Whilst the Roman Emperor blamed the Great Fire of Rome of 64 AD on the Christians and persecuted the Christian community of Rome, the persecution was confined to just the city of Rome itself. The old religions offered no explanation for why these epidemics were occurring as the ancients had no real understating of micro-organisms and why communicable diseases spread, Christianity acted as a salvation.ĭuring the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, persecutions of Christians were isolated, sporadic and carried out by local governors without any official decree from the Emperor. Christians also cared for the sick in non-Christian communities, which would increase the likelihood of their conversion, especially in times of death and uncertainty. Stark contends that Christian communities would have had better survival rates during these plagues because of the healthcare they provided for one another. These periods coincide with some of the most prolific growth of Christianity. During the late Roman period there were a number of devastating plagues: the Antonine Plague (165-180 AD), the Plague of Cyprian (251-270 AD), and the Plague of Justinian (541–542 AD). Rodney Stark's book, the Rise of Christianity, argues that one of the main reasons for the success of Early Christianity was the Christian emphasis on caring for the sick. The early centers of Christianity were the largest cities and the most urbanized provinces on the major trade networks of the Mediterranean.Ĭhristian Healthcare and the Rise of Christianity ( Map 1 shows the cities across the Mediterranean that St. Paul in getting the word out about the new faith. This prosperity and unification assisted early missionaries such as St. Communications between the various peoples of the Mediterranean had become streamlined into two major languages: Latin in the Western Mediterranean, and Greek in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Romans had successfully unified the entire Mediterranean into a relatively peaceful and prosperous trading system. However, the spread of Christianity was only possible because of the stability and unification of the Mediterranean achieved by the Romans. In the first few centuries of Christianity, the Roman establishment felt threatened by this new religious movement and Christians were at times persecuted under Roman rule (This will be discussed in detail further on). Roman Unity and the Spread of Christianity
How did Christianity achieve this tremendous feat? Christianity began as a tiny sect of Judaism during the life of Jesus, but in just 4 centuries it had become the dominant religion of the entire Mediterranean World. It is also the primary inspiration behind the second largest religion of the world, Islam. Christianity is today the world’s largest religion, representing at least a quarter of the world’s population.
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