Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire-Ashley Treat

Paul of Tarsus

67 BCE

-Paul was Jewish, but then saw a vision of Jesus and converted to Christianity.
- He wrote a large part of the Testament
-His letters are the earliest surviving literature.
-Stephen, the first Christian to be martyred, was killed by being stoned to death, and Paul was present. Paul supported the killing and was, at the time, attempting to stamp out the new Jewish, Christ-worshiping sect.
-Paul was imprisoned in Jerusalem
-What people heard was Paul was beheaded under Nero.

Roman Rule of Israel (Begins)

37 BCE

-Judah was taken over by Babylonians after Israel was destroyed.
-Israel was highly populated with Jews.
-Israel was not a nation again till 1948 after it was destroyed
-Israel was under the control of the Roman Empire.
-Israel had to follow the Roman rule because they were under control of them.

Jesus of Nazareth

29 BCE

-Jesus was born from his mother Mary.
-He grew up in Nazareth, but was born in Bethlehem.
-He died on the cross to sacrifice himself to the people.
-Everybody in Nazareth loved his kind gestures.
-His spirit came back from the dead

Great Fire of Rome

64

-The night of July 19, 64 A.D., a fire broke out among the city.
-The fire lasted for six days, and when the smoke went away 10 of 14 districts were in ruins.
-People blame Nero for this disaster because he wanted to rebuild things how he wanted it to be.
-The Senate wouldn't let him do this so people say he caused the fire just so he could do so.
-Nero then he blamed the fire on the Christians, and then would torture them.

Perpetua

203

-Perpetua was a woman who was thrown to the beasts.
-Somehow she survived the beasts.
-She was then executed by the sword
-Supposedly Perpetua helped guide the executors hand to her neck. -Her death spread in a written form for potential converts to read and become inspired.

The Great Persecution

303

-This was the persecution of the Christians.
-Diocletian was the emperor at the time, and he would blame the Christians for everything because he would do anything to stop their faith.
-Diocletian wanted to avoid killing the Christians because he knew that would just strengthen their faith, but that idea didn't last long.
-He just started the persecute them again.
-Which then became called the Great Prosecution which was a strategic persecution of Christians in that time.

Constantine the Great

306

-He was the first Christian emperor and saw the empire begin to become a Christian state.
-Constantine was a pagan monotheist.
-Him and his army saw a light in the sky that translated a message to conquer.
He had a dream where Christ told him to use the symbol of the cross to defeat his enemies.
-The Bridge battle gave him an excellent victory that he attributed to the gods of the Christians.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

-Constantine's dream told him to defeat all his enemies using the sign of the cross.
-It says that Maxentius had cut the bridge itself, but in case of defeat he could retreat to Rome across a bridge made of boats.
-When Constantine’s army charged at them, however, Maxentius’s men were driven in flight across the bridge of boats, which collapsed under them Maxentius and his army were drowned.
-This battle gave Constantine an overwhelming victory that he attributed it to the gods of Christians.

Edict of Milan

313

-The purpose was to grant Christians full authority to follow whatever worship they believed in.
-They were also going to abolish all conditions were against the Christians.
-Then Christianity started growing, and even past Rome.
-The Edict of Milan made Christianity legal.
-It removed all restrictions on Christian worship.

Emperor Theodosius

380

-Theodosius learned his military lessons from his father's staff in Britain.
-When and after crowned emperor in the East, he continued to battle German tribes in the north.
-Then they worked out an agreement which was for an exchange of land and provisions, their soldiers would serve under the Roman banner when needed.
-Theodosius accepted Christianity in Baptism
-Theodosius tried to reverse that legacy by persecuting heretics and pagans.