The first Christian church buildings appear early in the third
century. As the physical Christian houses of worship began to take a more
dominant position in society, so did its political power. By 325CE (AD), at the
Council of Nicea, church leaders met to codify Christian doctrines, led by the
Roman Emperor himself. Jewish bishops were specifically excluded from the
meeting. It was decided that all Jewish customs must be discontinued and all
Roman customs adopted. The council’s intent was to forbid Christians to practice
circumcision, Sabbath keeping, eating kosher, and to formally acknowledge the
doctrine of the trinity. The concept of a triune Godhead was not universally
accepted, and in some cases the bishops in attendance were threatened with death
to achieve “agreement.”
Funk &
Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia (volume 15 “Jews/Christianity appears”) describes
this period of time that takes us from the synagogue to the church:
The last
century of the ancient Jewish state was marked by religious and political
upheaval. At the beginning of the Christian era the Jewish population in the
ancient world numbered some 8 million living outside Judea, mainly in
Alexandria, Cyrenaica (northern Africa), Babylon, Antioch, Ephesus, and Rome.
This dispersion created, in addition to the force of Hellenism, several
movements that struck at Judaism. One was directed against all Jews and took the
form of anti-Jewishness based on business competition, religious difference, and
the political privileges granted to many Jews who rose to high office. A