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History of the church of Christ
For a very short version of this history, go here.
2ND CENTURY
Were these people you will read about below New Testament Christians? Up to now, the only doctrinal change in the church was development of a hierarchy with certain elders being put in charge of several congregations in a city, then another elder calling himself a bishop and being in charge of them. Infant baptism was introduced and pushed by some church leaders as a way of getting control of families while very young. Very few people believed in these things yet.
During the mid-to-late rst century, Jesus’ Apostle, Simon the Zealot, according to Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History and Fox’s Book of Martyrs, established the New Testament church in Britain. Apparently he established congregations on his way there in both Spain and France. And it is likely he went over to the nearest border of Germany not too far away, and established the New Testament church there also. [1] Many of his congregations would still exist in the second century since persecution of Christians in these places had not begun yet.
According to Reader’s Digest Story of the Bible World, by 185 AD, there were European congregations in Cologne and Mainz, GERMANY; Lyon in FRANCE; Leon, Saragossa and Merida in SPAIN, Carthage in northern AFRICA, and of course ITALY, GREECE and TURKEY as mentioned in the Bible.
( e following will not cover Christianity in Africa, the Middle-East, or the Orient, language barriers precluding a study of that history. It also will not cover today’s Turkey and parts of Italy and Greece where apostles of the New Testament established congregations.) [2]
Apparently, the congregations in Europe were established by the students of the apostles called the “Apostolic Fathers.” For example, Ireneaus was a life-time missionary to Lyons, Gaul (France). He was a student of Polycarp who had been a student of the Apostle John.
In Ireneaus’ writings we nd: “…we walk on the highways and sail withersoever we will without fear” (iv.30.1-31.I). [3]
BRITAIN
In 141 AD, in the area of today’s Cambridgeshire and village of Grantchester near today’s Cambridge “many were baptized.” [4] Apparently this was a blooming of the seed of the word planted by apostle Simon the Zealot in the mid- to late- rst century as noted above.
FRANCE