Establishment of the Church
From “A History of the Apostolic Church” by Afshin Khorami
While it was during the ministry of Jesus that Christianity was born, it was after His death that the young Christian community began to truly grow into something of its own. Simply due to its origins in Judea, most of the early converts were Jewish, although there were many pagans as well. Thus, one of the main questions that the young church had to answer was whether or not Christians should be required to follow the laws of the Torah. In the year 50 AD, the Council of Jerusalem was called amongst the Apostles to determine this issue, among many others. The council decided that gentile converts to Christianity would not have to follow the Jewish halakha[1], but would be forbidden to eat blood, meat containing blood, and meat that had been strangled, as well as prohibiting idolatry and fornication.
Another issue decided at the council, seemingly trivial at the time, was where to establish the young church. In Jerusalem, the Christian community was persecuted by both the Jewish Sanhedrin and Roman authorities. It was decided that the city of Ctesiphon, then capital of the Arsacid or Parthian Empire, would be the new center of the church, likely due to its location along caravan routes. It was Saint Peter who set off for Ctesiphon. He initially focused on converting the local Jewish population, but would be better received by the city’s Persian and Mesopotamian inhabitants[2]. Peter would eventually be martyred at the hands of a follower of Mesopotamian polytheism[3], but coincidentally, the Apostle Paul happened to be in the city at the time of Peter’s martyrdom. Paul, who had previously preached Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, succeeded Peter as Patriarch of Ctesiphon.
As Paul was already an old man at the time, his time as Patriarch only lasted ten years, with his earlier theological writings generally being considered more important. However, in a letter to the church in Antioch over a minor dispute, Paul wrote “the successorship of Saint Peter has passed onto me.” This is taken by the Apostolic Church as evidence of their direct descent from the early church. Paul would be succeeded as Patriarch by Saint Kaveh, a convert to Christianity from Zoroastrianism. Under Kaveh’s leadership, the church would take on a distinctly Persian character. While Christianity was persecuted in Rome, in Parthia Christians were allowed to freely practice their faith so long as they I’d not cause trouble with the authorities. Ctesiphon would grow into a center of the Church, which steadily grew among the people of Parthia. The day had not come yet, but the process in which a Christianized Persia could be born had begun.
* * *
This is a reboot of my first real timeline(which can be read here). After a long break, I have decided to return to the concept. TTL will see Christianity take hold not in Rome, but in the Parthian/Persian Empire[4], while a collapsing Rome stays pagan. Without further ado, let’s begin our foray into the world of a Christian Persia.
[1]Mosaic law
[2]The apathetic attitude towards Christianity by the Jews of Ctesiphon was due to a mixture of Jesus not fitting the traditional martial image of the Jewish Messiah, the Christians lack of commitment to following halakhic law, and conversion to Christianity meaning separating themselves from the pre-existing Jewish community
[3]At the time of the POD, Ancient Mesopotamian religion was still widely practiced in the Parthian Empire, although it had changed a lot since its Bronze Age heyday, heavily syncretism game with Greek and Persian religion
[4]There is a distinction between Parthia and Persia. While “Persia” and “Iran” are usually treated as synonymous, the Persians are a specific ethnic group whose language and culture happen to be dominant within Iran. You can sort of think of it as a king to the distinction between Han and Chinese, Han language and culture are dominant, but you wouldn’t call a Hui or a Manchu “Han.” The Arsacid Dynasty who ruled Iran at the time of the POD were not Persian, but belonged to a separate but related ethic group, the Parthians. While I will generally use the term “Persia“ ITTL, as non-Iranians didn’t start calling the country “Iran” until the Pahlavi era(which will be butterflies away), one should still keep this in mind.
While it was during the ministry of Jesus that Christianity was born, it was after His death that the young Christian community began to truly grow into something of its own. Simply due to its origins in Judea, most of the early converts were Jewish, although there were many pagans as well. Thus, one of the main questions that the young church had to answer was whether or not Christians should be required to follow the laws of the Torah. In the year 50 AD, the Council of Jerusalem was called amongst the Apostles to determine this issue, among many others. The council decided that gentile converts to Christianity would not have to follow the Jewish halakha[1], but would be forbidden to eat blood, meat containing blood, and meat that had been strangled, as well as prohibiting idolatry and fornication.
Another issue decided at the council, seemingly trivial at the time, was where to establish the young church. In Jerusalem, the Christian community was persecuted by both the Jewish Sanhedrin and Roman authorities. It was decided that the city of Ctesiphon, then capital of the Arsacid or Parthian Empire, would be the new center of the church, likely due to its location along caravan routes. It was Saint Peter who set off for Ctesiphon. He initially focused on converting the local Jewish population, but would be better received by the city’s Persian and Mesopotamian inhabitants[2]. Peter would eventually be martyred at the hands of a follower of Mesopotamian polytheism[3], but coincidentally, the Apostle Paul happened to be in the city at the time of Peter’s martyrdom. Paul, who had previously preached Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, succeeded Peter as Patriarch of Ctesiphon.
As Paul was already an old man at the time, his time as Patriarch only lasted ten years, with his earlier theological writings generally being considered more important. However, in a letter to the church in Antioch over a minor dispute, Paul wrote “the successorship of Saint Peter has passed onto me.” This is taken by the Apostolic Church as evidence of their direct descent from the early church. Paul would be succeeded as Patriarch by Saint Kaveh, a convert to Christianity from Zoroastrianism. Under Kaveh’s leadership, the church would take on a distinctly Persian character. While Christianity was persecuted in Rome, in Parthia Christians were allowed to freely practice their faith so long as they I’d not cause trouble with the authorities. Ctesiphon would grow into a center of the Church, which steadily grew among the people of Parthia. The day had not come yet, but the process in which a Christianized Persia could be born had begun.
* * *
This is a reboot of my first real timeline(which can be read here). After a long break, I have decided to return to the concept. TTL will see Christianity take hold not in Rome, but in the Parthian/Persian Empire[4], while a collapsing Rome stays pagan. Without further ado, let’s begin our foray into the world of a Christian Persia.
[1]Mosaic law
[2]The apathetic attitude towards Christianity by the Jews of Ctesiphon was due to a mixture of Jesus not fitting the traditional martial image of the Jewish Messiah, the Christians lack of commitment to following halakhic law, and conversion to Christianity meaning separating themselves from the pre-existing Jewish community
[3]At the time of the POD, Ancient Mesopotamian religion was still widely practiced in the Parthian Empire, although it had changed a lot since its Bronze Age heyday, heavily syncretism game with Greek and Persian religion
[4]There is a distinction between Parthia and Persia. While “Persia” and “Iran” are usually treated as synonymous, the Persians are a specific ethnic group whose language and culture happen to be dominant within Iran. You can sort of think of it as a king to the distinction between Han and Chinese, Han language and culture are dominant, but you wouldn’t call a Hui or a Manchu “Han.” The Arsacid Dynasty who ruled Iran at the time of the POD were not Persian, but belonged to a separate but related ethic group, the Parthians. While I will generally use the term “Persia“ ITTL, as non-Iranians didn’t start calling the country “Iran” until the Pahlavi era(which will be butterflies away), one should still keep this in mind.
