 In 66 AD, the Jews in Israel rebelled against Rome  To end the rebellion, Romans stormed Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and exiled the Jews who scattered around the Roman Empire

 The Romans were suspicious of the Christians, they viewed them as being unloyal to the Roman Empire because they didn’t worship Roman gods  Thousands were crucified, burned, or forced to fight in the Coliseum

 These early Christians who died for their beliefs are called martyrs.  Other Christians saw them as an example of strong faith

 Reasons for the popularity of Christianity  Embraced all people  Gave hope  Offered a personal relationship with God  Promised an afterlife

 In 312 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine had a vision of a Christian cross right before a battle  He ordered his soldiers to paint the cross on their shields. He believed he won the battle because the Christian God protected him  A year later, he issued the Edict of Milan which said Christians could worship in the Roman Empire

 In 380 AD, the Emperor Theodosius made Christianity Rome’s official religion

 Around this time Christians gave the church a structure  Pope  Head of Church- authority comes from Jesus and Apostle Peter  As center of empire, Rome made sense to be center of Church  Bishops in major cities

 Eventually disagreements arose about beliefs  The Church settled those disagreements  The Church came to be the moral force in Europe

 Turn to page 172  Read “The fathers of the Church” and the Primary Source  In your group discuss the question on the side

 Eventually loyalty to the Church becomes more important than loyalty to the Empire  The Church becomes the main unifying force of Western Europe