Ch.

13 The
Rise of
Christianity
Objectives:
How the Roman ruling affect the Jewish and Christian
religions.

Why the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth was

important to his follower.

How early Christianity spread throughout the Roman

Empire.
The Rise of Christianity Timeline:
6 AD 33 AD 135 AD 392 AD
Augustus Romans Rome forces Christianity:
makes execute Jews out of official religion
Judaea a Jesus Jerusalem of Rome
Roman
province

Constantine Monks bring

Jesus begins Rome outlaws accepts Christianity to
his preaching Christianity Christianity Britain
30 AD 64 AD 312 AD 597 AD
Early Christianity

 Rome took control of Judah in 63 BC.

 Renamed it Judaea by Augustus in 6 AD.

 Governed by procurators.

 Jewish Revolt:
 Zealots rebelled against Roman rule.
 Roman victory 66 AD
Jewish Revolt

 66 AD Zealots rebelled against the Romans.

 70 AD Romans stormed Jerusalem and destroying temples,
leaving only the Western Wall the “wailing wall”.
 73 AD Jews and Romans fought at the Battle of Masada.
 The Western Wall is Jerusalem’s holiest shrine.
 135 AD Rome forces all Jews out of Jerusalem
Jesus of Nazareth
Born under the rule of Octavian
Jewish, believed to be the
son of God
Mother: Mary Magdalene
Preaching monotheism
Spread a message of
peace, love, forgiveness
through parables.
• Parables: a short story
that teaches a principle
about what is good
behavior.
The Be-
atitudes
Jesus says the meek- or
humble- shall inherit the
Earth. What do you think
he meant by this?

Based on what Jesus

says in the Beatitudes,
what kind of people is he
speaking to in his
sermon?
 Betrayal of Jesus

 The popularity of Jesus with the poor angered the Romans and the Jews.
 Christians referred to Jesus as “Jesus Christ”
 Christos meaning “the anointed one”

 Jews feared Jesus’s preaching would anger the Romans

 Turned Jesus into the Romans while he celebrated Passover
 Crucified on a cross, resurrected three days later

 Resurrection: led to the birth of Christianity

The Last Supper
Who Were the Apostles?

 Apostle: Christian leaders chosen by Jesus to spread his message

 12 Apostle
 Gospel: the accounts that apostles wrote of Jesus’s life

 Peter and Paul were two very influential

 Peter spread Christianity in Rome
 Paul spread Christianity throughout the eastern Mediterranean.

 Preached accepting Jesus and his teachings people could gain salvation, and
allowed entrance into heaven
Corruption caused
the revolt in Jedah
•True
King Herod want a
long war with
Rome?
False
The Jews rebuilt the temple after the
Romans sacked it.

False
Did Jesus death influence
the Rome Empire?

True
Did Roman treat
christians with
kindness?
False
Objectives:

01 02 03
Why Rome Understand How early
mistreated how Christians
Christians. Christianity organized
changed the church.
over time.
Roman Persecution of Jews &
Christians
 Why did the Romans hate Christianity/Judaism?
 Monotheism vs. Polytheism
 Christians/Jews didn’t recognize the emperors
as ruler.
 Blamed for problems in Roman society.
 Emperors such as Nero tortured Christians and
Jews as traitors.
 Christians and Jews became Martyrs:
Dying for their beliefs.
Christianity and the Empire

As the apostles spread the message of Jesus, many

people in the Mediterranean world became Christians.

Popularity in Christianity
Comfort during Treated people World free of Communal
difficult times equally judgement spirit
 Spread of Christianity 325 AD
Location: What areas
did Paul visit during
his second journey?

Critical Thinking:
What might have
prevented Christianity
from spreading to
more places during its
first three centuries?
The Empire Accepts
Christianity

 In 312 AD, Constantine became

Emperor of Rome.
 During Battle, he saw an image of a
cross and won.
 313 AD- Constantine issues the Edict
of Milan making Christianity a legal
religion in Rome.
 In 380 AD, Emperor Theodosius
declared Christianity the Official
Religion of the Roman Empire.
Early Church
Hierarchy

Comparing/
Contrasting: What are
some differences
between the status of
the patriarchs and
priests?

Critical Thinking: Why

did the early church
have to become more
organized as it grew
Organizing the Church

 As the number of Christians grew, the church had to become

more organized to unite its followers.

 Hierarchy: an organization with different levels of authority

 Patriarchs: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch,
Jerusalem
 Archbishop: In charge of an entire region
 Bishop: supervised the diocese(serval churches)
 Priests/clergy: led worship service
 Doctrine: Official church teaching
  By 300 AD four accounts of the life and
teachings of Jesus were widely taught.
What  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Writings  Gospel, meaning “good news”
 New Testament
Shaped
Christianity?  As the church grew, the bishop of
Rome claimed power over the other
bishops
 Authority: Peter
 Pope: Latin for “pater” or “father”
Objectives:
What issues divided the western and
eastern Christian churches.

How Christianity spread across Europe.

How new ideas changed the way people

lived.
Two Christian Churches

Western Roman Empire Eastern

Roman/Byzantine Empire
Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church
Latin speaking Greek speaking
Pope dominate authority Emperor dominate
authority
The Great Split

What caused the divide between the Roman Catholic Church and
the Eastern Orthodox Church?
1. Icons
2. Religious Authority
3. Military invasions
4. Roles in government
What are Icons?

• Icon: A representation of an object of worship

• Eastern Orthodox Church

• John of Damascus: For
• Emperor Leo III: Against
• Iconoclasts: a person who destroys icons

• Many Byzantine church leaders & the pope

disapproved Emperor Leo’s action, damaging
the relationship between the RCC and the EOC
 Religious Authority
• EOC
• Emperor was God’s representative on Earth
• Emperors controlled the EOC

• RCC
• Controlled by the Pope
• Pope believed he had absolute control of ALL Christian churches

• Byzantines rejected the Pope’s claim. They believed the patriarch of

Constantinople and other bishops were equal to the pope
 Military Invasions

• In late 700 AD Italy was being invade,

asked for help from the Byzantine
emperor, he refused.
• Charlemagne
• Frank (Germanic)
• Victory: Crowned king

• The pope’s actions upset the Byzantines.

They believed their ruler was the only ruler
of the empire.
 Roles in Government
• East
• Emperor controlled both church and government

• West
• Pope had religious and political authority over ALL of Europe.

• In 1054 AD the patriarch of Constantinople and the pope

excommunicated each other.
• The Great Schism
New Christian
Communities
• Monasteries
• Monks: Male
• Convents
• Nuns: Female

• East
• Basilian Rule
• West
• Benedictine Rule
Spreading Christianity Outside the
Empire

• Byzantine missionaries
• Cyril & Methodius
• Cyrillic: Slavic language
• Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria

• Western missionaries
• Britain and Ireland
• Converted: King Ethelbert of Kent to Christianity
By 1100 AD, Christianity
had spread throughout
Western and Eastern
Europe and into far
northern lands.

Question:
Which of these two areas
became Christian first:
Britain or Syria?

Why do you think some

areas took longer to
convert to Christianity
than others?