(08) The Generation After the Apostles

The Generation after the Apostles

The best years of the Roman Empire were from the time of Christ, under the great Emperor Augustus, until the end of the Second Century. During the Second Century the Catholic Church spread quietly, mainly among the poorer classes of the many cities. The ordinary citizen tried to keep the gods satisfied with the correct rituals. But the gods had nothing to teach him about right conduct. The Christians, also called Catholics since the end of the First Century, were well known by the end of the Second Century as the only organisation of their kind in the Empire. They were by no means an informal scattering of independent communities, but a tight organisation with a strict code of morals and discipline, and prepared to expel those who refused to comply. From time to time an Emperor would realise that this organisation had the potential to overthrow the whole pagan Roman world from within, and a persecution would break out. By an irony of history, the very Emperors who were ablest, while they remained Pagan, led the most thorough persecutions. Thus good men would do evil things because of their false beliefs. . But "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church". The more Christians were sent to the arena, the more converts they made. The pagans were astonished. "These Christians – see how they love one another!"

The first we know who used the word “Catholic” was Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, installed by Peter before he left for Rome.