Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

4

-He was a religious leader that strongly believed in Christianity, one of the world's major religions
-He was born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth
-He is known by most Christians as the "Incarnation of God"
-Although Bethlehem was the place of Jesus’ birth, Nazareth was the place where Jesus had lived.
-Jesus of Nazareth was born and grew up in humble circumstances, but hiss impact on the world has been greater than anyone ever born

Paul of Tarsus

64

-He taught the gospel of Christianity to the first-century world
-He took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen to minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences
-In the narrative of Acts, Paul was traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to "arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem"
-When Jesus was resurrected it appeared to Paul that he was in "Great Light"
-Today, Paul's words continue to be vital roots of the "theology"

Great Fire of Rome

64

-July AD
-A fire started in the Circus Maximus stadium in Rome
- When the fire was finally extinguished six days later, 10 of Rome’s 14 districts were burned.
-Historians blamed Rome's famous leader, Nero, for starting the fire. One believed that Nero wanted the city to burn down so he could have a new palace.
-Nero blamed the Christians for the fire.

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

66

-This was the first Jewish- Roman war
- The battle was put down by the Roman emperors Vespasian and Titus
-In the "Siege of Jerusalem" in 70 AD, the Romans destroyed much of the Temple in Jerusalem
-According to some historians, the artifacts from the Temple, such as the Menorah helped the Roman Empire
- In Rome, Jewish communities enjoyed privileges and thrived economically

Perpetua

182

-A Christian martyr who wrote a journal called "The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity" which was pretty much just about her trial and imprisonment
-Was born c. 182—died March 7, 203
- Her journal is one of the rare surviving documents written by a woman in the ancient world
-In 203 the governor of Carthage, Hilarian, enforced this edict. her and four companions were arrested.
-She wrote her diary about her imprisonment and continued it with her dad's impression of Christianity

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

-The emperor Diocletian marked the final spread of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.
-Was the last and most serious persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.
-In 303, the Emperors issued a series of Christians' legal rights and demanding that they comply with traditional religious practices.
- The Great Persecution was the most intense period of violence
- He became Emperor when the Roman Empire was crumbling, he ended the "crisis" of the 3rd century and returned to Rome

The Great Constantine

306

-Constantine was a Roman Emperor
-Born in Naissus, in Dacia Ripensis, (modern day Serbia).
-He expanded his portion of the Roman Empire.
-The people began to see him as a good leader. He also stopped the persecution of the Christians in his territory.
-Writing to Christians, Constantine made clear that he believed that he owed his successes to the protection of that High God alone

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

• The battle marked the beginning of Constantine's conversion to Christianity -It was expected that Maxentius would remain within Rome -Took place on October 28th 312 -It takes its name from the Milvian Bridge, which was an important route over the Tiber River
• Maxentius drowned in the Tiber during the battle. Later, his body was taken from the river and decapitated,

Edict of Milan

313

-He permanently established Christianity in the Roman Empire
-In 313, he granted anyone to worship what they want
-Two men were the Roman emperors—Constantine ruling the West and Licinius the East.
-He marked the Roman Empire’s final abandonment of the "policies of persecution of Christians"
-The age of the martyrs was coming to an end and the Christian Empire just started.

Emperor Theodosius

379

-Was a Roman Emperor from 379 to 395, and the last emperor to rule over both the Eastern and the Western halves of the Roman Empire
-He won the "Gothic War"
-He was very competitive and wanted to beat "Magnus Maximus"
-In 393, he banned the "rituals" of the Olympics in Ancient Greece
-After his death, the Roman empire was never united again because his sons took over.