The Growth of the Church

Come Follow Me 10 Resource Booklet

Five Geographical and Historical Contexts:

- In Jerusalem
- Beyond Jerusalem to Israel and Palestine
- Across the Roman Empire
- During the period of Christendom
- Expansion beyond Europe

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Period 1: Growth of the Church in Jerusalem

The first story of the Spirit stirring the expansion of the Church is the story of Pentecost
itself. In 30AD, the Spirit stirred the Apostles to invite others to join the Church. The Spirit:

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 - Attracted many, by a sound like a violent wind, to where the Apostles were gathered
- Empowered the Apostles to speak in the languages of different nations
- Moved many to believe and become members of the Church
- Gave the power to work miracles
So that people would listen to them, the Spirit gave the Apostles the power to work miracles
like those of Jesus. Peter cured a cripple, then preach to the crowds that were attracted by this
miracle. Many people became believers and were baptised as Christians (i.e. followers of
Christ)

On the road to
Pentecost:
- Fifty days before Pentecost, Jesus had been crucified at the hands of the Roman
Empire, as well as his own people, the Jewish authorities and people who had called
for his death
- He rose from the dead three days later and the authorities could not find his body
- Before his ascension, Jesus promised an advocate which came in the form of the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost
- This gave them the strength and courage to go out and spread the news of Jesus’
teaching and mission
- Pentecost is often known as the birthday of the Church

Pentecost in Two Minutes (Busted Halo): http://bustedhalo.com/video/pentecost-in-two-

minutes
Christianity from Judaism to Constantine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG55ErfdaeY
Period 2: Expansion of the Church beyond Jerusalem to Israel and Palestine

Around 33 – 34AD the number of Christians in

Jerusalem had grown under the impetus of the Spirit
to the extent that the Jewish religious leaders began to
plan their destruction. This was the first official
persecution of Christians for their beliefs.

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The first to die for his Christian faith was St Stephen.

Many Christians then escaped from Jerusalem to other towns and regions, where they began
to bring others to Christian conversion. There were many key people involved in Christian
conversion.
Philip, one of the Apostles, went to Samaria. He:
- Proclaimed the Gospel to the people
- Worked miracles
- Drove unclean spirits from people
- Cured paralytics and cripples
- Baptised the many who became believers

The Apostles then sent Peter and John to confer on them the fullness of the Holy Spirit
through what is now called the sacrament of Confirmation.
Later, Philip was told by an angel to go to a road on which an important man from Ethiopia
would be travelling. The Spirit then moved Philip to convert the Ethiopian to become a
Christian.

Saint Paul
Paul, one of the great
persecutors of the first Christians was Saul. He approved the stoning of death of St Stephen in
the beginning of his life. Paul’s life story can be broken down into three main sections:
1. Saul of Tarsus, the Persecutor
2. Saul’s conversion into Paul
3. St. Paul, the man of Christ

Saul’s Conversion
Saul was on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus, when:

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 ‘Suddenly a light from heaven shone all around him. He fell to the ground, and then
he heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
‘Who are you, Lord?’ he asked, and the answer came:
‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Get up and go into the city and you will be
told what you are to do.’

Paul’s Mission Work

Saul was immediately moved by the Spirit to begin inviting other Jews to become members
of the Church as well. Saul:
- Preached the Gospel
- Upset the Jewish leaders to the extent that they plotted to kill him
- Had to escape by being lowered from the city wall in a basket

Saul changed him name to Paul. Moved again by the Holy Spirit, he went on three journeys
to proclaim the Gospel. As he did so, the Church began to spread to other cities and countries.

Paul’s First Journey (46 – 49AD)

- Through modern Cyprus, Turkey and Syria
- He set out from Antioch and visited places such as Salamis, Paphos, Perga, Antioch,
Iconium, Lystra, Derbe and Attalia. He then returned by sea to Seleucia and Antioch
- Later, Paul went with Barnabas to Jerusalem where he:

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 o Healed a cripple in Lystra
o Stopped the people thinking he was a god

Paul’s Second Journey (approx. 49 – 53AD)

- Guided by the Holy Spirit, Paul moved through modern Syria, Turkey and Greece
- He visited Celicia, Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, Toas, Neapolis, Philipi,
Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth and Ephesus
- During this trip, he was:
o Imprisoned in Philipi when an Earthquake occurred
o Preached to his jailer and family
o Received the jailer and his family into the Church

Paul’s Third Journey (approx. 53 – 58AD)

- The Spirit then moved Paul to preach in new towns and more and more, people were
converted to Christ and became members of the Church
- In the Greek city of Ephesus, Paul preached and taught God’s laws in the Jewish place
of worship called a ‘synagogue’
- Despite being against what he had to say, many people started to convert and become
members of the Church

Paul: Romeward Bound

Paul was arrested in Jerusalem for preaching the Gospel. The Jewish leaders tried to
assassinate him, so the Roman authorities moved him to Caesarea.
Paul then claimed his right, as a Roman citizen to be tried in Rome. He was sent to Rome by
boat, and eventually arrived after being shipwrecked off the coast of Malta.
In around 68AD, Paul was beheaded.

Use the space below to craft an extended paragraph answer to the following question:
‘Paul is considered one of the most influential people in the history of the Catholic Church.
With your knowledge of his journeys, and the use of Scripture from the Acts of the Apostles,
evaluate the significance of Paul’s life and work.’

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Period 3: The Spread of the Church across the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was largely at peace during the early centuries of the Church. The
Emperor Augustus brought this peace about by conquering all political rivals for the
leadership of Rome. The last of these rivals was Mark Antony who, with his lover Queen
Cleopatra of Egypt, was defeated by Augustus in 31BC.
The Empire enjoyed prosperity and provided citizens with a variety of entertainments. These
ranged from baths to theatres, to stadiums for sports and amphitheatres for big events,
merriment and spectacles.
The people, however, were seeking answers to their human heart questions. Many religions,
particularly from Greece and Asian, sought to provide answers to what people were seeking.
With all of this, there were signs of people seeking to do good and the Holy Spirit stirring
people through their consciences to do the will of God.

Why Christianity?
Christianity began to grow throughout the Empire. As the Spirit moved ordinary Christians to
live their faith in an un-Christian society, other people were attracted by the message of
salvation through Jesus Christ. They were attracted by the power of the love Christians
showed both towards each other, and to all people, a love flowing from the Spirit, which all
Christians receive as a result of the death and Resurrection of Jesus.
Led by the Spirit of God, Christians began to support the poor, the sick, the infirm and the
disabled. They showed practical care to prisoners, slaves in mines, those struck by disaster

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and those unable to provide for burial. They provided work for the unemployed, cared for
travellers and financially supported Christian communities in poverty of peril.
Many were attracted by the moral teachings Christians lived in their daily lives:
- Every human individual had personal dignity, was loved by God, even if they were a
slave
- Married couples could enjoy life-long love and happiness, instead of experiencing the
turmoil and unhappiness in Rome’s divorce-oriented society
- People had God-given social responsibilities, which contrasted with the generally
accepted Roman neglect of the poor and those in need
- Business and commerce should follow ethical principles and not be characterised by
exploitation, fraud and dishonesty.
The Christian religion also answered the questions in people’s hearts about who they were
and the meaning of their lives. It shared God’s answers to questions about death, life after
death and resurrection.

The Persecutions
Several Roman emperors became unhappy with the growth of Christianity. They began
persecutions of Christians that would continue on and off for over two hundred years. The
first official persecution began in 64AD during the reign of Nero. He exploited public
opinion, which at first saw Christians as atheists and immoral because they refused to
worship pagan gods.

The most severe persecutions began in the third century. The Roman government decided to
deal seriously with what they saw as the Christian menace. One of the problems for the
government was that Christians cared for those in need, which highlighted government
neglect. Christians also only accepted the authority of the emperor and empire when their
laws were consistent with the Law of God.

Persecution of Christians was intermittent.

Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211AD)
did not single-out Christians but issued an
edict which forced prominent governors
across the whole Empire to persecute
anyone who would not worship the
Roman gods. It was Septimius’
persecution that Saints Perpetua and
Felicity suffered martyrdom in Carthage
North Africa. Emperor Alexander
Serverus (222–235AD) and Emperor
Philip 1 (244–249AD), on the other hand,
were relatively friendly to Christians.
Then came the Emperor Trajan Decius

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(249–251AD), a harsh persecutor, who condemned all suspected of being Christians, unless
they also worshipped pagan gods.

Many people, including Pope Fabian, died after enduring terrible tortures. Others denied their
Christianity in the face of threats of torture. The persecution started by Trajan Decius lead
also to the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus II and his deacon, Lawrence. The last, and perhaps
most terrible persecution of the Church, began in 303AD as a result of a decree of the
Emperor Diocletian. This affected Christians across the Empire from all ranks of Roman
society. This was followed by a second decree which singled out bishops, priests and deacons
for particularly cruel deaths. In all of this, the Spirit was present with the Church, sustaining
faithful Christians throughout their torment.

The Emperor Constantine

The Man, the Myth, the Legend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYhMQNPa8mM
Diocletian reorganised the Roman Empire in 285AD. By 311AD, there was an Eastern
Roman emperor and a Western Roman emperor. Constantine became the emperor of the
West after conquering his rival Maxentius at the battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312AD.
Constantine attributed his victory to the Christian God.
By 312AD, historians estimate that around one seventh of the Roman Empire’s population of
forty nine million people were Christians. This was despite severe and systematic
persecutions. That same year the persecution started by Diocletian was finally stopped after
the Eastern Roman Emperor Maximinus Daia bowed to pressure from Constantine. Religious
freedom was given to Christians in the Edict of Milan in 313AD.

Over the following years, Constantine:

- Lavished donations on the Church, and built great churches
- Gave the Lateran Palace to the Pope
- Recognised Christian clergy, and exempted them from military service and forced
labour
- Modified Roman law to make it consistent with Christian moral values
- Commanded a more humane attitude towards slaves, children, orphans and the needy
- Decreed punishments for misbehaviour, such as adultery and prostitution that
undermined marriage and family life.

In 324AD, Constantine defeated the Eastern Roman Emperor, Licinius, who had begun
another persecution of Christians in defiance of the Edict of Milan. Constantine became sole
emperor of the East and the West and moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople, a city
more geographically central in the Empire.

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The First

Ecumenical Council
At this time there was a controversy about the exact nature of Jesus. Arius, a priest from
Egypt, was teaching that Jesus was created by God and therefore not equal to God. This
became known as the Arian Heresy. In 325AD, Constantine called on all the bishops to
resolve the issue. The bishops met in Nicea, a town conveniently located not far from
Constantinople. The Council of Nicea was the first Ecumenical Council, that is, a council of
the whole Church. The bishops adopted the Nicene Creed which is recited at Sunday Masses.

The Spirit moved Christians’ consciences

The terrors of the emperors could not stifle the faith of Christians. Recognising the movement
of the Spirit within their consciences, they:
- Lived publicly as Jesus taught
- Moved away from centres of persecution and towns, to rural areas and more peaceful
parts of the empire, sharing their faith with others as they went.

Strengthened by the Spirit, the Christian martyrs left a deep impression upon others. Many of
those who witnessed the sufferings of Christians found themselves asking questions such as:
‘Why are they enduring such tortures?’ ‘Why are they willing to die for their religion?’
‘What does their religion offer that they will not give it up, even though they will suffer for
it?’

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Period 4: The Growth of the Church during the period of Christendom

The boundaries of the Roman Empire were set in the second century after Christ. The
northern boundary was Hadrian’s Wall in Britain and the Rhine and Danube rivers. The
southern boundary was the Sahara Desert and the interior mountains of Africa. The boundary
to the east was the Euphrates River in Syria, and the western boundary was the Atlantic
Ocean.

Gradually, the Western half of the Roman Empire came under pressure from the Franks, the
Alemannia, the Vandals and the Visigoths, all of whom were Germanic tribes. Increasingly,
economic resources were used for defence. In 378, the Goths massacred Roman imperial
forces, and the Emperor Valens was killed in battle. Now the tribes could move at will within
the Empire. Rome was sacked, captured, plundered and looted in 410AD, and the Empire was
divided between the Germanic tribes.

Persecution and mission

The Popes during this time saw that the tribes were a reality with which they had to live.
They saw that the Church’s mission was to convert them. However, the Church at this time
again experienced persecutions. Church assemblies were prohibited, property seized and
bishops driven from their dioceses.

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Clovis
Change began in 486AD when a Frank leader, Clovis, defeated the ruler of northern Gaul
(modern France) and established himself as king of all Gallic territory north of the Loire
River. He married a Christian princess, Clotilda, and went on to be baptised in 496AD
together with three thousand of his men.

A warrior by nature, Clovis then proceeded to conquer other areas. Christians and their
bishops who were eager to be free of their persecutors supported him during this time. Italy
continued under the rule of various tribes. Rome was besieged and conquered several times.
Despite this, the Church began to spread throughout Europe. The following people were
particularly significant.

Pope St Gregory I
In 590AD, Pope Gregory I, also called
Gregory the Great, was elected. He gave new
impetus to the conversion of the rulers of
Europe. A monk himself, he sent out monks to
establish monasteries throughout rural Europe,
as country areas were the refuge of urban
people fleeing warring tribes. Monks also
strengthened those Catholic communities that
were weak in Celtic lands. One example was
Ireland where the Church had been brought to
the people by St Patrick. Monks spread
throughout Europe. They shared in the life and
work of rural peasants. More and more people
joined the Church. Monasteries became
centres for the Church and for scholarship.

England
Pope Gregory sent a Benedictine monk, St
Augustine of Canterbury, to England. Gregory was moved to do this when he saw young men
from that country, then known as Angles, being sold in the Roman slave market. The Church

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spread rapidly in England, and an English missionary, Boniface, then went on to convert
Germany.

Charlemagne
In 771AD, a Frank King, Charles came to his
throne. He extended his rule over most of
Western Europe. He conquered present day
Austria and parts of Hungary. Eventually, he
also conquered the Slavs, and virtually
reconstituted the Western Roman Empire.
Known now as ‘Charlemagne’ (Charles the
Great), he was crowned Emperor of the
Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day,
800AD. The reconstituted Western Roman
Empire gradually converted to Christianity and
became known as ‘Christendom’.

Christendom
The story of Christendom, therefore, is about a Church suffering at the hands of military
conquerors on the one hand, while on the other, spreading the Gospel as followers of Christ,
especially monks, moved around an unstable former Roman Empire. The Spirit moved them,
especially the popes, to carry out the command of Jesus to preach his Gospel ‘to all nations’.
As military conquerors were converted, beginning with Clovis, Church persecution stopped.

The Gospel could now be spread without violent opposition. The boundaries of Christendom
continued to grow from the sixth to the fourteenth centuries. Northern Germanic and Slavic
tribes were converted between the ninth and the eleventh centuries. Christianity was adopted
as the official religion for Russia and Ukraine by Czar Vladimir the Great before he died in
1015. The Baltic people became Christians in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

The East West Schism, or the Great Schism, divided medieval Christendom into Eastern
(Greek) and Western (Latin) branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox
Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The schism between the Eastern Orthodox Church
and the Church of Rome became
definitive in 1054. One of the first causes
was the gradual separation of East and
West.

To a great extent this estrangement was

inevitable. The East and West grouped
themselves around different centres, used
different rites and spoke different

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languages. Tension between the two Churches dates back to the division of the Roman
Empire into an Eastern and a Western part, and the transferral of the capital city from Rome
to Constantinople in the 4th century. An increasingly different outlook developed within the
two churches causing a split along doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political and geographic
lines. One of the central questions was the authority of the Pope in Rome.

The two Churches remain unreconciled today, although a dozen or so communities that
originally were with the East eventually recognised the authority of the Pope in the centuries
following the schism, and are now called Eastern-Rite Catholic churches, such as the
Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Melkite Catholic Church, both of which have
communities in Perth. There have been various attempts to heal the schism but these reunions
did not last. In recent years the dialogue between the two Churches to heal the schism has
been re-opened, increasing goodwill between them and hopeful dialogue.

Period 5: Growth of the Church beyond Europe

In the second millennium the Holy Spirit guided Christ’s followers to carry the good news
beyond Europe to new communities. The Church grew to become an important part of the
new world order. The sixteenth century saw the dawn of the ‘Age of Discovery’. It was the
age of Henry the Navigator, who explored previously unknown areas of the African coast,
and Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of the Americas.

As explorers opened up new areas of the world, Christian missionaries sought to travel with
them to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. Henry established missions in Africa, and
Columbus brought missionaries to the Americas.

Christianity in Africa
In 1849, David Livingstone, a Protestant missionary,
penetrated Africa, demonstrating that it was a suitable
place for migration. This aroused other missionaries to
become interested in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert.
In 1868, the Society of Missionaries of Africa, or White
Fathers, was founded. Missionaries first went to
Uganda. There they faced severe hardship and dangers
– sudden death in the bush, attacks by indigenous
peoples, wild animals, severe heat and frequent illness.

There were other missionary societies established as

well to serve in Africa. The Holy Ghost Fathers, now
called the Spiritans, and the Mill Hill Fathers are two
examples. Christians again faced torture and
martyrdom. In one incident in Uganda, twenty-two
Catholics and eleven Protestants were burned alive for following their consciences and
refusing to deny their Christian beliefs. They were canonised as the Uganda Martyrs by Pope
Paul VI during the last century. Over the years, more Ugandans converted to Christianity so

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that by 1914, there were 150,000 converts. By the mid-twentieth century, thirty six percent of
all Ugandans were Catholic.

The Church in North, East and West Africa rapidly expanded with millions of new members
over the twentieth century. The Church in Africa still has the strongest growth rate of the
whole Church. Today, the Church in African countries is led mostly by African bishops,
priests and laity. Indigenous leaders have long replaced those of European backgrounds.

The United States

Three dioceses were established in North America as early as 1511. As they flourished,
missionaries went in turn from these dioceses to Central and South America. The earliest
missionaries in America were the Jesuits, Franciscans, and Capuchins. Their concern was to
proclaim the Gospel to Native American Indians. They suffered many hardships, including
torture and death. French missionaries moved north to the Huron and other Indian tribes. St
Isaac Jogues and St Jean Brebeuf were early martyrs in the United States.

The influence of these

missionaries extended from
Florida to California in the
modern United States. It
remains in names like San
Diego, Los Angeles, San
Francisco and San Antonio.
Catholics and other
Christians like the Puritans
and Quakers went to the
first thirteen States in
America, to escape
persecution. Most Catholics
lived in Maryland and
Pennsylvania.

In 1790, after the American

War of Independence, Fr John Carroll, a Jesuit priest, was appointed Bishop of Baltimore. He
was the first bishop to be American-born. Within fifty years, there were sixteen American
dioceses in thirteen states. The Church continued to grow in the United States, particularly
with the immigration of Catholics from other countries

Asia
In the ‘Age of Discovery’, missionary movements were stirred by the Spirit to go to Asia, or
the ‘Far East’ as it was called. This began with the arrival of the Portuguese in India and Goa
became the missionary centre. In 1542, one of the most famous of all missionaries, St Francis

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Xavier, another Jesuit, landed in Goa. He began to preach, baptise and convert multitudes. He
travelled extensively between India and Indonesia.

Japan
In 1549, St Francis Xavier landed at Kagoshima in Japan. The mission he left flourished, but
a terrible persecution broke out in 1638. Thirty five thousand Japanese Catholics were
martyred. Before their deaths, many endured cruel torture for days. In 1853, an American
naval squadron led by Commodore Perry arrived in Edo Bay in Japan. A treaty of friendship
was signed between Perry and the Japanese ruler in 1854. Catholic missionaries again began
preaching in Japan.

In 1855, missionaries were surprised to notice a small group of Japanese showing devotion in
the mission chapel in Nagasaki. These people were descendants of the persecuted Catholics
of 1638. They kept their faith for two centuries without priests or support from the outside
world. In all, there were approximately ten thousand of these people. Their religious life was
in communities in which lay leaders conducted Sunday prayers, baptised and cared for the
dying.
The Japanese authorities were furious on learning of these Catholics, and renewed their
persecution. Some Catholics were killed while others fled into exile. As a result of world
opinion stirred by the media of the time, persecution ceased in 1889 and religious freedom
was granted. The growth of the Church in Japan has been slow.

In 1945, 8,500 Catholics were killed by the atomic bomb dropped over Nagasaki. Today, the
Church in Japan is led by Japanese bishops and priests. Religious brothers and sisters, most
of whom are Japanese, conduct schools, hospitals and charitable institutions.

China
St Francis Xavier died in 1552 on his way to China. The Church did not reach China until
1581 when a number of Jesuits led by Fr Matteo Ricci arrived. At the time Ricci won prestige
for his scientific knowledge, his clocks and his maps. Although there were converts, the clash
between
Christianity and Chinese culture was a major deterrent to the missionaries.

Progress over the next two

centuries was slow. Colonial
powers invaded China in the latter
half of the nineteenth century.
Chinese culture and tradition were
torn apart by Western influences,
and the ancient monarchy was
replaced by a republican
government. This led also to a
weakening of traditional Chinese
religions. Christianity grew rapidly,
and there were nearly two million
Catholics in 1922.

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By the end of World War II, the Church in China included twenty archdioceses and seventy
nine dioceses. Catholics were involved in many ministries, schools, orphanages, homes for
the aged and other charitable works. The persecution of Christians began again in 1950 with
the Communist conquest of China. Hundreds of thousands of Christians lost their lives, and
others were imprisoned. In 1958, the Communist Government set up a ‘Catholic Patriotic
Church’. Ever since, there has been little information on the situation of the Catholic Church
in China.

Other Asian countries

Today, the Church is growing in a many Asian countries – the Philippines, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Burma, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The
Philippines has a higher percentage of Catholics than any other Asian country; the former
Spanish colony is nearly 80% Catholic. In some countries, such as Sri Lanka, Taiwan and
Thailand, the Church is completely free. In others, such as Malaysia, Burma and Vietnam, it
experiences persecution in varying degrees.

Australia
The Church in Australia began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. Of the 1,044
convicts who arrived, 316 of them were Catholics. For some years, there were no priests or
religious to lead the people. Led by the Spirit, they continued to keep their faith alive. In 1820
priests arrived to minister to Catholics in the colony and in 1838 the Sisters of Charity were
the first religious order to set up communities to work with the people. In the 1920’s about 1
in 5 Australians claimed affiliation with the Catholic Church. However, after World War II,
the population was boosted significantly by migrants, with many coming from traditionally
Catholic countries. By the end of the century over one-quarter of the population was Catholic.
The Church in Australia today is made of people from different cultures and is actively
involved in many ministries.

The Church continues to grow in the world today

Since the time of the Apostles, followers of Jesus have fulfilled his command to spread his
Gospel to ‘all nations’. In each case, a follower has been inspired to play his or her part by
the
Holy Spirit. They have recognised the thoughts and feelings stirred by the Spirit through their
consciences. While many famous figures played a part in the spread of the Gospel, the major
work was done by millions of ordinary people – priests, religious and laity – who are not
recorded in history. The Church continues to spread in the world today by the Spirit stirring
the consciences of people everywhere to seek out what is good and do the will of God.

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