Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• Christianity and Judaism
• Jesus of Nazareth
• The Spread of Christianity
• Map: The Spread of Christianity
• The Early Christian Church
The Rise of Christianity
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Reading Focus
• How was Christianity rooted in the teachings of Judaism?
• What were the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth?
• How did Christianity spread throughout the Roman world?
• What was the early Christian Church like?
Main Idea
A new religion called Christianity developed within the Roman Empire and gradually spread throughout the Roman world.
The Rise of Christianity
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
• Jews had to pay tribute to Romans but unwilling to
abandon religion for polytheistic religion of Romans
• Roman leaders allowed Jews to practice religion as long as they paid tribute, maintained civic order
Roman Compromise
• Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth developed into new religion—
Christianity
• Many of teachings rooted in beliefs, customs of Judaism
• 63 BC, Romans conquered Judaea, chose new ruler for region, installed him as king Judaism in the Roman World
Christianity and Judaism
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Reactions to Roman Rule
• Judaism had different branches, varying ideas on cooperation with Romans
• Zealots called on fellow Jews to drive Romans from Judaea, reestablish Kingdom of Israel
Messianic Prophecies
• After revolt in 130s, all Jews banned from Jerusalem
• Not all Jews willing to take up arms; others waited coming of Messiah—
spiritual leader prophesied to restore ancient kingdom, bring peace to world
Zealots
• Zealots formed pockets of resistance against Romans of Judaea
• After mass uprising AD 66–70, Romans sacked Jerusalem, killed thousands of Jews, destroyed Second Temple
Judaism in the Roman World
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Make Generalizations
What were two Jewish reactions to Roman rule?
Answer(s): refused to give up religion; Zealots
wanted to rise up against Roman rule
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Against this background, a spiritual leader named Jesus of Nazareth emerged, teaching people to prepare for God’s Judgment Day.
• Nearly all knowledge of Jesus comes from Gospels—first four books of New Testament
• New Testament and books of Hebrew Bible make up today’s Christian Bible
• Jesus born in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem
• Learned carpentry, studied writings of Jewish prophets
Life
• Jesus preached message of renewal and warning
• Gathered group of disciples
• Created excitement by performing miracles of healing; defending poor, oppressed
• Instructed people to repent of sins, seek God’s forgiveness
• Must love God above all, love others as much as self
Preaching
Jesus of Nazareth
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Death and Resurrection
Jesus’s popularity, crowds alarmed authorities who feared political uprisings
• Jesus arrested, tried, sentenced to death
• According to New Testament, after crucifixion
– Jesus rose from dead
– Spent 40 days teaching disciples – Ascended into heaven
• Followers believed Resurrection, Ascension revealed
Jesus as the Messiah
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Summarize
What was the main message of Jesus’s teaching?
Answer(s): Followers must love God above all else, and love others as they loved themselves.
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Cemil KUTLUTÜRK
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
After Jesus’s death, his disciples began teaching that all people could achieve salvation—the forgiveness of sins and the promise of
everlasting life.
• Jesus’s 12
disciples worked to spread message
• Earliest Christian missionaries
• Apostles traveled widely, teaching mostly in Jewish communities
Apostles
• Paul, originally known as Saul, born in Tarsus, in Asia Minor
• Had actively opposed those
teaching that Jesus was the Messiah
Paul of Tarsus
• Paul had
conversion on way to Damascus,
became Christian
• If not for his work, Christianity might have remained a branch of Judaism
Conversion
The Spread of Christianity
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Roman Christianity
• Paul found some Jewish customs hindered missionary work among non- Jews, dispensed with those requirements for Christians
• Paul emphasized new doctrines that helped distinguish Christianity from Judaism
• Christianity spread; message of love, eternal life after death found appealing
• By AD 300, some 10 percent of Roman people were Christian
Converting the Gentiles
• Paul believed God sent him to convert non-Jews, or Gentiles
• Paul helped make Christianity broader religion, attracted many new followers
• Helped establish Christian churches throughout eastern Mediterranean
• Paul’s epistles, or letters, to those churches later became part of the New Testament
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Results
• As Christianity spread through Roman world, some local officials feared Christians conspiring against them; arrested, killed many Christians
• Those killed seen by Christians as martyrs, people who die for their faith
Imperial Approval
• Spread of Christianity hastened by conversion of emperor Constantine
• AD 313, Constantine made Christianity legal within empire, Edict of Milan
• By late 300s, polytheism gradually disappeared from empire
Threat
• Christians persecuted at local level, but large-scale persecution rare during first two centuries after Jesus’s life
• Large-scale persecution by Romans grew as rulers saw Christianity as threat
Persecution
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Find the Main Idea
What helped spread Christianity through the Roman world?
Answer(s): Paul of Tarsus and other disciples;
Constantine’s conversion; outlawing of public non-
Christian sacrifices by Theodosius
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Communities
• Earliest Christian churches not only spiritual organizations but close-knit communities
• Provided all kinds of support for members
Deepening Faith
• Ceremonies developed to inspire people’s faith, make them feel closer to Jesus
• One ceremony was Eucharist
Complex
• Support included burial services, food, shelter
• Christianity grew; organization became more complex
Ceremonies
• During Eucharist, people eat bread, drink wine in memory of Jesus’s death, resurrection
• With baptism, people are admitted to the faith
The Early Christian Church
Rome and Early Christianity Section 4
Patriarchs did not recognize the popes’ supremacy claims at first, but over time popes gained more influence within the Christian Church.
By about 100, priests who were trained in these ceremonies became prominent within Christianity. The authority of the priests was based on the authority Jesus gave the Apostles. This spiritual authority
distinguished the priests from the general congregation of the church.
• Church expanded, developed administrative structure
• Bishop oversaw church affairs, had authority over other priests
• 300s, heads of oldest
congregations, patriarchs, had authority over other bishops
Administrative Structure
Expansion of the Church
• Many believed Peter founded Roman Church, was first bishop
• Later bishops of Rome, popes, Peter’s spiritual heirs
• Gospel of Matthew: Jesus gives Peter keys to kingdom of heaven
• Therefore future popes inherit keys
