Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel

63 BCE

Rome allowed Jews to keep practicing their religion, but after the war, their relationship became very tense.
- Julius Caesar allowed Jews to keep practicing their religion
- Jewish and Roman cultures overlapped a lot and Jews had many privileges
- Jews lived in Rome for over 2,000 years, coming from Alexandria
- After 70 AD, Jews could only practice their religion if they paid the Jewish tax
- Once Christianity became the official religion of the empire, Christian emperors persecuted Jews

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

Jesus is considered to be conceived by the Holy Spirit
- Believed by Christians to be an incarnation of God, himself
- His mother, Mary, is said to have been a virgin when she gave birth to him
- Baptized by the prophet, John the Baptist
- Passed a lot of information by word (preached orally)
- in Jerusalem, he was arrested, tried, and executed

Paul of Tarsus

4 BCE

Saint Paul, once named Saul, is one of the most renowned saints, after his conversion.
- Once wanted to put Christians to death, then became one of the greatest saints
- He was blinded by a light and Jesus spoke to him and once he got baptized, he was able to see again
- This was called his conversion and is celebrated every year on January 25th
- Paul traveled to many places to teach people about Christianity and wrote epistles
- Lived from 4 BCE - 64/67 AD

Great Fire of Rome

64

Nero blames Christians for the fire and this was one of the starting events leading to hatred of Christian.
- Flames burned for 6 days, once the fire was controlled, it was reignited again to burn for another 3 days (End of the Great Fire of Rome: July 24th, 64 AD)
- 10 of Rome's districts out of 14 were destroyed
- The emperor at the time, was Nero
- Many believe Nero planned the fire, so he could rebuild Rome the way he wanted to
- Nero blamed Christians, supposedly to have a "scapegoat"

Perpetua

181

Perpetua's journal is one of the rare surviving documents written by a woman.
- A Christian martyr alive from 181 AD to 203 AD
- Wrote a journal during her trial and imprisonment
- Despite her father's plea, she would remain Christian
- On the day of her death, she gave the journal to a fellow Christian to continue the journal
- The journal was called The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

Many Christians were put to death during this time.
- The Great Persecution lasted from 303 - 311 AD
- Roman authorities believed Christianity was a threat to Rome's traditional religions and beliefs
- A law was passed where people would have to sacrifice to Rome's "old gods" (anyone who didn't was subject to persecution)
- The persecution of Christians happened more heavily in the East side of the Roman Empire than the West
- Many churches and Christian sculptures were burned or destroyed

Constantine the Great

306

Considered to be the emperor that helped the spread of Christianity.
- Constantine was Roman Emperor that ruled from 306 AD - 337 AD
- Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, doing so on his deathbed
- He converted because he believed it attributed to all of his successes
- Constantine created a city, named Constantinople
- Fought the Battle of the Milvian Bridge under the name of the Christian God

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

The battle helped Constantine in allowing Christianity in Rome.
- Defeated Maxentius (end of Tetrarchy), making Constantine the sole ruler of the Roman Emperor
- Constantine attributes his victory to the Christian God after seeing a "vision" before going into battle
- Constantine marked his army's shields with the Christian symbol
- After the victory, Maxentius' head was decapitated and was paraded through the streets of Rome
- Considered as the first "step" for Christianity in the empire

Edict of Milan

313

Allowed Christians to practice their religion and helped the spread of Christianity.
- Signed by Constantine and Licinius
- Passed to treat Christians with respect and allow the religion within the Roman Empire
- Considered as Constantine's first great act as Christian emperor
- It is debated if the proclamation was done from genuine faith or as a political decision
- However, no one knows what the Edict of Milan actually said

Emperor Theodosius

379

Made Christianity the official religion, completely getting rid of Rome's "old" gods originating from Greece.
- A Roman Emperor from 379 - 395 AD
- Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the West Roman Empire and the East Roman Empire
- Theodosius had a difficult time rebuilding the army
- Eventually, Theodosius relinquished the West to Valentinian and kept control of the East
- Theodosius also prohibited worshipping the Pagan gods, making Christianity the official religion in Rome