Ancient Rome: The Rise of Christianity

1. Ancient Rome: The Rise of Christianity A little history lesson 

2. What is Christianity?

3. Entering a Time of Peace • Under Julius Caesar, Rome became an empire. • Octavian Augustus was the first Emperor of Rome. • Rome became too powerful to be challenged and entered a time of peace in the empire, known as the PaxRomanaor “Roman Peace.” • Allowed ideas to spread across the world.

4. How Powerful Was Rome? • 3 million square miles • 80 million people • 1 million residents in city of Rome.

5. The Rise of a New Religion • In 63 BCE, Rome took over Judea, the home of the Jewish religion. • Judea was controlled by King Herod, a Jewish governor for Rome. • After Herod’s death, fighting broke out among his sons. • Rome sent troops to create peace in Judea.

6. The Birth of Christianity • Judaism was tolerated by the Romans at first. • First Monotheistic Religion: Only one supreme god. • Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem under the rule of Octavian (Caesar Augustus) and King Herod • Grew up preaching the idea of one true god • Spread a message of peace, love, forgiveness. Read – The Birth of Jesus

8. Many Jews believed that Jesus was the Messiah or Saviour, from the Romans. Eventually these Jews became known as Christians • Jesus was called Christ which means “saviour” in Greek.

9. How do We Know About Jesus? • Followers of Jesus wrote about the teachings and experiences that occurred during his life. • These writings were called Gospels, meaning ‘good news’. • Can be found in the New Testament of the Christian Bible - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John • The Old Testament is used by the Jewish and Islamic faiths which do not believe Jesus was the true Messiah.

10. A bit about the historical record… • Depending which historical source you look at, King Herod died somewhere between 6 and 1 BCE and Jesus of Nazareth was born somewhere between 18 BCE and 1 CE • Why is this possible? Many historians have examined the historical references of the Holy Bible and contrasted to other historical writings. • Because there was no accurate dating system, it has been established that many historical events of the Bible and the events of the Roman Empire do correspond

11. Massacre of the Innocents? Matthew 2:16-18 New King James Version (NKJV) “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more’”

12. Why isn’t there historical evidence of this “massacre”? Read excerpt from The Slaughter of the Innocents: Historical Fact or Legendary Fiction?

13. Why did Christianity appeal to people? • Embraced ALL people, including Gentiles who were NOT the Chosen People • Promised life after death for ALL people. • Appealed to poorer people who were not wealthy like Romans. Because of the PaxRomana, these ideas of Christianity were able to spread quickly through the empire.

14. The Crucifixion of Jesus • The popularity of Jesus with the poor angered the Romans and the Jews. • Jesus was called the “Son of God” and a “King” • Jews feared Jesus’s preaching would anger the Romans • Jewish leaders turned Jesus over to the Roman governor of Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate to be crucified. • “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.”

15. Golgotha or Calvary - “Place of the Skull” (because of its shape) Golgotha is just outside Jerusalem’s walls – where Jesus is believed to have been crucified.

16. After the Apostles *Followers of Jesus became known as Christians. Much of what is known about Jesus comes from the writings of his Apostles. *Apostle means “One who travels”. Apostles traveled, spread Christian teachings, and wrote the Gospels of the Bible. Peter and Paul were two very influential Apostles.

17. The 12 Apostles

18. Roman Persecution of Jews and Christians • Why did the Romans come to persecute Christianity/Judaism? • Monotheism vs. Polytheism • Christians/Jews didn’t recognize the emperors as Gods. • Blamed for any problems in Roman society.

19. The Jews Strike Back • 66 CE- Jews rebel against the Romans. • 70 CE- Romans storm Jerusalem and destroy their temple, leaving only the Western Wall a.k.a the “wailing wall”. • 73 CE- Jews and Romans fight at the Battle of Masada. Many Jews died in this battle, the final ≈1000, mostly of mass suicide. "Since we long ago resolved never to be servants to the Romans, nor to any other than to God Himself, Who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice...We were the very first that revolted, and we are the last to fight against them; and I cannot but esteem it as a favor that God has granted us, that it is still in our power to die bravely, and in a state of freedom.” — Elazar ben Yair

20. Hilltop Fortress at Masada

21. The Martyrdom of Peter • Peter the Apostle (the same apostle Jesus predicted at the Last Supper would deny him 3 times) traveled to Rome and was crucified upside down by Nero in approximately 67 CE. Why upside down? Peter believed he was unworthy to die in the same manor as Jesus.

22. Caravaggio’s «Crocifissione di san Piedro» or Crucifixion of St. Peter, 1600

23. The Tomb of Saint Peter

24. Christianity Under Constantine • In 312 CE, Constantine became Emperor of Rome. • During battle, he saw an image of a cross and won. • 313 CE- Constantine issues the Edict of Milan making Christianity a legal religion in Rome.

25. In the nearly 300 years since Jesus’ death, many different ideas had developed about how to follow Jesus. • To strengthen the religion, Constantine called the Council of Nicaea in 325 CEto establish the core beliefs of Christianity, leading to the Nicene Creed.

26. When the Christian leaders left this meeting, a new type of Christian church had been formed. • This new church was said to be Catholic, which means universal.

27. St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City First St Peter’s church was built in 4th Century CE. Basilica was started in 1506 and finished 1626

28. The Vatican

29. Finally Official • In 380 CE, Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity the Official Religion of the Roman Empire.

30. Eastern Schism • Emperor Constantine in 330 CE shifted capital city from Rome (west) to Constantinople (east) in order to centralize his authority throughout the empire and reinforce his authority in the East. This divided Roman Empire.

31. West: influence of Roman patriarch “pope” increased. • 1054 CE, Pope in Rome and patriarch Michael Cærulariusin Constantinople expelled one another. • Western Church believed both Father and Son sent forth Holy Spirit. • Eastern Church believed power of Holy Spirit came only from God the Father. • Schism split the Church into two branches: Eastern Orthodox and Western Church (with pope in Rome).

32. Roman Catholic • 1095 CE, Pope Urban II proclaimed expedition to reclaim Jerusalem and Holy Land from Muslim rule. • Began the Crusades, “holy war” that lasted over a century! • Five “waves” of crusaders, captured Eastern Orthodox capital of Constantinople. • Crusades unified Europe.

33. Protestant Reformation • 2nd great division in Church. • 1517 CE, German monk Martin Luther challenged many medieval practices of Church (i.e sale of indulgences). • Luther believed in inner faith • Luthur was excommunicated and the Protestant Reformation began.

35. Christian Milestones

36. Christianity bestows sacraments to mark life stages. • Great variety of sacraments. • Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches celebrate 7 sacraments: baptism, reconciliation, communion, confirmation, marriage, anointing of the sick, and ordination. • Protestant Churches celebrate 2: baptism and communion.

37. Sacred Texts

38. Christianity draws sacred writings from two sections of the Bible: Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), and New Testament. • Old Testament is Judaic tradition of the law and prophets. • New Testament is Christian tradition of apostles.

39. New Testament = 4 main components (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). The life and teachings of Jesus. • Credited with 11th commandment: “I give you a new command. Love one another: As I have loved you, so you must love one another…” (John 13:34-35)

40. Jesus’ Ministry • Gospels describe miracles of Jesus. • Example: Jesus changed water into wine at wedding feast. • Multiplied fish and loaves of bread. • Healed faithful of leprosy, blindness, and other ailments. • Spoke in parables. What is a parable? • emphasized values and taught moral lessons. • Lets look at a couple

41. Second section = Acts of Apostles (reports the spread of Christianity after Jesus’ death). Third section = epistles (letters). Encouraged Christians during times of persecution. Last section = Book of Revelation. Apocalyptic literature, describing destruction of the enemies of a persecuted people.

42. How much do you know? • Attempt crossword alone • Discuss in groups • Class corrections

43. Jigsaw – Christian Beliefs • Groups of 5

44. Who killed Jesus? Watch BBC video and answer questions provided.