The Early Christians is a term used to refer to the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth, before the emergence of established Christian orthodoxy. The term essentially refers to the Jewish Christians of the early period of Christianity, before it was constituted as the official religion of the Roman Empire, by emperor Constantine I, in 312 A.D. // Jesus, or Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ, is Christianitys central figure, both as Messiah and, for most Christians, as God incarnate. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. ... The word orthodoxy, from the Greek ortho (right, correct) and doxa (thought, teaching), is typically used to refer to the correct theological or doctrinal observance of religion, as determined by some overseeing body. ... Jewish Christians (sometimes called also Hebrew Christians or Christian Jews, but see below for differences) is a term which can have two meanings, an historical one and a contemporary one. ... The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus). ... Constantine. ... Events October 28 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine defeats Maxentius in the fight to become emperor of Rome. ... Anno Domini (Latin: In the Year of the Lord), or more completely Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi (In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ), commonly abbreviated AD or A.D., is the designation used to number years in the dominant Christian Era in the world today. ...

The term has an underlying connotation of many of the Early Christians being Jewish. The term was used by the later Graeco-Roman Christians to refers to the early followers of the Christ, at a time when what was later called as Christianity was largely a Jewish sect. The Early Christians, however, mostly referred to themselves as Nazarenes (Acts 24:5). The early Christian-Jewish heritage lingers in the Nasrani tradition in South India. The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity; and often a combination of these attributes. ... Greco-Roman refers to the culture of Ancient Greece and Classical Rome and reflects the essential unity of the Mediterranean world at the time when those cultures flourished, between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD. Categories: Historical stubs | Ancient Rome | Ancient Greece ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... Nazarene may also mean a member of the Church of the Nazarene. ... The Acts of the Apostles, (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... The Nasrani people are an ethnic community from Kerala, South India, who follow the early Hebrew-Syriac Christian tradition. ... A map of South India, its rivers, regions and water bodies. ...

Among those writers commonly referred to as Early Christian are:

• Clement of Rome
• Ignatius of Antioch
• Papias
• Polycarp of Smyrna
• Justin Martyr
• Tatian
• Athenagorus
• Irenaeus
• Clement of Alexandria
• Tertullian
• Hippolytus
• Origen
• Cyprian
• Dionysius of Alexandria
• Arnobius
• Lactantius

The term is less often, but with equal validity, applied to the authors of the books of the New Testament. ... Icon of Ignatius being eaten by lions St. ... Papias (working in the 1st half of the 2nd century) was one of the early leaders of the Christian church, canonized as a saint. ... Polycarp of Smyrna (69?-155?, 80?-166?, 81?-167?, 79?-165?, or 70?-156?) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna (now in Asiatic Turkey) in the second century. ... Saint Justin Martyr (Justin the Martyr) (c. ... Tatian was an early Christian writer and theologian of the second century. ... Saint Irenaeus (c. ... Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and one of its most distinguished teachers. ... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicized as Tertullian, (ca. ... In Greek mythology, Hippolytus was a son of Theseus and either Antiope or Hippolyte. ... Origen ( 182– 251) was a Christian scholar and theologian and one of the most distinguished of the Fathers of the early Christian Church. ... Saint Cyprian (Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus) (died September 14, 258) bishop of Carthage and an important early Christian writer, was born probably at the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received an excellent pagan education; having converted to Christianity, he became a Bishop (249... Dionysius served as Patriarch of Alexandria (head of the church that became the Coptic Church and the Orthodox Church of Alexandria) between 248 and 264. ... Arnobius of Sicca (died c. ... Lucius Caelius (or Caecilius?) Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author who wrote in Latin (around A.D. 240 - around 320). ... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ...

See also

• Messianic Judaism
• Judeo-Christian