Were the early Christians known by any other name?

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Accepted answer

Were early Christians known by other names than Christians?

Take your pick, those who followed Jesus were called Christians, Sect of the Nazarenes, Followers of the Way and Sheep.

The early Christians were called by different names.

Christians--"and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch," (Acts 11:26).

Sect of the Nazarenes--“For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes," (Acts 24:5).

Followers of the Way--"and [Saul who became Paul] asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem," (Acts 9:2).

Sheep--“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand," (John 10:27-28).

They were also called saints:

Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. - Acts 26:10

Upvote:1

In addition to other answers, several scriptures refer to early christians as "saints":

Acts 26:10

2 Kor 13:13

Romans 12:13

Phil. 4:22

When searching for this term I have found it in OT scriptures as well, so there is probably some kind of reference to those:

Ps 34:9

Ps 50:5

Ps 132:9

Ps 149:5

Without looking too much into it, I would interpret this as meaning "HIS covenant people", or alternatively HIS priests.

Upvote:1

Other than the names already mentioned, the Early Church called itself Catholic. The first written evidence of it is in a letter from St Ignatius of Antioch at around 100 AD.

It is assumed the name was popular from the beginning though. It was used to differentiate itself from the "ethnic" religion of Israel (Judaism), because catholic means universal in Greek.

Here's one source but there are many: St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop, and an Apostolic Father of the Church, wrote a letter to the Smyrneans... (Rev 1:11).

Upvote:4

Originally, Christians were identified as "belonging to the Way." (cf. Acts 9:2) I'd surmise the reason that "Christian" stuck had to do with the fact that it was much clearer than the original title and it was in the lingua franca of the region.

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