Block Day- October 15 th & 16 th Welcome Back How was break?? This Quarter: Rise of Christianity & Fall of Rome Islam Emerging Europe and Middle Ages Renaissance & Reformation Exploration- possibly…

New Seating Charts

CNN Student News plus another Warm Up Name one of the favorite things you did this break or something fun that happened- appropriate please CNN Student News

Learning Goal: Students will be able to… Summarize the life and teachings of Jesus. Trace the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Analyze Christianity’s appeal.

Name 2 symbols that you associate with Christianity *DISCLAIMER* This class is not about my personal views on religion, or about instilling any views of religion on others. It is a intellectual discussion on the origins of Christianity and its beliefs, not on whether it is correct or not. Please make sure that you are sensitive to others when discussing this topic.*

ROME & THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY The rise of Christianity marked an important break with the dominant values of the Greek and Roman worlds.

Early Roman Religion Played an important role in Roman society Beginning with Augustus, emperors were often declared gods ◦ Romans worship many gods & goddesses (polytheism) Roman Worship of Gods: ◦ Impersonal ◦ Practiced without a great deal of emotion

Tolerance in Rome Romans were tolerant of other religions Allowed worship of other gods and goddesses People desired a more emotional spiritual experience

Roman Conquest of Judea CA 63 BCE—Roman Empire extends to Judea (Home of the Jews) Jewish kingdom remained independent at first, 6 CE—Roman Empire took total control and made Judea a Roman province Jews believed the Messiah would arrive to restore kingdom of the Jews

Jews in Rome Most Jews of the time lived in Judea which became part of the Roman empire in 6 A.D. Jews were monotheistic therefore they could not accept the emperor as being divine The Romans allowed them not to see the emperor as divine Many Jews wanted to be independent

THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY Although Christians were initially persecuted, Christianity grew in importance and spread throughout the empire.

Jesus of Nazareth

The Beginnings of Jesus He was a carpenter and a student of the writings of earlier Jewish prophets Historians believe he was born between 6 to 4 BCE in town of Bethlehem, Judea Raised in the village of Nazareth in Northern Palestine Baptized by prophet John the Baptist Public Ministry—began at the age of 30

Jesus of Nazareth Reportedly performed miracles, preached, did good works Teachings: Contained many ideas from Jewish tradition Monotheism—belief in one god Principles of the Ten Commandments His mission was to complete the salvation that God had promised

Followers of Jesus He developed many followers Of these he chose Twelve to help him preach his message

Jesus Travels Jesus became popular as he traveled from town to town Messages: appealed especially to the poor (he ignored wealth and status) Simple and direct—people touched by messages (easily understood)

Controversy with Jesus Many Jews believed Jesus was the divine messiah Other Jews thought he was just a revolutionary and they did not like him ◦ The Romans were scared that he would lead another uprising ◦ Thought of him as a Revolutionary ◦ Around 30 A.D. He was brought to trial before a Roman governor, Pontius Pilate

Pilate’s Concerns Pontius Pilate— accused Jesus of defying authority of Rome Jesus was arrested, sentenced to death by crucifixion —the nailing of a person to a wooden cross to die

Jesus’ Death Jesus’ body placed in a tomb following his death According to the Gospels, 3 days later, his body was gone, & a living Jesus appeared to his followers.

CHRISTIANITY SPREADS THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE

Paul and the Disciples Jesus' followers, called disciples, spread the Christian message Paul emphasized that Christianity was not a sect of Judaism, but a religion of all people Universality enables Christianity to become more than a local religion

The Romans and Christians At first the Romans were tolerant of Christians the same way they were of Jews By the 100’s A.D. that had changed Many churches established throughout the empire Christians made good citizens because the religion taught them to respect government However they were more likely than Jews to convert people to their religion, which meant not worshipping the emperor This was seen as an attack on the Roman empire

Persecution of Christians Romans began to persecute, kidnap and kill Christians Many Christians refused to renounce their religion even in the face of death They are known as martyrs The Roman effort would not stop the spread of Christianity

Persecution of the Christians (Left) Picture of St. Ignatius being thrown to the Lions in Rome. (He was a Christian martyr)

Christian Appeal Even with the persecution of the Christians by the 3 rd Century A.D. there were millions of Christians in Rome Widespread Appeal due to: 1) embraced all people 2) gave hope to the powerless 3) appealed to those repelled by extravagances by Rome 4) Personal relationship with loving God 5) promised eternal life after death 6) Pax Romana

Catacombs- a refuge for early Christians

Martyr St. Sebastian St. Stephen

The Spread of Christianity

Roman Roads and Why they were important

Roman Roads Article

Constantine: Constantine was the 1 st Christian Emperor

Constantine and Christianity 312 A.D. Emperor Constantine was going to battle when he prayed for help…. He had a vision of a cross; symbol of Christianity He had a cross painted on his soldiers shields When he won the battle he gave credit to Christianity 313 A.D. Constantine ended Christian persecution and in the Edict of Milan made Christianity a religion of Rome 380 A.D. emperor Theodosius made it the official religion of Rome.

Constantine Constantine died in 337 A.D. he was baptized on his death bed A 180 degree turn from the early days of Rome In about 400 years Christianity spread from little Judea throughout the entire Roman Empire

Constantine Moves the Roman Capital Constantine divides the Roman Empire into two: Rome = capital of west Constantinople = capital of east

The Early Church As the Roman empire neared its end the Christian religion became very organized Priests had the churches and in each city there was a bishop

The Pope The patriarch of Rome became known as Pope Pope means father in Latin The pope claimed supremacy over the other patriarchs

The Vatican

Archdiocese/Archbishop Bishop/Diocese Priest/Parish Pope

DBQ