- Rome took power of the Jewish kingdom in 6 A.D.
- Jews thought they could be saved from a messiah that eventually came
Jesus of Nazareth
- Born 4 A.D. to 6 A.D.
- Baptized by John the Baptist
- began public ministry at 30
- Teachings from Jewish Tradition
- Stressed importance of Gods love and loving your neighbors
- God would end wickedness
A Growing Movement
- Gospels tell about his time on Earth
- Ignored wealth
Jesus' Death
- In 29 A.D.- people greeted him as messiah in Jerusalem
- Died under rule of Roman governor Pontious Pilate
- Died on cross
- laid in tomb
- rose from the dead 3 days later
Christianity Spread through the Empire
- People eventually changed Jesus' Jewish teachings into a new form of religion, Christianity
- It spread throughout the empire
Paul's Mission
- Had an enormous influence on Christianity
- While traveling to Damascus in Syria, he had a vision of Jesus and taught about him the rest of his life
- Wrote famous letters called Epistles during the Pax Romana period
- Declared that Christianity should welcome all converts
Jewish Rebellion
- All that remained was a western portion of that wall which still remains today
- The Jewish fortress near Masada held out until 73 A.D.
- About half a million Jews were killed overall
- In 132 A.D., they tried to break free, resulting in 500,000 more deaths
- Jewish political state ceased to exist for more than 1800 years, though the religion itself held strong
Persecution of Christians
- Christians didn't believe in Roman Gods
- They got angry
- Pax Romana ended and thousands of Christians were killed, imprisoned or exiled
- Those who were killed were looked at as martyrs
A World Religion
- Christianity continued to spread
- they embraced all people
- appealed to those who were repelled by the extravagances of imperial Rome
- offered a personal relationship with a loving God
- promised eternal life after death
Constantine accepts Christianity
- In 312 A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine went to the Tiber river to battle his chief rival
- He prayed before the battle and reported seeing an image of a cross
- Eventually he won and gave credit to God
- In the year 313 A.D., he officially ended the persecution of Christians
- In the Edict of Milan, he declared Christianity to be one of the regions approved by the emperor
- Theodosius, emperor made it the official Roman religion in 380 A.D.
Early Christian Church
- Christianity worked as a hierarchy
- A priest led one church, a bishop led many churches
- Peter, whom was the 'rock' of Christianity became the first Pope
- Bishop of Rome is pope
A Single Voice
- Conflicts erupted about beliefs
- Gospels were formed
- In 325 A.D., Constantine called church leaders to Nicaea and created the Nicene Creed
The Fathers of the Church
- Early writers were influential on the church; called Fathers of the Church
- Augustine of Hippo; bishop in 396
- Taught humans needed the grace of God to be saved
- Could no receive Gods grace unless you belonged to the church and received sacraments
- Wrote "The City of God"
- Important cities such as Rome were not as important because the City of God could not be destroyed
Rome was slowly weakening while Christianity continued to grow stronger
1. a. Jesus was the long awaited savior by the Jews.
b. An apostle was a person who spread Jesus' word even after his death
c. Paul was one of the apostles whom wrote famous letters called epistle letters
d. Diaspora was the dispersion of Jews beyond Israel
e. Constantine was a Roman emperor whom declared Christianity the religion supported by emperor; also organized the Council at Nicaea
f. A bishop was a level of the Christian hierarchy
g. Peter was an apostle whom Jesus built his church upon
h. The pope is the highest ranking in the Christian hierarchy
3. Jesus stressed the importance of Gods love and to love your neighbors
4. Christians faced persecution because they did not believe in Roman gods
5. The Nicene Creed laid down a set of beliefs for all Christians to beleive
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