The Origins and Development of the Early Christian Church to AD 325

What The Origins and Development of the Early Christian Church to AD 325 covers

The Origins and Development of the Early Christian Church to AD 325 is examined in AS 4, one of the two AS units chosen — area of study: Systematic Study of One Religion. Worth 20% of the A level. A student may not take two units from the same area of study.. It covers the growth of the early church: religious and political factors, martyrdom and the martyr accounts: Polycarp, Justin and Blandina, the causes and effects of persecution, persecution under Nero and Domitian, Trajan, Pliny's letter and Marcus Aurelius, the later persecutions: Decius and Diocletian, the origins of baptism in the New Testament, the development of baptism from the Didache to Cyprian, the origins of the Eucharist in the New Testament, the development of the Eucharist from the Didache to Cyprian, the Apostolic Fathers and the life of Ignatius, the letters of Ignatius and their key themes, the apologists and Justin Martyr, Constantine's rise to power and his conversion and Constantine's religious policy and the duality of his motives.

The 15 subtopics

Each one has its own page. CCEA AS Religious Studies students sit this topic in the first year.

• The growth of the early church: religious and political factorsWhy the church spread — the roads and common language of the empire, the appeal of the message, and the shape of its communities.Open →
• Martyrdom and the martyr accounts: Polycarp, Justin and BlandinaWord martyr originally, martyrdom of Polycarp and remembered about Blandina's endurance.Open →
• The causes and effects of persecutionPosition of Judaism, charge of Thyestean banquets and charge of Oedipodean unions.Open →
• Persecution under Nero and DomitianThe fire of Rome and the first imperial persecution, the evidence for Domitian's reign, and the earliest Christian responses.Open →
• Trajan, Pliny's letter and Marcus AureliusProcedure Pliny says he followed and emperor was Marcus Aurelius.Open →
• The later persecutions: Decius and DiocletianThe empire-wide sacrifice edicts, the problem of the lapsed, and the Great Persecution and its end.Open →
• The origins of baptism in the New TestamentJohn's baptism, the baptism of Jesus, the practice in Acts and the theology Paul draws from it.Open →
• The development of baptism from the Didache to CyprianApostolic Tradition, tertullian's treatise On Baptism and tertullian's advice about the timing of baptism.Open →
• The origins of the Eucharist in the New TestamentThe Last Supper accounts, Paul's tradition in 1 Corinthians, and the breaking of bread in the earliest communities.Open →
• The development of the Eucharist from the Didache to CyprianUnusual about the order of the prayers in the Didache, sunday assembly as Justin Martyr sets it out and significance of the eucharistic prayer in the Apostolic Tradition.Open →
• The Apostolic Fathers and the life of IgnatiusWritings are the Apostolic Fathers, main concerns of the Apostolic Fathers and journey of Ignatius to Rome.Open →
• The letters of Ignatius and their key themesThe seven letters written on the road to Rome, and their teaching on the bishop, unity, the Eucharist and martyrdom.Open →
• The apologists and Justin MartyrFour apologists besides Justin and give one work of each, dialogue with Trypho and justin's doctrine of the logos spermatikos.Open →
• Constantine's rise to power and his conversionThe struggle for the empire, the Milvian Bridge and the vision, and the debate over how far the conversion was genuine.Open →
• Constantine's religious policy and the duality of his motivesThree churches built under Constantine's patronage and main scholarly positions on Constantine's conversion.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take The Origins and Development of the Early Christian Church to AD 325 further

The same content, four other ways.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   How did the Pax Romana assist the spread of Christianity?

   Model answer

   The long peace secured by Rome made travel across the Mediterranean world unusually safe, and piracy and border warfare were largely suppressed. Missionaries, letters and delegations could therefore move between churches with a freedom that would have been impossible in earlier centuries.

2. 2

   What part did the Roman road system and sea routes play in the church's expansion?

   Model answer

   A network of paved military roads and regular shipping lanes linked the cities of the empire. Christianity spread first along those routes and settled in the ports and towns they connected, which is why the early church was overwhelmingly urban.

3. 3

   Why was the use of Greek across the empire important for the early Christians?

   Model answer

   Koine Greek was the common language of trade and education throughout the eastern empire and among educated westerners. The scriptures, the letters of the apostles and the earliest Christian writings could therefore be read without translation from Syria to Rome.

4. 4

   How did the synagogues of the diaspora contribute to Christian growth?

   Model answer

   Jewish communities existed in almost every significant city, with scriptures, a weekly assembly and an audience already familiar with the God of Israel. Around them stood Gentile God-fearers attracted to Jewish monotheism and ethics but unwilling to be circumcised, and among these the Christian message found many of its first converts.

5. 5

   What effect did the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 have on the young church?

   Model answer

   The Jewish revolt and the fall of Jerusalem removed the mother church's central position and hastened the separation of Christians from the synagogue. Christianity increasingly stood on its own as a Gentile movement, losing the shelter of Judaism's recognised status in the process.

6. 6

   How did Roman citizenship affect the treatment of Christians?

   Model answer

   A Roman citizen had the right of appeal to the emperor and could not lawfully be subjected to certain punishments. Paul's appeal to Caesar shows how citizenship could carry the message to the capital itself, while Pliny later sent citizen Christians to Rome rather than executing them in his province.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

The Origins and Development of the Early Christian Church to AD 325 revision questions

Is The Origins and Development of the Early Christian Church to AD 325 examined at AS in CCEA Religious Studies?

Yes. It sits in AS, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.

What does The Origins and Development of the Early Christian Church to AD 325 cover in CCEA AS-Level Religious Studies?

15 subtopics: the growth of the early church: religious and political factors, martyrdom and the martyr accounts: polycarp, justin and blandina, the causes and effects of persecution, persecution under nero and domitian, trajan, pliny's letter and marcus aurelius, the later persecutions: decius and diocletian, the origins of baptism in the new testament, the development of baptism from the didache to cyprian, the origins of the eucharist in the new testament, the development of the eucharist from the didache to cyprian, the apostolic fathers and the life of ignatius, the letters of ignatius and their key themes, the apologists and justin martyr, constantine's rise to power and his conversion and constantine's religious policy and the duality of his motives. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is The Origins and Development of the Early Christian Church to AD 325 organised?

By the CCEA 4610 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.