Derby, Edward Gibbon, in The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, goes into quite a bit of detail about the history of the Church within the Roman Empire. You might enjoy reading it. He starts talking about the history of Christianity within the Empire in Chapter Fifteen.
I'm going to have to get that one of these days if I live long enough. Maybe I ought to see if the book is one the Internet and if Chapter Fifteen is there.
Thanks.
