The Rise of Christianity Roman Religion l l

The Rise of Christianity

Roman Religion l l Polytheistic: belief or worship of several gods Romans were polytheistic Jupiter l Juno l Minerva l Mars l Apollo l Diana l Venus l l Roman Emperors became Gods, starting with Augustus Romans also worshiped Isis (Egyptian God) and Mithras (Persian God) Myths gave explanations to questions Roman’s couldn’t answer

Jupiter Mars Minerva

l State priests performed rituals that brought Romans into the right relationship with the gods l Guaranteed peace and prosperity • Tolerant of other religions • Allowed “local” religions • Even adopted some “local” gods

Rise of Christianity l Origins l Began during Pax Romana l Emerged from Judaism l Led by Jesus of Nazareth l Beliefs clashed with polytheistic beliefs of Roman Empire

Judaism l Judaism was one of the religions that Rome had tolerated l Given considerable independence l Conquered by Rome in 63 B. C. l Judea had been a Roman province since 6 A. D. l Placed under control of a Roman official called a procurator

Jewish Tension Sadducees were priests who favored cooperation with Rome l Pharisees were scholars who wanted to protect Judaism from Roman influence l Essenes lived apart from society, waited for God to save Jews from oppression l Zealots, called for overthrow of Roman rule l

Jewish Revolt l Zealots led a revolt against Rome in 66 A. D. l l Thousands of Jews killed Jewish temple in Jerusalem destroyed Many Jews driven from Judea called the Diaspora Spread throughout Mediterranean

Jesus Born 4 B. C. in Bethlehem l Descendant of King David l Grew up in Nazareth l May have worked as a carpenter l At age 30, Jesus began preaching to villagers near Sea of Galilee l

l Jewish prophet named Jesus was traveling countryside preaching l Believed his mission was to complete the salvation that God had promised to Israel l Importance was transformation of inner person l Love God and one another l Voiced ethical concepts: humility, charity, and love towards others Jesus

l Preaching caused controversy l Some saw him as revolutionary who would lead a revolt against Rome l Jesus was turned over to Rome’s procurator Pontius Pilate and was crucified. Jesus

Jesus After his death, disciples proclaimed he had risen from the dead and appeared to him l Believed he was the messiah l

How was Christianity Spread? Jesus’ apostles (mainly Paul) throughout the Roman Empire l Roman persecution of Christians intially limited the spread l Was eventually adopted and legalized by Emperor Constantine l

Spread of Christianity l Apostles, or leaders, in early Christianity were: l Simon Peter l Jewish fisherman l Friend of Jesus l Leader of Apostles l Paul l Educated Roman citizen l Took message to gentiles (non-Jews) l Founded Christian communities throughout Asia Minor and along shores of Aegean Sea l Message: Jesus was Savior, Son of God Jesus’s death made up for sins of all humans l Accept Christ and you could be saved from Sin l

Paul Never met Jesus l Enemy of Christianity at first l Had a vision of Jesus l Pax Romana allowed for easy travel and exchange of ideas which allowed apostles like Paul to quickly spread Christianity l

Spread of Christianity Teachings passed orally l Paul and other followers wrote letters, or epistles, outlining Christian beliefs l Between 40 A. D. and 100 A. D. , these became basis for the written Gospels “good news” l l Writings give a record of Jesus’ life and teachings l Core of New Testament, 2 nd part of Bible

Spread of Christianity l By 100 A. D. Christian churches were in major cities of the eastern empire

Roman Persecution l l l Rome only tolerated religions if they didn’t threaten public order or public morals Many Romans saw Christianity as a threat Christians refused to worship Roman gods l l l Romans thought that was act of Treason Romans began persecuting Christians Fire that destroyed Rome blamed on Christians by Emperor Nero Christians were put to death Called Martyrs, people who suffer or die for their beliefs Both Peter and Paul were martyrs

Triumph of Christianity Roman persecution didn’t stop movement l Christianity forced to organize l Christian church created new structure called the clergy (church leaders) l l Bishops took control of communities l Laity (regular church members) l By 3 rd century A. D. spread throughout Mediterranean

Triumph of Christianity l Spread easily because l Message had a lot to offer l Personal and offered salvation and eternal life l Gave meaning and purpose to life l Familiar to older religions l Fulfilled human need to belong l Formed communities that helped one another l Attractive to all classes of people

Triumph of Christianity l l l Last great Christian persecution was by Emperor Diocletian in 4 th century By 4 th century Christianity prospered when Emperor Constantine became the 1 st Christian emperor Converted after seeing a vision of a cross before a battle for leadership of Rome Ordered the cross be put on his soldier’s shield 313 A. D. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan which proclaimed Christianity a religion accepted by Rome Under Theodosius the Great, Romans adopted Christianity as the official religion in 380 A. D.

Early Christian Church l Renounced evil in the rite of baptism l Sins are forgiven by the Grace of God Members were equals, addressing each other as sister and brother l Gathered to celebrate God on Sundays l Ate bread and drank wine in sacred meal called the Eucharist l Women served as teachers and administrators l

Structure of Church l Men allowed to become members of clergy l Priests under authority of bishop l l l Church official responsible for all Christians in an area called a diocese Peter became first bishop of Jerusalem Peter was “rock” church would be built on

Structure of the Church l l Bishops of important cities gained more authority Bishops of Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem and Constantinople called patriarchs l l l Latin-speaking west, bishops of Rome, called Popes, claimed greater authority over all bishops l l l They had power over Bishops in their area Called a hierarchy Rome center of Christianity Claimed Peter was first Pope Greek-speaking east, patriarchs shared power

Division in the Church l l Emergence of heresies causes a council of church leaders to be called to determine official church teachings Beliefs compiled into New Testament l l l Contained four gospels Epistles of Paul Other documents 325 A. D. Constantine called the council of Nicaea in Anatolia to define basic beliefs of church Church sent missionaries throughout Roman Empire and beyond to spread Christianity

Theology- talk of discourse about God l Leading Christian scholars: l l Clement l Origen and Origen wrote On Prayer and On First Principles l Both lived in Alexandria l Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in North Africa l Combined Greco-Roman learning and Christian doctrine l Wrote The City of God

Christianity’s Influence on the Roman Empire l Christian church became example of moral authority l Loyalty to the Church became more important than loyalty to the Emperor l Church would be main unifying force of Western Europe