Christianity in the Roman Empire

1. Christianity in the Roman Empire Reasons for its Successful Spread Through Rome By: Jesse Opoku Intro to Church History

2. Background • Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Jewish sect in the mid-1st century. Originating in the Levant region of the Middle East, it quickly spread to Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and Egypt. It grew in size and influence over a few centuries, and by the end of the 4th century had become the official state church of the Roman Empire, replacing other forms of religion practiced under Roman rule. • The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus Christ (7–2 BC to 30–33 AD) as the Son of God and the Messiah. Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus' coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. Through belief in and acceptance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, sinful humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life

3. Background Cont’d • Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that a historical Jesus existed, although there is little agreement on the reliability of the gospel narratives and how closely the biblical Jesus reflects the historical Jesus. Most scholars agree that Jesus was a Jewish preacher from Galilee, was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate. Scholars have constructed various portraits of the historical Jesus, which often depict him as having one or more of the following roles: the leader of an apocalyptic movement, Messiah, a charismatic healer, a sage and philosopher, or an egalitarian social reformer. • THE APOSTLES • Jesus Christ selected 12 men from among his early followers to become his closest disciples. After an intensive discipleship course and following his resurrection from the dead, the Lord fully commissioned the apostles (Matthew 28:16-2, Mark 16:15) to advance God's kingdom and carry the gospel message to the world. These men became the pioneering leaders of the New Testament church. They were chosen to fan the flames of the gospel that would spread across the face of the earth and continue to burn bright throughout the centuries to follow.

4. Christianity in the Roman Empire • AD 60: Paul arrives in Rome and preaches for about two years while under house arrest. • AD 64: A colossal fire broke out at Rome, and destroyed much of the city. Rumors abounded that Nero himself was responsible. He certainly took advantage of the resulting devastation of the city, building a lavish private palace on part of the site of the fire. Perhaps to divert attention from the rumors, Nero ordered that Christians should be rounded up and killed. Some were torn apart by dogs, others burnt alive as human torches. • AD 64-AD 67: Peter martyred; legend says he was crucified upside down. • AD 64-February 313 Christians are sporadically, then systematically (under Diocletian) persecuted until the Edict of Milan is decreed by Emperor Constantine I

5. Christianity’s appeal to the lower class • Christianity recognized and responded to the basic human needs. • To the oppressed, Christianity’s doctrine placed emphasis on suffering, as Jesus Christ, the Messiah, had suffered too. • To the poor, the doctrine preached almsgiving and a faster road to heaven. • To the guilty, the religion promised divine forgiveness. • For those who feared death, there was everlasting life. • For slaves and women, doctrine preached equality in the eyes of God • Almsgiving attracted so many new converts that Emperor Julian urged pagans to compete with Christians, “who had devoted themselves to philanthropy” and who supported “not only their own poor, but [gentile] poor as well”. • Christianity’s success among the poor and women led Celsius, a historian, to call Christianity the religion of the foolish, the stupid, the slaves, the children, and the women.

6. Christianity’s Appeal to the Middle Class • Christianity was a combination of the orthodoxy and orthopraxy, the system of beliefs and practices carried out among Romans and Greeks. • Preached cosmological dualism (belief in material and spiritual dimesions) and anthropological dualism (belief in physical and spiritual bodies) like platonics • Adopted various Greek philosophical beliefs • Changed polytheistic roots (Yahweh is from canaanite pantheon) to monotheistic religion, which was gaining popularity. • Adopted Xenophanes’ (570-475 BC) monotheistic beliefs: "One god, greatest among gods and humans, like mortals neither in form nor in thought. “But mortals think that the gods are born and have the mortals' own clothes and voice and form” • Adapted to Greek and Roman culture; Pope = Emperor, Cardinal College = Senate, Bishop = governor, etc.

7. Christianity’s appeal to the Roman Patrons • Christianity’s appeal to the rich grew to a noticeable amount only after the religion gained favor among Emperors. Thus the religion allowed the wealthy to get closer to the emperor and socialize with other rich people in large, lavish churches. • Religion became a sign of social status among the wealthy.

8. Christianity’s appeal to the Emperors • With the exception of Constantine, most of the Roman emperors had no appeal to Christianity. • Nero: Persecuted them to avoid being blamed for setting Rome ablaze. • Domatian: Heavily persecuted Christians and Jews; book of revelation may be written during his rule. • Five Good Emperors (96-180): Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, Marcus Aurelius all generally disapproved of Christianity, though none took a serious attempt to eradicate it. • Diocletian: often seen as worst Christian persecutor • Galerius: passes edict which allows Christians to practice religion • Constantine: passes Edict of Milan, generally seen as Christianity’s savior • Theodosius: Makes Nicene Christianity state Religion

9. Constantine I • In February 313, Constantine met with Licinius in Milan, where they developed the Edict of Milan. The edict stated that Christians should be allowed to follow the faith without oppression. This removed penalties for professing Christianity, under which many had been martyred in persecutions of Christians, and returned confiscated Church property. • According to Christian writers, Constantine was over 40 when he finally declared himself a Christian, writing to Christians to make clear that he believed he owed his successes to the protection of the Christian High God alone.Throughout his rule, Constantine supported the Church financially, built basilicas, granted privileges to clergy (e.g. exemption from certain taxes)…. • Constantine's army arrived at the field bearing unfamiliar symbols on either its standards or its soldiers' shields.[155] According to Lactantius, Constantine was visited by a dream the night before the battle, wherein he was advised "to mark the heavenly sign of God on the shields of his soldiers...by means of a slanted letter X with the top of its head bent round, he marked Christ on their shields."[156] Eusebius describes another version, where, while marching at midday, "he saw with his own eyes in the heavens a trophy of the cross arising from the light of the sun, carrying the message, In Hoc SignoVinces or "with this sign, you will conquer";[157] in Eusebius's account, Constantine had a dream the following night, in which Christ appeared with the same heavenly sign, and told him to make a standard, the labarum, for his army in that form.[158] Eusebius is vague about when and where these events took place,[159] but it enters his narrative before the war against Maxentius begins.

10. Bibliography • Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 43; Digeser, 122; Jones, 72; Odahl, 106. • Lactantius, De MortibusPersecutorum 44.4–6, tr. J.L. Creed, Lactantius: De MortibusPersecutorum (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984), qtd. in Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 71. • Eusebius, Vita Constantini 1.28, tr. Odahl, 105. Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 43; Drake, "Impact of Constantine on Christianity" (CC), 113; Odahl, 105. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity#End_of_Roman_persecution_under_Emperor_Constantine_.28313_AD.29 • http://christianity.about.com/od/peopleofthebible/tp/12-Apostles.htm • ^ MaGee Greg. "The Origins of the Church at Rome". bible.org [3] Accessed 18 Mar 2013 • Jump up ^ Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians, Chapter XII • Jump up ^ Serena De Leonardis and Stefano Masi (1999). Art and history: Rome and the Vatican. Casa EditriceBonechi. p. 21 • "Edict of Thessolonica": See Codex TheodosianusXVI.1.2 • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/why/appeal.html • http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_rich_and_poor_Romans_find_christianity_appealing • http://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CN500APOSTLES%20FATE.htm