Roman Christianity Kayla Dvorak

Jesus

1 CE

Jesus was the base of the Christian religion, saying that he descended down from heaven and was born to a virgin, and lived a sinless life. They say that he was persecuted and killed on the cross and took all of the sin from everyone's life. Jesus is the most important person in the entire Christian religion and the thing that sets Christianity apart from most other religions.

Paul of Tarsus

33

Paul was a Pharisee, a jew who worked the role of the police, finding and uncovering the secret meetings of the Christians. He then became a christian and was one of the biggest ways that Christianity was spread throughout the area.He used his past as being a Jew to minister to the Jews really easily.he started to show the Jews that you could switch to this new religion, and that it was really cool, as well as spread it through the area.

Great Fire of Rome

64

The great fire consumed over 60% pf the city of Rome, and was there were gangs around the city that were blocking the fire from being extinguished. Many people believe that the great fire of Rome was started by the current emperor who hated the Christians. Other people believed that the Christians started the fire, and that they were fulfilling a prophecy by setting the city ablaze.This sparked an idea that Christians were ruthless and unkind, causing the public to turn against Christians.

Roman Rule of Israel

64

Israel was such a place packed with cultural roots and religious history, so when Rome had all of that knowledge open to them, but now also this competition religion coming from the Jews, it really opened up their eyes to the possibilities. Many of the great religious leaders of Christianity came from Israel. Expanding into Israel really allowed for the Romans to grow in their religious beliefs and also not be forced into one place.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was an early christian, and was going to regular meeting with other christians. One day the military came and took her and 4 others into custody. Perpetua’s father was begging her to say that she wasn’t christian, but her and all the other worshipers all stood by their faith and were killed. She really showed the current population of Christians what is was like to be a Christian and to not back down from your faith even when pressured to do so by others.

The Great Persecution of 303

303

The emperor Domitian and the co-emperors Diocletian and Gallerias were all very tough against Christians, and if someone confessed to being christian, which was highly illegal, they would be tortured or killed. Christian gatherings were forced to be kept a secret, and could instantly be ruined if the wrong person became aware of the event, greatly slowing the speed of growth.

Battle at Milvian Bridge

312

This was a battle between Constantine and Maxentius, and Constantine won, leading to him having control over the entire Empire. Before the battle, Constantine and his armies had a vision of a cross and the words “in this sign conquer” he took this and fought the battles over the next days in the name of the lord. This is one of the things that made Constantine so open to the religion and brought about the

Edict of Milan

313

In 313, the leaders from the East and West sectors of Rome, Licinius and Constantine, got together to write a agreement about the Christians. The main goal of the edict was to give all Christians complete religious freedom, and to see them as equal to other religions. This really allowed for Christians to grow, because they no longer had to fear that they would be prosecuted for what they believed in.

Constantine the Great

324

Constantine was the first Roman Emperor who converted to Christianity. He wrote the Edict of Milan, which legalized Christianity and allowed for freedom of worship throughout the empire. He also put a Christian emblem on every shield, meaning that all of the armies fought in the name of God. Constantine took the first steps for Rome to become the Christian Empire it was later known for.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Theodosius I was raised in a most likely Christian home where he learned the faith. When he became emperor, he made Religion a big focus of his reign, which was popular with the majority of the people. One of the biggest things that he did was define the definition of a Catholic Christian, and make it the official Religion of the empire. He made Christianity common among the Roman Empire.