Geography Pages
Maps of the Early Church
All boundaries, and borders of countries, are approximate.
The territory controlled by a king or people varied from time to time, and was often disputed by other peoples.
An approximation to the present coast-line is generally used in the maps.
The Church dates from the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to the apostles with power, and when Peter preached his first sermon to the assembled crowds of Jerusalem. (Acts, chapter 2).
Although the historical accounts focus on the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire (shown in red on the maps), and the written records tell of the founding of Churches in towns within the Roman Empire, the accounts also hint at the spread of Christianity to places beyond the reach of Rome. Some of the places and peoples mentioned in Acts 2 were to the East of the Roman Empire - Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, and Mesopotamia. Acts 8:26-40 recounts the belief and baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch who was on his way back to Ethiopia.
| The Early Church in the Roman Empire |
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Christianity was carried by travelers along the trade routes. In AD 301 Armenia became the first country to accept Christianity as a state religion. Christian communities formed in Ethiopia, in the region of Kerala along the Malabar coast of South India (the home of the Mar Thoma Christians), and in northern regions of China (as recorded by tombstones and the Nestorian Stele of Chang'an). Also, some of the Mongol tribes became Christians. These communities were isolated by the distances involved, and by the later spread of Islam. They differed from the Western Churches in that they held to the views of Nestorius on the relationship of the human and divine nature of Christ, and used Syriac translations of the Scriptures.
| The Early Church outside the Roman Empire |
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Go here for the History of the period.
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
