Origins of the Catholic Church Explained | Church History

The Church was born on the day of Pentecost, a Jewish feast marking the ingathering of the harvest into barns. Pentecost marked the beginning of the Church’s sharing her faith which was harvested throughout the time Jesus walked on earth with everyone in the world. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples as prophesied by Joel in Joel 2:28 and promised by Christ in John 14:26. The Spirit came in the form of divided tongues of fire resting upon the heads of those who were gathered in the upper room and they began speaking in tongues. Simultaneously, there was a sound of great wind happening outside. When the disciples left the room speaking in tongues, the masses which witnessed the wind and saw them speak in tongues were astonished and began speculating what was happening. To end their speculation, Peter clarified what happened by summarizing the Gospel to the multitude. The sermon captivated the hearts of three thousand men who became the first group of believers to join the the Church, God’s Kingdom on earth.

The disciples continued to mainly preach in Jerusalem, but some began to disperse to preach the good news to the Gentiles. Those in Jerusalem experienced early persecution from the Jewish chief priests. Stephen was the first martyr followed by James who was pushed off a building. Peter was imprisoned but God sent an angel to free him prior to the day of his execution. This did not stop the disciples from preaching the good news. When persecution was stirred, some began moving to Antioch and Damascus. The followers of Jesus were first called “Christians” in Antioch.