that can cross all cultural barriers and succeed in making disciples in areas deemed as hostile to the gospel. It is high time that Christians restored what Christ left as the church.
Notes
1 Experiencing World History. Wayne E. King
2 Henry S. Commager
3 Strong’s Bible Dictionary
4 Church and ministry in early centuries. 4. Lindsay
5 Matthew 16:13-18
6 Matthew 28:18-20
7 History of the World: McDougal Little
8 1 Corrinthians 16:19, Romans 16:5
9 History of the Christian Church Vol. 2: Ante-Nicene Christianity. AD 100-325
10 ibid 9
11 Acts 8:4, 9:27,13:15, 18:26-28, Romans 12:6, 1Corrinthians 12:10, 14:1-6
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