What statement best describes Christianity in the Roman Empire?

Answer 1

Perhaps the most important influennce that Roman Empire had on Christianity was its unity. Prior to the fourth century, the Christian Church was quite fragmented, with different factions holding different beliefs on important issues. Martin Palmer (The Jesus Sutras) says that the ideal of One Church is a historical invention of the fourth and fifth centuries, after the Western Church had become the faith of the Roman Empire.

Emperor Constantine saw the Church as a potential unifying force in the Empire, but knew that the Church could not unify the Empire unless it was, itself, united. He set out to impose order, creating a stable hierarchy under his leadership, and obtained consensus on important issues facing the Church. His support made membership of the Christian Church socially and politically desirable for some, thus leading to the surge in Church membership that enabled Christianity to become the state religion later in the fourth century.

Answer 2

The foundations of Christianity were laid in its early days when it spread around the Roman Empire. It developed two main branches which were called Greek or Eastern and Latin of Western. The former was the main form of Christianity in the eastern part of the Roman Empire and the latter the main one in the western part. Later they came to be called Orthodox and Catholic respectively..