The apostolic church and the age of martyrs (c. 30-313)

What you'll learn

Trace the church's growth from Pentecost to the Edict of Milan, naming the key people, writings and persecutions with accurate dates.
Distinguish what is historically certain about the apostles' deaths from what later tradition adds, and use the evidence responsibly.
Use the evidence of the first three centuries (Pliny, Tacitus, Ignatius, the Didache) to answer the claims that Constantine created Christianity or that the early church was simply Roman Catholic.

Pentecost: a resurrection people (c. 30)

The story of the church does not begin with an emperor or a council. It begins with a crucified Jewish teacher, an empty tomb and a frightened band of followers in Jerusalem. About fifty days after the resurrection (most scholars date the crucifixion to AD 30 or 33), at the Jewish feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples (Acts 2:1-4). Peter stood up and preached that the Jesus whom Jerusalem had crucified, 'God raised up' (Acts 2:24, 32), and that God had made him 'both Lord and Christ' (Acts 2:36). About three thousand were baptised that day (Acts 2:41).

Luke gives a short portrait of that first church: 'they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers' (Acts 2:42). Notice the four marks: apostolic doctrine, shared life, the Lord's Supper and corporate prayer. Reformed Christians still see in that verse the basic shape of a healthy church. Notice also what is not there: no pope, no system of penance, no treasury of merit. There are apostles who preach, elders who shepherd (Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:6) and men appointed to serve tables (Acts 6:1-6).

From day one this was a resurrection movement. The first Christians did not gather around a wise man's sayings but around an event they said they had witnessed (Acts 2:32; 1 Cor 15:3-8). That is why church history is itself a piece of apologetics: something happened in Jerusalem around AD 30 that turned strict Jewish monotheists into worshippers of Jesus and sent them into the Roman world willing to suffer for it. Opposition came quickly. Stephen became the first Christian martyr (Acts 7), and the persecution that followed scattered the believers, who 'went about preaching the word' (Acts 8:4).

Explain in your own words why the lesson calls the earliest church 'a resurrection movement', and why that makes church history a piece of apologetics.Show answer

The first Christians did not gather around a wise teacher's sayings but around an event they said they had witnessed: God raising Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:32; 1 Cor 15:3-8). Something happened in Jerusalem around AD 30 that turned strict Jewish monotheists into worshippers of Jesus and sent them into the Roman world willing to suffer. The existence of that movement is itself something that needs explaining.

centred on an event, not sayings
claimed to be witnesses
Jewish monotheists worshipping Jesus
willing to suffer

Which text gives Luke's short portrait of the first church? What four marks does it show, and what is notably missing?Show answer

Acts 2:42 says they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers: apostolic doctrine, shared life, the Lord's Supper and corporate prayer. Reformed Christians still see this as the basic shape of a healthy church. What is missing is any pope, system of penance or treasury of merit; instead there are apostles who preach, elders who shepherd and men appointed to serve tables.

Acts 2:42
doctrine, fellowship, Supper, prayer
no pope, penance or treasury of merit
apostles, elders, servers

From Jerusalem to the nations

Jesus had given the plan: 'you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth' (Acts 1:8). Acts follows that plan step by step: Samaria (Acts 8), an Ethiopian official (Acts 8:26-40), the Roman centurion Cornelius (Acts 10), and then Antioch in Syria, a great mixed city where 'the disciples were first called Christians' (Acts 11:26). From Antioch Paul and Barnabas were sent out (Acts 13:1-3). Over roughly the next decade Paul planted churches across Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece, usually starting in the synagogue, where Jews and Gentile 'God-fearers' already knew the Scriptures.

The first great doctrinal crisis in church history was about the gospel itself. Must Gentiles be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved (Acts 15:1)? The apostles and elders met in Jerusalem (around AD 49) and answered no. Peter's testimony carried the day: 'we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will' (Acts 15:11). Paul fought the same battle in Galatians. Keep that in mind when someone says salvation by grace through faith was a sixteenth-century novelty. The Reformers did not invent the question; the apostles settled it first.

In AD 70 the Roman army under Titus destroyed Jerusalem and its temple, as Jesus had foretold (Luke 21:5-6, 20-24). After 70 the church's centre of gravity moved decisively into the wider Gentile world, and Rome increasingly saw Christians as a group distinct from the Jews.

How does the book of Acts follow the plan Jesus gave in Acts 1:8? Give examples.Show answer

Jesus said his followers would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts follows that step by step: Samaria, the Ethiopian official, the Roman centurion Cornelius, and then Antioch, where the disciples were first called Christians. From Antioch Paul and Barnabas were sent out, and Paul planted churches across Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece, usually starting in the synagogue.

Acts 1:8 outline
Samaria, Ethiopian, Cornelius
Antioch as sending base
Paul's churches via synagogues

How would you answer someone who says salvation by grace through faith was a sixteenth-century novelty?Show answer

The first great doctrinal crisis in church history was about exactly that: must Gentiles be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved (Acts 15:1)? Around AD 49 the apostles and elders in Jerusalem said no, and Peter declared, 'we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will' (Acts 15:11). Paul fought the same battle in Galatians, so the Reformers did not invent the question; the apostles settled it first.

Acts 15 council c. 49
circumcision and the law
Peter's words (Acts 15:11)
Reformers didn't invent it

The deaths of the apostles: certainty and tradition

Apologists often say, 'All the apostles died for their faith.' Be careful. Some deaths are well attested; others rest on later tradition of mixed quality. An honest apologist sorts the evidence.

Well attested. James the son of Zebedee was put to death with the sword by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:2), around AD 44. James the brother of the Lord, leader of the Jerusalem church, was stoned in AD 62 on the orders of the high priest Ananus; the Jewish historian Josephus records it and calls him 'the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ' (Antiquities 20.200). Peter and Paul both died in Rome under Nero, probably in the mid-60s. Jesus foretold Peter's death (John 21:18-19); Paul expected his (2 Tim 4:6); and 1 Clement, written from Rome around AD 96, holds both up as examples who suffered and bore witness to the end (1 Clement 5).

Later tradition. That Peter was crucified upside down comes from the apocryphal Acts of Peter (late second century) and later writers. That Paul was beheaded fits his Roman citizenship and appears in later sources. Thomas's mission to India is recorded in the third-century Acts of Thomas and cherished by the Thomas Christians of Kerala; it is possible but not provable. Stories about Andrew, Bartholomew, Matthew and the others are later and vary widely. John, according to Irenaeus, lived on in Ephesus into Trajan's reign (Against Heresies 3.3.4), so he most likely died naturally.

The responsible claim is this: several apostles certainly died for their testimony; all of them suffered for it (Acts 5:40-41; 2 Cor 11:23-28); and we have no record that any of them recanted. That is strong evidence that they sincerely believed they had seen the risen Christ.

What is the difference between the apostles' deaths that are well attested and those that rest on later tradition? Give an example of each.Show answer

Well-attested deaths have early, solid sources: James son of Zebedee was killed by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:2), James the Lord's brother was stoned in AD 62 as Josephus records, and Peter and Paul died in Rome under Nero, as 1 Clement indicates. Later traditions rest on sources of mixed quality, such as Peter being crucified upside down (from the apocryphal Acts of Peter) or Thomas's mission to India (from the third-century Acts of Thomas). An honest apologist sorts the evidence instead of treating it all alike.

early solid sources vs later mixed ones
James (Acts 12:2) or Josephus on James
Peter upside down or Thomas as later tradition
sort the evidence honestly

Put the 'responsible claim' about the apostles' deaths into a sentence or two you could say to a friend, and explain why it still matters.Show answer

Several apostles certainly died for their testimony, all of them suffered for it (Acts 5:40-41; 2 Cor 11:23-28), and we have no record that any of them recanted. That avoids overclaiming (John most likely died naturally) while still giving strong evidence that they sincerely believed they had seen the risen Christ.

several certainly died
all suffered
no record of recanting
evidence of sincere belief

The apostolic fathers: the next generation

The 'apostolic fathers' is a modern label (from the seventeenth century) for the earliest Christian writings after the New Testament. They show us what the generation that knew the apostles believed.

1 Clement (traditionally c. 96) is a letter from the church at Rome to the church at Corinth, where some elders had been removed without cause. It never names its author, but early tradition attributes it to Clement, a leader in Rome. Two details matter. It uses the words 'bishop' (overseer) and 'presbyter' (elder) interchangeably, as the New Testament does (Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5-7). And it calls for order and repentance by appealing again and again to Scripture.

Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, wrote seven letters around AD 110 while being taken to Rome to die in the arena. He insists on unity around one bishop with his elders and deacons, and he fights the Docetists, who said Christ only seemed to have a body. He calls Jesus God without hesitation: 'For our God, Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment of God, conceived in the womb by Mary' (To the Ephesians 18). He begged the Roman Christians not to rescue him: 'I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ' (To the Romans 4).

Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, had been taught by apostles, according to his pupil Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.3.4). Around 155 he was arrested and urged to curse Christ. His answer is one of the great sentences of church history: 'Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?' (Martyrdom of Polycarp 9). He was bound to a stake for burning; when, according to the account, the fire did not consume him, an executioner stabbed him with a dagger (Martyrdom of Polycarp 15-16).

The Didache ('The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles') is a short church manual, rediscovered in 1873 and usually dated to the late first or early second century. It teaches the 'two ways' of life and death, forbids abortion and infanticide (2.2), gives instructions for baptism in the triune name, preferably in running water, with pouring allowed when needed (7), tells believers to pray the Lord's Prayer three times a day (8) and to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, and gives early Eucharistic prayers.

What does 1 Clement show about church leadership at the end of the first century?Show answer

1 Clement is a letter from the church at Rome to the church at Corinth, where some elders had been removed without cause. It uses 'bishop' (overseer) and 'presbyter' (elder) interchangeably, as the New Testament does (Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5-7). It also calls for order and repentance by appealing again and again to Scripture.

Rome writing to Corinth
elders removed without cause
bishop and elder the same office
appeals to Scripture

Which writers in this section show that the generation after the apostles confessed Jesus as God and would die for him, and how?Show answer

Ignatius of Antioch, writing around 110 on his way to die in the arena, calls Jesus 'our God' without hesitation (To the Ephesians 18) and begged the Roman Christians not to rescue him. Polycarp, who had been taught by apostles, refused to curse Christ around 155, saying he had served him eighty-six years and could not blaspheme his King and Saviour, and was then put to death.

Ignatius calls Jesus 'our God'
Ignatius ready for martyrdom
Polycarp's eighty-six years
close link to the apostles

Persecution: from Nero to Diocletian

For most of its first 250 years, persecution was local and sporadic rather than empire-wide, but it was real and often brutal. Christians refused to honour the gods who, Romans believed, protected the empire, so they were suspected of atheism and disloyalty.

Nero (64). After the great fire of Rome in July 64, Nero blamed the Christians. The Roman historian Tacitus, no friend of the faith, explains that 'Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus'. He describes believers 'covered with the skins of beasts' and torn by dogs, or burned 'to serve as a nightly illumination' (Annals 15.44).

Pliny and Trajan (c. 112). Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia, wrote to the emperor Trajan asking how to handle Christians (Letters 10.96). He executed those who persisted after three warnings, because their 'stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy' deserved punishment. Under interrogation he learned that they met 'on a fixed day before dawn' and sang 'a hymn to Christ as to a god', and bound themselves by oath not to commit fraud, theft or adultery. He had two female slaves 'who were called deaconesses' tortured and found only 'superstition'. Trajan replied that Christians 'are not to be sought out', but if accused and convicted they must be punished unless they sacrificed to the gods (Letters 10.97).

Empire-wide persecution. In 250 the emperor Decius ordered everyone in the empire (Jews excepted) to sacrifice to the gods and obtain a certificate (libellus) to prove it. Fabian, bishop of Rome, was among those who died. Many Christians lapsed, and the church argued bitterly about whether to readmit them. Under Valerian, Cyprian of Carthage was beheaded in 258. Then from February 303 Diocletian launched the 'Great Persecution': churches were destroyed, Scriptures handed over and burned, and clergy imprisoned, followed by a general order to sacrifice. Those who surrendered the Scriptures were called traditores ('handers-over'). Galerius ended persecution in the East by an edict of toleration posted on 30 April 311.

Tertullian of Carthage summed up the paradox around 197: 'The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed' (Apology 50).

Why were Christians persecuted by Rome, and what was persecution usually like before 250?Show answer

Christians refused to honour the gods who, Romans believed, protected the empire, so they were suspected of atheism and disloyalty. For most of the first 250 years persecution was local and sporadic rather than empire-wide, but it was real and often brutal. Trajan's reply to Pliny shows the pattern: Christians were not to be sought out, but if accused and convicted they were punished unless they sacrificed.

refused to honour the gods
suspected of atheism and disloyalty
local and sporadic until 250
Trajan's policy

What does Pliny's letter to Trajan (c. 112) tell us about early Christians, and why is it especially valuable evidence?Show answer

Pliny learned that Christians met on a fixed day before dawn, sang a hymn 'to Christ as to a god', and bound themselves by oath not to commit fraud, theft or adultery. Torturing two female slaves called deaconesses, he found only 'superstition'. It is valuable because it comes from a hostile Roman governor, yet it confirms early worship of Christ and serious moral living.

met before dawn on a fixed day
hymn to Christ as to a god
oath against fraud, theft, adultery
hostile outside witness

Why did Christianity spread?

Behind every human factor stands the sovereign Lord: 'the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved' (Acts 2:47), and Christ had promised, 'I will build my church' (Matt 16:18). But God works through means, and historians point to several.

Providential conditions. Roman roads and relative peace, a common Greek language, and Jewish synagogues across the empire full of Gentiles who already respected the God of Israel (Gal 4:4, 'when the fullness of time had come').

A distinctive message. One God who made all things, a Saviour who died and rose, forgiveness of sins and the hope of bodily resurrection. Larry Hurtado's Destroyer of the gods shows how strange early Christians looked: they worshipped one God exclusively, belonged to a community that crossed ethnic and social lines, and built their life around texts.

A distinctive life. Christians cared for widows, orphans and the poor; rejected abortion and the exposure of infants (Didache 2.2); and in times of plague stayed to nurse the sick when others fled, as Dionysius of Alexandria described in a letter preserved by Eusebius (Church History 7.22). A century later the pagan emperor Julian grumbled in a letter that the 'Galileans' supported 'not only their own poor but ours as well' (Letter to Arsacius, c. 362).

The witness of the martyrs. Ordinary men and women such as Blandina at Lyons (177) and Perpetua and Felicity at Carthage (203) faced death calmly, and onlookers took notice.

How many were there? We have no census. The sociologist Rodney Stark estimated growth of about 40 per cent per decade, which would give roughly six million Christians by 300, perhaps a tenth of the empire. Treat these as informed estimates, not data.

The lesson says God 'works through means'. Explain what that means for why Christianity spread, naming at least two means.Show answer

Behind every human factor stands the Lord who added to the church (Acts 2:47) and promised to build it (Matt 16:18). But he used ordinary means: providential conditions like Roman roads, a common Greek language and synagogues full of God-fearers; a distinctive message of one God and a risen Saviour; a distinctive life of love; and the witness of the martyrs. The means do not compete with God's sovereignty; they show how he worked.

God sovereign over growth
roads, Greek, synagogues
distinctive message and life
witness of martyrs

How did the way early Christians lived help the faith to spread? Use one example from the section.Show answer

Christians cared for widows, orphans and the poor, rejected abortion and the exposure of infants, and in times of plague stayed to nurse the sick when others fled, as Dionysius of Alexandria described. The pagan emperor Julian later grumbled that the 'Galileans' supported not only their own poor but pagans too. Their visible love made people take notice of the message they preached.

care for widows, orphans, poor
rejected abortion and exposure
nursed the sick in plague
even Julian noticed

313 and why this history matters for apologetics

In 312 Constantine defeated his rival Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. In February 313 he and his co-emperor Licinius met at Milan and agreed a policy of religious freedom; the text we have is a letter of Licinius posted at Nicomedia on 13 June 313. It granted freedom of worship to Christians and everyone else, and ordered confiscated church property returned. It did not make Christianity the state religion; that came with Theodosius in 380.

This period answers several popular claims. 'Constantine created Christianity.' By 313 the church had existed for nearly three centuries, had spread across the empire and beyond, and had survived the worst the state could do, all without political power. 'Jesus only became God at Nicaea.' Pliny (c. 112) reports Christians singing to Christ 'as to a god', and Ignatius calls Jesus 'our God' two centuries before Nicaea. 'The apostles made it up.' Liars rarely suffer for what they know is false, and the apostles suffered without recanting.

'The early church was simply Roman Catholic.' Be fair. Rome was an honoured church from the start; Peter and Paul died there, and 1 Clement shows Rome counselling Corinth. Bishops with elders and deacons appear clearly in Ignatius. But the earliest sources use 'bishop' and 'elder' for the same office, Clement writes as a church, not as a monarch, and Ignatius's letter to Rome, unlike his other letters, mentions no bishop there. Catholic writers reply that this is an argument from silence and that Ignatius warmly honours the Roman church as 'presiding over love' (To the Romans, prologue). What the evidence does not show is a bishop of Rome exercising jurisdiction over the whole church. The Reformed claim is that the church of the apostles and martyrs belongs to every Christian who holds their faith, and that the Reformation was an attempt to return to it.

What did the agreement of 313 between Constantine and Licinius do, and what did it not do?Show answer

It granted freedom of worship to Christians and everyone else and ordered confiscated church property to be returned; the text we have is Licinius's letter posted at Nicomedia in June 313. It did not make Christianity the state religion; that came with Theodosius in 380. It ended persecution rather than creating a state church.

freedom of worship for all
church property returned
not a state religion
Theodosius in 380

How would you answer someone who says, 'Constantine created Christianity, and Jesus only became God at Nicaea'?Show answer

By 313 the church had existed for nearly three centuries, had spread across the empire and beyond, and had survived the worst the state could do, all without political power. As for Jesus' deity, Pliny (c. 112) reports Christians singing to Christ 'as to a god', and Ignatius calls Jesus 'our God' two centuries before Nicaea. The faith and its worship of Christ long predate Constantine.

nearly 300 years before 313
spread without political power
Pliny's hymn to Christ
Ignatius: 'our God'

Key texts

Acts 1:8: The programme of Acts and of church history: witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the end of the earth.
Acts 2:42: The first church devoted to apostolic teaching, fellowship, the Lord's Supper and prayer: the pattern to measure every later church by.
Acts 15:11: Peter at the Council of Jerusalem: saved 'through the grace of the Lord Jesus'. Grace alone was the first doctrine the church fought for.
Matthew 16:18: Christ promises to build his church and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it: the theme of the whole age of persecution.
John 21:18-19: Jesus foretells the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God: an early pointer to Peter's martyrdom.
Revelation 2:10: Christ's word to the church at Smyrna, 'Be faithful unto death', fulfilled in its bishop Polycarp a few decades later.
1 Peter 4:12-16: Do not be surprised at the fiery trial; suffering 'as a Christian' is no shame. Written to believers under the kind of pressure Pliny describes.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8: The early creed of the resurrection appearances: the event the first Christians would not deny even under threat of death.

Objections and answers

Try answering each one yourself before you open the response.

“Christianity only succeeded because Constantine made it the official religion of the Roman Empire.”Show a response

The dates do not fit. By the time Constantine came to power, Christianity had already spread across the empire for nearly three hundred years without any political support, and often under fierce persecution: Nero in 64, Decius in 250, Diocletian from 303. Pliny was already complaining around 112 that the 'contagion' had spread to villages and farms. Constantine did not make Christianity the state religion either; the 313 agreement granted freedom to all religions, and the state church came under Theodosius in 380. A better question is why an emperor would side with a movement his predecessors had tried to crush. The church grew first, then the empire noticed. Christianity's success came before Constantine, not because of him.

“The stories about the apostles dying as martyrs are just pious legends. You can't prove any of them died for their faith.”Show a response

Some of the stories are legends, and I won't defend every detail. But several deaths are well attested. Acts records James the son of Zebedee being executed by Herod (Acts 12:2). The Jewish historian Josephus, no Christian, records that James the brother of Jesus was stoned in 62 (Antiquities 20.200). The letter of 1 Clement, written from Rome around 96, speaks of Peter and Paul suffering and bearing witness to the end, and the early tradition that they died in Rome under Nero is accepted by most historians. More importantly, every source we have shows the apostles suffering for their message and none of them recanting. People may die for a lie they believe is true, but these men were in a position to know whether Jesus had risen.

“Rome was tolerant of religions. If Christians were persecuted, it must be because they were antisocial troublemakers.”Show a response

Rome was tolerant of many gods, but it expected everyone to honour the gods who protected the state. Christians refused, because they worshipped one God and confessed Jesus, not Caesar, as Lord. That is why they were called atheists. Look at what Pliny actually found when he investigated around 112: people who met before dawn, sang a hymn to Christ as to a god, and swore not to commit fraud, theft or adultery. He found no crime, only what he called 'superstition', and still executed those who would not sacrifice, simply for their 'obstinacy'. Trajan told him not to hunt Christians down but to punish them if accused. That is not the profile of troublemakers. It is the profile of people whose loyalty to Christ came before loyalty to the state's gods.

“The early church was obviously Roman Catholic. Clement of Rome was the pope, Ignatius taught bishops, and Peter was in Rome.”Show a response

There is truth here, and we should admit it. Peter very probably died in Rome, the Roman church was honoured early, and Ignatius insists on bishops with elders and deacons. But look closely. 1 Clement never names its author, writes as the church of Rome rather than as a ruler, and uses 'bishop' and 'elder' for the same office, as Titus 1:5-7 does. Ignatius stresses the local bishop in each church, yet his letter to Rome, unlike his others, mentions no bishop there. Catholic scholars answer that this is an argument from silence, which is fair. But nothing in these sources shows one bishop exercising authority over the whole church, or teaching purgatory, indulgences or the later papal claims. The first Christians were catholic in the sense of universal. That is not the same as being Roman Catholic in the later sense.

“People die for false beliefs all the time. Cult members die for their leaders. So the apostles being martyred proves nothing.”Show a response

You're right that sincerity doesn't prove truth; many people have died for things that were false. But notice a key difference. Most people who die for a belief received it from someone else. The apostles claimed to be eyewitnesses: 'This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses' (Acts 2:32; see 1 Cor 15:3-8). They were in a position to know whether they had seen the risen Christ. People die for lies they believe; they rarely suffer for what they know is a lie. Yet the apostles were beaten and imprisoned, several were killed (Acts 5:40-41; 12:2), and we have no record of any of them recanting. That doesn't prove the resurrection on its own, but it shows they sincerely believed they had seen him, and that belief needs an explanation.

“Lots of movements grow fast. Rapid growth doesn't make Christianity true.”Show a response

Agreed: popularity is not proof, and Christians should never argue that a big following makes a belief true. The more interesting question is how the church grew and what it started from. For nearly three hundred years it had no political power, no army and no legal protection, and it was often persecuted. It began not with a teacher's sayings but with a claim about a public event in Jerusalem, made by people in a position to check it. It spread largely through ordinary believers who cared for the sick and the poor and faced death calmly. Historians can describe those means; Christians also see the Lord adding to the church (Acts 2:47), as Christ promised (Matt 16:18). The growth points you back to the resurrection, which is where the real question lies.

Written task

A colleague in the staff room says: 'Christianity was a small Jewish sect until Constantine made it the empire's religion and turned Jesus into a god.' Write a 300-400 word reply that uses at least three primary sources from before 313 (for example Tacitus, Pliny, Ignatius, the Didache, Polycarp) to show how widespread the church was, what it believed about Jesus, and what it cost to be a Christian. Correct any overstatement fairly (for example, what we can and cannot say about the apostles' deaths), and end with a question that invites further conversation.

Hand this in to Mr Scott. He will look for:

Cites at least three primary sources from before 313 accurately, with dates
Shows from the sources that Christians worshipped Jesus as divine before Nicaea
Explains what the 313 agreement did and did not do
Distinguishes well-attested facts from later tradition
Gracious, conversational tone that ends with a good question