Chapter 13 – Rome and Christianity

Section NotesReligion in the Roman EmpireOrigins of ChristianityThe Early Christian World

VideoAncient Rome and the

World Today

ImagesPantheonResistance to RomeThe Last Supper

Quick FactsChapter 13 Visual Summary

MapsJesus of NazarethPaul’s JourneysThe Spread of Christianity,

300-400

Religion in the Roman Empire

The Big Idea

The Roman Empire accepted many religions, but it came into conflict with Judaism.

Main Ideas

• The Romans allowed many religions to be practiced in their empire.

• Jews and Romans clashed over religious and political ideas.

• The roots of Christianity had appeared in Judea by the end of the first century BC.

6.7.5

Main Idea 1: The Romans allowed many religions to be

practiced in their empire.

• Romans were accepting of the gods of the people that they conquered, and they prayed to a wide range of gods.

– They were not sure which gods existed and which did not, so to avoid offending the ones that did exist, they prayed to a wide range of gods and goddesses.

• The Romans would ban a religion if it was considered a political problem.

Religious Reasons

• The Romans worshipped many gods, whereas the Jews had only one God.

• Some Romans thought the Jews were insulting their gods by worshipping only one God.

Political Reasons

• The Jews rebelled against Roman rule twice and were defeated.

• The Romans grew tired of rebellion, so Emperor Hadrian banned the religion.

• The Jews still rebelled, so Hadrian destroyed the Jew-ish capital of Jerusalem and forced the Jews out after the Romans built over it.

Main Idea 2:Jews and Romans clashed over religious and

political ideas.

Main Idea 3: The roots of Christianity had appeared in Judea by the end of the first century BC.

• Before the Jews rebelled, a new religion appeared in Judea.

• This religion, which later developed into Christianity, was based on the life and teachings of the Jew Jesus of Nazareth.

• It was rooted in Jewish ideas and traditions.

The Messiah

• Messiah means “anointed” in Hebrew.

• The Jews believed that the Messiah would be chosen by God to lead them.

• The Jews believed that if they followed the laws closely, a descendant of King David would come restore the kingdom.

• A prophet named John the Baptist announced that this leader, the Messiah, was coming soon.

Origins of Christianity

The Big Idea

Christianity, based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, spread quickly after his death.

Main Ideas

• In Christian belief, Jesus was the Messiah and the son of God.

• Jesus taught about salvation, love for God, and kindness.

• Jesus’s followers, especially Paul, spread his teachings after his death.

6.7.6

Main Idea 1: In Christian belief, Jesus was the Messiah

and the son of God.

• The limited knowledge about Jesus’ life is contained in the Bible, the holy book of Christianity.

• The Bible is made up of two parts.

– The Old Testament tells the history and ideas of the Hebrew people.

– The New Testament tells about the life and teachings of Jesus.

The Birth of Jesus

• According to the Christian Bible, Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph.

• Jesus studied carpentry and Judaism.

• Stories of his teachings and actions make up the beginning of the New Testament.

The Crucifixion

• His teachings challenged the authority of political and religious leaders.

• According to the Christian Bible, Roman authorities arrested him.

• He was tried and executed by crucifixion, a type of execution in which a person was nailed to a cross.

The Resurrection

• According to Christians, Jesus rose from the dead, something they called the Resurrection.

• They believe he then appeared to his disciples and told them to pass along his teachings before rising up to heaven.

• Some people called him Jesus Christ, which is how the words Christians and Christianity eventually developed.

– Christ comes from Christos, the Greek word for Messiah.

Main Idea 2: Jesus taught about salvation,

love for God, and kindness.

• His followers believed that Jesus performed events that cannot normally be performed by humans, called miracles.

• They claimed he taught through parables, or stories that teach lessons about how to live.

– Parables were able to link his teachings to people’s everyday lives.

– They explained complicated ideas in ways that people could understand.

• He taught his followers about loving God and other people, and about salvation.

Main Idea 3: Jesus’ followers, especially Paul, spread his

teachings after his death.

• Jesus chose people to pass along his teachings.

– 12 Apostles

• They were Jesus’ closest followers during his lifetime.

• Peter became leader of the group after Jesus died.

– The writers of the Gospels were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

– Paul was also known as Paul of Tarsus. He didn’t like Christianity at first, but converted later.

Saint Paul

• Paul of Tarsus, who had never met Jesus, became one of his most influential followers.

• Paul was named a saint, a person known and admired for his or her holiness.

• Paul traveled widely, spreading Christian teachings.

• Paul believed that God is made up of a Trinity, or three persons—God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are three persons, but still only one God.

The Early Christian World

The Big Idea

Within three centuries after Jesus’s death, Christianity had spread through the empire and become

Rome’s official religion.

Main Ideas

• Christianity spread quickly in Rome, but its growing strength worried some emperors.

• As the church grew, new leaders and ideas appeared and Christianity’s status in the empire changed.

6.7.7

Main Idea 1:Christianity spread quickly in Rome, but its growing strength worried some emperors.

• Christians spread their beliefs throughout the Roman Empire, but were challenged at times.

– Distributed parts of Jesus’s message, including the Gospels

• Some people, called martyrs, were killed for their religious beliefs.

To prevent unrest in the empire, some emperors banned Christianity, leading to periods of persecution.

Persecution

Persecution means punishing a group because of its beliefs or differences.

Christians were often forced to meet in secret. They developed symbols such as the fish to identify who shared their beliefs.

Main Idea 2:As the church grew, new leaders and ideas

appeared and Christianity’s status in the empire changed.

• Bishops, or local Christian leaders, led each Christian community.

– One of their most important duties was leading the Eucharist. This was a central ceremony of the Christian Church. Christians ate bread and drank wine in memory of Jesus’s death.

• The papacy grew in power.

• Emperors and writers started to accept Christianity.

Growth of the Papacy

• Christians looked to bishops for guidance.

• The most honored bishop was located in Rome and was called the pope.

– Pope is the Greek word for father.

• As the pope’s influence grew, so did the papacy, the office of the pope.

• People in the West came to see him as the head of the whole Christian Church.

New Teachings and Emperors

• Augustine of Hippo, a classical philosopher, became a Christian and applied Plato’s ideas to Christian beliefs.

• About the same time, an emperor named Constantine converted to Christianity. He removed all bans against the practice of the religion.

• His successor, Theodosius, banned all non-Christian religions.

– He called together Christian leaders to clarify church teachings so that all Christians believed the same thing.

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