The original Christian community was founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Apostles. The Catholic Church considers itself to be the sole and uninterrupted continuation of the first-century Church. St. [[Paul|Paul the Apostle]] was the most prolific contributor to the [[New Testament]] and the most notable of the Early Christian missionaries. Christians were subjected to persecution, first under [[Nero]] in A.D. 64 and again, more severely, under the emperors [[Domitian]], [[Marcus Aurelius]], [[Decius]], and [[Diocletian]], in the second and third centuries. | The original Christian community was founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Apostles. The Catholic Church considers itself to be the sole and uninterrupted continuation of the first-century Church. St. [[Paul|Paul the Apostle]] was the most prolific contributor to the [[New Testament]] and the most notable of the Early Christian missionaries. Christians were subjected to persecution, first under [[Nero]] in A.D. 64 and again, more severely, under the emperors [[Domitian]], [[Marcus Aurelius]], [[Decius]], and [[Diocletian]], in the second and third centuries. |