Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

63 BCE

Rome let the people of Israel keep their religion practices in Judaism which was important because it worked it's way into Roman lives and then later on it was one of the keys to the beginning of Christianity.

Jesus of Nazareth

4

The birth of Jesus was the birth of Christianity as well, because without Jesus and the idea of the Christian God, Christianity wouldn't have existed. Also, the idea that he died for everyone's saving, makes Christianity a wanted religion in Rome.

Paul of Tarsus

5

Paul originally persecuted the Christians but ended up joining them. He is considered as one of the founders of Christianity and he wrote a good portion of the Bible, traveled and spread Christian beliefs.

The Great Fire of Rome

64

A great fire raged in Rome for six days. 10/14 of the districts were burnt. Many people believed that Nero was the cause, as he did nothing to stop the fire. Today however, historians believe that it probably was started from a shop or an apartament. The fire started by the Circus Maximus. This connects to the rise of christianity is the clean slate that the fire left in its wake, with room for new churches.

Perpetua

203

A Christian Martyr who refused to renounce her faith, so she was condemned to death. Her writings from her diary were very inspirational, and were read and commented upon for many years.

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

The Christians were persecuted, so barely any people wanted to be Christian in this time period. The Christians were either put in stadiums and tortured or burnt at the stake. The emperor at the time wanted to completely wipe out the church.

Constantine the Great

307

Many people credit Constantine for Christianity's growing popularity in Rome. Constantine saw a vision of the Christian God in the sky, telling him to fight under their name. He then received a dream backing this up, and the battle was ultimately won. He then issued the edit of Milan,

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

Before this battle, Constantine saw a vision in the sky, and so the Roman army fought under the name of the Christian god, and painted on their shields. They ended up succeeding, and winning, an so Constantine issued the Edict of Milan and converted to Christianity.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan made Christianity legal in Rome, and that people couldn't be persecuted for being christian. This lead to many people becoming christian because what Christianity had to offer at this time.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Theodosius made Nicene Christianity the official church of the Roman Empire. According to Christians, Theodosius was emperor by the grace of god. He made the creed of the Council of Nicaea, the universal accepted norm for Christian orthodoxy.