1. The Constantine Shift

2. The Early Church in the Roman Empire The apostles of Jesus began preaching his Word after Pentecost when they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 1) Each apostle travelled within the Roman Empire and churches grew in these areas The original base for the early Church was Jerusalem but after 70CE it moved to Rome

3. The Early Church in the Roman Empire

4. Early Christians were part of the Roman Empire After the initial missions of the apostles most Christians came from Non-Jewish (Gentile) backgrounds After the Council of Jerusalem there was no longer an obligation for Christians to become Jews first Christianity grew in popularity amongst Roman and non Roman citizens

5. Paul the Christian Roman Citizen St Paul was a Jewish convert who spread Christianity around the greatest area of the Empire As a Roman citizen he saw the benefits of the Empire and had no sympathy with rebellion “ Obey the State authorities” Romans 13 indicates he believe the government was there by God’s will

6. Ordinary Christianity As Christianity grew throughout the Empire it became a leading political force. Church leaders or Bishops had power of their supporters Early Emperors sought to quash it as they enjoyed the adulation that Emperor worship conveyed By the 4 th Century C.E. the numbers were to great to persecute.

7. Emperor Constantine Emperor Constantine chose to harness the power of Christianity to his Empire He organised the Council of Bishops at Nicaea to come to agreement over the basic tenets of Christianity He made Christianity the official religion of the Empire

8. The Constantine Shift Once Christianity was the official religion it had new issues to contend with Fighting was no longer a matter of personal conscience but of defence of the Empire

9. The Constantine Shift The reasons for the justification of War had to be worked through Allowances had to be made for soldiers whose job was defence The Church was now established and had a hierarchy Pope, Bishops etc.

10. Constantine Shift Christians had to accept that the Final Judgement may be later than originally thought The difference between those concerned with religion (e.g. priests) and others could be made

11. Task 1. Why were Early Christians pacifists? 2. Why were the Early Christians persecuted by a)The Jews b) The Romans and why did this change over time? 3. How did Constantine’s attitude change Christianity? 4. Why is the Constantine Shift significant in the discussion of Christianity and warfare?