History Of Christianity

14 Pages 3546 Words

(Acts 2:47). Thus the Church (the Lord's body) was established. In Acts 4: 4, we see that the number of men grew to about five thousand, and in Acts 6:7 we see that, the disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. This shows the rapid growth of the early Christian Church. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11:26).
At the close of the apostolic age, Churches were independent one of another, each being shepherded by a board of Pastors. The main leader came to be called Bishop. The others, later, were called Presbyters. Gradually the jurisdiction of Bishop came to include neighboring towns.
As the disciples started preaching and doing miracles, the Church started to grow. At the same time, the opposition also arose. They arrested Stephen with false charges and stoned him to death. This was just the beginning of the persecution against the Christian Church. As the persecution increased, the disciples scattered around the world. Those who scattered preached the wo...