Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Emperor Theodosius

380 BCE

-Theodosius was the last Emperor to rule over the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire
-After his death the two halves of the Roman Empire split apart
-He used his power to fully enforce orthodox Christianity
-He even placed his power of that under the church and it was like that for a long time
-He turned the tables by persecuting heretic and pagans

Edict of Milan

313 BCE

-A letter signed by Emperor Constantine and Licinius
-It was a letter/proclamation that established the tolerance of Christianity in the Roman empire
-Overall, this letter put a stop to the persecutions of the Christians and allowed them to be free to practice
-This letter did not affect any other religions in the empire
-Now the Christians are treated as equals

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312 BCE

-It was a battle between two; the future Roman Emperor Constantine and Maxentius.
-Constantine had won the battle and it solidified his role as the new Emperor
-What also took into affect was how Constantine himself was believed to see a cross of light in the sky, with words inscribed words that said "In this sign, conquer".
-After winning that battle, that interference of god caused Constantine to start looking towards Christianity
-Constantine quickly created the Edict of Milan a year later

Constantine the Great

306 BCE

-Emperor Constantine had a dream and a vision about conquering.
-Because of that he believed that god intervened and they fought under the cross at the Battle of Milvian
-Constantine began to encourage Christianity greatly and it helped spread it among the Roman Empire.
-He and another created the Edict of Milan which protected Christianity
-He built the Constantinople with christian churches

The Great Persecution of 303 CE (lasted until 312 CE)

303 BCE

-The Roman Empire had entered a period of crisis in which the persecution of the Christians intensified
-Several thousand Christians were killed including many christian leaders
-Afterwards, the religion was still able to survive and eventually triumph
-The last and most severe persecution of the Christians compared to the others
-Diocletian and others were the ones that issued edicts rescinding Christians legal rights and demanding that they comply with traditional religious practices

Perpetua

203 BCE

-Perpetua had a diary during her imprisonment
-She was Christian and she had dreams in prison that she believed were prophetic
-Before her scheduled death she gave her diary to another Christian so that they could continue her story plus about her fellow Christians
-The other Christian described many stories of other Christians in prison
-It also wrote about Perpetua's voluntary death by sword

Great Fire of Rome (July 18 - 23 64 CE)

64 BCE

-It was believed that Emperor Nero was the one who started the fire
-Emperor Nero blamed it on the Christians because they were so controversial at the time
-People saw Christianity as a threat to their own religious system and so did Emperor Nero
-After the fire began all the persecutions of the Christians
-Most Roman authorities sought out to suppress Christianity

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

63 BCE

-Roman forces under Pompey conquered Judea after a long brutal fight
-The Jews did not want to abandon their religion for the Romans
-They allowed Israel to practice their religion (Judaism) if they obeyed Roman laws, paid taxes and kept peace.
-Was ruled by Roman procurator who managed its political, military, and fiscal affairs
-Romans reorganized in order to destabilize the nation to make popular resistance impossible

Paul of Tarsus 40 CE - 64 CE

40 BCE

-Paul once put Christians to death
-That all changed when he met Jesus himself and got baptized by him
-He began to teach about Jesus and people called him Paul as a sign of a new life instead of his original name Saul
-His change of heart is celebrated on January 25
-He constantly prayed for all church communities he met all around the world, even when he was in jail for preaching about Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth 4 BCE - 33 CE

4 BCE

-Religious leader revered in Christianity
-Regarded by most Christians as the Incarnation of God himself
-Usually honored by the celebration of Christmas
-After he was executed, his disciples believed that he was still alive and appeared to them
-His disciples converted other to belief in him thus making the new religion Christianity