Before Catholicism was decreed the state religion of Rome by constantine in the 4th century AD, the empire was very diverse in its spirituality. They worshipped many gods, including Greek and Roman deities, many of which were based upon philosophical concepts like love, virtue, justice, wisdom, and time, and celestial bodies such as the planets, constellations, and even the spirit of planet earth herself.

 

 

During this time, early forms of Christianity were developing, and between the beginning of the AD calendar cycle and for about 300 years, there were 2 predominant christianities that were known. One was a sort of Literalist Christianity, rigidly authoritarian, which would eventually become the basis for the Roman Catholic Church… The other was known as Gnostic.

Between 312 AD and 325 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine the 1st converted to Catholic Christianity, and began the process of rigidly suppressing all Gnostic and Pagan faiths until they had all but disappeared from the collective mind. Those who did not convert were tortured, killed or fled, and for over 1600 years, all knowledge of Gnosticism had vanished. Very little was known about them or their beliefs, until in 1945, a small library of Gnostic scriptures were discovered in a cave near Nag Hammadi in Egypt. The information writ on these scriptures has revolutionized our modern understanding of early christianity.

 

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