In general, Primitive Christianity is understood to have begun around AD 33, when the disciples started their preaching work after the death of Jesus Christ in the first century.
However, our study group holds the conviction that there can be no difference whatsoever between the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of his faithful disciples. For this reason, we regard the true starting point of Primitive Christianity as the time when Jesus Christ himself began his ministry, around AD 29.
Here, we use the term Primitive Christianity to mean authentic Christianity—a faith untouched by the various impure teachings that gradually crept in during later periods. It is like pure wine, into which no foreign substance has been mixed. We also use this term as synonymous with Early Christianity.
It is difficult to determine precisely when such impurities first began to enter Christian teaching. Nevertheless, we consider the end of the “pure” period to be around AD 150, when even among the so-called Apostolic Fathers, only a small number can truly be described as faithful.
After that time, although there were surely individuals who tried to practice “pure” Christianity—people who shone like points of light—the Christian community as a whole was gradually swallowed up by spiritual “darkness.”
Among the teachings that our study group identifies as “impure” are the clerical hierarchy, the Trinity, the immortality of the soul, veneration of Mary, and veneration of saints.
How, then, did deviation from Primitive Christianity progress under the influence of these teachings?
We would like to explore this question in depth under the theme:
“Deviation from Primitive Christianity.”
Please feel free to leave a comment!