Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel

63 BCE

The Romans had previously come in contact with a monotheistic religion before Christianity
1. The Romans would forced Jews to pay tribute to the Romans
2. As long as the Jews did not cause problems, sometimes emperors would not worry about them
3. Judaism also was monotheistic so the Romans had come into contact with a monotheistic religion before Christianity
4. Jews could practice as long as they maintained civic order

Paul of Tarsus

33 BCE

He is know as one of the Catholic church's greatest Saints and his letters from prison are still being read today.
1. He originally was Jewish
2. He regained his vision after being baptized
3. He was called out by Jesus for persecuting Christians
4. He was arrested for preaching about Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth

6 BCE

Jesus is known as the Messiah of Christianity
1. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary
2. As he grew up, he shared his teaching with his disciples
3. in the year 30 AD he was persecuted under Pontius Pilate and was sent to the Cross to die.
4. Three days later he rose again and sits at the right hand side of God
*died between 30-33 AD

Great Fire of Rome

64

This event allowed for the persecution of Christians.
1. Emperor Nero was suspected of causing the fire
2. Parts of the city where Christians lived were unharmed
3. Nero used the Christians as a scapegoat
4. Nero arrested, tortured, and executed many Christians under the pretext that they were the ones responsible.

Perpetua

203

Her actions inspired others to follow Christianity.
1. She was thrown to the beasts and survived
2. She was killed by sword
3. She accepted her fate and looked forward to going to heaven, by guiding the sword to her neck
4. She inspired others by her dedication and loyalty to Christianity
*died in 203

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

It hurt the lives of many Christians.
1. Several thousand Christians killed
2. Approved by Diocletian to reunify the empire
3. At the time, the emperors wanted for all the people to be ruled under the old gods
4. Laws were passed at the time forcing citizens to sacrifice for the old gods of Rome
*ended in 311

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

This battle inspired Constantine to believe in the Christian gods.
1. Won by Constantine, who attributed the victory to the Christian god
2. Constantine marked the first 2 letters of Christ's name in Greek on the shields of his soldiers
3. Before the battle, Constantine saw the words "In hoc signo vinces"(‘In this sign conquer’).
4. The battle convinced Constantine to convert to Christianity

Constantine the Great

312

He paved the way for many Christians to obtain equal power to pagans and have high positions in government
1. In 312 AD he had a vision of a cross in the sky and the words "In Hoc Signo Vinces.
2. He had a dream telling him to put the labarum on his soldiers' shields
3. He gave credit to the Christian gods for his victory in battle
4. He gave many rights to Christians and appointed them to high positions of power
*died in 337 AD

Edict of Milan

313

This edit gave Christians the right to pray freely again without persecution.
1. A piece of legislation that gave many rights back to Christians
2. It was introduced by Constantine
3. It was the birth of religious freedom
4. It removed all legal restrictions on Christians

Emperor Theodosius

379

He supported the Christians and protected them from the pagans.
1. All churches under his rule had to be Christian
2. He fought against the pagans
3. He ensured that Nicene Christianity would last in the Roman Empire
4. Valentinian II who converted from Arianism to Catholicism was appointed by Theodosius to be Emperor of the West
*died in 395 AD
*date is when he became emperor