CHRISTIAN CHURCH, THE, con sists of those who have been baptized in the name of Christ and who accept his doctrines and live in harmony with them. The Church, in its broadest sense, consists of true believers in all ages; but the Christian Church was established through the life and work of Christ him self, and consists only of his followers. Its first great increase was at Pentecost, where 3,000 souls were converted; shortly afterward 5,000 were added to the Church. Stephen was the first to suffer martyrdom. Paul made three great missionary tours, and the result was the organic unity of the Church in its first period.
Ancient Period, A. D. 30-750.—The first part of this period was distinguished by great simplicity of doctrine and life, and zeal in extending the kingdom of Christ. Important centers were es tablished, and the Gospel was largely confined to the middle and lower classes. Controversies arose between the Gentile and Jewish Christians, but not to such an extent as to arrest steady progress. This was the time of great persecutions. There were ten in all, the most serious being under the Emperors Nero, Maxi minus, Decius, and Diocletian. The Scriptures were collected into a canon, and the Church made great advance in numbers and territory. The Council of Nice (A. D. 325) was a great triumph for orthodoxy. It declared the essential Trinity of the Godhead, and settled for all time the divinity of Christ as a funda mental doctrine of Christian faith. The heresy of Arius was condemned, Per secution ceased, through the sympathy of the Emperor Constantine, who, in 313, removed all disabilities from Christians, and in 323 made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Monas ticism, a reaction against worldliness, increased rapidly. Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, extended the authority of the Western Church in opposition to the ?,laims of the patriarch of Constanti nople. Mohammedanism paralyzed the Eastern Church for a time in the 7th and 8th centuries. Mohammedanism was arrested in western Europe by Charles Martel, by the victory of Tours, in 732. Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, ruled from 590 to 604. He mag nified the Romish pretensions, organized monkish orders, elaborated the church festivals, and established purgatory as a Roman Catholic doctrine. He organized a mission among the Anglo-Saxons. The Gospel spread rapidly through Britain and Germany. Christian art was pat ronized liberally by the Roman bishops.
The close of the ancient period found the Latin or Western Church very vigorous and aggressive, but the Eastern Church in a stagnant condition.
Mediaeval Period, A. D. 750-1517, This period falls into three great divi sions: From Charlemagne to Gregory VII. (750-1073) ; from Gregory VII. to removal of Papal See to France (1073 1305) ; from removal of Papal See to Reformation (1305-1517). The Middle Ages were the transition from the ancient to the modern period. The most impor tant political events, all of which had a bearing on the Church, were the end of the Greek exarchate in Italy; the destruc tion of the Lombard kingdom, the organi zation of the Prank Empire under Pepin, rise of the new Germanic Church, divi sion of the Mohammedan caliphate, de cline of the Greek Empire, and develop ment of the new Roman Empire in the west. Charlemagne was the greatest mediaeval ruler. He was victorious over many northern tribes, and increased the territory of the Church to vast propor tions. He was a liberal patron of learn ing, and authorized a Latin version of the Scriptures. Alfred the Great of Eng land reigned from 871 to 901, and was as distinguished for learning as for his power to rule. The Russian monarchy was founded by Ruric in the middle of the 9th century. At this time the evan gelization of heathen nations progressed rapidly. The Hungarians, Bulgarians, Bohemians, Moravians, Wends, and Scan dinavians accepted Christianity. Corrup tion increased rapidly in the Roman Church; the papacy was at the service of the highest bidder; and indulgences and transubstantiation were cardinal forces in the new Romanism. The violent rule of the Mohammedans over Palestine ex cited the wrath of western Europe, and crusades were organized for the rescue of the country from the Moslems. There were seven crusades, extending from 1096 to 1272. Christian Europe failed, finally, to hold the country, but the general ef fect of the crusades was beneficial in the development of commerce, introduction of Oriental thought, and the growth of popular liberty. Reformatory movements were inaugurated through the Waldenses (1170) ; Wyclif (1324) ; John Huss (1373) ; the Moravian Brethren (1417) ; the Mystics (Tauler, Suso, Ruysbroek, Groot, Thomas a Kempis) and Savona rola (1480-1497). Mendicant orders were established. The Inquisition, established to arrest reform, was decreed in 1215.