Transcript Ancient Rome - Regents Review

The Rise of
Christianity in
the Roman
Empire
Early Roman Religion
• Played an important role in Roman
society
• Beginning with Augustus, emperors were
often declared gods
• Romans worship many gods &
goddesses (polytheism)
• Romans believed that observing proper
rituals brought them into a proper
relationship with the gods in order to
guarantee peace and prosperity
• Roman Worship of Gods:
– Impersonal
– Practiced without a great deal of emotion
Roman Conquest of Judea
• CA 63 BCE—Roman Empire
extends to Judea (Home of the
Jews)
– Jewish kingdom remained
independent at first,
• 6 CE—Roman Empire took total
control and made Judea a Roman
province
• Jews believed the Messiah would
arrive to restore kingdom of the
Jews
Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus of Nazareth
• Historians believe he was born
between 6 to 4 BCE in town of
Bethlehem, Judea
• Raised in the village of Nazareth in
Northern Palestine
• Baptized by prophet John the Baptist
• Carpenter by trade
• Public Ministry—began at the age of
30
Jesus of Nazareth
• Jesus:
– reportedly performed miracles, preached, did
good works
• Teachings:
– Contained many ideas from Jewish tradition
• Monotheism—belief in one god
• Principles of the Ten Commandments
• Emphasized:
– God’s personal relationship to each human being
– Stressed importance of people’s love for God,
themselves, neighbors, and even enemies
– God would end wickedness in the world and
establish an eternal kingdom after death for those
who genuinely repented their sins.
Jesus’ Death
• Popularity of Jesus concerned Jewish &
Roman leaders
– 29 CE—Jesus visited Jerusalem
• He was greeted as the Messiah (King of the
Jews)—the one who would rescue the Jews
• Chief Jewish Priests—
– the Sanhedrin (Group of Jewish elders) denied
Jesus was the Messiah & accused him of
blasphemy—contempt for God
– Both the Sanhedrin & Roman officials worried Jesus’
popularity would cause the Jews to revolt against the
Romans
– Pontius Pilate—accused Jesus of defying
authority of Rome
– Jesus was arrested, sentenced to death by
crucifixion—the nailing of a person to a wooden
cross to die
Jesus’ Death
• Jesus’ body placed in a tomb
following his death
• According to the Gospels, 3 days
later, his body was gone, & a living
Jesus appeared to his followers.
• Jesus’ assent to heaven (as written
in the Gospels) convinced followers
Jesus was the Messiah
• Jesus—known as Jesus Christ,
Christos is a Greek word meaning
“messiah” or “savior”
• Christianity derived from Christ
Support for Christianity Grows
• Historical records mention little of
Jesus
• Main source of information
regarding Christianity are found in
the Gospels, the first 4 books of
the New Testament of the Bible.
– Gospels written by Jesus' followers
(called disciples / pupils)
– 12 Disciples later known as Apostles
Jesus Becomes a Celebrity
• Popularity for Christianity grows
due to:
– Jesus became popular as he traveled
from town to town
– Messages:
• appealed especially to the poor (he
ignored wealth and status)
• Simple and direct—people touched by
messages (easily understood)
Christianity Spreads
Throughout the Empire
Followers of Jesus inspired by his
‘triumph over death’
• Created a new religion based upon
his message
• First followers of Jesus were Jews,
his teachings did NOT contradict
Jewish teachings
• Followers create new religion,
Christianity
Christianity Spreads
Throughout the Empire
• Despite political & religious
opposition, Christianity Spreads
throughout the Roman Empire
• Paul—a Jew who was originally an
enemy of Christianity
• Vision: saw a vision of Christ (he
never met him personally) in
Damascus, Syria and spent the life
spreading & interpreting Christ’s
teachings
Christianity Spreads
Throughout the Empire
Pax Romana—made spreading of
Christianity possible because:
– Provided an era in which travel &
exchange of ideas was relatively safe
– Roman Road System—enabled Christ’s
message to spread throughout the
Roman Empire
– Common Languages—Greek & Latin
allowed Christ’s messages to be easily
understood
Imperial Roman Road System
St. Paul:
Apostle to the Gentiles
Paul’s Teachings
• He stressed the following:
– Jesus was the son of God
– Jesus died for people’s sins
– Christianity would welcome all
converts, Jew or Gentile (non-Jew)
• Universality enables Christianity to
become more than a local religion
The Rise of Christianity
The Empire in Crisis: 3c
Jewish Revolt
• 66 CE—band of Jews revolt against
Roman rule
• 70 CE—Romans stormed Jerusalem and
destroy Temple Complex, leaving only
western portion of the wall (Jew’s holiest
shrine)
• 73 CE—about a ½ million Jews killed by
Romans
• 132 CE—Jews make second attempt at
revolt, another ½ million Jews killed
– Jewish political state ceased to exist (Romans
exact complete control)
– Jewish religion survived, though many driven
into exile (dispersal of Jews called Diaspora)
Persecution of the Christians
• Christians refused to worship Roman
gods & goddesses
– Refusal seen as an opposition to
Roman rules & laws
– Roman rulers used Christians as
scapegoats for political & economic
problems within the Roman Empire
Persecution of the Christians
• Refusal to worship Roman deities
resulted in the following:
– Christians were imprisoned, exiled, or
executed
– Thousands crucified, burned, or killed by
wild animals in circus arenas
• Many Christians (and some nonChristians) regarded persecuted
Christians as martyrs—those who
were willing to sacrifice their lives for
the sake of a belief or a cause.
Persecution of the Christians
(Left) Picture of St.
Ignatius being
thrown to the Lions
in Rome. (He was a
Christian martyr)
A Worldly Religion
• Despite persecution of its
followers, Christianity’s
popularity increased
• By late 3rd Century CE, there
were millions of Christians
within & beyond Roman Empire
A Worldly Religion
• Popularity of Christianity due to:
– Embraced all people—men,
women, slaves, poor, nobles
– Gave hope to powerless
– Appealed to those who were
repelled by the extravagances of
Imperial Rome
– Offered personal relationship with
God
– Promised eternal life after death
The Spread of Christianity
Diocletian Splits the
Empire in Two: 294 CE
Diocletian: From
Persecution to Semitoleration
•Diocletian was the last
major emperor to enforce
persecution of Christians
•He soon realized that
Christianity was too
powerful to be destroyed
by force
Constantine: 312 - 337
Constantine was
the 1st Christian
Emperor
Constantine Accepts
Christianity
• 312 CE—Constantine fighting rivals
for control of Rome
– Marched to the Tiber River at Rome to
battle his chief rival.
– Day before Battle of Milvian Bridge,
Constantine prayed for divine help—
reportedly saw an image of a cross
(The Symbol of Christianity)
– Ordered artisans to paint Christian
cross on his soldiers’ shields &
attributed success to help from the
Christian God
Constantine Accepts
Christianity
• 313 CE—Constantine orders
persecution of Jews to cease
• Edict of Milan—declared Christianity
to be one of the religions approved
by the Emperor
• 380 CE—Emperor Theodosius
declares Christianity the official
religion of Roman Empire
Constantine & Christianity
• Disagreements increase between
Christian leaders about beliefs &
teachings
– Church leaders accused people of heresy—
any belief that appeared to contradict the
basic teachings of Christ
– Church leaders solidify teachings in the Old
Testament (included Epistles of Paul, First 4
Gospels, & other documents)
• Added to the Hebrew Bible—Christians call these
teachings the Old Testament
• Constantine orders further consolidation
of Christian teachings & calls to order
Church leaders at the Council of Nicaea
in Anatolia
– Nicaea Creed written—contains the basic
beliefs of the Church
Christian
Hierarchy
Pope
Patriarch
Archdiocese/Archbishop
Bishop/Diocese
Priest/Parish
Constantine Moves the
Roman Capital
• Constantine divides the Roman
Empire into two:
– East—Constantinople
– West—Rome
– After Constantine, Roman empire
continued to be divided into two
regions = west and east/ Rome =
capital of west, Constantinople =
capital of east
Constantinople: The “New Rome”
Constantinople: “The 2nd
Rome” (Founded in 330)
Byzantium:
The Eastern Roman Empire
Eastern Roman Empire
Augustine of Hippo
• A “Father of the Church”—one of the
many early scholars & writers who were
influential in defining Church teachings
• 396 CE—became bishop of the city of
Hippo in North Africa
• His teachings included:
– Humans needed grace of God to be saved
– Humans only receive God’s grace if they
belonged to Church and received sacraments
– City of God—wrote the fate of cities such as
Rome (wrote after the fall of Rome) not
important because heavenly city of God
would never be destroyed, unlike Rome after
it was sacked by the Barbarians