Rome Adopts Christianity Theodocius, the successor to Constantine, made Christianity Rome’s official religion and outlawed other religions in 392 AD.

The Early Church. In the early years Christianity was loosely organized. Leaders such as Paul traveled from place to place trying to organize scattered groups. Early Christians however faced a challenge of just how to unite.

Organizing the Church Early Christians used the Roman Empire as model to organize the Church. The church was organized by a hierarchy. Hierarchy- organization of different levels of authority.

Organizing the Church Patriarchs Archbishops Bishops Priests Laity

Organizing the Church The Clergy were the leaders of the church. The laity were the regular church members. As the church’s organization grew, women were not permitted to serve in the clergy.

Organizing the Church However as members of the laity they continued to care for the sick and needy. By 300 AD, local churches were ran by priests. Several churches in a district formed a diocese and were led by a bishop.

Organizing the Church A bishop in charge of a city diocese as well as a region was an Archbishop. The 5 leading archbishops were called patriarchs.

Organizing the Church 2 Greek Fathers 3 Latin Fathers 1 Apostolic Fathers 1.1 Clement of Rome 1.2 Ignatius of Antioch 1.3 Polycarp of Smyrna 2 Greek Fathers 2.1 Irenaeus of Lyons 2.2 Clement of Alexandria 2.3 Origen of Alexandria 2.4 Athanasius of Alexandria 2.5 Cappadocian Fathers 2.6 John Chrysostom 2.7 Cyril of Alexandria 2.8 Maximus the Confessor 2.9 John of Damascus 3 Latin Fathers 3.1 Tertullian 3.2 Cyprian of Carthage 3.3 Hilary of Poitiers 3.4 Ambrose of Milan 3.5 Jerome of Stridonium 3.6 Augustine of Hippo 3.7 Gregory the Great 3.8 Isidore of Seville

Organizing the Church These bishops explained church beliefs and took care of church business. Decisions reached on church beliefs became known as church doctrine.

The New Testament Along with explaining church doctrine, leaders preserved a written record of the life of Jesus. Jesus himself left no writings. His followers passed on what they knew about him.

The New Testament These writings helped guide Christians. By 300 AD 4 writings of the life and teachings of Jesus had become well known. They were written by the early followers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. P.3

The New Testament The works of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were known as gospels meaning “Good News.” These writings would later be combined with the writings of Paul and Peter to later be called the New Testament.

The New Testament Other writings also influenced early Christians. These Christian thinkers became known as Church Fathers.

The New Testament St. Augustine was one such Church Father. He defended Christianity against its opponents in a book he wrote called The City of God.

The Pope As the church grew, the Bishop of Rome, a Patriarch of the West, began to claim power over the other Bishops.

The Pope He believed he had the authority of Peter, which was Jesus’ chief disciple. Also his diocese was in Rome, the capital of the Empire.

The Pope By 600 AD the Bishop of Rome held a special title- Pope. Pope comes from a Latin word meaning Father. Latin speaking Christians accepted the Pope as the head of the church.

The Pope Their churches became known as the Roman Catholic Church. Greek speaking Christians would not accept the authority of the Pope. Christians in the Eastern Roman Empire

The Pope Christians in the Eastern Roman Empire would form their style of Christianity- The Greek Orthodox or Byzantine Rite.