The Forgotten World of Christianity Before Power, Privilege, and Empire When many people imagine Christian history, they think of grand cathedrals, powerful bishops, theological councils, and the Christian Roman Empire. The image of Christianity that often comes to mind is one associated with influence, institutions, and political recognition. Yet for nearly three centuries Christianity existed without any of these things. Before Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in AD 313 through the Edict of Milan, the Church lived as a minority movement scattered across the Roman world. Christians possessed no state protection. They controlled no governments. They built no massive cathedrals. They held no privileged position within society. And yet the Church grew. The Seven Churches of Revelation provide one of the clearest windows into this remarkable period of Christian history. Through Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, we glimpse a Church that existed before imperial favor, before political power, and before Christianity became intertwined with the Roman state.
Daniel J. Grace (Mon,) studied this question.