Religion in Rome
- Religion has always played a large role in Roman society
- However the polytheistic system was
Jesus of Nazaeth
- Viewed as the Messiah or savior by Christians
- Born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea
- Baptized by John the Baptist
- He took up carpentry
- For the next 3 years he preached taught did good works and reportedly performed miracles
History of Jesus
- Historical records of the rime mention very little about Jesus
- Main source of info about his main teachings are the Gospels
- These gospels were written by his disciples or pupils, called Apostles
Jesus' Death
- Jesus was growing in popularity and this concerned Roman and Jewish leader
- A governor of Rome named Pontius Pilate accused Jesus of defying the authority of Rome
- he then was crucified on a wooden cross
Spreading Christianity
- After Jesus' death the followers of Jesus continued to spread his ideas
- Despite the large amount of political and religious oppositions the new religion of Christianity began to spread.
Paul
- a man who really influenced the spreading of Christianity
- Was once a Jew and against Christianity
- He was able to do many of his speeches and travel throughout the Roman empire because it was during the Pax Romana- time of peace in the Christian
Charts
- Christian- belief that Jesus is the Messiah, and acceptance of Gentiles and Jews alike
- Jewish- Belief that Jews are the chosen people, and Adherence to Jewish las
- both- belief in one God. and the ten commandments
Pope in top
talks to Bishops
Bishops to Priests
the people
Persecution of Christians
- the main reason was that they refused to worship Roman gods
- As Pax Romana began to crumble persecution of the Christians increased
- Thousands were crucified burned or killed by wild animals in the circus arenas
- Other Christians and even some non Christians regarded persecuted Christians as matyrs
- Martyrs- were people willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of a belief or cause
Popularity
- Became a world religion for multiple reasons- embraced all people, gave hope to the powerless, appealed to those who were repelled by the extravagances of imperial Rome, offered personal relationship with a loving God, and promised eternal life after death
Constantine
- Constantine was fighting over the leadership of Rome
- He then prayed to the Christian God and saw a cross
- He then ordered the artisans to paint the Christian symbol on the shields
- He was the successful in battle so began to accept Christianity
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