Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Constantine the Great

337 BCE

He was an emperor of the Roman Empire. He is most noted for his official conversion to Christianity and the shift of power in the empire to the east, which began the empire's transformation into the Byzantine Empire.

Great Fire of Rome

64 BCE

Jesus of Nazareth

6 BCE

Jesus was Jewish, born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem between 6 and 4 BC. He grew up in Nazareth.Jesus’ parents were deeply religious. Each year, they went to the temple in Jerusalem which was a two week journey to celebrate Passover.Jesus went with them one time at age 12. Jesus proclaimed that the reign or kingdom of God was at hand.

Paul of Tarsus

62

St. Paul, the Apostle, original name Saul of Tarsus one of the leaders of the first generation of Christians, often considered to be the most important person after Jesus in the history of Christianity. Paul was compelled to struggle so to establish his own worth and authority.In his own day, although he was a major figure within the very small Christian movement, he also had many enemies and his contemporaries probably did not accord him as much respect as they gave Peter and James.

Great Fire of Rome

64

City burned for 6 days = completely destroyed over 65% of the city
Gangs of thugs stopped people from putting out the fire
Some believe Nero planned the fire so he could bypass the senate to build Rome the way he wished. Domus Aurea aristocratic villas and a manmade lake
Christians were living an are area that was unharmed by fire and some Christians believed in prophecies the city of Rome

Roman Rule of Israel

64

judea was ruled by a Roman procurator who managed its public affairs. Its governmental structure was reorganized by Gabinius, the Roman governor of Syria from 57 to 55 B.C.E., who divided the country into five synhedroi, or administrative dis­tricts. This arrangement was clearly intended to eliminate the age‑old system of toparchies , dating from the reign of Solomon, and taken over in turn by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians, and then by the Ptole­mies and Seleucids.

Perpetua

203

It survives in both Latin and Greek forms, and purports to contain the actual prison diary of the young mother Perpetua. According to the passion narrative, a slave named Revocatus, his fellow slave Felicitas, the two free men Saturninus and Secundulus, and Perpetua, who were catechumens, that is, Christians being instructed in the faith but not yet baptized, were arrested and executed at the military games in celebration of the Emperor Septimius Severus's birthday.

Constantine the Great

272

His birth name was Flavius Valerius Constantinus
The city of Constantinople was the largest and richest city during the Middle Ages until it fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453
He sent his mother Helena to the Holy Land
Constantine fought in the Roman army for several years,
He also witnessed Diocletian's persecution and murder of the Christians.

Great Persecution

303

Christian persecution after Nero's reign was sporadic, carried out by local Roman magistrates responding to local prejudices. Accounts of Christian persecution are found in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. According to the book of Acts, one of the first Christian martyrs was Stephen, a member of the early church who was brought before the Sanhedrin, the assembly of Jewish religious leaders, on charges of blasphemy.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

Constantine won the battle and started on the path that led him to end the Tetrarchy. Eusebius of Caesarea recounts that Constantine and his soldiers had a vision sent by God.The battle fought at Milvian Bridge was a crucial moment in a civil war that ended with Constantine I as sole ruler of the Roman Empire and Christianity established as the empire's official religion. Constantine's conversion to the Cross may have been prompted by a dream of victory.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was a letter signed by the Roman emperors Constantine and Licinius, that religious toleration in the Roman Empire. The letter was issued in 313, shortly after the end of the persecution of Christians by the emperor Diocletian.With the Edict of Milan there began a period when Constantine granted favors to the Christian Church and its members.The exact words of the edict are no longer known.

Emperor Theodosius

346

Theodosius was the son of a famous general.Theodosius had served ably under his father in Britain.In August 378 the Eastern Roman emperor, Valens, was overwhelmed and killed at Adrianople by invading Goths. They were called allies rather than subjects. In 391 Valentinian was murdered by his Frankish military commander, Arbogast, who then raised one Eugenius to the throne.