The phenomenon of the conversion of the great city of Rome and its empire to Christianity has always been of much debate. In particular, the origins of this Christianization have been of much interest. Some scholars have argued for the mass conversion of Christians at the very beginning, while others see that as not possible with Christianity being more of a personal religion than a mass revival. The reality of it is a little bit of both, coupled with the strong zeal which early Christians, including two great Apostles, had for their new found religion and their desire to “preach to the nations.”
The foundation of the conversion of Rome by Christians most likely began with the presence of the “Prince of the Apostles,” Peter, who came to the Eternal City to preach the Gospel of Christ. Peter knew the importance of Rome as the place where “all roads lead to” and so went there as a starting point to spread the Gospel to the whole world. He established this Church and lived there for a good number of years, solidifying the seat of the Bishop of Rome while preaching Christ to this important city. No doubt that having the first of Apostles in their city, the people would be well formed into Christians able to evangelize their peers. St. Paul also helped the Christian community by writing a “Letter to the Romans” and by eventually going there to visit and strengthen their faith. Once again, having such a “powerhouse” in Rome, the people would have been well evangelized. All of this resulted in a strong community of base of believers in Rome. This strong foundation is made known in St. Paul’s “Letter to the Romans”, where he greets at the end of his letter a large number of “saints” (holy people) who reside in Rome (Rom. 16).
In addition to the presence of the great Apostles, the scholarly debate on this subject has much to say on exactly how this transformation of Rome took place. Since the rise of Christianity happened so quickly, with over 1 million Christians in the Roman Empire by the year 250 AD, many historians point to the evidence of mass conversions. Something of this sort would not be uncommon, as the same thing happened in Jerusalem as described in Act where “‘three thousand souls’ came forward and were baptized” (Stark, 64). This would make sense if the grace of God were put into play and viewed the mass conversions as an act of God. However, God does not always use this method. His chief means of establishing His Kingdom on the Earth is by co-operating with Men. He chose to charge “His followers to go and ‘make disciples of all nations’” (Stark, 65). Not only that, but for conversions to be effective and thorough, it had to be on a personal level, not one of “mass hysteria” or “mob psychology” (Stark, 66). If everyone were baptized all at once as in Acts and named a Christian, it is likely that not all of them would be immediately strong Christians, following the Commandments from that moment onward. Therefore there is another more feasible possibility: the individual conversion of each person who in turn led others to follow the Way. In this method, there is room for the individual to make Christianity his own and to be a true Christian, “in spirit and in truth” (Jn 4:24). This mode of evangelization to the pagan Romans probably was started by “rank-and-file believers who traveled for commercial or personal reasons,” along with “wandering preachers” (Stark, 73). Consequently, the first believers had a true faith and one which others would be attracted to.
Concluding, the Christianization of Rome started at the most effective level: one of person to person contact. Having the two great Apostles there in Rome, along with the “rank-and-file” believers, created a foundation for a church which would last thousands of years. The faith of those first Christians established an atmosphere where the Gospel could be proclaimed not only to their peers, but to the rest of the world.
[Sources:
Rodney Stark, Cities of God, (San Francisco: Harper, 2006)]
