1. EARLY CHURCH IN THE
ROMAN EMPIRE

2. In the first century AD, the entire
Mediterranean basin was part of the empire
created by the city of Rome, founded eight
centuries earlier, in 753 BC.
The Christian faith, born in
Palestine was quickly spread
around the cosmopolitan cities of
the Roman Empire.

3. In these cities we find a presence of cults and religions,
some from the civilizations of the Near East
disseminated through the comings
and goings of merchants or travelers
through the roads of the Empire.

4. Some Romans returned with renewed fervor to
worship their ancient gods :
Júpiter, Mars, Minerva...

5. Others sought solace in Greek philosophy,
primarily in Stoicism.
Stoicism taught that man should resign his fate
even though it seemed unfair and
incomprehensible.

6. Many gave themselves to the mysterious oriental
cults :
The cult of the Egyptian
goddess Isis and
worship of the Persian
Mithras, whose symbol
was the bull.
These cults
promised
resurrection and
eternal life full of
happiness.

7. Throughout the empire
it was imposed as
official cult the worship
of the deified emperor.

8. To the people of the ancient world,
Christianity was a novelty, as were
the religions that came from Persia,
Egypt or Syria and the Hellenistic
mysteries ...
But none of these
systems and rites could
give an answer to the
agonizing question of
the meaning of
existence and the
ultimate goal of human
life.

9. Jesus left two main commandments
to humanity:
"Love the Lord God
with all your heart and
with all your soul and
with all your mind.“
“Love your neighbor as
you love yourself. ”

10. And Jesus said to his disciples as his last
command :
“Go into the world and preach the gospel to every
creature "(Mark 16:15).
The apostles fulfilled
their mission and began
to preach the doctrine of
Christ first in Palestine
and then in other
countries.

11. The proclamation of the Good News
is a message of reconciliation and
love from God.
The success of the
preaching was
miraculous. In thirty
years some ignorant
fishermen managed to
raise a grand
missionary activity.

12. In such an environment, Christian missionaries
get to know Jesus Christ and his Gospel.
Men and women from
all social classes hear
the message and feel
totally transformed in
his person.

13. The small Christian
communities multiply,
where everybody
knows, helps one
another and they are
considered as brothers

14. ARRIVAL OF CHRISTIANITY IN
SPAIN:
Christianity may come as
early as the first century to
the more Romanized
Hispanic provinces such as
Tarragona and especially
the Betic. St. Paul says in
his letter to the Roman
Christians (Rom 15.19 to
29) that he thinks to travel
to Hispania, but we have
no historical record of the
fullfilment of this desire.

15. The relationship of the first hispanian Christian
communities with Northafrican communities must
have been very important
Possibly, the Gospel came
to Spain, and the rest of the
Empire, by traders,
travelers, soldiers ...They
came from the East, Italy or
North Africa. In the year
254 the bishop of Carthage,
St. Cyprian, addressed a
letter to the Church of
León-Astorga from which
we conclude, that, at that
time the church of Spain
was already organized.
.

16. By the year 300 a council was held at
Elvira (Granada) in which 37 communities
were represented throughout the
Peninsula.
 Their records make us
see the difficulties faced
by Christians to live their
faith in a still strongly
pagan enviroment.
 Subsequently, Hosius,
bishop of Cordova,
attended the Council of
Nicaea in 325.

17. During the first generation (apostolic age),
Christianity had no major problems with the
Roman authorities;
 It was too small to cause
concern.
 Moreover, the emergence
of a new belief was not a
matter of worry; in the
Roman Pantheon there
was room for all gods

18. But Christianity was not a neutral
religion, it involved a kind of attitude
before the political, social and religious
system of the Empire.
 Most Christians recognized Jesus Christ as
their only Lord and refused to worship the
emperor.
 They Also refused to participate in the
festivities in honor of the gods of the Empire.
 They also objected when enlisting as soldiers
to go to war and neither did they attend shows
at the theater and the circus.

19. There were many martyrs in Spain,
especially in the persecutions of Diocletian
and Valerio.
It includes the Bishop of
Tarragona San Fructuoso, the
centurion Marcelo in Leon , the
Saints Justa and Rufina in
Seville, Santa Engracia and the
countless martyrs in Zaragoza,
San Vicente in Valencia,
Emeterio and Celedonio in
Calahorra, St. Felix in Gerona,
san Cugat in Barcelona, San
Acisclo in Cordoba, the children
Justo and Pastor in Alcala de
Henares and Santa Eulalia in
Mérida.

20. The most important footprint in
Spain and in this world is a
spiritual legacy for those who can
understand it.
The "love one another", is
the reason why millions of
men and women of all
ages have been found in
the example of Jesus, the
model and the meaning of
their lives.

21. This track can also be found in several works that these
followers of Jesus founded along history as:
 Disabled Centers, of
bystanders, of dying of
AIDS.
 Nursing homes.
 Outpatients clinics
 Dispensaries.
 Orphanages.
 Rehabilitation centers for
social outcasts: ex-
prostitutes, ex-convicts,
former drug addicts, etc.

22. Vanessa Beverly Martínez Jiménez, 4ºD
Esteban Fernández Álvarez, 4ºE
Omar García Rodríguez, 4ºE
David Peláez Boto, 4ºE