Gradual distinction with Judaism

In the prior page, we looked at the points of divergence between the disciples of Jesus and Jews in the Judaic tradition. The divergence continued to grow after the late the 1st century, progressing unevenly depending on locations. From the start of the 2nd century, the corpus of letters attributed to Ignatius of Antioch show that a distinction was made in Antioch between "Judaism" and "Christianity" (the first occurrence of the word as a concept), between being Jewish and being Christian. Justin Martyr as well, in his Dialogue with the Jew Tryphon (after 155 AD). Elsewhere, the distinction was slower to advance, and communities called Judeo-Christian endured at least until the 4th century. This distinction arose from Christian as well as Jewish initiatives, namely rabbis who gradually reasserted themselves in Judaism after the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem in 70 AD – refer in particular to the very few references to Christians found in Jewish sources from the 2nd and 3rd centuries, which suggest that Christians were excluded from the institutions and lives of Jewish communities.

Early Christians – a broad spectrum

Early Christians presented a complex picture. Theirs was a very broad spectrum, ranging from Jewish communities who recognized solely the messianity of Jesus, to societies who rejected Judaism and its writings entirely (e.g., Marcion of Synope in the middle of the 2nd century and his disciples). Between them, were those who maintained their Jewish roots by complying with some precepts of the Torah, ethnic Greek communities who drew on Jewish writings without observing the Torah, and others proposing a variety of doctrines. The Greek philosopher Celsus (2nd century), who challenged Christianity in a work is known to us through Origen’s refutation a century later, had specifically discussed them. He evoked a majority group as well, which he called the "Great Church", who sought to distinguish their own representations from Jews, non-Jews, and from Christians they regarded as "heretics." They built themselves through doctrinal thinking, which led to refining doctrines and separating those held to be true or straight ("orthodoxy") from those considered wrong or deviant ("heresy"); through the many writings from which they selected a body of authoritative scriptures while rejecting those deemed contrary to the faith (see Module “Themes” for a discussion on the canon and Apocrypha, and the creed); and by increasingly organizing their communities.

Structural organization

Christians were not recognized by the Roman authorities as a people; they hence did not have the right to associate in order to have specific places of worship, and to practice without having to attend official rituals. This situation complicated their lives. At first, their communities were ministered collegially between the episcopoi (“overseers”), diakonoi (“servants”, or deacons) and presbyteroi (“elders”, or priests). From the 2nd century, societies affiliated with the "Great Church" gradually adopted a form of episcopal organization that centralized all authority under a unique episcopos, which term then took on the meaning of “bishop”. The bishop was considered a successor of the apostles and stood apart from priests and deacons. This tripartite system was instated generally, not without resistance, during the 3rd century.

From persecution to recognition

The belief in a single deity met with incomprehension; the refusal to attend civic cults, which was seen as a mark of separation from the civic body, gave rise to mistrust. Christian sources claimed that accusations, ones already leveled against Jews (or any supposed enemy), were commonly being made by the local communities. These were likely to have originated from the populace (not the authorities); their hatred, at any rate, was already being expressed in different ways: graffiti, insults, up to aggressions and persecutions. Until the 3rd century, such acts were local and intermittent, and there were no imperial directives to that effect. In the 3rd century, the situation changed. Christians had become visibly more numerous, though it would be difficult to assess, let alone quantify, their importance by community. Non-Christian contemporaries became aware of their increase and took a dim view; the Neo-Platonic philosopher Porphyry (234-c.305 AD) thus wrote, “Now they wonder that for so many years the plague has scourged the city [Rome/Roman Empire]” (Against the Christians 80, quoted by Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, V-1). Meanwhile, the Empire was facing pressures – internal and external (incursions from outside its borders). The emperor required the allegiance of all throughout the Empire (Roman citizenship having become universal since the Edict of Caracalla in 212), an allegiance that rested primarily on participating in imperial cults and civic sacrifices. Decius (r. 249-251) promulgated an edict in late 249, which text was not preserved, ordering all inhabitants of the Empire - except Jews - to sacrifice to the gods. The emperor did not single out Christians specifically. However, the refusal of Christians to offer sacrifice, be it a libation, led to their arrest and judgment, sometimes the death sentence. There were other waves of persecution under Valerian (reign 257-258) and Diocletian (reign 284-305). Nevertheless, it would still be difficult to speak of a generalized persecution, as their edicts were unevenly applied depending on regions. The persecutions inspired hagiographies in the many, usually written long after the event, whose main purpose was to strengthen Christians in their faith. The persecutions ended with the Edict of Toleration of Galerius in 311 for the East. In 313, Constantine I (r. 306-337) extended it to the West. In that year, the co-emperors Constantine and Licinius (r. 308-324) together recognized the Christian religion and allowed its adherents, as with all religions, to choose their faith and practice it. This legal recognition, referred to as the “Edict of Milan”, enabled Christianity to develop significantly, notably with the help of emperors who were supportive. In 381, Theodosius I (r. 379-395) made Christianity the sole state religion, and issued a series of edicts between 392 and 394 banning polytheistic cults.

Further remarks on the resources

Source 1:

Polycarp did not seek martyrdom. We should not believe that Christians all had a burning desire to be martyred. Christian leaders of the time were generally cautious of those who actively sought martyrdom. It was also an issue of debate. Some rejected it completely, whereas others stood with Polycarp, who, without wishing it, accepted his fate so as not to deny his faith. Polycarp, by accepting the death sentence for his faith, proved his trust in God; his credence was confirmed by the aromatic scent that arose from his body on the pyre. This display would bolster the faith of any Christian among the spectators, and all others who would hear of it. The epistle, which addresses its recipients directly, was a way to draw them in as spectators to the martyrdom, the holiness of Polycarp, and to urge them to strengthen their faith and push for more conversions. Martyrs played a role in the construction of the Christian faith, seeing also that they were almost immediately included in local worships. Literature on martyrdom developed after this, multiplying martyrs and their ordeals. For the non-Christians and non-Jews, to believe in a sole god meant not believing in any deity or having a false conception of divinity: to be an atheist is to be godless or devoid of the proper conception of divinity. Several marvels were observed in Polycarp’s ordeal by fire, including the “sweet odour” that his body exuded, instead of burning flesh (the flames had arched around but not burned his body)]. The aroma recalled frankincense, which was quintessentially associated with holiness and the divine in ancient times.