Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

Jesus was the founder of the Christian religion. He reformed the old Jewish religion to encompass all people. Also, he added forgiveness, salvation, and redemption to the religion. His religion widely spread after his death thanks to the apostles. His ideas are the basis of many universal truths we hold nowadays. Death: 30 AD

Paul of Tarsus

5

Paul of Tarsus was a Jewish and Roman man in the times of Jesus who earlier, persecuted the disciples of Jesus. Later, he converted to Christianity, and wrote epistles to different Christian churches. He was influential in the compiling of the modern Christian Bible. He was influenced by platonism and stoicism. These influences appealed to the general roman mass.
Died: 64 AD

Roman Rule of Israel

6

Judea was a province of Rome gained by Coponius. This province was where Jesus was born, and where most of the events regarding him took place. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea during Jesus' time. Pontius Pilate was the official who oversaw the trial of Jesus, and was reluctant to execute Jesus under orders of the Jews. Bar Kokhba's revolt changed Judea's name to Syria Palaestina
End and revolt: 135 CE

Great Fire of Rome

64

This was fire in Rome that rampaged on for six days, then going under control, and then coming back for another three days. Nero, the Roman emperor was said to be the cause of it because he wanted to be able to bypass the senate and rebuild the city to his liking. He used the Christians as a scapegoat. Tacitus claimed that many Christians saw this fire as the first event of the upcoming last judgement, so they avoided interfering with it. Many thugs tried to stop interference. End date:7/23/64

Perpetua

181

Passion of Saint Perpetua is a first-person diary of a young mother who was martyred named Perpetua. Perputua was a noblewoman whose father was a pagan. Perpetua wished to follow her mother and become a Christian, and doing so, she was arrested. She was killed by the sword by decree of Emperor Severus with a woman named Felicity. This story was ubiquitous in Roman times.
Death: March 7, 203 AD

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

The great persecution was started by Diocletian and one of his tetrarchs to reunify the empire in their old gods. Many thousand Christians were killed. They were often burned with the bible. However, the Christians were able to survive. Many of the dead became martyrs in the Christian religion. This ended some time in 311 AD.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

This battle was fought by Constantine against Maxentius. This battle was for control of Rome. Apparently, in a vision, Constantine saw a Christian message and ordered his troops to carry a Chi Rho on their shields for Christ. This victory, aided by a Christian god, helped expose the masses to Christianity. This led Constantine to legalize and finally convert to Christianity.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was an edict published by Constantine to treat Christians fairly. It made Christianity a legal religion to hold. It also gave Christianity the same rights as other religions. It greatly helped people convert to Christianity. This aided the rise of Christianity

Constantine the Great

324

Constantine the Great was a Roman emperor who was credited with introducing Christianity to the masses of Rome. During a series of civil wars, Constantine battled Maxentius in a battle for Rome. Constantine saw a message, that said, "In this sign you will conquer" and he put a Chi and Rho for Christ on his soldier's shields. His soldiers triumphed, and Constantine said he was helped by Christ. End date: 22 May 337

Emperor Theodosius

347

Emperor Theodosius, to stamp out Paganism and unify Christianity, established the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed contained a list of statements that "Christians" were meant to observe. Arianism, a sect of Christianity, was opposed to this. It is still used by most churches in the modern world, especially the Catholic church. The Creed was prescribed in 380 AD.