Rise of Christianity in Rome

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

Jesus was a Jew, and is regarded as the son of god by Christians. He spread his ideologies, but did not intend to establish a new religion. It was after his death, that Christianity was born, as a new religion that extends Judaism. He was crucified by the Romans, for reasons that are still debated.

Paul of Tarsus

34

He experienced visions from Jesus and began spreading the message of Christianity. He wrote much of the New Testament, which is one of, if not the most sacred document for the Christians. In either 64 or 67, he was decapitated under Nero's rule.

Great Fire of Rome

64

The fire devastated the City of Rome for 6 days. Initially, people blamed emperor Nero for causing the fire, so Nero blamed the fire on the Christians, who were largely unaffected by the fire. This ultimately started a widespread hatred for Christians, initiating the empire's first persecution of the Christians.

Roman Rule of Isreal

64

in 64 BC, the Romans took control of the area from Syria. They knew the difficulty of removing their devotion to their singular god, so they struck a deal. They allowed them to practice Judaism, as long as they kept peace, obeyed the Roman rule, and payed their taxes. This didn't last long, as in 4 BC, the area came under complete Roman jurisdiction, which heavily increased the Roman suppression of Jewish life, and in turn, Christianity.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua wrote a journal named, "The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity." It was about her trial and imprisonment for being Christian. Most of the text was about her dreams in the prison, which she thought were prophetic. For centuries, her journal was read annually in Carthage's churches, and it was very influential to all types of Christians.

The Great Persecution of 303

303

During a time of Crisis for the roman empire, Christians were scapegoated for the problems of Rome because most Christians did not sacrifice to the Pagan gods. They were severely punished if caught, and almost always resulted in their death or imprisonment. The persecution also split many churches into those who complied with the demands, and those who remained "pure." Some of which lasted long after the end of the persecution.

Constantine the Great

312

Constantine contributed very much towards the rise of Christianity in Rome. After becoming emperor, he converted to Christianity. He made Christianity legal and stopped all prosecution of it.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

Constantine was moving his troops towards the city of Rome to lay siege and take control from Maxentius. The day before the battle, Constantine had looked up in the sky and saw the Greek words, "In this sign, you shall conquer." That night, he had a dream and was told to used the overlapping Greek letters Chi and Rho, the initials of Jesus in Greek. He put the sign on all of his men, and had won the battle. After this, Constantine became a Christian and began the Rise of Christianity in Rome.

Edict of Milan

313

The agreement was made in Milan between emperors Constantine I and Licinius. The edict gave the people religious freedom. This allowed Christians to worship without the fear of being prosecuted.

Emperor Theodosius I

380

Emperor Theodosius passed the edict "cunctos populos," which declared Trinitarian Christianity as the official religion of the Roman empire. He didn't go much further to make Christianity more widespread, as he didn't start persecuting the Pagans. He did however, place restrictions on their public sacrifice, and stopped any state sponsorship of paganism.