Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

63 BCE

A civil war broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees defeated the Sadducees in Jerusalem. Then Israel was incorporated into the Roman Empire.This battle didn't have anything to do with Christianity since it happened before Jesus was born. Julius Caesar was still ruling during this time.

Jesus of Nazareth

30

Jesus of Nazareth is worshiped in Christianity. After he was crucified, a group of people founded Christianity. He is worshiped as God in human form. He was crucified and rose three days later and performed many miracles.

Paul of Tarsus

35

Paul, sometimes referred to as Paul the Apostle was an advocate for Christ who originally persecuted Christians but then became one. He is a major figure in the Bible who had an encounter with Christ which was in the form of a light. This blinded him and then converted him to Christianity.

The Great Fire of Rome

64

Emperor Nero has been blamed for starting the fire for a while. The fire left a lot of people dead or homeless. Nero used this fire to blame the Christians since he was against them. This lead to a persecution of many Christians, involving arrest, torture, and execution.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a young Christian in North Africa. Due to her belief, she was thrown in jail. Her father (a pagan) came to visit her and told her all she had to do was deny she was a Christian. She refused. Her slave (who was pregnant at the time) was imprisoned with her. Perpetua died in 203.

Great Persecution of 303

303

In the Great Persecution of 303, many Christians were persecuted for their beliefs. Diocletian, one of the Roman emperors, had a goal to wipe out all of the Christians. He wanted to covert them to paganism (where the emperor is worshiped like a god). The Christian people were forced to sacrifice to the emperor or gods and burn their texts. If they didn't to this, they were killed. Diocletian also burned the church buildings down. Even through this, the Christians survived.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

Constantine and his army were battling Maxentius (Roman Emperor) and his army. Constantine won the battle and credited God for the victory. It was at this time he had his dream (from God) to put the Christian symbol on the shields of the soldiers.

Constantine the Great

312

When Constantine was Emperor, he was a Patron for the church. He ruled under God after having a dream that he was to "delineate the heavenly sign on the shields of his soldiers" (On the Deaths of the Persecutors 44.5). This upset a lot of people in the Rome, as Christianity wasn't very prominent at this time. He was also the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was the agreement to treat Christians within the Roman Empire kindly. This was a big change for Christians who were used to being persecuted for their beliefs. This also made Christianity legal when it had previously not been. Constantine met with the Emperor (Licinius) to form the Edict of Milan.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. He was the last emperor of the Eastern and Western Roman Empire. He helped form the very large Christian population. He also ended the Olympic Games. Catholicism was the form of Christianity instituted in Rome.