Roman Christianity (Superpowers)

Christianity (Greek: Khristos, the anointed one) is the monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, the only "messiah" of 1st Century Roman Judaea that gathered a permanent following. His life and works are depicted in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, whilst doctrine regarding the faith is determined by a two thousand year old institution known as the Roman Catholic Church (Ecclesia Catholica Romana). Catholicism, or Roman Christianity, is the largest of the three remaining Christian faiths.

Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and savior of humanity, the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament in the Christian Bible). They believe in a concept known as the Holy Trinity; that Jesus died, was buried and then resurrected bodily into Heaven; and that salvation will be granted to those who truly believe in him. These tenants are central to Christianity, and are also the primary cause of the aforementioned divisions that occurred in the early Church. Arianism for instance professes that God the Son (Jesus) was created by, and thus is inferior to God the Father. This led to them being branded heretics at the First Council of Jerusalem in 333 CE, ultimately causing that sect to spread away from the Empire to the Germanian tribes in the north.

Christianity originated as a Jewish sect but rapidly spread throughout the Western World through the attempts of evangelists like Saint Paul. Its tenants appealed to both the suffering Roman poor and the rich Roman intellectuals over the old Roman Religion, and by 330 AD was followed by more than 54% of the Roman Empire's population. It was at this point that the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, officially changing the Roman state religion to Christianity. At the aforementioned Council of Jerusalem the religious leaders and representatives of the Christian Church met together with Constantine and reached a consensus on issues such as the calculation of the day of Easter; the relationship of Jesus and God the Fath; the construction of the Hierolaean Creed and the establishment of early Canon law and the nature of the Church.