1. Christianity

2. Religious Diversity in Early Rome Within the culturally diverse Roman empire, a variety of religious beliefs and practices existed. Jupiter, Mars, Juno and other traditional Roman gods remained important to some people. However, a growing number of people were looking elsewhere for spiritual fulfillment.

3. Jesus and His Message Jesus was born around 4 B.C. in Bethlehem near Jerusalem, Israel. Jesus’ teachings were firmly rooted in Jewish tradition. Jesus believed in One God and accepted the Ten Commandments. He also preached that he was the Son of God or messiah (chosen one). His mission was to bring spiritual salvation and eternal life to anyone who believed in him.

5. Death on the Cross Some Jews welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem, but others regarded him as a dangerous troublemaker. The Romans thought that he would try to take over Rome. He was nailed to a cross (crucified) which was the Roman method of killing a person.

6. Spread of Christianity Following Jesus’ death, his apostles and other disciples (followers) spread Jesus’ message of love and salvation and established Christian communities. Paul was one of the first Christian missionaries (a person who spreads Christianity).

8. Appeal of Christianity The reason many Romans found Christianity appealing is because Jesus had welcomed all people, especially the humble, poor and oppressed. Paul also added ideas from Greek philosophy to Jesus’ message. The work of missionaries such as Paul was made easier by the unity of the Roman empire.

9. End of Persecution The persecution of Christians finally ended in 313 A.D. when the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan. It granted freedom of worship to all citizens of the Roman empire. In making his decision, Constantine was influenced by his mother who was a devout Christian. Some 80 years later, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire.

11. Structure of the Church There are three branches of Christianity today: The original sect of Christianity was the Roman Catholic Church.

12. There are 27,000 Protestant denominations. A few are Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Evangelical, Anglican, Baptist, Pentecostal, Mormon, Episcopal

14. Structure of the Church When the Roman Empire split into two sections, an eastern half with it’s capital being in Constantinople, Turkey, and a western half with it’s capital staying in Rome, the Christian Church split as well. The western portion remained Roman Catholic and the eastern portion formed a new sect called Eastern Orthodox. In the 1500’s a new sect of Christianity formed because the Catholic Church was becoming corrupt. This was called Protestantism.

15. Split of the Roman Empire

17. Roman Catholic: Pope (greatest authority of the Roman Catholic Church) Cardinals (people directly beneath the pope who chooses the pope) Bishops (a Church official who is responsible for all Christians in an area known as a diocese) Priests (a Church official who is responsible for ceremonies called mass in one Church)