Origin of Church The Apostles and many Christians traveled from Jerusalem to northern Africa, Asia Minor, Arabia,

Greece, and Rome to found the first Christian communities. Christianity spread quickly through the Roman Empire, and by the second century there were many established bishoprics within and Asia Minor Catholic tradition holds that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ. The New Testament records Jesus' activities and teaching, his appointment of the twelve Apostlesand his instructions to them to continue his work. The Catholic Church teaches that the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, in an event known as Pentecost, signaled the beginning of the public ministry of the Church. While there is no particular narrative of Peter being "consecrated by Jesus," and then by "Peter traveling to Rome founding a church there" in Church tradition, this came to be the Catholic view. Peter is also held to be Rome's first bishop and consecrater Linus as its next bishop, thus starting the line of Popes of whom Pope Benedict XVI is the current successor. This view is often repeated in the Catholic Church. The narratives of the appointment of the twelve Apostles and the appointing of Matthias as an Apostle are both found directly in theScriptures. At first, Christians continued to worship alongside Jewish believers, which historians refer to as Jewish Christianity, but within twenty years of Jesus's death, Sunday was being regarded as the primary day of worship.As preachers such as Paul of Tarsus began
[29]

the

Empire

including Northern

Africa, France, Italy, Syria,

converting Gentiles, Christianity began growing away from Jewish practices

to establish

itself as a separate religion, though the issue of Paul of Tarsus and Judaism is still debated today. To resolve doctrinal differences among the competing factions within the Church, in or around the year 50, the apostles convened the first Church council, the Council of Jerusalem. This council affirmed that Gentiles could become Christians without adopting all of the Mosaic Law. Growing tensions soon led to a starker separation that was virtually complete by the time Christians refused to join in the Bar Khokba Jewish revolt of 132, however some groups of Christians retained elements of Jewish practice. The early Christian Church was very loosely organized, resulting in diverse interpretations of Christian beliefs.[39] In part to ensure a greater consistency in their teachings, by the end of the 2nd century Christian communities had evolved a more structured hierarchy, with a central bishop having authority over the clergy in his city, [40] leading to the development of the Metropolitan bishop

Pentecost is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection.[1] The feast is also called Whitsunday especially in the United Kingdom. Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Easter Sunday, hence its name.[2] Pentecost falls on the tenth day afterAscension Thursday.