Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire timeline

When the Romans spread to Israel, some sects of Judaism were unhappy with having to pay taxes to the Roman Empire, one of them being essentially, Christianity. This eventually resulted in the First Jewish-Roman war after lots of terrorism occurred, justified with different religions. After the war, more Christians traveled to Rome in attempt to spread Christianity, behind Jesus. It was because of Rome taking over Israel that the Christians wanted to spread out in Rome to share the religion.

Jesus was born a Jew Pharisee, but created a sect of Judaism that would become Christianity with his own teachings. He went around trying to share his message, and many people agreed with his ideas. Jesus believed the God was more important than the Roman emperors, a view that ultimately caused his death. Through his illegal acts done because of his beliefs in the religion, the Romans thought of him as a criminal, but the group of supporters he gained viewed him as a martyr for Christianity.

Originally Jewish, Paul of Tarsus converted in 34 after seeing a vision of Jesus on a road to Damascus. However, he attempted to persecute Christians before his baptism because of his Jewish roots. Afterwards, Paul taught Gentiles and Jews about Jesus and founded churches. He wrote letters to fellow Christians while in prison (now called epistles) that have inspired others even today to keep their faith. Paul accepted all into the church, and went all over the Roman Empire to share the religion.

This fire that lasted for 6 days was initially blamed on Nero, the emperor at the time. To divert this fault, he pointed the finger at the Christians, whose buildings were some of the few ones that were not destroyed. This led into a mass murder of Christians for not looking at the emperor as God and being monotheistic. The Great Fire was an event that we will likely never know who caused it. However, this was the first persecution of Christians that lasted for 250 years and was an awful event.

Perpetua and her slave Felicitas died in March of 202-203. Emperor Septimius Severus wanted to get rid of Christianity, and focused on 5 new Christians from North Africa. They were arrested, and then sent to the arena for a trial. When they all refused to become pagan, beasts were let out on them and then their throats were slain. Augustine later declared that their names meant “everlasting happiness” and their strength and bravery inspired others to convert through the spread of their stories.

This last persecution of Christians occurred under the rule of Diocletian. He issued a total of four edicts, each giving less and less opportunities and freedom of religion to the Christians. They were forced to sacrifice under penalty of death, and their churches were nearly all burned down. This occurred while Rome was falling as an empire. Some historians say that Galerius, his junior emperor, wanted Diocletian to severely punish the Christians, but that Diocletian was against this initially.

The night before Constantine was going to battle for power of western Rome, he had a dream where God told him to put the Chi Ro symbol on his soldier's shields to win. When they did, he dedicated himself to Christianity, building temples in Constantinople, and creating the Edict of Milan with Licinius to make Christianity a legal religion and restore their land. He initiated the spread of Christianity in his empire with his outward appreciation for it, even if it was for just political reasons.

Constantine won the battle for power of the western half of Rome against Maxentius on Oct. 28, 312. He had had a vision from God saying that if he put the Chi Ro symbol on his soldier’s shields, they would win. When they did, Constantine devoted the win to God, and was loyal to Christianity. He became a big advocate for the religion, building churches and temples for it and granting religious freedom. It was because of this win that he converted to Christianity and did not persecute Christians.

This Edict was written by Constantine and Licinius to grant religious freedom to all, and restore land to Christian churches. This was a mandate/law that legalized Christianity, stopping the persecution of Christians. The Edict of Milan also helped bring more and more people into becoming Christian, with Constantine's support. Galerius had written a decree about tolerating Christians, but this Edict took it further. It helped lead Christianity to be the Roman Empire's most practiced religion.

Theodosius is famous for making Christianity the main religion of the Roman Empire - and a certain type at that. After the legalization of Christianity, Arianism and Trinitarianism divided Christians. The Nicene Creed declared Trinitarianism correct, and Theodosius supported this with his edict(s). His Edict of Thessalonica made it the state religion, written shortly after he was baptized in 380. Theodosius even enforced death on people for non-Christian acts, such as other rituals, in the end.