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The Roman Imperial Church, the official Christian church of the Roman Empire, was formally established during the 4th century CE though it was descended from the earlier Christian fellowships that had existed since the foundation of the Christian religion. The Church was a department of the Roman state under the direction of the Roman emperor. The Church existed, at least in theory, as a unified entity until the Great Schism of the 11th century. The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have both claimed to be the legal and spiritual continuation of this Church. The validity of either claim, or both claims together, remains a matter of debate among scholars and theologians. Additionally many other Christian sects, including the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church, claim to be descendants of this Church along side Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

Background
The Christian religion originated in the Roman province of Judea during the first century CE as a sect of Judaism based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. The first Christians were culturally Jewish or Jewish proselytes, either by birth or conversion. The primary scriptures were the Jewish Bible, generally in the Greek (Septuagint) or Aramaic (Targum) translations. Soon other writings including the Gospels, which provide accounts of Jesus' life and teachings, began to be accepted as scripture as well.

An evangelical movement developed as Christian leaders, including Paul of Tarsus, Simon Peter, and Didymus Thomas, spread the religion outside Judea, both inside and outside of the Jewish community. Within the Roman Empire the primary language through which the religion was transmitted was Greek, whereas to the east Aramaic and other languages played at least as large a role. The religion began to spread rapidly throughout the eastern Mediterranean and southwestern Asia. Antioch and Alexandria became established as the major Christian centers. The spread of the faith in the western Mediterranean and western Europe was relatively limited in the first few centuries though some significant Christian communities emerged in Rome, Carthage, and other urban centers. According to some traditions Christianity had spread as far as India during the 1st century.

As the religion became an increasingly potent force among the population Roman emperors intermittently attempted to repress Christianity, instead emphasizing the traditional Roman and Greek Gods as well as the cult of emperor worship. Nevertheless, by the end of the 3rd century CE Christianity had become the dominant faith in some urban centers. Christians accounted for approximately 10% of the Roman population by 300, according to some estimates.

During the early 4th century Roman Emperor Diocletian launched the bloodiest campaign against Christians that the empire had witnessed. The persecution ended in 311 with the death of Diocletian. The persecution ultimately had not turned the tide on the growth of the religion. Christians had already organized to the point of establishing hierarchies of bishops. In 301 CE the Kingdom of Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity (see Armenian Apostolic Church). The Romans would soon follow.

Establishment and early controversies

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! Communion !! Description
 * + Major communions of the 4th and 5th centuries
 * Roman Imperial Church || The official church of the late Roman Empire, which existed as a department of the state
 * Sassinid (Persian) Church || The church of the Sassanid Empire, which evolved into the Church of the East
 * Miaphysitism || The churches that evolved into the Oriental Orthodox Church
 * Nestorianism || Belief in a distinct separation in the divine and human natures of Christ
 * Donatism || A strict interpretation of Christianity
 * Germanic Christianity || The Arian churches established among the Germanic tribes
 * }
 * Nestorianism || Belief in a distinct separation in the divine and human natures of Christ
 * Donatism || A strict interpretation of Christianity
 * Germanic Christianity || The Arian churches established among the Germanic tribes
 * }
 * Germanic Christianity || The Arian churches established among the Germanic tribes
 * }

Diocletian's successors ended the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 311 Emperor Galerius established religious tolerance and formally recognizing the right of Christians to practice their faith. In 324 Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan reaffirming the tolerance of Christians and returning previously confiscated property to the churches. Constantine himself began to utilize Christian symbols early in his reign but still encouraged traditional Roman religious practices including sun worship. In 330 he established the city of Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire. The city would gradually come to be seen as the center of the Christian world.

Over the course of the 4th century the Christian body became consumed by debates surrounding orthodoxy, i.e. which religious doctrines are the correct ones. By the early 300s a group in North Africa, later called Donatists, who believed in a very rigid interpretation of Christianity that excluded many other followers of Jesus, created a crisis in the western Empire. A Church synod, or council, was called in Rome in 313 followed by another in Arles in 314. The latter was presided over by Constantine while he was still a junior emperor (see Tetrarchy). The councils ruled that the Donatist faith was heresy and, when the Donatists refused to recant, Constantine launched the first campaign of persecution by Christians against Christians. This was only the beginning of imperial involvement in the Christian theology.

Christian scholars within the Empire were increasingly embroiled in debates regarding christology (i.e. debates regarding the nature of the Christ). Opinions were widespread ranging from the belief that Jesus was entirely mortal to the belief that was an incarnation of God that had taken human form. The most persistent debate was that between the homoousian, or Athanasian, view (the Father and the Son are one and the same, eternal) and the homoiousian, or Arian, view (the Father and the Son are separate, but both divine). This controversy led to Constantine's calling a council meeting at Nicaea in 325. The council supported the Athanasian view and established conditions by which gentiles (non-Jews) could join the Church.

Christological debates raged throughout the 4th century with emperors becoming ever more involved with the Church and the Church becoming ever more divided. The Council of Nicaea in 325 supported the Athanasian view. The Council of Rimini in 359 supported the Arian view. The Council of Constantinople in 360 supported a compromise that allowed for both views (see Semi-Arianism). The Council of Constantinople in 381 re-asserted the Athanasian view and rejected the Arian view. Emperor Constantine was of divided opinions (even as to whether he was Christian) but he largely backed the Athanasian faction (though he was baptized on his death bed by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia). His successor Constantius II supported a Semi-Arian position. Emperor Julian favored a return the traditional (pagan) Roman/Greek religion but this trend was quickly quashed by his successor Jovian, a supporter of the Athanasian faction.

In 380 CE Emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica, which established Christianity as the official imperial religion, specifically the faith established by the Council of Nicaea in 325. He called the Council of Constantinople in 381 to further refine the definition of orthodoxy. In 391 Theodosius closed all of the pagan non-Christian/non-Jewish temples and formally forbade pagan worship. The churches adhering to Theodosius' prescriptions had effectively become a department of the Roman state. All other Christian sects explicitly declared heretics.

Late antiquity


The 5th century would see further fracturing of the Roman Church. Emperor Theodosius II called two synods in Ehpesus, one in 431 CE and one in 449 CE, that addressed the teachings of then-Patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius and similar teachings. Nestorius had taught that Christ's divine and human nature were distinct persons, and hence Mary was the mother of Christ but not the mother of God. The Council rejected Nestorius' view causing many churches, centered around the School of Edessa, to break with the Imperial Church (see Nestorian schism). Persecuted within the Roman Empire many Nestorians fled to Persia and joined the Sassanid Church (the future Church of the East) thereby making it a center of Nestorianism. In 451 the Council of Chalcedon was held to clarify the issue further. The council ultimately stated that Christ's divine and nature were separate but both part of a single entity, a viewpoint rejected by many churches who called themselves miaphysites. The resulting schism created a communion of churches that is today known as Oriental Orthodoxy.

At the end of the 4th century the Roman Empire had effectively split into two states although its economy (and the Church) were still strongly tied. The two halves of the Empire had always had cultural differences, in particular exemplified by the widespread use of the Greek language in the Eastern Empire and the more limited use of Greek in the West (Greek had been widely used in the West but Latin was still important). By the 5th century scholars in the West had began to shun Greek in favor of revitalizing the use of Latin. Church in Rome, in particular, began to encourage the use of Latin and published the first authorized translation of the Bible in Latin.

At the same time as these changes were taking place the Western Empire was beginning to decay rapidly due to internal instability. Germanic tribes, particularly the Goths, gradually conquered the western provinces. By 476 CE the Germanic chieftain Odoacer conquered Italy though he nominally submitted to the authority of Constantinople. Thus, in theory Rome was re-united with the East, but in practice Rome was more remote from Constantinople than it had been. The Imperial Church, however, remained united. The Arian Germanic tribes established their own system of churches and bishops in the western provinces but were generally tolerant of those who chose to remain loyal to the Imperial Church.

In 533 Roman Emperor Justinian in Constantinople launched a military campaign to reclaim the western provinces from the Arian Germans, starting with North Africa and proceeding to Italy. Though he was successful in recapturing much of the western Mediterranean he destroyed the urban centers and the economy in much of the West. Rome and other cities were abandoned. In the coming centuries the Imperial Church, as virtually the only surviving Roman institution in the West, became the only remaining link to Roman culture and civilization.

Rise of Islam


During the 7th century an Arabian religious leader named Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh began to evangelize a new faith based on the Jesus' teachings as well as his own visions. This new faith, called submission or ’islām in Arabic, would ultimately prove to be the greatest challenge that the Roman Church had faced. By the 630s Muhammad had united the entire Arabian peninsula under Islam including the Christian kingdom of Yemen.

Following Muhammad's death a Muslim empire, or caliphate, emerged which began efforts to expand beyond Arabia. Shortly before Mohammad's death the Roman Empire and Sassanid Persian Empire had concluded decades of war leaving both empires crippled. By the late 700s the Muslim empire had conquered all of Persia and much of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) territory including Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. Suddenly much of the Christian world was under Muslim rule. Over the coming centuries the Muslim nations became some of the most powerful in the Mediterranean world.

Though the Roman Church had claimed religious authority over Christians in Egypt and the Levant, in reality the majority of Christians in these regions that miaphysites and other sects which had long been persecuted by Constantinople. The new Muslim rulers, in contrast, offered religious tolerance to Christians of all sects. Additionally subjects of the Muslim Empire could be accepted as Muslims simply by declaring a belief in a single deity and declaring that Muhammad was his prophet. As a result the peoples of Egypt and Palestine largely accepted their new rulers and many declared themselves Muslims within a few generations.

During the 9th century, the Roman emperor encouraged missionary expeditions to nearby nations including the Muslim caliphate, the Turkic Khazars, and Slavic Moravia. The success of these missions in Moravia led to further missions in Slavic Bulgaria and among the Kievan Rus'. The Roman Church, specifically the branch loyal to Constantinople, would gradually come to be the official state religion for most of Eastern Europe.

Rise of the West / Decline of the East
By the 700s CE the Frankish Kingdom, a Germanic kingdom that had originated east of the Rhine, ruled much of western Europe, particularly in what is now France and Germany. The first Frankish king, Clovis had joined the Roman Church in 496 and since that time the Franks had been part of the Church. In 768 Charles, son of King Pepin the Short, succeeded to the Frankish throne. During the 770s Charles the conquered the Lombards in Italy extending the Frankish realm over almost all of Italy. On Christmas day in 800, the Roman Patriarch coronated Charles as the Roman Emperor, in essence denying the status of the Roman Empress Irene, reigning in Constantinople. This act caused a substantial diplomatic rift between the Franks and the Eastern Romans, as well as between Rome and the other patriarchs in the East. Though the rifts were settled to some degree and the Church in Rome in theory remained united with Constantinople and the rest of the Imperial Church, from this point forward East and West followed largely independent paths cultimating in the Great Schism.

Charles followed a policy of forcible conversion of all Frankish subjects to the Roman Church, specifically declaring loyalty to Rome (as opposed to Constantinople). The strength of the Frankish armies helped repel further incursion of Muslim forces in Europe. Charles was seen in the West as having revived the Roman Empire and came to be known as Charles the Great (Charlemagne in French). The re-unification of Europe led to increased prosperity and a slow re-emergence of culture and learning in Western Europe. Charlemagne's empire came to be called the Holy Roman Empire by its inhabitants.

In 1054, following the death of the Patriach of Rome Leo IX, Papal legates from Rome traveled to Constantinople to deny Michael Cerularius, the reigning Patriarch of Constantinople, the title of Ecumenical Patriarch and to insist that he recognize the Church of Rome's claim to be the head and mother of the churches. Cerularius refused resulting in the leader of the contingent from Rome excommunicating Cerularius and the legates in turn being excommunicated by Constantinople. Though the event, in and of itself, was relatively insignificant (and the authority of the legates in their actions was dubious) it ultimately marked the end of any pretense of a union between the eastern and western branches of the Church. Though efforts were made at reconciliation at various times, they remained divided, each claiming to be the true Roman Church.

The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Imperial Church headed by Constantinople continued to assert its universal authority. By the 1200s this assertion was becoming increasing irrelevant as the Eastern Roman Empire shrank and the Muslim Turks took over most of what was left of the the Empire. The other Eastern European churches in communion with Constantinople were not part of its empire and were increasingly acting independently, achieving autocephalous status and only nominally acknowledging Constantinople's standing in the Church hierarchy. In Western Europe the Holy Roman Empire fragmented making it less of an empire as well.

Councils

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! Year !! Location !! Bishops in attendance !! Recognized as ecumenical !! Result
 * + Church councils
 * 313 || Rome || || no ||
 * 314 || Arles || || no || Donatist schism
 * 325 || Nicea || 318 || yes ||
 * 335 || Tyre || || no ||
 * 353 || Arles || || no ||
 * 357 || Sirmium || || no ||
 * 359 || Rimini || 400 || no || Supported Arianism
 * 359 || Seleucia || || no ||
 * 359 || Constantinople || || no || Supported Semi-Arianism
 * 381 || Constantinople || 150 || yes || Condemned all Arianism
 * 382 || Rome || || no ||
 * 431 || Ephesus || 160 || yes || Nestorian schism
 * 449 || Ephesus || 140 || no ||
 * 451 || Chalcedon || || yes || Miaphysite schism
 * 475 || Ephesus || || no ||
 * 553 || Constantinople || || yes ||
 * 680 || Constantinople || 174 || yes ||
 * 692 || Constantinople || || no ||
 * 754 || Hieria/ Constantinople || || no ||
 * 787 || Nicea || || yes ||
 * 869-870 || Constantinople || || west only ||
 * }
 * 431 || Ephesus || 160 || yes || Nestorian schism
 * 449 || Ephesus || 140 || no ||
 * 451 || Chalcedon || || yes || Miaphysite schism
 * 475 || Ephesus || || no ||
 * 553 || Constantinople || || yes ||
 * 680 || Constantinople || 174 || yes ||
 * 692 || Constantinople || || no ||
 * 754 || Hieria/ Constantinople || || no ||
 * 787 || Nicea || || yes ||
 * 869-870 || Constantinople || || west only ||
 * }
 * 680 || Constantinople || 174 || yes ||
 * 692 || Constantinople || || no ||
 * 754 || Hieria/ Constantinople || || no ||
 * 787 || Nicea || || yes ||
 * 869-870 || Constantinople || || west only ||
 * }
 * 787 || Nicea || || yes ||
 * 869-870 || Constantinople || || west only ||
 * }
 * }

The leaders of the Christian communities periodically gathered at synods, or councils, to organize the Church and establish doctrine. Early councils, including the Synods of Antioch, had taken place prior to Constantine's involvement in the Church. As the Roman emperors became involved, they commonly called and even presided over the councils within the empire. Separate councils, such as the Persian Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in 410 CE and the Council of Dvin in 506 CE, were held outside the Roman Empire and outside the Roman Church to formally organize non-Roman Christians.

Beginning with those called by Constantine, the most significant role of the councils of the 4th and 5th centuries was to define orthodoxy within the Empire and to brand competing philosophies as heresies. As a side effect of this process a tradition of persecution against unorthodox Christians was established that lasted in Europe long after the age of the Roman Empire. Successive councils frequently contradicted one another. Councils were often declared as ecumenical (i.e. general and binding) only to be declared heretical later.

The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE established a general statement of faith known as the Nicene Creed. Though this statement of faith would be debated and revised by future councils still remains a key statement of faith for many Christian sects today. This council and most of the other councils of the 4th century dealt with the debate between the Athanasian and Arian christological viewpoints. The Council of Nicaea backed the Athanasian view whereas the Council of Rimini backed the Arian view (Rimini actually had more attendees than Nicaea). Ultimately the Athanasian view with its formulation of the Holy Trinity became the official state religion.

During the 5th century the Council of Ephesus in 431 and the Chalcedon in 451 led to the Nestorian Schism and the Miaphysite schism. The latter schism established what is today known as Oriental Orthodoxy.

Patriarchates
From the earliest times of the Imperial Church bishops sought to establish hierarchy within the Church structure. The First Council of Nicea in 325 recognized the special authority of the sees of Rome, Alexandria and Antioch. Debate followed until Justinian I definitively established a Pentarchy consisting of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. These five patriarchates would be recognized as the leadership of the Imperial Church until nearly the time of the Great Schism.

Legacy
Following the schism between the Eastern and Western Churches various emperors and patriarchs at times sought to re-unite the Church. These efforts were not successful in any meaningful way. The Western Church would come to emphasize the term Catholic in its identity, emphasizing its assertion of universality, whereas the Eastern Church would come to emphasize the term Orthodox in its identity, emphasizing its assertion as holding to the true teachings of Jesus. Both churches would claim to be the unique continuation of the Roman Church which they both saw as the only true Church established by Jesus Christ. Many of the churches that emerged from the Protestant Reformation, including the Lutheran Church and the Anglican Church, similarly claimed legitimacy based on their seeing themselves as direct (apostolic) descendants of the Roman Church.