Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel

64 BCE

In 64 BCE, when the Romans took over Israel, a chain of events began that led to Christianity becoming widespread within the empire. Years later, under Julius Caesar, Judaism became the official religion. Over the years, Christianity developed from Judaism and spread with the help of Jesus of Nazareth and Paul of Tarsus. In 64 CE, Nero blamed the Great Fire of Rome on the Christians, which began the Great Persecution, followed by Constantine/Edict of Milan and later Theodosius.

Jesus of Nazareth

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Jesus of Nazareth was declared the son of God and became a central figure of Christianity. He traveled around and taught people about God and Christianity. His miracles led people to believe in God and encouraged them to convert to Christianity. Over time, Jesus met people that would later become his disciples and they would carry on his teaching, even after his Crucifixion.

Paul of Tarsus

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Paul of Tarsus was originally a persecutor of Christians, but later converted to Christianity and began teaching others about it. He traveled from Jerusalem to Rome, preaching the Gospel of Christ. Saint Paul also created a doctrine that turned Christianity from a small sect of Judaism into a worldwide religion.

The Great Fire of Rome

64

History has the painted the Great Fire of Rome as Nero's fault, but at the time, that was not the belief. When a fire broke out in Rome and burned for six days, only about one third of the city was left. the majority of the remaining one third was Christian. Nero employed fear tactics, used the Christians as a scapegoat, and blamed the fire on them. This event essentially started the Great Persecution of Christians.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua, a young woman, was persecuted for her beliefs in Christianity. She became imprisoned in 203. During her imprisonment, she wrote in a diary that later became one of the few surviving works of a Christian woman. Her diary outlined her expectation of eternal reward and was spread to possible converts. Her contempt for death and how she guided the hand of her executioner to her neck inspired people.

The Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

The Great Persecution was sparked when the Roman empire began to crumble; they experienced droughts, famines, fires and more. Diocletian, the emperor at the time, believed that the Gods were punishing them out of anger because the Christians did not worship them. The emperor blamed the Christians and began to persecute them, but it only lasted about ten years. The Great Fire of Rome also contributed to the Great Persecution.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

Constantine and Maxentius met through battle on the Milvian Bridge. The the day before the battle began, Constantine and his armies looked into the clouds and saw a cross with the words 'In Hoc Signo Vinces.' That night, Constantine dreamt that Christ told him mark the Christian symbol on the shields to use against his enemies. He attributed the victory on the bridge to the Christians God. This event contributed to the creation of the Edict Milan, which aided in the spread of Christianity.

Constantine the Great

312

The battle of Milvian Bridge (victory attributed to the message from God) inspired Constantine to covert to Christianity, which had multiple effects on the persecution and adoption of Christianity. When the emperor converted, followers started to become safe from persecution. Constantine also created the Edict of Milan, which essentially created the concept of religious freedom, and founded the city of Constantinople, the religious center for Christianity in the Roman Empire.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan proclaimed religious tolerance of Christianity. The proclamation was written and signed by a converted Christian. It stopped the persecution of Christians and allowed more people to practice it without fear of persecution, causing it to spread to most of the roman empire.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official Imperial language. He established the creed of the Council of Nicaea as the norm regarding Christian orthodoxy (three people in one) which means that Christianity was focused on Trinitarianism instead of Arianism. He also allowed for followers to relocate which allowed for conversions in different places.