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== History ==

== History ==

The original Christian community was founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ and led by the Apostles. St. [[Paul|Paul the Apostle]] was, together with [[Saint Peter]], the most notable of Early Christian missionaries. Christians were deeply unpopular and were subjected to persecution, first under [[Nero]] and [[Domitian]], shortly after the foundation of the church, and again, more severely, under the emperors [[Decius]] and [[Diocletian]] in the third century. There were also sporadic persecutions by provincial administrators in response to popular agitation against Christians. Under [[Decius]] in particular, the penalty for being Christian could ultimately be death.  After almost 300 years of persecution against the Church, Christianity nevertheless flourished in the major cities of the Empire.

The original Christian community was founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ and led by the Apostles. St. [[Paul|Paul the Apostle]] was, together with [[Saint Peter]], the most notable of Early Christian missionaries. Christians were subjected to persecution, first under [[Nero]], shortly after the foundation of the church, and again, more severely, under the emperors [[Decius]] and [[Diocletian]] in the third century as well as [[Domitian]], [[Marcus Aurelius]] and others with the penalty for being Christian ultimately being death.  After almost 300 years of persecution against the Church had only seen Christianity flourish, the Emperor [[Constantine I]] had a religious experience and legalized Christianity in the early fourth century.  Going to war with the co-Emperor of the east [[Lucinius]] over his continued persecution of Christians, Constantine won and became sole Emperor.  The age of persecution was over. In 380, Emperor [[Theodosius I]] accepted Christianity as the official religion of the [[Roman Empire]].  By the time of the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, the surrounding barbarian nations had been Christianized, although mostly they followed [[Arianism]].  Over the next century or so they embraced Catholicism.

During the [[Middle Ages]] the Church underwent a time of missionary activity and expansion. After numerous disputes between eastern and western churches that became more pronounced from the ninth century onwards, the Church underwent the [[Great Schism]] in 1054 that divided it into a Western (Latin) branch, which has been called the Catholic Church and an Eastern branch, which has become known as the [[Orthodox Church]]. Both traced their roots to the time of Jesus, but the Orthodox Church did not acknowledge the Pope as the one leader of the Church and instead believed that all of the patriarchs were equals.

 

During the [[Middle Ages]] the Church underwent a time of missionary activity and expansion. After numerous disputes between eastern and western churches that became more pronounced from the ninth century onwards, the Church underwent the [[Great Schism]] in 1054 that divided it into a Western (Latin) branch, which has been called the Catholic Church and an Eastern branch, which has become known as the [[Orthodox Church]]. Both traced their roots to the time of Jesus, but the Orthodox Church did not acknowledge the Pope as the one leader of the Church. Instead, it believed that the theology, law and rituals of the church should be agreed by the bishops meeting in Ecumenical Council, not dictated by a single individual.<ref>J. Herrin (1987) The Formation of Christendom. Fontana Press, London.</ref> In effect, all patriarchs of national churches were regarded as equals.

The second major schism was the [[Protestant Reformation]] in the 16th century. As a reaction to the increasing popularity of Protestantism the Roman Catholic Church began to undertake some reforms. Firstly from 1869–1870 during the [[First Vatican Council]]. It was during the [[Second Vatican Council]] (1962–1965) that the most comprehensive reforms were undertaken. The Roman Catholic Church stretched relations with other Christian communities and other religions. The Roman Catholic Church also issued directions for a revision of the liturgy.

The second major schism was the [[Protestant Reformation]] in the 16th century. As a reaction to the increasing popularity of Protestantism the Roman Catholic Church began to undertake some reforms. Firstly from 1869–1870 during the [[First Vatican Council]]. It was during the [[Second Vatican Council]] (1962–1965) that the most comprehensive reforms were undertaken. The Roman Catholic Church stretched relations with other Christian communities and other religions. The Roman Catholic Church also issued directions for a revision of the liturgy.