ABSTRACT
Christianity in the second and third centuries was a time of both significant fluidity and consolidation of Christian identities all at the same time. One of the significant scholarly debates over the last generation has revolved around how and when to locate the formation of 'Christianity' as a separate religious movement from 'Judaism', recognizing that neither tradition has ever been monolithic. While Christians certainly took over the Jewish scriptures as their own, at least in their Septuagint form, Christians in the second and third centuries were also busy crafting a new canon, a new collection of authoritative writings. By the end of the first century, significant Christian communities had already spread from Palestine to various cities in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, and to Rome. In North Africa, the city of Carthage was a major center for Christianity. Diocletian ruled from 284 to 304 ce and early on in his reign appeared to favor Christianity.
