These were not exactly the virtues which had made
Rome the mistress of the world. It was rather interesting to
listen to a ``mystery'' which told people in the hey-day of their
glory that their worldly success could not possibly bring them
lasting happiness.
Besides, the preachers of the Christian mystery told dreadful
stories of the fate that awaited those who refused to listen to
the words of the true God. It was never wise to take chances.
Of course the old Roman gods still existed, but were they
strong enough to protect their friends against the powers of
this new deity who had been brought to Europe from distant
Asia? People began to have doubts. They returned to listen
to further explanations of the new creed. After a while they
began to meet the men and women who preached the words of
Jesus. They found them very different from the average
Roman priests. They were all dreadfully poor. They were
kind to slaves and to animals. They did not try to gain riches,
but gave away whatever they had. The example of their unselfish
lives forced many Romans to forsake the old religion.
They joined the small communities of Christians who met in
the back rooms of private houses or somewhere in an open field,
and the temples were deserted.
This went on year after year and the number of Christians
continued to increase. Presbyters or priests (the original
Greek meant ``elder'') were elected to guard the interests of
the small churches.
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