Historical Events and Developments

From the outset, Christians viewed Jerusalem as the “Mother City” of their community (Wilken, First Thousand Years,18). Here, the leaders of the church—James (the brother of Jesus), Peter, and the other apostles—guided the fledgling religious movement (Wilken, First Thousand Years, 18). Acts indicates that early Christians also maintained the Jewish observances of feasts and temple worship (Freeman, New History, 42).

The community of believers quickly expanded to Samaria, Galilee, Damascus, and even as far away as Antioch in a short time. While the names of those responsible for much of this growth are unknown, the movement quickly established small pockets throughout the eastern coast of the Mediterranean (White, From Jesus, 132). The primary vehicle for growth was the synagogue, where missionaries preached to their fellow Jews (Wilken, First Thousand Years, 20). In its earliest stages, the Jesus movement appeared more like a Jewish sect than a new religion.