early Christianity: detachment from Judaism

In the process of spreading the first Christian communities there were two particularly important moments: the detachment from Judaism and the encounter-clash with the pagan world. Jesus' early followers had lived like pious Jews and had shared prayer in the Temple, food prohibitions and the practice of circumcision. What differentiated them fundamentally was the reference to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, to his historical event and the mystery of his death and resurrection. This is why they were also called "Nazarenes" (only when the evangelizing expansion reached Antioch did they take the name of Christians).

The fundamental reason for the friction between Jews and Christians was the question whether Jesus was the Messiah promised by the Scriptures, as the Christians claimed, or an impostor, as the Jews claimed, who still awaited the coming of the Savior of Israel.

Plus the traditional Jewish rules, followed by the first community of disciples, they were incompatible with the need to make the Christian message usable even by pagans. Pietro e Paolo, leaders of the entire Christian community, they worked to ensure that the pagans were exempted from food restrictions and from the obligation of circumcision e, Consequently, the gap between Christians and Jews widened. Paul also explored the theological reasons for the detachment from Judaism, arguing that the salvation of every man came not so much from the observance of traditional Jewish law, as the Jews claimed, as from faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Similarly the liturgical aspects differed (that is, those related to the formal aspects of worship). The church (the greek church “assembly ") celebrated the baptism, the moment of Christian conversion and entry into the community of the faithful; therefore theEucharist, remembrance of the Last Supper and sacramental rite of union of the faithful in Christ. These reasons for opposition to Judaism contributed to the universalization of the Christian message, thus became accessible even to pagans, but they crystallized over the centuries in a fierce controversy, which by Christians was based on the accusation against Jews of "deicide", that is to have wanted the death of God, incarnated in Jesus Christ his son.

In this period, a real ecclesiastical hierarchy distinct from the rest of the community began to be established in the Church., led by the bishops (the greek bishops: 'Guardian'), who will then become heads of the various dioceses (administrative districts), and by priests (the greek Priests "elder")

But the differentiation from Judaism was also at the origin of the growing mistrust and then of the hostility of the Roman Empire. Initially the Christian communities had referred to the imperial authority of Rome. Paul had proclaimed the duty of obedience to civil authority, and he had appealed to it to get right in the debate with the Jews. Emperor Claudius in 49 he expelled from Rome the Jews in controversy with the Christians. Until the Christians were confused with the Jewish communities, they were tolerated by the central and provincial Roman authorities, but when their spread widened, their strangeness towards the empire was perceived and their refusal to venerate the emperor as a deity was not considered admissible. Hence the accusation of atheism and subversion, and the recourse to repressive measures that between the first and fourth centuries, albeit with different intensity, they took on the character of real persecutions. During the first, that of Nero of 64 (limited to the city of Rome only) according to tradition the martyrdom of Peter and Paul. In 70, following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army, the Christian community, the definitive break with Judaism has now taken place, it dispersed in Transjordan. New communities arose among the pagans in Asia Minor and the function of mother church was assumed by that of Rome.

The most serious persecutions were the last: that of Decius in 250, extended to the whole empire, that of Valeriano in 257, finally Diocletian in two successive decrees (303 e 304) he ordered, under penalty of exile or death, the destruction of Christian churches, the delivery of the sacred books, and above all he demanded that Christians make sacrifices to the gods. The political power, however, had to recognize that Christianity could not be won. So in the 313 Costantino, with the Edict of Milan, admitted freedom of worship for Christians throughout the empire; in 360 Theodosius with the edict of Thessalonica proclaimed Christianity the official religion of the empire and in 391 forbade pagan worship. The Church then obtained strong privileges: a huge ecclesiastical patrimony was built up; civil jurisdiction was attributed to the episcopal courts: paganism was slowly eliminated. For many centuries to come, Christian religious power and political power would be closely linked and mutually dependent.

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