What else could one write about on Christmas Eve if not the church? I’ve never been a religious person myself, but I do love history, including the history of the church. So today, instead of just a short note about churches in Cyprus, as a true armchair historian, I’ll start from afar.
As is well known, Christianity derives its name from Jesus Christ, who was a Jew and preached his teachings in his native lands, which at the time were part of the vast Roman Empire. Opinions about Jesus himself and who he really was as a person may vary (for more on this, I highly recommend the book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth). However, it is well documented that Christianity was initially intended exclusively for Jews. No other nations or pagans were deemed worthy of it.
Moreover, when one of the apostles began introducing non-Jews to Christianity, he was initially almost ostracized, criticized for his actions. And yet, Christianity would never have become a global religion had it remained exclusively Jewish.
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