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The writing of the Torah was one of the most important reforms that occurred in the Hebrew religion. The Torah was the first few books of the Hebrew bible. The books in the Torah included many sacred writings, historical accounts, and prophecies. The Torah underlined the nature and sovereignty of God that would be the foundation of the Christian religion and the bible. -
The Christian religion was born after the Jewish man, Jesus of Nazareth, was crucified by the Romans and raised back to life three days later. Christianity is based off of Jesus's life, teachings, and the message of salvation he brought to the world. -
Constantine had a great impact on the expansion of the Christian religion. Constantine was the first emperor to convert to Christianity and declare it as the official religion of the Holy Roman Empire. The Christian religion greatly expanded during this time because of Constantine's involvement with it. -
A decade after his conversion, Constantine assembled with a council of church leaders to do away with Arianism and ended up writing the Nicene Creed (Apostle's Creed). The Nicene Creed is a document that describes the core beliefs that Christians hold about God and Jesus. Today, the Nicene Creed is still recited in many Christian churches. -
Theodosius I declared the Roman Empire to be Christian (again) about 68 years after Constantine first declared it. With this declaration, all important people in the empire had to be Christian because it brought about more unity than the division in other religions did. Unity was in tact more under the belief in one God than the belief in many different gods. -
Jerome wrote the Vulgate which was the Latin version of the Christian bible. In Europe, the Vulgate was the main edition until the sixteenth century. More people were able to read and understand the bible after in was translated into Latin. This helped further the spread of Christianity. -
Charlemagne came to power after the death of his father Pepin in 768 CE. Charlemagne's reign lasted over 40 years. In that time he was able to play an influential role in spreading Christianity to different regions in Europe. Charlemagne spread Christianity through his military campaigns and through specific people he sent out to share it. -
Pope Urban II is responsible for starting the Crusades after he gave a sermon which summoned European knights to protect Christians who were near and in the Holy Land from Muslims. The Crusades were the first official Christian holy war in the religion. -
Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation both had a profound impact on Christianity. During his lifetime Martin Luther made several arguments against the church and it's leadership. This led to the movement known as the reformation when changes began taking place within the Church and it's previously held views. The Reformation contributed to Christianity splitting up into several different divisions (religions). -
The Society of Jesus was established in Europe in 1540. The Jesuits were a group of educated people who would go out to uproot heresy and serve as missionaries to share Catholic beliefs with other countries. Along with sharing their beliefs, the Jesuits would also learn the languages and adopt the customs of the places they ministered to.