1. ONLY WORTHLESS PEOPLE
CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY

2. THE FIRST CHRISTIAN KINGDOM
• Edessa the capital of a tiny kingdom known as
Osrhoene, who’s king was a man by the name of
Abgar the Black (A.D 946) sent a letter to Jesus
asking Him to come and heal him of his illness.
The story said Jesus answered the kings letter by
letting him know He would send one of His
Apostles after His ascension.
• The story above is a fascinating piece of
legend, but it shows that the Apostles did not
stop at the borders of the Roman Empire. They
carried the gospel as far as they could in their
day, and Osrhoene became the first Christian
kingdom, and a important link with countries
farther east.

3. THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH
• The theme we confess faith in “the holy
catholic church” gave us what we call today
catholic Christianity. It was a spiritual vision
that all Christians should be in one body.
• The period between A.D 70-A.D 312 is called
the Age of Catholic Christianity because this
thought dominates Christian history between
the death of the Apostles and the rise of
Christian emperors.

4. THE TERMINOLOGY “CATHOLIC”
• Ignatius the Bishop of Antioch in the early second
century was the first to use the term “catholic”. He
said, “wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic
church”. The catholic church which mean universal
church was in contrast to local church bodies because it
was universal, as well as orthodox in its teachings.
• Christianity began as a tiny offshoot of Judaism. But
just three centuries later by The Holy Spirit it was the
official religion of the Roman Empire. By the reign of
Constantine (312-337) the first Christian emperor,
there were churches in every large town in the empire.
Their were churches in Britain, Carthage, and Persia as
well.

5. SPREAD OF THE FAITH
• We must began with the Apostle Paul. He was used by
Holy Spirit to open the door of the church to gentiles
all over the known world at that time. Romans 1:16
• The God-fearers was the name given to the interested
spectators of the Judean religion. They were taught
that to accept Judaism they would have to submit to
circumcision which both Greeks and Romans thought
was repulsive, but from their it was easy to get them to
accept Jesus Christ.
• Christians thought of themselves as a new group. They
new the Old Testament very well, and had a catholic
mindset. They saw themselves as a new Israel.

6. THE MOVE WEST
• The Apostle Paul went west into Italy and Spain
and preached the gospel. The next major city
would be Ephesus. This seaport and the
surrounding Asia Minor (modern Turkey) proved
to be fertile ground for the gospel.
• German scholar Adolf Harnack calculated that by
A.D 250 no less than 30,000 Christians lived in
Rome. Most of them were from the poorer
classes because they majority spoke Greek, the
language of slaves and poor men. Men and
women of wealth used Latin.

7. NORTH AFRICA
• The first Latin speaking churches in the world
came from North Africa. Carthage dominated the
area we know now a Tunisia and Algeria. Every
town and area had it Bishops and tension as well.
The tension was brought on by a class war. The
Punic language brought by Phoenician settlers,
and Berber language spoken by village dwellers
could be found in Carthage.
• Moving east we come to Cyrene, just west of
Egypt. Cyrenians took part in spreading the
gospel beyond Israel to the world. Mark 15:21,
Romans 16:13, Acts 2:10; 6:9; 11:20

8. THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE GOSPEL
• Most of the catholic believers in the early stages
of the church were simple folks. Slaves, women,
traders, and soldiers. Celsus a critic of Christianity
claimed they only could convert these kind of
people. But by the end of the second century
some of the most notable of the day were
becoming Christians.
• These critics gave birth to the Christian Apologist,
defenders of the faith. Men such as Aristides,
Justin Martyr, Tatian, Arthenagoras, Theophilus of
Antioch, and Melitos Bishop of Sardis.

9. REASONS FOR GOSPEL SPREAD
• The reason the gospel spread like wild fire:
• 1. The Power of God was at work.
• 2. Ordinary relationships and friendships
• 3. Curiosity about a secretive sect charged with
immorality.
• 4. Witnessing of a martyrdom.
• 5. Burning conviction, and unshakable faith even
in the face of death.
• 6. Christian gospel met a widely felt need in the
heart of people.
• 7. Christian love was the most powerful.

10. IRENAEUS BISHOP OF LYONS
• Second century 202 A.D. born sometime between
115-125 A.D no one knows.
• His writings were formative in early Christian
doctrine.
• His most famous book was Against Heresies, a
book that attacked Gnosticism one of the most
dangerous enemies of the Christian church.
• He suffered martyrdom sometime at the end of
the second century or the beginning of the third.

11. TERTULLIAN OF CARTHAGE
• Born 160 A.D, Died 225 A.D
• He was a prolific Christian Author. Known as the
founder of Western Theology.
• He was a Montanist=prophetic movement called
for reliance on the spontaneity of The Holy Spirit.
Parallels have been drawn between montanism
and Pentecostalism, and charismatic movement.
• Father of the modern day teaching of the Trinity.

12. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA
• Born in 150 A.D
• Died in 215 A.D
• The Catechetical School of Alexandria founded
Mark the Apostle. Clemens was the head of
the school. First Biblical school of its kind.
• Three major works survive still today.
• He was a catholic church father

13. JUSTIN MARTYR
• Born 100 A.D
• Died 165 A.D
• Foremost interpreter of the theory of the
Logos. The gospel John identifies the
Logos, through which all things are made, as
divine Godliness and further identifies Jesus
as the incarnate Logos.
• He died as a Christian martyr.

14. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO
• Born November 13, 354 A.D
• Died August 28, 430 A.D
• From the Roman province of Africa, and
considered one of the greatest thinkers of his
time.
• Augustine framed the concepts of original
sin, and he developed the catholic church as a
spiritual city of God.
• Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider
him to be one of the theological fathers of the
Protestant Reformation due to his teachings on
salvation and divine grace.