RELIGION

 Here are some facts about Christian religious history that I found interesting - hope you do to.

The earliest Christian communities met in wealthy members homes or in burial catacombs.  The first building used specifically for Christian religious services was a converted house remodeled just over 200 years after Jesus' death.  It was in what we call Syria which was then part of the Roman Empire.  The earliest buildings, built as a Christian church, dates to later in the 3rd century.  The 4th and 5th centuries saw the rapid rise in church structures.

The Christian church was forbidden in the Roman Empire until 312 AD when the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine declared it legal.  He waited until near his death to convert himself to Catholicism.  In 381 AD, Emperor Theodosius I made Catholicism the official religion of the Roman Empire.

The Christian Church has had 19 ecumenical councils in it's history.  The first was at the city of Nicaea in 325 AD where the original Nicaean Creed was developed.  The last was called the 2nd Vatican Council which ran from 1962 to 1965.  By this time, we are talking about the Catholic Church.

The Protestant Reformation occurred during the 16th century.  The leader of this revolution against the Catholic Church was Martin Luther - a German Catholic priest.

It was during the 1st and 2nd Lateran Councils (1123 and 1139) that the Catholic Church decided that it's priest could not marry and vow to remain celibate.  

Enough for now.