The Desert Fathers: Christianity in the 1st Century

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Helpful Definitions:

Acts: The activities of the disciples after Jesus's death.
Epistles: Letters written by Christian leaders to other Christians.
Apocalypse: A revelation concerning the end of the world in a cataclysmic act of God.

Apocryphon: Greek term for a genre of Jewish and Early Christian writings that were meant to impart "secret teachings" or gnosis (knowledge) that could not be publicly taught.

Christrianity in the 1st Century

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Christian Origins
Early Church: First Century (Internet Ancient History Sourcebook)
Christianity in the 1st Century (Wikipedia)
The earliest followers of Jesus composed an apocalyptic Jewish sect, which historians refer to as Jewish Christianity.

Apostolic Age
The apostolic period between the years 30 and 100 produced writings attributed to the direct followers of Jesus Christ. The period is traditionally associated with the apostles, hence the tags "apostolic times" and "apostolic writings". The New Testament books were connected by the early church to the apostles. Modern liberal scholarship has cast doubt on the authorship of some New Testament books, however most accept that the New Testament books were written during this period.

Ante-Nicene Period
The Ante-Nicene Period (literally meaning "before Nicaea") of the history of early Christianity refers to the period following the Apostolic Age of the 1st century down to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. This portion of Christian history is important, having a significant impact on the unity of doctrine across all Christendom and the spreading of Christianity to a greater area of the world. Those seen as prominent figures of this era, referred to as the Ante-Nicene Fathers or Proto-orthodox Christians, generally agreed on most doctrine while the teachings of those early Christian writers which the general majority considered to be heretical, were rejected.

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