Christianity began among a very small group of Jesus' followers, many of whom were related to one another. By about 30 AD/CE, there were probably about 1000 Christians. In the next few years, the number rapidly grew into about 10,000 and soon, there were Christians even in the household of the Roman Emperor. It was not until about the year 40 that they were known as "Christians" and the word was probably used by others as an insult word.
Paul carried the Gospel into Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and Malta during his missionary journeys and into Italy during his imprisonment. In 52 AD/CE, Thomas carried the Gospel into India. Thaddeus evangelized Armenia in 66 AD/CE. By the year 80 there were Christians in Tunisia and France; by 100 they were in Monaco, Algeria, and Sri Lanka; by 196 they were in Persia; by 300 AD/CE it is estimated that 10% of the world's population was Christian; in 341 the Goths in Romania were evangelized. A form of Christianity known as Nestorianism arrived in China in 635 and survived for several hundred years.
Today there are about 2.1 billion persons who identify themselves as Christian.
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