Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

63 BCE

-Pompey, a Roman General took over Jerusalem and defeated Pompey.
- Jewish communities in Rome thrived economically and enjoyed many different things. They became very important part of the population
- The temple at Jerusalem was destroyed by Romans in 70 AD
-Jewish and Roman wars occurred because of the conflict between the two.

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

-Jesus of Nazareth is the foundation of Christianity because many believe he is the incarnation or son of God.
-On the 25 of December, Jesus Christ was born and many Christians celebrate this day as Christmas.
-Jesus founded the Christian church and died by crucifixion. He then was resurrected.
-The Nicene Creed asserts that Jesus will judge the living and the dead

Paul of Tarsus

4 BCE

-A man named Saint Paul (Saul) heard that there was a prophet named Jesus who claimed to be the messiah.
- He began to prosecute followers of Jesus. He demanded that they give up their new faith.
- As Saul was near the city, he was struck by a light so bright that it blinded him. It was Jesus telling him to go to the city.
- A disciple visited Saul and Saul became baptist and was filled with the holy spirit.He became a Christian and went to different countries to teach about Jesus.

Great Fire Of Rome

64

• An urban fire broke out, bring for more than a week, causing ⅔ of Rome to be destroyed.
• In the ash, an area of where many Christians lived, survived. Many people were skeptical of this and Nero used this to his advantage.
• Nero blamed the Christians for setting the fire, starting the many persecutions of Christians.
• He crucified the Christians, feeding them to lions during Gladiator fights, and even used them as human torches for light at his parties.

Perpetua

181

-Perpetua was a Christian woman who, lived with her husband, her son, and her slave,
-At this time, North Africa was the center of a Christian community, and Emperor Septimius Severus was determined to cripple Christianity
-Among the first to be arrested were 5 new Christians, one of whom was Perpetua.
-While Perpetua was pregnant in prison, her father begged her to say that she was not christian, but she would not and her and her friends were slain as Christians.

Great Persecution of 303 AD

303

-The great Persecution was the worst persecution of Christians, thousands of Christians were slaughtered along with Christian leaders.
-Christianity was illegal forcing many to do their religious practices in secret.
-Many Emperors forced many Christians to obey religious practices like sacrificing to pagan gods or face imprisonment and execution.
-some Christians survived the purges, but this also caused churches to split into those who followed the Pagans and those who didn't.

Constantine the Great

306

• Before Constantine's army went into battle he had a vision of a cross in the sky with the message “In Hoc Signo Vinces” meaning in this sign, you will conquer.
• He then had a dream of the Labarum, and put the sign on his soldiers shields, he went to battle and came back victorious.
• Constantine believed he had been helped by Christ. From this, he created the Edict of Milan.
• He also created a new capital called constantinople that was packed with churches dedicated to the christian God.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

-The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius
-Constantine had a vision before the battle and a dream that led him putting a christian sign on the soldiers that he would become victorious.
-Constantine won the battle and started on the path that led him to end the persecutions of the Christians.
-Being very grateful to the Christians, this led to Constantine making the Edict of Milan.

Edict of Milan

313

-The Edict of Milan was a letter signed by Constantine and Licinius, that gave religious right to Christianity.
-He created the Edict of Milan because the Christian sign helped him and his soldiers win a battle and he felt grateful.
-It began a period when Constantine granted favors to the Christians freedom to worship whatever they wanted, and gave Christians of legal rights
-It began an era of freedom from religious persecution for Christians faced oppression from the Roman empire.

Emperor Theodosius

380

-Emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica, a king Nicene Christianity the official religion of the roman empire.
-He also granted the Christians to build a temple in Jerusalem.
-He allowed the followers of the religion to relocate to different areas.
Theodosius himself became a convert and helped to stop the persecutions.