Christianity originated in the Roman Empire and gradually became the dominant religion. It began spreading rapidly in the 1st century AD and was eventually adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire in 395 AD. As the Roman Empire fell, the Christian church took on many of its roles and became the central institution of Western civilization for the next 1,000 years.

1. Section 4 Notes

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Early in the Pax Romana, a new religion,
Christianity, sprang up in a distant corner of the
Roman empire
The new faith grew rapidly and by 395 A.D. it had
been declared the official religion of the Roman
empire
As it gained strength and spread throughout the
empire, Christianity reshaped Roman beliefs
And when the Roman empire fell, the Christian
church took over much of its role, becoming the
central institution of western civilization for
almost 1,000 years

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Within the culturally diverse Roman empire, a variety
of religious beliefs and practices coexisted
Jupiter, Mars, Juno, and other traditional Roman gods
remained important to some people
Some people turned to mystery religions that
emphasized secret rituals and promised special
rewards
One of these was the cult of Isis, which originated in
Egypt and offered women equal status with men
Others worshipped the Persian god Mithras, who
championed good over evil and offered life after
death (Mithraism was favored by Roman soldiers)

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Generally, Rome tolerated the varied religious
traditions throughout their empire
As long as citizens showed loyalty by
honoring Roman gods and acknowledging the
divine spirit of the emperor, they were
allowed to worship other gods as they
pleased
Because most people at the time were
polytheistic, they had no problem
worshipping Roman gods along with their
own

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By 63 B.C., the Romans had conquered Judea,
where most Jews of the time lived
To avoid violating the Jewish monotheistic
religion, the Romans excused Jews from
worshipping Roman gods
There was a growing divide among the
religious beliefs of the Jews themselves
Some were growing concerned about the
weakening of their religion, and called for
strict obedience to Jewish laws and customs

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Jewish zealots called on Jews to revolt against Rome and
reestablish an independent state
Some Jews believed that a messiah, or anointed king sent
by God, would soon appear to lead the Jewish people to
freedom
In 66 A.D., Roman forces crushed a Jewish rebellion,
captured Jerusalem, and destroyed the Jewish temple
There was then another rebellion with thousands of Jews
being killed and others enslaved
This lead a large number of Jews to leave Judea
Jews survived in scattered communities around the
Mediterranean
Over the centuries, Jewish rabbis (scholars) preserved the
religious law set forth in the Talmud and this commitment
to learning Jewish law and traditions enabled the Jews to
survive over the centuries

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A new religion, Christianity, was founded by a
Jew named Jesus
Almost all that is known about the life of Jesus
comes from the Gospels, the first four books of
the New Testament
Jesus was born in Bethlehem and was supposedly
a descendant of King David
Jesus grew up in Nazareth and worked as a
carpenter
At 30 years of age, he began preaching and got
the support of his Apostles (the twelve closest
followers of Jesus)

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Jesus emphasized God’s love and taught the
need for justice, morality, and service to
others
Jesus was eventually arrested and sentenced
to die by crucifixion---a person is nailed to
or hung on a cross and left to die

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Following the death of Jesus, the apostles and
other disciples spread the message of Jesus
and helped establish Christian communities
For a time, Christianity remained a sect with
Judaism
The apostle Peter spread Christianity in the
city of Rome
The apostle Paul played the most influential
role in the spread of Christianity

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Paul had never actually seen Jesus—he
actually persecuted some of the followers of
Jesus
One day Paul had a vision in which Jesus
spoke to him and it was at this point that he
converted to Christianity and decided to
spread the new religion to gentiles (non-Jews)
Paul’s missionary work set Christianity on the
road to becoming a world religion
He traveled around the Mediterranean and set
up churches from Mesopotamia to Rome

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Rome’s tolerant attitude toward religion did
not extend to Christianity
Roman officials suspected Christians of
disloyalty to Rome because they refused to
make sacrifices to the emperor or to honor
the Roman gods
Christians had to meet in secret in order to
avoid persecution

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Roman rulers like Nero used Christians as
scapegoats, blaming them for social or
economic ills
Over the centuries, thousands of Christians
became martyrs---people who suffer or die
for their beliefs
Supposedly, both Peter and Paul were killed in
Rome during Nero’s reign

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Christianity continued to spread despite the
attacks on it
Reasons:
Jesus welcomed all people including the
humble, the poor, and the oppressed
Equality, human dignity, and the promise of a
better life beyond the grave were attractive
teachings

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Christian missionaries like Paul added ideas from
Plato, the Stoics, and other Greek thinkers to
Jesus’ message
Educated Romans were attracted to a religion
that incorporated the discipline and moderation
of Greek philosophy
The work of missionaries such as Paul was made
easier by the unity of the Roman empire
Early Christian documents were usually written in
Greek or Latin, languages that many people in
the empire understood

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Persecution brought new converts
Observing the willingness of Christians to die
for their religion, people were impressed by
the strength of Christians’ beliefs
Persecutions finally ended in 313 AD when
emperor Constantine issued the Edict of
Milan which granted freedom of worship to all
citizens of the Roman empire
About 80 years later, the emperor Theodosius
made Christianity the official religion of the
Roman empire

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A person fully joined the Christian community
by renouncing evil through the rite of
baptism
Members of the community were considered
equals and addressed each other as “brother”
and “sister”
Each Sunday, Christians gathered for a
ceremony of thanksgiving to God

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Women often lead the way to Christianity
They served as teachers and administrators
Even when they were later barred from any
official role in the Church, they still worked to
win converts across the Roman world

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Each Christian community had its own priest
Only men were allowed to become members
of the Christian clergy
Priests were under the authority of a bishop,
a Church official who was responsible for all
Christians in an area called a diocese
The bishops of Rome, Antioch, Alexandria,
Jerusalem, and Constantinople gained the
honorary title of patriarch

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As the rituals and structure of the Church
became more refined, divisions began to
arise
A major divisive force was rivalry among the
patriarchs
In the Latin-speaking west, bishops of Rome,
who came to be called popes, began to claim
greater authority over all other bishops
In the Greek-speaking east, the patriarchs
felt that the five patriarchs should share
spiritual authority as equals

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Another source of disunity was the
emergence of heresies---beliefs said to be
contrary to official Church teachings
To end disputes over questions of
faith, councils of Church leaders met to
decide official Christian teachings
The Church also sent out missionaries both
within the Roman empire and beyond to
convert people to Christianity

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Theology---word borrowed from Greek
philosophy and literally means “talk or discourse
about God”
Two important scholars---Clement and Origen
Augustine---combined Greco-Roman
learning, especially the philosophy of Plato, with
Christian doctrine
The City of God---Augustine said the City of God
was the community of those who loved God and
would one day live with him in heaven. Those
whose minds and hearts were set only on worldly
things lived outside the City of God

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While the Christian church was growing in
strength and influence, Roman power was
fading
When the western Roman empire finally
collapsed, the Church inherited many of its
functions
The Church preserved and spread not only
Christian teachings but also the achievements
of Greco-Roman civilization
The Christian church would eventually split
into eastern and western halves