The Roman Empire & Religion A model of Ancient Jerusalem Judaism and Christianity The Roman Empire & Religion

Objective: Examine the causes and effects of the Rise of Christianity in ancient Rome What do you know about how Christians were treated under the Roman Empire?

Christianity – Review Originated mid-first century in the Middle East Jewish sect Based on life & teachings of Jesus Spread throughout Roman Empire By 300 A.D. 10% of empire’s subjects were Christians Image retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Good_shepherd_01_small.jpg The Good Shepherd, painted 250-300 CE in the Catacomb of Priscilla

Roman Persecution of Christians Left image retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire#mediaviewer/File:Libellus.jpg Right image retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agape_feast_03.jpg Above: Painting of early Christian Love Feast from the Catacomb of Saints Pietro e Marcellino Left: Libellus from 250 CE

Central Historical Question Why did the Roman Empire persecute Christians?

According to the textbook… Read Document A – Answer the questions below: 1. What was the relationship between the Roman Empire and Christianity? 2. Why did the Roman Empire persecute Christians?

Document AnAlysis Textbook Rewrite Assignment Focus Assignment > Answer the three questions Objective: Examine the causes and effects of the Rise of Christianity in ancient Rome

WHAT IMPACT DID JESUS’ DEATH HAVE ON HIS FOLLOWERS WHAT IMPACT DID JESUS’ DEATH HAVE ON HIS FOLLOWERS? WHY DID HIS DEATH NOT END THE BELIEF THAT HE WAS THE MESSIAH?

What Happened to early followers of Jesus within the Roman Empire What Happened to early followers of Jesus within the Roman Empire? Objective: Examine the causes and effects of the Rise of Christianity in ancient Rome

What Happened to The Jewish community within the Roman empire during the first century? (side note: it would not have been called the “first century” at that time! The system we are currently using Ie. BCE/CE or BC/AD was created in ad 525 and now widely used until the Ninth century ad) In CE 66 the First Jewish Revolt began, leading into the First Jewish-Roman War (There were a series of revolts and fighting until the collapse of the Roman Empire) The Results: The Romans Won! Jerusalem, and the Temple, was destroyed Mass murder of Jews and the Diaspora of the survivors – including some being sold into slavery

A holy site in jerusalem

Why did Christianity Spread? Romans “tolerated” diverse religious beliefs, but often persecute Missionaries (Peter & Paul) spread Christianity across the Roman Empire Pax-Romana (Roman Peace) Good Roads Universal language In the fourth century, the Edict of Milan, gave legal status to all Christians and Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire

What effect does the fall of the empire have on Christianity?

Changes to the Empire… Changes to Christianity Eventually the Western Empire weakened, declined and entered the “Dark Ages” BUT the Eastern Empire thrived and became known as the _________ Empire. The _____ remains the head of the church in the west, but the ___________ refused to recognize him! Eventually (AD 1054) the Christian Church splits into two parts: The _________ Church in the West (centered in Rome) The _________ Church in the East (centered in Constantinople) Christian officials were known as ______ The ____ of _____ became the head of the Christian Church and took the title of ________ Christian officials were known as bishops. The bishop of Rome became the head of the Christian Church and took the title of pope. Eastern Empire becomes known as the Byzantine Empire; Pope head in the west by Byzantine Emperor refused to recognize him! Roman Catholic Church in the West and Eastern Orthodox Church in the East

The MENA After the roman Empire