The official state religion of Rome was paganism, suggesting the deification of the incumbent Emperor. The new doctrine was received with hostility. Persecution and prohibition have become part of the history of religion. Christianity was forbidden not only to profess, but also to remember its existence. Preachers were tortured, imprisoned for life, or executed. But the adherents of Christianity revered them as martyrs, and every year Christianity spread more actively.

Already in the 4th century, Emperor Constantine was forced to recognize the new belief. The pagans staged riots in protest against the interference of the Emperor in Church Affairs. Christians went into the desert and there organized monastic settlements. Thanks to this, the nomads learned about the new religion. Christianity gradually spread to other countries.

The Emperor’s power was weakening. The Abbot of the Roman Church, the Pope, declared himself the sole representative of religion, and the rightful ruler of the Roman Empire. Attempts to find a balance between the desire for power and the preservation of the Christian way of life have become the main moral dilemma for representatives of high Church rank.