During the Rise of Christianity, Judea, the home of the Jews and the early Christians, fell under the rule of the Roman Empire from around 60 A.D. to 476 A.D. The Roman Empire stretched from Italy to Egypt, the Middle East, and beyond in all directions. The Romans worshiped many separate gods, so they differed with the early Christians, who only believed in one all-powerful God. The Romans began to see Christianity as a threat to their empire after a rebellion was sparked in Judea. They began to persecute anyone engaging in Christian practices, and this became particularly harsh under the rule of Emperor Nero from around 64 A.D. to 68 A.D. Christianity was a faith that appealed to everyone, especially the poor and unfortunate, so it grew even …show more content…
By calling so much attention to the actions and beliefs of this religion, the Romans were giving it a significant amount of publicity. Many people across the empire learned about the foundations of the Catholic beliefs. “Despite the attacks, Christianity continued to spread throughout the Roman world,” (Ellis, 170). Christianity appealed to virtually everyone, but especially to the poor and the unfortunate (Ellis, 170). The people who had not seen enough kindness in their lives found comfort in the message of love and hope the Christians were spreading. It offered some optimism about humanity and it considered the afterlife as a time of eternal bliss and happiness. “Jesus had welcomed all people, especially the lowly, the poor, and the oppressed. These people found comfort in his message of love, as well as in his teachings of equality, dignity, and the promise of a better life beyond the grave,” (Ellis, 170). The Christians’ willingness to die for their faith also helped gain exposure for them. Many people appreciated the loyalty the Christians had for their God. “Even persecution brought new converts. Observing the willingness of Christians to die for their religion, people were impressed by the strength of Christians’ beliefs,” (Ellis, 170). In Rome’s attempt to eliminate all Christians and expand the Roman religion, they had, in reality, expanded the reaches of the monotheistic …show more content…
In 313 A.D., Constantine ended all persecution towards Christians with the Edict of Milan (Persecution: Christian Experience). Constantine was a Christian himself after he believed he heard the voice of God during an important battle (Persecution:Christian Experience). He converted to Christianity and when he took over as the Emperor of Rome, he outlawed all discrimination against Christians (Persecution:Christian Experience). “He was already strongly influenced by Christianity and, whatever the vision he saw on the day before the decisive battle, he was determined to end the era of persecution. In February 313 he met his fellow augustus at Milan, and together they published the famous Edict of Milan,” (Persecution: Christian Experience). Another reason this faith grew in popularity was because the Christian people were too strong in their faith against the pagan empire of Rome to continue as a minority group (Persecution:Christian Experience). They actively pursued new converts and succeeded in their efforts. More people joined the faith until that religion surpassed the Roman religion in popularity. “The church's intensive ramifications through town and countryside alike, coupled with a firm organization and a continued underlying enthusiasm for martyrdom, at least among a minority of the faithful, had proved too strong for the pagan empire,” (Persecution: Christian
Christianity took hold on the ancient world because it provided immortality. “...the message that was preached here promised… immortality, a future life which would be liberation from sickness and from disease and from poverty, and individual isolation,” (Document B). “You shall love the Lord, your God with all
From 300-600 CE The Roman Empire allowed new religions to be formed and universalized. The Religion that was associated with The Roman empire was Christianity. Christianity became the religion of Rome because of a man named Constantine who allowed Christianity to spread and flow throughout the empire create a harmony throughout the people. Constantine allowed for the Roman officials to adopt Christianity and this led to the building of the Constantinople. Christianity had basilicas which were opulent churches that were open to all which meant any person could go there allowing Christianity to be very universal. Christianity was also very appealing because the worshiped deity walked on land with the people. Christianity split and became the Roman Catholic church which consisted
The Early Christians had numerous different practices. Some of them sacrificed animals, others held mass, and some even died in order to go with God. This helped with the spread of Christianity because it allowed people to attend mass and be forgiven of their sins. It also showed how cruel the Romans were and that religious freedom was being taken away from them.
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
At one time a common religion was a huge factor that kept Romans united. Once the right of free worship was denied Rome became an empire of raging anger. Christianity a new religion appealed to the majority of the people of the Roman Empire. The message especially appealed to the poor and the slaves; it was also something new to put their faith in. Christianity was spread like wild fire. The Roman emperors felt that Christianity was so influential that it could be a possible threat. Around 100 AD. the first persecutions of the Christians occurred. Many of the Romans had already committed to the faith of Christianity and they refused to abandon it because it was the most important part of their life. This led to many social problems as well as a decline in the patriotism that had once lived in the hearts of all Romans. The People objected to Roman politics and became independent of the government. By the time that Constantine legalized Christianity it was much too late and the Empire was too deep in disunity to recover. The decision to outlaw Christianity was a terrible decision and caused the once united empire to crumble.
The persecution of Christians that went on in the first, as well as the second century, was random and local. Nero was the emperor that started the persecution of Christians. After the Great Fire of Rome, the Christians were blamed and called arsonists, as well as causing them to receive vicious deaths in Rome. During the second century, the Christians were often just ignored. Even at the end of the 5 Good Emperors reigns, Christians still didn’t represent a large part of the Roman society.
Then, the popular portrayal of early Christianity as a mass political movement that the Romans dedicated much resources to thwart seems implausible. Although popular knowledge of early Christians emphasizes their persecution and severe ostracism within the Roman Empire, a closer study of Roman law reveals that Christianity and being Christian were not crimes in and of themselves. As a matter of fact, citizens of the Roman Empire were free to worship any god. Even their proclamations about Jesus were not considered heretical. On the contrary, it was not out of the ordinary to declare a human being divine.
There are certain traits the Roman Empire possessed which contributed greatly to the growth of Christianity. The Roman Empire, most importantly, united a great variety and cultures and people into what became one nation; the resulting unity and communication between so many peoples eased the spread of Christianity all over the world. Of the Roman emperors, even the extremely rude ones assisted in spreading the Christian faith; not despite, but relieved by their pursuit Christianity grew rapidly. Finally, the oppressed and broken nature of the plebeians made them very liable to and eager of the Christian message.
It is difficult to discuss how Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, without looking at the relationship between Jews and Christians. Christianity is rooted in Judaism. Judaism is defined as the monotheistic religion of the Jews” (Duiker and Spielvogel 142). It is a
In conclusion, it is important to realize that it was not one single factor which was responsible for the spread of Christianity, all these figures came together to give the perfect platform for a new religion to develop, " Never before in the history of the race had conditions been so ready for the adoption of a new faith by the majority of the peoples of so large an area" (K.S Latourette).
In the first half of the third century, Christian persecution was fragmented and while Christianity was illegal, there is not evidence that it was widely persecuted. It also grew enormously during this time. Mostly, very outspoken Christian leaders were persecuted. In 249, the emperor, Trajan Decius, issued an edict that required all citizens to sacrifice to the gods. After this edict, there are numerous reports of Christian martyrdom in Alexandria, Smyrna and parts of Egypt. In 257, persecution was renewed under Valerian. After his reign, Galienus issued an edict ending the persecution of Christians, and peace in regards to religion was maintained throughout his rule . During this time, Christians became part of many Roman institutions, including the Senate and the Roman Army. It remained relatively stable until 303 under Diocletian and the tetrarchy. This period, called the Great Persecution, lasted until 312. Essentially, these persecutions led to an even greater spread of Christianity, and the cruelty of the Roman emperors’ in their treatment of Christians helped to quicken it.
The rise of Christianity in western civilization is arguably among the most important memories in history. There is no denying what the spread of Christianity has done for the world, for better or worse. Its impact on western civilizations is unrivaled and unprecedented. Christianity slowly became something for many individuals to turn to; in times of hurt it provided comfort, in times of pleasure it gave thanks. The will and belief for salvation has driven individuals to be better, and to have a reference while in need.
As the greatest empire in the western world began to crumble one city at a time, the leader of the Roman Empire, Constantine, under pressure from external and internal sources moved the capital of Rome to Constantinople around 330 AD. The movement of the capital was after his conversion to Christianity in 312 AD, a growing religion throughout the empire despite being officially illegal. Constantine was not the devote saint that the church may speak of today, “from 312-320 Constantine was tolerant of paganism, keeping pagan gods on coins and retaining his pagan high priest title "Pontifex Maximus" in order to maintain popularity with his subjects, possibly indicating that he never understood the theology of Christianity” (Ferguson & Grupp, 1998). The first Christian Emperor claimed to have converted after a victorious battle with his brother and there are many that corroborate this story it appears highly suspicious to only promote Christian ideals and worship. Constantine was not even the Emperor that made Christianity the religion of the Roman people, but simply permitted religiou...
Christianity is the world’s most prominent religion, with more than six billion people practicing worldwide. Although Christianity has come to dominate the world of religion, it began as a small and mysterious cult in Ancient Rome. Small, and poorly understood, Christianity soon became an enemy of Rome, marked with persecution, martyrdom, and murder. By the end of the third century CE, tens of thousands of Christians had been arrested and killed for their beliefs.
Christianity is one of the world’s most widely practiced religions and has a long history spanning back over two-thousand years. Some might say that its history might go back even farther to include the history of Judaism because there are prophets in Hebrew scripture who foretold the coming of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe to be the Messiah that God promised the Jewish people. This paper discusses how Christianity influences our society today, some of its history along with some of our beliefs. However, it is impossible to tell the complete history of Christianity in just one essay because for all two thousand years it has been in existence, there are literally thousands of things to talk about. The construction of our religious buildings, the Crusades, how the Protestant Reformation branched it out into what it is today, any of these things can and have been made into essays, books, and even movies on their own. That being said, it will touch on each of the questions which were asked in the assignment and will add a bit more depth on a few other things which are considered very important to the history of Christianity.