Ancient Rome: The Rise of Christianity World History

Quick Class Discussion: What was religion like in Rome?

Religion in the Roman Empire Religion in Rome was polytheistic & based upon the Greek gods Romans worshiped the gods but people were not very emotional about their religion The religion of the ancient Romans was polytheistic (ideas borrowed from the Greek gods) Rulers were mostly tolerant of other religions; but they expected everyone who lived in the empire to respect the Roman gods as a sign of loyalty

Entering a Time of Peace Under Julius Caesar, Rome became an empire. Octavian Augustus was the first emperor of Rome. Rome became too powerful to be challenged and entered a time of peace in the empire, known as the Pax Romana or “Roman Peace.” Allowed ideas to spread across the world.

How Powerful Was Rome? 3 million square miles 80 million people 1 million residents in city of Rome.

Quick Class Discussion: How do you think the Romans treated people they conquered who had different religions?

Religion in the Roman Empire Emperors were mostly tolerant of other religions, but expected everyone who lived in the empire to respect the Roman gods as a sign of loyalty

Religion in the Roman Empire In 63 B.C., the Romans conquered the Hebrew kingdom of Judea & allowed “Romanized Jews” (who showed respect & obeyed Roman laws) to govern Judea But, the Hebrews were monotheistic & many refused to pay respect to the Roman gods

The Rise of a New Religion In 63 BC, Rome took over Judea, the home of the Jewish religion. Judea was controlled by King Herod, a Jewish governor for Rome. After Herod’s death, fighting broke out among his sons. Rome sent troops to create peace in Judea.

Religion in the Roman Empire Many Hebrews began to resist Roman rule & believed that God would send the Messiah to restore the kingdom to the Jews

The Birth of Christianity Judaism was tolerated by the Romans at first. First Monotheistic Religion: Only one supreme god. Jesus of Nazareth was born under the rule of Octavian (Caesar Augustus) Grew up preaching the idea of one true god Spread a message of peace, love, forgiveness. Many Jews believed that Jesus was the Messiah or Savior, from the Romans. Jesus was called Christ which means “savior” in Greek.

How do We Know About Jesus? Followers of Jesus wrote about the teachings and experiences that occurred during his life. These writings were called Gospels, meaning ‘good news’ Can be found in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The Old Testament is used by the Jewish faith which does not believe Jesus was the true Messiah.

Quick Class Discussion: What kind of person would Christianity appeal to?

The Pros and Cons of Christianity Why did Christianity appeal to people? Embraced All people Promised life after death for ALL people. Appealed to poorer people who were not wealthy like Romans. Because of the Pax Romana, these ideas of Christianity were able to spread quickly through the empire.

The Crucifixion of Jesus The popularity of Jesus with the poor angered the Romans and the Jews. Jesus was called the “Son of God” and a “King” Jews feared Jesus’s preaching would anger the Romans Jewish leaders turned Jesus over to the Roman governor of Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate to be Crucified. “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.”

Quick Class Discussion: How & for what reasons did Jesus die?

The Crucifixion of Jesus Many Hebrews in Judea did not accept the idea that Jesus was a Messiah & accused him of blasphemy (contempt for God) Roman leaders feared Jesus’ growing popularity In 29 A.D., Jesus was arrested for defying Roman authority & was crucified

After the Apostles *Followers of Jesus became known as Christians. Much of what is known about Jesus comes from the writings of his Apostles. *Apostle means “One who travels”. Apostles traveled, spread Christian teachings, and wrote the Gospels of the Bible. Peter and Paul were two very influential Apostles.

The Spread of Christianity The Apostles, especially Paul, molded Jesus’ teachings into a new religion called Christianity based upon the idea that Jesus was God’s son & that he died for man’s sins Paul’s Mission One man, the apostle Paul, had enormous influence on Christianity’s development. Paul was a Jew who had never met Jesus and at first was an enemy of Christianity. While traveling to Damascus in Syria, he reportedly had a vision of Christ. He spent the rest of his life spreading and interpreting Christ’s teachings. The Pax Romana, which made travel and the exchange of ideas fairly safe, provided the ideal conditions for Christianity to spread. Common languages—Latin and Greek—allowed the message to be easily understood. Paul wrote influential letters, called Epistles, to groups of believers. In his teaching, Paul stressed that Jesus was the son of God who died for people’s sins. He also declared that Christianity should welcome all converts, Jew or Gentile (non-Jew). It was this universality that enabled Christianity to become more than just a local religion. The Apostles taught that Jews & non-Jews were welcome as Christians

After Jesus’ death, Paul helped spread Jesus teachings throughout the Roman Empire Christianity spread quickly due to roads, numerous trade routes, & common language throughout the Roman Empire

Quick Class Discussion: How did the Romans treat Hebrews & Christians?

Roman Persecution of Jews and Christians Why did the Romans hate Christianity/Judaism? Monotheism vs. Polytheism Christians/Jews didn’t recognize the emperors as Gods. Blamed for any problems in Roman society. Emperors such as Nero crucified and tortured Christians and Jews as traitors. Many Jews fled their homeland to escape- Known as the Jewish Diaspora- or “spreading out” Christians and Jews became Martyrs: Dying for their beliefs.

Persecution of Jews & Christians Spread of Judaism & Christianity were seen as problems for the Roman emperors: Jews & Christians refused to worship the Roman gods or recognize the emperor as more important than God Many Christians & Jews were persecuted by Romans; Many were crucified, exiled, or executed during gladiator events Christians who died became martyrs (people who sacrifice their lives for their beliefs) which helped spread the faith By the second century, as the Pax Romana began to crumble, persecution of the Christians intensified. Romans exiled, imprisoned, or executed Christians for refusing to worship Roman deities. Thousands were crucified, burned, or killed by wild animals in the circus arenas. Other Christians and even some non-Christians regarded persecuted Christians as martyrs. Martyrs were people willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of a belief or a cause.

The Jews Strike Back 66 AD- Jews rebel against the Romans. 70 AD- Romans stormed Jerusalem and destroy their temple, leaving only the Western Wall a.k.a the “wailing wall”. 73 AD- Jews and Romans fight at the Battle of Masada. Over 500,000 Jews died in this battle, mostly of suicide. Today- The Western Wall is Jerusalem’s holiest shrine.

The Victory Arch of Emperor Titus over the Jews in Jerusalem

Hilltop Fortress at Masada

Jerusalem’s Western Wall

The Martyrdom of Peter Peter the Apostle traveled to Rome and was crucified upside down by Nero. Believed to be the first “Bishop” or Pope of the Christian Church. Today, all Popes are believed to be descendants of St. Peter. We now call this the “Catholic” church which means “Universal”.

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City

The Vatican

The Tomb of Saint Peter

Christianity Under Constantine In 312 AD, Constantine became Emperor of Rome. During Battle, he saw an image of a cross and won. 313 AD- Constantine issues the Edict of Milan making Christianity a legal religion in Rome. To strengthen the religion he called the Council of Nicaea to establish the core beliefs of Christianity, leading to the Nicene Creed.

Organization of the Early Christian Church Christians organized the faith: A hierarchy of leadership was created in which local priests were supervised by regional bishops; The head of the church was the Pope who operated from Rome Teachings were collected into the Bible, the official source of religious truth for Christianity

Finally Official In 380 AD, Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity the Offical Religion of the Roman Empire.

Closure Activity What are the similarities and differences between Christianity and other religions of the ancient world? Review your notes