The Christian movement began in the synagoges of the Jews. Different groups discussed various teachings and tried to make sense of what they had heard with him and the changes that were happening in the world around them.. Each of these groups had a different take on who or what the Messiah was.
Some of them focused primarily on the death of the last king of the Jews, Antigonius, (who was crucified and beheaded by Herod and the Romans in 37 BC),and if that meant that the Messiah was coming soon. Others were concerned with the death of Jesus, son of Ananias, who was killed in 62 AD and his teachings about the destruction of the Jewish kingdom. These philosophies gradually merged with the common myths of the people at that time..
A teacher known as Paul (probably Apolloius of Tyana) made the Messianistic teachings popular throughout the Mediterranean area, adding that he was a spiritual being and now ruled in Heaven.
Ultimately there were several Messianist (or Christian) groups.The one that refused to accept the authority of Rome was associated with the Jewish rebellion and was outlawed.
When Constantine became emperor of Rome in 312 AD, he inherited the office Pontifex Maximus - the chief high priest of the College of Priests (Collegium Pontificum) in ancient Rome. This was the most powerful position in the ancient Roman Church and the duties of this office included universal rulership all religion in the empire.
Constantine's mother, Helena, was a Christian and it was probably under her influence (or because of the growing influence of Christianity) that he used his position as Pontifex Maximus to legalize the Christian religion within the Church of Rome.
Divisions and disputes continued among the various Christian groups. A controversy arose between Arius and Athanasius, two Christian theologians from Alexandria, Egypt. The most important of these controversies concerned the relationship between God and Jesus.
The deep divisions created by the two opposing theological positions resisted the Emperor's efforts to unite Christians and establish a single, united Roman Church during his reign. Even though the Emperor decided in favor of Athanasius at th First Council of Nicaea in 325, these disagreement divided the Roman Church until the First Council of Constantinople in 381, at which time the Trinity Doctrine was fully accepted.
Read more
