Religion and the Roman Empire Ms. Carmelitano

Early Religion Numina: Powerful spirits or divine forces worshiped by the earliest Romans Believed to live in everything Lares: Guardian spirits of each family Names were given to them and honored through rituals

Later Gods and Goddesses Adopted the Greek Gods and Goddesses Changed the names to “Roman” names

Religion and the Government Religion was linked to the government Deities were symbols of the state Romans were expected to honor them in shrines in their homes but also in public ceremonies at the temples

Rise of Christanity As the empire grew, so did a new religion It was born out of Judaism Roman power spread to Judea, where the Jews were living in 63 BCE 6 AD Judea became a province The Jews believed that they would again be enslaved under a non-Jewish king

Jesus of Nazareth Estimate birth 6-4 BCE Born in Bethlehem, Judea There is little historic information about his life The majority of information about his life is found in: The Bible and the Gospels The first four books of the New Testament of the Christian Bible Jesus was raised in Nazareth in Northern Judea He became a carpenter

Jesus’ Teachings Rise out of Judaism By age 30 he began public ministry He preached for 3 years He began preaching a new Monotheistic religion: Christianity The Ten Commandments was the foundation for religious law Belief: good people would live in an eternal kingdom after death, wicked would be punished for their sins The Torah is the Old Testament to the Christian Bible DIFFERENCE: Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah became Christians, those who did not, remained Jewish

Death of Jesus 29 AD Jesus visited Jerusalem People flocked calling him the Messiah or king – the one who would rescue the Jews Roman governor, Pontius Pilate accused Jesus of defying the authority of Rome He was not the Roman King He was sentenced to crucifixion a common punishment for opponents to Rome His body was placed in a tomb Gospels preach that three days later his body was gone, and a newly living Jesus was appearing to his followers

Jewish Rebellion 66 AD a group of Jews rebelled against Rome 132 AD 70 AD Romans destroyed the temple complex All that was left was the western wall – which is the holiest place for Jews to worship today Half a million Jews were killed in the rebellion until the Romans won in 73 AD 132 AD Another rebellion, half a million again were killed Many Jews were driven from their homeland in the Diaspora: The time when Jews were driven into exile from their homeland This facilitated a further spread of the religion

The Movement Grows Gospels were written by disciples or pupils 12 men, later called apostles These people helped to spread the message of Christianity They traveled around the Roman Empire, teaching of Jesus, and the Monotheistic Religion

Christianity Spreads Followers spread the ideas and teachings of Jesus outside of the Roman empire The Apostle Paul Never met Jesus At first and enemy to Christianity Believed he had vision of Jesus Spread the word of his teachings

Pax Romana Safe roads, common language Made trade safe and easy Made the spread of ideas easy as well This allowed for the religion to spread quickly and easily

Becoming a world Religion Three million Christians by the third century AD People converted because Christianity: Embraced all people – men and women, enslaved, poor, nobles Gave hope to powerless Appealed to those who disliked the extravagance of Rome Offered personal relationship with God Promised eternal life after death

Constantine 312 AD He Reported seeing an image of a cross Constantine was a Roman Emperor fighting for leadership of Rome He Reported seeing an image of a cross symbol of Christianity He put symbol on shields, troops won At the battle of Milivian Bridge 313 AD announced an end to persecution of Christians EDICT OF MILAN 380 AD Emperor Theodosius made it official religion of empire

Early Church Roman hierarchy Priest: lead a small group Bishop: priest who supervised many churches Peter was first Bishop of Rome Pope: leader of whole church Peter was the first Pope Bishop of Rome was leader of church

Holy Book: Bible Old Testament: The Jewish Torah – first part of the Christian Bible New Testament : Second part of the Christian Bible Compilation of four Gospels believed to have been originally written by the apostles 325 CE Constantine wrote the Nicene Creed defining basic beliefs