1 Ch. 7 Sec. 5 The Rise of Christianity

2 The Beginnings of Christianity  The Romans allowed the provinces to practice their own religions  Still, they had to honor the Roman gods & the “divine spirit” of the emperor (for most people, adding another god wasn’t a problem)

3 Jews & the Roman Empire  Jews in the province of Judaea believed in only one God  Some Jews favored rebellion & others hoped that God would send a Messiah, or savior, to free the Jews  In A.D. 66 the Jews revolted & the Romans destroyed Jerusalem & all but the western wall of the temple, which became a sacred Jewish site (Wailing Wall)

4 WWWWith the temple gone, the priests’ role weakened RRRRabbis - Jewish scholars who interpreted scripture & Jewish Law – began to lead Jewish congregations IIIIn A.D. 135 the Romans crushed the last Jewish revolt & banned all Jews from Jerusalem

5 JJJJews built communities outside Jerusalem, where they carried on their faith & culture IIIIn this setting Christianity arose

6 The Teachings of Jesus  Around A.D. 27 Jesus of Nazareth began wandering the countryside w/ his disciples, or followers, teaching & performing miracles  His teachings, which greatly influenced the Western world, were grounded in Jewish traditions

7  He taught that there is one true God, who cares more for people than for laws or rituals  His teachings were for all people, including the poor  The Romans feared that Jesus would lead an uprising  He was arrested, put on trial, & crucified

8  According to the Gospels, Jesus arose from the dead & remained on Earth for 40 days  Then he ascended into heaven  His followers called him Christ, after the Greek word for Messiah, Christos

9  They believed that through his death & resurrection all people could be redeemed, or saved, from God’s final judgment  A new religion was born - Christianity

10 The Spread of Christianity  Jesus’s disciples set out to spread the word that the day of judgment was coming  At first Christianity spread slowly  It expanded as life in the empire became more difficult

11  At first the Roman gov’t ignored Christians as a Jewish offshoot  But Christians began converting others & speaking out against the worship of other gods  The Romans viewed these actions as attacks on Roman religion  They outlawed Christianity, seized Christian property, & executed Christians

12  Many Christians became martyrs, meaning they were put to death for their beliefs  Still, the religion spread

13 The Romans Adopt Christianity  In the A.D. 300s the Roman emperor Constantine began promoting Christianity  He was baptized on his deathbed  The emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the empire

14  The Christian church became well organized  Priests conducted local services  Bishops headed the church in each city  Rome & other major cities became church centers, & bishops of these cities were called patriarchs

15  Later the patriarch of Rome to the title of pope (from the Latin word for “father”)  The pope & bishops traced their authority to Jesus’s disciple Peter, whose authority came straight from Jesus

16  Church councils also helped strengthen the church  In A.D. 325 a council wrote down the main beliefs of the church