History of Christianity

The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, its followers and the Church with its various denominations, from the first century to the present. Christianity was founded in the 1st century in the Levant region of the Middle East by Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 16:18), who is prophesied in the Old Testament (Micah 5:2-5) to be the Christ or chosen one of God. The fathers of Christianity included those who had been disciples of Jesus such as Peter, Matthew, James and John, as well as others who may never have met him but were either influenced by accounts of his teachings such as the Gospel writers Mark and Luke, or described having spiritual revelations of his divine nature, such as Paul of Tarsus who actively encouraged the founding of Christian communities or "churches" after his conversion.

Christianity spread initially from Jerusalem throughout the Near East, into places such as Syria, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Asia Minor, Jordan and Egypt. In the 4th century it was successively adopted as the state religion by Armenia in 301, Georgia in 319, the Aksumite Empire in 325, and the Roman Empire in 380. It became common to all of Europe in the Middle Ages and expanded throughout the world during Europe's Age of Exploration from the Renaissance onwards to become the world's largest religion. Throughout its history, Christianity has weathered persecutions, schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches. The largest branches of Christianity are the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestant churches.