The first 1000 years of the Church explained

The Catholic Church played a significant role in the early Middle Ages. Between the 1st and 11th centuries AD, the Christian religion changed from being a persecuted minority to a dominant cultural force. 

In particular, the Catholic Church became an institution that provided stability as the Western Roman Empire collapsed and Europe divided into smaller kingdoms.

Christianity was founded by the followers of the figure of Jesus Christ. Jesus, also known as Jesus of Nazareth, was thought to have been born in the Judaean town of Bethlehem in around 4 B.C.

Jesus had been an itinerant preacher who travelled around the Roman province, speaking a message of love, forgiveness, and redemption.

As a result, he attracted a large following. Jesus had a small group of dedicated followers known as the 'disciples'.

After the death of Jesus by crucifixion by the Romans in around AD 27, the disciples continued to spread his teachings by travelling throughout the Mediterranean during the 1st century AD, including to the city of Rome itself.

During the reign of the emperor Nero, from AD 54-68, Christians were used as a scapegoat for the Great Fire of Rome.

To deflect blame from himself, Nero had a number of Christians arrested and publicly executed, including being burned alive at his garden parties. 

By AD 100, the Christian faith was still only followed by a small number of people, but it was seen as a potential threat to traditional Roman religion.

During the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the number of Christians slowly grew, but so did other competing versions of Christianity.

Many leaders in the Church spent much of their time debating against these other 'Christianities' and trying to spread their beliefs.

The nature of the Roman Empire helped the spread of the new faith. Since travel within the Roman territories was relatively safe and people were generally unhindered, then people, ideas, and books could travel from one side of the empire to the other in a matter of months.

As Christianity spread, it began to take on different forms. One major branch of Christianity was Catholicism, which developed in the West.

Catholicism is based on the belief that there is one true Church that has been founded by Jesus Christ and that is headed by the Pope. 

The early Christian church was led by bishops, who had authority over an assigned area of land, often a single town or city.

As Christianity spread beyond the Roman Empire, new churches were established in other parts of Europe.

These churches were led by their own bishops, who were not under the authority of the emperor.

The head of the Church as a whole was the Pope, who was based in Rome. The Pope had authority over all the other bishops, and he was considered to be the successor of St. Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.

Under the Bishops were priests who carried out the day-to-day functions of the Church.

They conducted Mass, administered the sacraments, and provided spiritual guidance to the people.

The Catholic Church also had a large network of monasteries and convents. These were religious communities where monks and nuns lived and worked.

They were responsible for prayer, study, and providing help to those in need.

During the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, the growing Christian faith experienced a series of 'persecutions'.

Persecution is when Christians were denied equality in Roman law and society. Some of the persecutions simply denied members of the religion political or government positions, while others gave Roman authorities permission to hunt down and kill them.

The 2nd century saw in increase in laws against Christians. During the rule of emperor Trajan (AD 112-7) Christianity was outlawed, but Christians were not actively hurt.

During the reign of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-80) some Christians were publicly executed, including the famous early church leader, Polycarp.

By the 3rd century, things became more violent. Under Decius (AD 250-1), Christians were forced to either participate in the public sacrifice required by Roman religion, or they were imprisoned.

There was a significant persecution under emperor Valerian (AD 257-9), Maximinus (AD 235-8) and Aurelian (AD 270–5), which resulted in Christian leaders being arrested, killed and their property confiscated.

The last, and the most severe of all the persecutions occurred under emperors Diocletian and Galerius (AD 303-4).

By this time, the number of Christians had increased dramatically, that they were considered too much of a threat to the stability of the struggling Roman empire.

Roman leaders were encouraged to arrest, punish and kill as many Christians as they could.

The situation of Christians within the empire changed suddenly with the rise of emperor Constantine I.

As Constantine waged war against other contenders for the imperial throne, he is said to have acknowledged the Christian religion. When he became emperor in AD 306, he ended the persecutions from the previous rulers.

In AD 313, Constantine issued a proclamation called the Edict of Milan. It, for the first time, allowed Christianity to be a legal religion in the empire.

Also, he allowed the property that had been confiscated from Church leaders in the past to be returned to them.

Constantine invested money into repairing many damaged churches throughout his empire.

The most famous of which was the church of St Peters, which still survives in the Vatican today.

The emperor himself is said to have converted to Christianity before his death in AD 337.

Constantine would be the first of many future emperors who would become a member of the Christian faith.

By the time of Constantine's death, the centre of the Roman Empire had moved to the eastern half of the Mediterranean.

A new capital city was founded at the town of Byzantium, and the location was renamed Constantinople (after Constantine).

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476, the remaining part of the empire in the east would be known as the Byzantine Empire.

Now that the new religion was acceptable to practice, Church leaders sought to spread its influence further.

One of the most important steps was to create an official version of the Bible in the official language of the Roman Empire: Latin.

This task was given to the famous Saint Jerome to translate it for Pope Damasus I.

However, it wouldn't be until the reign of emperor Theodosius I that Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in AD 380, as a result of the Edict of Thessalonica.

Following this declaration, it was the traditional Roman religions that were outlawed.

The Catholic Church had a significant impact on society in the early Middle Ages. It was involved in education, charity, and healthcare.

The church also played a role in politics, as bishops and popes often served as advisors to rulers.

In addition, the church owned a great deal of property, and it collected taxes from the people. 

As western Europe devolved into a period of constant warfare, the Church provided an ethical 'code of conduct' for warriors and knights.

This code was known as the code of 'chivalry'. The code of chivalry required knights to be brave, courteous, and truthful.

It also required them to protect the weak and defenseless.

The Catholic Church has a number of core beliefs. These include the belief in one God, the Trinity, and the divinity of Jesus Christ.

The Church also teaches that Mary is the mother of God and that she was born without original sin.

Other key beliefs include the sacraments, forgiveness of sins, and life after death. Catholics also believe in Purgatory, where souls are purified after death.

The Catholic Church teaches that its members should follow the Ten Commandments.

They should also obey the teachings of the Bible and participate in sacraments such as baptism and Communion. 

During the early Middle Ages, monasteries played a very important role in society. They were centers of learning and culture, and they preserved classical knowledge during a time when few people could read or write.

Most importantly, they became places to protect scrolls and books from the ancient world.

Monks were tasked with copying these documents before they disappeared due to centuries of damage.

Monasteries were also responsible for helping the poor and sick. They provided food, shelter, and medical care to those in need. In addition, monasteries operated schools and orphanages.

One of the most famous monks was known as Saint Benedict, who lived between AD 480 to 548.

He was the founder of the Benedictine Order, which was a religious community that lived according to strict rules.

The Benedictines followed a set of rules that Benedict had written about how to live a 'holy' life.

The Benedictines were very successful in spreading Christianity throughout Europe. 

Many kings and rich people paid monks to pray for them. This was because they believed that the monks' prayers would help them to avoid going to Hell.

From the 5th to the 8th centuries AD, Christianity experienced rapid expansion throughout much of western Europe.

While many common people converted to the faith, it was the conversion of important political figures that ultimately was key to its spread.

When a king or ruler officially became Christian, the people in their kingdoms were also expected to convert.

Therefore, the Church came to focus on the conversion of kings more than commoners as the most effective way to expand its influence.

One of the most famous converts to the faith was the king of the kingdom of the Franks, which was the territory of modern France.

This king's name was Charlemagne. On Christmas Day (25th December) in the year AD 800, Charlemagne was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by the pope.

Therefore, as Charlemagne expanded his kingdom militarily, the Christian faith expanded with him.

By the dawn of the 10th century, most of western Europe was considered to be Christian.

As a result, the Church began referring to the lands under obedience to it as the 'lands of Christendom'.

Every country that considered itself Christian was, in theory, required to obey the rulings of the pope.

When Pope Urban II declared the First Crusade against the Muslim kingdoms in the east in the AD 1095, all of western Europe was expected to follow the call to war.

Any kings who didn't obey were often seen as rebels, or even 'false Christians'.

The Church didn't have a way of punishing people for not following their rules. One of the only powers they had was the 'excommunicate' disobedient kings.

Excommunication meant that they had been formally 'cut off' from the Christian church.

Often this made the common people upset, and they would pressure their ruler to re-unite with the Church.

It wasn't until the formation of an organisation known as the 'inquisition' by Pope Innocent III in AD 1184 that the Church added an extra power to control rebels.

The Inquisition involved calling people into a Church court to defend themselves against charges of non-Christian behaviours.

Anyone who was found guilty by the Inquisition could be handed over to kings and other rulers for imprisonment and punishment.

The Catholic Church was one of the most powerful institutions in the early Middle Ages.

It owned a great deal of land, and it collected taxes, called 'tithes' from the people. The Church also had its own court system, which dealt with religious matters.

The Church was so wealthy that it was able to build magnificent cathedrals and other buildings.

It also supported art and music. Many famous artists and musicians were employed by the Church.

The Catholic Church still exists today and, while it remains an important international organisation, it no longer has the cultural and religious power it once had in the early Middle Ages. 

Since it was created during the Roman Empire, many elements of that ancient culture survive in the structures of the Church.

The diocese structure of the Roman imperial system remains the basic unit of organisation in the church.

It still uses the Latin language of the Roman Empire, and many of the outfits worn by priests and bishops are based upon Roman toga designs.