CHAPTER IV.
EARLY CHURCH CUSTOMS, FASTS, AND FESTIVALS.
CHURCH HISTORY DIVIDED INTO AGES AND PERIODS.
Dr. Schaff, in his “History of the Apostolic Church,” has divided the whole history of the Church as follows:—
First Age.—The Primitive or Universal Church, from its foundation on the day of Pentecost to Gregory the Great, thus embracing the first six centuries (A.D. 30-590).
First Period.—The Apostolic Church, from the first Christian Pentecost to the death of the Apostles (A.D. 30-100).
Second Period.—The Persecuted Church, to Constantine (A.D. 100-311).
Third Period.—The Established Church of the Græco-Roman Empire, and amidst the Barbarian storms, to Gregory the Great. (A.D. 311-590).