ABSTRACT
There are no figures of any reliability of the growth of membership of the Church in the early years. The Church was frequently beset by persecution (see p. 281) and often forced underground. Some historians (beginning with Edward Gibbon) believed Christians numbered around 5 per cent of the population of the Roman Empire at the time of Constantine’s conversion. Other historians prefer 10 per cent. The following figures (adapted from Stark) give an indication of the possible growth of the early Church.
