Christianity Reading Info

Just as the Romans influenced the people they conquered, the conquered people influenced the Romans. Among those who were to have a major influence on the Romans were the Christians. Their religion, Christianity, started in Palestine among the Jews. Like other religions from the Middle East, Christianity was ultimately brought to Rome. At first, most Romans ignored or ridiculed Christianity. Some emperors treated Christians cruelly. By 400 AD, however, attitudes had changed. Christianity had become the official religion of the Roman Empire.

CHRISTIANITY AND ROME

Times of peace in the Roman Empire helped Christianity spread. The Pax Romana allowed missionaries to travel safely all over the empire. The Roman system of roads helped missionaries go quickly from one place to the next. As most of the people spoke either Latin or Greek, the missionaries could talk with people directly without interpreters.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Political conditions did not favor the spread of Christianity. Although all people in the Roman Empire were allowed to worship freely, Romans expected everyone to honor the emperor as a god. The Christians, like the Jews, refused to do this. They claimed that only God could be worshipped. This greatly annoyed the Romans.

The Romans did not like some other Christian attitudes as well. For example, Christians did not want to serve in the army or hold public office. They often criticized Roman festivals and games. They taught that all people would be equal in heaven if they followed Jesus’ teachings.

Because of these attitudes, the Romans blamed and punished the Christians for all kinds of disasters, such as plagues and famines. In 64 AD, the Roman government accused the Christians of starting a fire that burned down much of Rome. Christianity was made illegal, and many Christians were killed in front of spectators at the Roman Colosseum.

Some Roman government officials ignored the laws that made Christianity illegal, but Christians still had a difficult time in most other areas of the empire. In Rome, Christians were forbidden to use regular burial places. They had to bury their dead in crowded catacombs underneath the city streets. Today the catacombs of Rome are a popular tourist attraction, but a reminder of a time of persecution.

THE BEGINNINGS

Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus. According to some historians, Jesus lived in Palestine during the reign of Augustus. After Jesus died, his followers spread his teachings. Christianity survived the fall of Rome and it’s empire and grew to be one of the major influences on western civilization.

THE LIFE OF JESUS

Jesus, born a Jew in the town of Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. There, he received a Jewish education in the local synagogues, Jewish temples used for worship. He studied the sacred writings of Judaism called scriptures and learned prayers in the Hebrew language. Later, he went to work as a carpenter did.

As he grew into adulthood, Jesus began to travel throughout Palestine preaching to the people. Men and women came in large numbers from all over the country to see and hear him. Jesus taught that people should love God and one another. He taught that people should behave like god’s children and that God created all humans and loved them the way a father loved his children. Jesus particularly extended God’s love to people who had sinned. He told the people that if they were truly sorry and placed their trust in God, they would be forgiven in the afterlife.

Jesus spoke in the everyday language of the people. He presented his teachings using stories about people and things that were familiar to his listeners. Today, Jesus’s teachings are called parables. In this way, early listeners could better understand the religious principles that Jesus was trying to teach them.

In 30 AD, Jesus and 12 of his apostles, or 12 original followers, went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, the holiday that marks the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. At the time, there was much unrest in Jerusalem. Many Roman officials believed all Jews were guilty of treason because they refused to worship statues of the Roman emperor. The Romans forced Jews to pay high taxes and quickly tired of other pressures put on them by the Romans. The Jews hoped and waited for a messiah, or someone who would save them.

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, many Jews greeted him as the messiah. This worried other Jews and Romans alike. Jesus was convicted of treason under Roman law and was crucified, or executed, on a cross outside of Jerusalem. Usually, only lower-class criminals were executed in this way.

Jesus’ disciples were greatly saddened by the loss of their leader. Then, they heard that Jesus had risen from the dead. Following the resurrection, Jesus reportedly remained on earth for 40 days before going directly to heaven. This convinced his disciples that because Jesus had suffered death and had risen to life, he could forgive the sins of humanity. They thought that anyone who believed in Jesus and lived by his teachings would know eternal life after death. From then on, the disciples called him Christ, after the Greek word Christos, meaning “messiah.”

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THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY

In spite of many difficulties Christianity continued to spread. At first, the rich where not interested in it. They did not want anything to do with a religion whose founder had died by crucifixion. Christianity was of more interest to the poor workers and slaves in the cities. They led very hard lives. A religion that promised a happier life after death attracted them.

Over time, Christianity began to draw people from all classes. After 250 AD, Roman citizens grew tired of constant wars and feared the collapse of their empire. They began to admire the certainty and courage of the Christian missionaries. They wanted the love, kindness, and security that Christianity offered. Christian writers began to claim that it was possible to be both good Christians and good Roman citizens.

THE EARLY CHURCH

Early Christians thought the end of the world was near. At the time, they believed Jesus would return to set up God’s kingdom on earth. While they were waiting for this to happen, they lived together in small groups called churches. Early followers shared whatever goods they had and took turns conducting worship services in homes and outdoors. Each group managed its own affairs. Original followers of Jesus called disciples chose to preach his gospel and visited the various groups. The disciples taught and gave advice on problems. They also provided a sense of unity for early Christians.

CHURCH STRUCTURE

After the original apostles died, Christians realized that Jesus was not going to return to earth as quickly as they had expected. So, followers looked for ways to hold their churches together. They began to develop a church organization. Since they lived in the Roman Empire, they copied its structure of government.

By 300 AD, each local church was called a parish. Each parish had a full time leader known as a priest. Several parishes were grouped together into larger units. Each unit was called a diocese, a term that originally meant a Roman military district. A bishop headed each Christian diocese. The most important bishops were called archbishops.

As time went on, the archbishop of Rome began to claim authority over the other archbishops. By 600 AD, he was called pope, and his select group of assistants around Europe were called cardinals..” Latin-speaking Christians regarded the pope as the head of all of the Christian churches. Greek-speaking Christians, however, would not accept the pope's authority over their churches in the East. Greek-speaking Christians instead followed the teachings of the archbishop of Constantinople. In 1054 AD, the Latin and Greek churches split with Latin churches centered in Rome becoming known as the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek churches of Constantinople becoming known as the Eastern Orthodox Church.