Two thousand years ago, a Galilean preacher was executed by Rome as a provincial troublemaker. His followers insisted he had risen from the dead — and built, on that conviction, the largest faith in human history.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA Jerusalem ★ Antioch Alexandria Rome Constantinople Heartland: the Levant — early spread across the empire · stylized map 30–33 CE Crucifixion (tradition) 313 Edict of Milan 1054 Great Schism 1517 Reformation 1648 Westphalia 1965 Vatican II Rise · zenith · renewal Christians by tradition (approximate) Catholics 1.4 billion Protestants & independents 900 million Orthodox 300 million Two millennia, three great branches — figures stated in the article Origins The story begins in a backwater of the Roman Empire. Jesus of Nazareth preached in Galilee and Judea for — tradition suggests — some three years, gathered twelve apostles, and was crucified under the prefect Pontius Pilate; tradition places his death at about 30–33 CE. Within days, his followers claimed he had risen — and the claim, not the execution, became the story. At Pentecost, as tradition tells it, the apostles preached in Jerusalem to pilgrims from across the known world, and the first Christian community was born.
