The religion of Christ spread very slowly, as he himself had announced:  “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard-seed ... which is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs ... and the birds of the air lodge under its branches.”

=The Church.=—­In every city where Christians were found they assembled to pray together, to sing the praises of God, and to celebrate the mystery of the Lord’s Supper.  Their meeting was called Ecclesia (assembly).  Usually the Christians of the same assembly regarded themselves as brothers; they contributed of their property to support the widows, the poor, and the sick.  The most eminent directed the community and celebrated the religious ceremonies.  These were the Priests (their name signifies “elders").  Others were charged with the administration of the goods of the community, and were called Deacons (servants).  Besides these officers, there was in each city a supreme head—­the Bishop (overseer).

Later the functions of the church became so exacting that the body of Christians was divided into two classes of people:  the clergy, who were the officials of the community; the rest, the faithful, who were termed the laity.

Each city had its independent church; thus they spoke of the church of Antioch, of Corinth, of Rome; and yet they all formed but one church, the church of Christ, in which all were united in one faith.  The universal or Catholic faith was regarded as the only correct body of belief; all conflicting opinions (the heresies) were condemned as errors.

=The Sacred Books.=—­The sacred scripture of the Jews, the Old Testament, remained sacred for the Christians, but they had other sacred books which the church had brought into one structure (the New Testament).  The four Gospels recount the life of Christ and the “good news” of salvation which he brought.  The Acts of the Apostles describes how the gospel was disseminated in the world.  The Epistles are the letters addressed by the apostles to the Christians of the first century.  The Apocalypse (Revelation) is the revelation made through St. John to the seven churches of Asia.  Many other pseudo-sacred books were current among the Christians, but the church has rejected all of these, and has termed them apocryphal.

=The Persecutions.=—­The Christian religion was persecuted from its birth.  Its first enemies were the Jews, who forced the Roman governor of Judaea to crucify Christ; who stoned St. Stephen, the first martyr, and so set themselves against St. Paul that they almost compassed his death.