a variety of other social realities that influenced the development
of Christianity before Constantine. Limited resources, wedded
perhaps to a fear of intermittent persecution, meant that prior to
Constantine’s conversion early Christianity was unable, except at
a local or regional level, to construct public administrative insti-
tutions (by which we might mean – in modern terms – a hierarchy
of bishops) that could oversee the affairs of all Christian commu-
nities throughout the whole of the Roman empire.^1 As a result,
individual Christian groups often developed in isolation from each
other. This meant that when, under Constantine, they were at last
able to engage in free communication with each other, they often
found that their approaches to certain aspects of ritual, organiza-
tion, and the articulation of belief threw up numerous opportu-
nities for debate (see chapter 5). In short, during the period
between Christ and Constantine, Christianity evolved as a reli-
gion within the society of the ancient Mediterranean, heavily
influenced by, but with very little capacity to shape, that society.
It is this that gives unity to the subject of this book.
Of course, the conversion of Constantine, while it repre-
sents an important landmark, does not mark a complete break in
the development of Christianity. Christians and their leaders did
not immediately start behaving in radically different ways, except,
perhaps, in their attitude to the Roman emperor and imperial
institutions (such as the city).^2 Rather, the history of Christianity
is marked by significant continuities between the periods before
and after Constantine. The support of the Roman empire and its
personnel was not given to the church unconditionally: some
Christians continued to experience harassment from the imperial
authorities even after Constantine’s conversion (see chapter 6).
Similarly, the world into which Christianity was born did not
change immediately with the birth of Jesus, however much some
Christians, both now and in the past, might wish to believe that
this was so (see chapters 3 and 6). Nor did the development of
Christianity occur in a vacuum, unaffected by the society in which
it evolved. If we are to understand the particular circumstances
that influenced the origins and development of Christianity, then,
WHAT IS EARLY CHRISTIANITY?1
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