The movement’s beginnings

The epistles of Paul (named Saul before he converted as a disciple of Jesus; c. 8 BC – 64-68 AD) were the first Christian documents and oldest testimonials of new religious groups within Judaism who considered a figure named Jesus (7-4 BC – maybe 30 AD) to be the Messiah (from Hebrew mashiah, meaning “the anointed one”, christos in Greek, someone doing God’s work, a savior, a redeemer) foretold in Jewish writings. The historical existence of Jesus is not in doubt today, even if few non-Christian records were found. The account provided by the Jewish historian Josephus gave the most details, depicting Jesus as a teacher of wisdom and wonderworker in the manner of other figures of Judaism at the time. Christian sources are more numerous, of which the many gospels (texts about the life of Jesus) written from the 70s onwards; however, theirs is less an account of the historical Jesus than an abstraction rendered in the way the movement’s beginnings were imagined, and reflecting the [cultural character] of the communities who received their writings. Some of the information contained is historic nevertheless, and historical criticism, notably of the four gospels become canon, has brought to perspective the fact that Jesus appeared to have a vision of the kingdom of God and a notion of holiness and purity that differed from his fellow Jews (to whom holiness [still] meant being in compliance with the Torah). These documents thus show that, soon after he died, the figure of Jesus went through varying interpretations. Concerning the historic Jesus, historians have but few certainties. He was born to a Jewish family, probably between 7 and 4 BC. As an adult, for about two years, he was an itinerant preacher, namely in Galilee and Judea. He surrounded himself with a group of disciples who followed him faithfully, and among them were women. Yet this first movement was relatively little organized. Beyond a core group, Jesus spoke to a wider audience, whom he attracted intermittently. Jesus himself left no record of his teachings. His death by crucifixion, a shaming sentence at the time, dispersed his followers. If some met with disappointment, others continued to believe in the coming of the kingdom of God and in Jesus as the Messiah; they thus believed in his resurrection and ascent towards God, and they took it as a testament of his messianity. The figure of Jesus, henceforth the Christ, was now so central to the creed that the disciples were called "Christians" (Greek Christianoi, meaning “supporters of Christ”), a name that was likely coined by outsiders in Antioch (the first occurrence of the word is in Acts 11:26), before it spread (see Josephus and Tacitus) and was used by the followers to designate themselves.

The overture to non-Jews, and progressive distinction with Judaism

Jesus and the early Christians were Jewish, and they observed the precepts of the Torah and made use of Jewish holy writings. However, three points of contention began to appear between the jewish disciples of Jesus and other Jews: messianity, observance of the Torah, and the place of Israel in the covenant with God.

To his disciples, Jesus was the Messiah foretold in the Jewish scriptures, the belief in the resurrection being both the starting point of this conviction, and its testament. This compelled a new reading of Jewish writings, which differed in small ways at first, then more so, with that of the synagogues. Shortly after the death of Jesus, a debate arose in Jerusalem with regard to the recipients of the gospel. Should it be restricted to Jews only, or could non-Jews be included, especially the "God-fearing", those who, without converting or being circumcised, also came to the synagogues? The contingent advocating the latter, Peter and his followers, took their ministry out of Jerusalem, leaving James, who was held in regard as "brother of Jesus", to lead the Jerusalem community until his assassination in 62 AD. A second debate ensued on the requirement for non-Jews who accepted and adhered to the gospel of Jesus, to equally observe the precepts of Torah. Of issue was maintaining purity [when it came to their inclusion with Jewish disciples] (e.g., by not consuming meat from sacrifices). The matter opposed Peter, who was restrictive, and Paul, who rebuked him and extended the question to circumcision. The latter considered that salvation came from faith in the Christ, and not by works of the law (see his Galatians 2: 11-13). In so doing Paul provided the overture that made the faith accessible to outsiders. We may thus speak of Paul as the gateway into other cultures. The other question concerned the inheritance from God: who were the heirs, the disciples of Jesus or Jews of the Covenant? From the middle of 2nd century, some Christians proclaimed their own to be the actual heirs, and that they were the "true Israel".

Beliefs and rites of early Christians – diversity

The first communities appeared in several cities around the Mediterranean under the impetus of important figures, like Peter and Paul. At the outset they were formed within Jewish communities, and later widened to include non-Jews. The work of personalities involved is largely unknown, except for Paul who, unlike other missionary leaders, left letters that are the oldest Christian writings. As for the others, later writings recounted their deeds, less for the purposes of history, than in a legitimizing and memorializing vein.
These communities were diverse, particularly in culture. Included were Judeo-Christians who applied the Torah, and communities of Hellenistic background who did not entirely observe the Torah; and there were the Syriac communities. Over time, as Christians multiplied in the Empire, so did the contingent of non-Jewish Christians, although we cannot measure them in number and proportions.
They shared in the common belief of the resurrection and (with differences) the messianic nature of Jesus, and performed common rites: prayer, including the Lord’s Prayer (ordained by Jesus, according to the Gospels of Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4), baptism, and the Eucharist, whose prototypes were in the four gospels that were widely disseminated and gradually being recognized as inspired. However, these writings gave little guidance on how they were to be performed, whereas the effectiveness of at rite depends on its proper execution. A writing contemporaneous with the Gospels, the Didache, which prescribed the rites, provided detailed information, especially on baptism. The Eucharist commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus before his arrest; baptism refers to the baptism that Jesus received in the river Jordan from John the Baptist, but with a new significance in that it is both water and spirit, made in the name of Jesus Christ, and it is Jesus who saves, not the purifying ablution itself. It also [had a new purpose: performed once only, baptism] marked the starting point of an individual’s belonging to the assembly of the “summoned”, i.e., to the ekklesia, a term derived from a Greek verb meaning to call or summon; it designated the assembly of citizens (male) of the Greek city state or the assembly called for religious purposes in the Septuagint. Following the late 1st century, other texts introduced the rites of penance and ordination. The communities also had different textual references (the canon was gradually established between the 2nd and 4th centuries).

Conclusion

At the close of the 2nd century Christians were few in numbers and dispersed in different communities that varied in language, culture, the writings they adopted, together with their interpretation of Jesus and his gospel. Beyond these differences, Jesus was the common referent, despite the variant interpretations held. As the Christian message widened to include non-Jews, the distinction between Christians and other Jews began to emerge.