Christianity in the second and third centuries

Abstract

Christianity in the second and third centuries ce has traditionally been studiedless than either the origins of Christianity in the first century or the patristic era of Christianity that reached its zenith in the fourth and fifth centuries. Indeed, the second and third centuries of Christianity are often referred to as ‘post’ and ‘pre’. This time period is termed ‘post-apostolic’ or ‘post-New Testament’ since it comes after the formative period of first-century Christianity, after the first generation of Christians had died, after most of what were to become the New Testament writings had been written. But second-and third-century Christianity is also termed ‘preConstantinian’ or ‘ante-Nicene’ since it comes before the rise of the emperor Constantine the Great to power in 306 ce and with him the beginnings of a statepromoted Christendom. It is referred to as ‘ante-Nicene’ because it comes before the first council of Nicaea in 325 ce, which was important in setting the course for the church thereafter.

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