ROME and the

RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

Essential Question:What impact did the

rise and spread of Christianity have on the Classical World?

What was religion like in Rome?

Religion in the Roman Empire

Religion in Rome was polytheistic and Roman gods were based on the Greek gods

Religion in the Roman Empire

Romans worshipped the gods in daily rituals, but most Roman citizens were not

very emotional about their religion

THE ROMAN EMPIRE AT ITS HEIGHT

The Romans conquered an enormous amount of territory; with that territory came many different

people and their own cultures and religions

How do you think the Romans treated people they conquered who had different religions?

Religion in the Roman Empire

Emperors were mostly tolerant of other religions; but they expected everyone who lived in their empire to

respect Roman gods as a sign of loyalty

In 63 BCE, the Romans conquered the Hebrew kingdom of Judea and allowed “Romanized

Jews” (who showed respect to Roman gods and obeyed Roman laws) to govern Judea

But the Hebrews were monotheistic and many refused

to pay respect to the Roman gods

Many Hebrews began to resist Roman rule; they believed that God would send the Messiah to restore the kingdom to the Jews

What major event

occurred in Judea

during the time of Roman rule?

Some time between 6 BCE

and 4 BCE, a Jew named

Jesus was born in Judea; many

considered Jesus to be the Messiah who would restore

control of Judea to the

Jews

At the age of 30, Jesus began

preaching a unique version

of Judaism throughout

Judea

This version of Judaism would later be known as Christianity

What were the basic

teachings of Jesus?

Jesus did good works, performed

miracles, and delivered his

religious teachings

Jesus preached a religion based on the

Jewish belief in a single God (monotheism)

Jesus taught that he was God’s son and that God would rid the world of evil

He taught about God’s love, mercy,

and forgiveness towards people

Jesus proclaimed there would be eternal

life in Heaven for those who

repent their sins

He based much of his good works and teachings on the Hebrews’ Ten Commandments

What kind of person would

Christianity appeal to?

Jesus and the Disciples Jesus’ message of eternal life in Heaven appealed to many people, especially the poor

Jesus’ followers were known as

disciples

How did Jesus die? For what reasons did he die?

Many Jews in Judea did not

accept the idea that Jesus was the Messiah (the one who would free the Jews from

Rome)Part of Jesus’

message was that of equality, which

threatened the positions of

leading Jews

Some of these leading Jews accused Jesus of the crime of blasphemy (contempt for God)

The Roman rulers of Judea also feared Jesus’ rising

popularity amongst Jews

They were concerned that Jesus might lead a rebellion against the

Romans occupying Judea

In the year 29 CE, Jesus was arrested on charges of blasphemy against the Jewish

religion and defying Roman authority

He was executed by

crucifixion, the Romans’

favored form of capital

punishment

After Jesus’ death, the religion of Christianity was formed and began to spread

The Spread of ChristianityThe Apostles (disciples of

Jesus who became teachers themselves),

especially Paul, molded Jesus’ teachings into a new religion called Christianity

Christianity was based upon the idea that Jesus was God’s son and that he died as way to atone

for humanity’s sins

The Apostles taught that Jews and non-Jews

were welcome as Christians

The Apostle Paul was especially influential in

the development of Jesus’ teachings into a

religion called Christianity

After Jesus’ death, Paul helped spread Jesus’ teachings throughout the Roman Empire

Christianity spread quickly due to roads, numerous trade routes, and common language

throughout the Roman Empire; the peaceful time of Pax Romana made travel safe for those

spreading Jesus’ teachings

Persecution of Jews and Christians

The spread of Judaism and

Christianity was seen as a problem

by the Roman emperors:

Persecution of Jews and Christians

Jews and Christians refused to

worship the Roman gods or recognize

the emperors as more

important than God

Persecution of Jews and ChristiansChristians and Jews were persecuted by the Romans; many were crucified, exiled, or killed during gladiator

events (such as by being fed to lions)

Persecution of Jews and ChristiansChristians who were executed were honored

by other Christians as

martyrs, those who sacrifice their lives for their beliefs

This only helped spread

Christianity

CHRISTIANITY BECOMES RECOGNIZED

Despite Roman efforts to suppress it, Christianity spread throughout the

Roman Empire and gained popularity In the year 312 CE,

Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity after recognizing that the

Christian religion was becoming the dominant

one in his empire

CHRISTIANITY BECOMES RECOGNIZED

Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, a ruling that gave freedoms and

equality to Christians within the Roman Empire

In the year 395 CE, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the

Roman Empire

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

The early Christians organized a hierarchy

of leadership

Priests were supervised by regional bishops; the

overall head of the Church was the Pope

Popes later operated from the city of Rome

(and still do to this day)

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Teachings that the Christians believed in (Jesus’ teachings as well as some of Judaism) were

collected into one official text called the Bible

DID CHRISTIANITY LEAD TO THE FALL OF ROME?

Some historians think that Christianity helped

lead to Rome’s fall

Romans spent more time thinking of the afterlife than the here and now

As a result, the Christianized Romans were unprepared for the invaders who eventually

conquered the Roman Empire

Closure Activity

What are the similarities and differences between Christianity and other religions of the Ancient World? –Review your notes from Units 1 and 2–Complete the graphic organizer on the

back of your notes

Comparing Christianity to Other Religions of the Ancient World