Kristin, Great Post!! I found your discussion straight to the point. One thing that I would like to mention is the fact that Christianity was not taken seriously until, the year 597BC when a pope delivered an assignment to convert the Anglo-Saxon. Prior to this Christianity was considered to be a private organization, with many attempts to completely demolish it within Rome.
One of the many factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire was the rise of a new religion, Christianity. The Christian religion, which was monotheistic ran counter to the traditional Roman religion, which was polytheistic. At different times, the Romans persecuted the Christians because of their beliefs, which were popular among the poor. In 313 C.E., Roman emperor Constantine the Great ended all persecution and declared toleration for Christianity. Later that century, Christianity became the official state religion of the Empire.
These radical changes made to the Christian church allowed for imperial involvement in the religious cult, but it also allowed for a new power and influence of the church on politics and governing of the Roman Empire. The advance in power and status of Christian leaders has been maintained still in modern eras. Although it is debatable whether Christian leaders are as significant and powerful as the period of Constantine’ rule, it is blatantly obvious how Constantine and his Christianization marked the stepping stones for a lot of political and religious relations, as still seen today in the collaboration of the Queen of England and the Pope (Lenski,
Even though Christians were persecuted on and off during the Roman Empire, Christianity flourished. In the early Roman Empire, when Claudius, Nero, Domitian, and Trajan were emperors, Christianity was banned and Christians were persecuted. Nevertheless, Christians found ways to spread Christianity, and many people converted. As trials occurred and the Empire lost good leaders, the people took security in Christianity and other religions. Christianity grew during the Roman Empire because Constantine helped create the Edict of Milan, Constantine had imperial favor toward The Church, and there was trade routes to spread Christianity to different areas.
In the church there were two popes who had different ideas on small issues but very huge in their religion. This became very controversial and soon both of the popes excommunicated each other,this was called the Great Schism, this occurred in 1054. This Great Schism created two branches of Christianity, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, this caused a split in the church but it allowed the churches to have their beliefs and take their own actions. In 1060 the church tried to conquer Spain, where the Muslims were causing the Spanish Reconquista. This Reconquista can show us that the Roman Church was gaining control and power, and
When Charlemagne ascended the throne and had full control of the empire, he wanted to not only rule both his people and Romans, he was also interested in his people and the ones he conquered to convert to Christianity. (Pages 258-259). Charlemagne exceedingly cared about government as much as he cared about religion, which is why one of the things he did when first became an emperor was to make sure that the Pope Hadrian I, got his land back from the Lombard Kingdom and he has also helped the Pope on countless occasions. (Pg. 259). Yes, Charlemagne was truly successful in linking religion and governing, his people or the Romans did not rebel against him and during his ruling he was able to offer people opportunities to learn and deepen their understanding of the Christian faith.
As centuries went on, more Roman emperors began to accept Christianity. Constantine, who incorporated into it several Greek philosophies, finally legalized it in 313 C.E. Christianity also connected the Romans and “barbarians”, leading it to become a highly positive change in the Roman
The views on Christianity throughout Rome changed immensely from the early years of the empire through the fourth century. For a while, Christians were looked at as a threat to many because of their belief in monotheism. Nero and his followers persecuted and punished the lower class and women who followed Christianity as well as use them as political scapegoats. As time went on, the tolerance for Christianity in Rome grew and Christianity gained acceptance. By the fourth century, Christianity was the official religion in Rome.
Holier Than Thou: Religious Rise and Ruin in the Middle Ages A long-standing practice of etiquette cautions discussions of politics or religion in mixed company, a group of people who may not hold the same beliefs or stance in either arena. So indeed, this can be applied to a review of the growth of Christianity through the roughly one thousand years of Medieval Europe. Whether noble or peasant, vassal or serf, one could have quickly found themselves in danger physically, socially, and spiritually should they not worship the same god in the same way as everyone else in their village. It may seem almost easy now to look back at the three periods making up Medieval times and analyze primary and secondary sources to reveal the political, social, and religious climates, but even historians can never be absolutely certain of how those
During the early Pax Romana, Christianity, emerged and it spread rapidly in the Roman Empire. The founder of Christianity was Jesus who used parables with moral lessons to communicate his ideas. Jesus emphasized mercy, sympathy for the poor and helpless, morality, forgiveness, and service to others. Christianity eventually became the official religion of Rome because of its unifying force and the fact that it appealed to all classes in society. The humble, poor and oppressed found comfort in his message of love, equality, human dignity, and promise for a better life.
Christianity is arguably one of the the most influential and important aspects that originated in western civilization. The religion started out as a small sect of Judaism and a man named Jesus spreading his word with a few followers. For centuries, Christians in Rome endured persecution and secret worship. With the appeal of eternal salvation and the hierarchy of the church, Christianity gradually spread, began to rise, and eventually became the prominent religion in Rome. Today, Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world.
Many of these were introduced via the Greek colonies of southern Italy and others had their roots in the Etruscan or Latin tribes of the region (UNRV).” Having been influenced by other religions the Romans were not against the idea of becoming Christians. “By 392 AD, Emperor Theodosius I banned the practice of pagan religions in Rome altogether and Christianity was, without question, the official religion of the state (UNRV).” Present day the Roman religion does not exist. The Romans all converted their beliefs to Christianity soon after being hesitated to in the early fourth century
The existence of Christianity enumerates almost 20 centuries and for this period it made a long way in development and expansion. The Christianity was born in Palestine in the 1st century AD and spread to various corners of the world. Kennedy, P. (2011). Christianity : An Introduction. London: I.B.
For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. One thing we must be aware of is that the early church was constantly considered as a threat to the powers that held sway over them. Christianity began with a Jewish Carpenter from Bethlehem, and therefore it was a religion of the Jews. To be a Jew back then was no more tolerated by the rest of the world than than it is now.
My Conversion Testimony When I was young, I attend church with my neighbors and friends. When I became a teenager, my parents made me go to church. I loved church so I did not have a problem going, but I did not know the reason for attending church. I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. After I became a young adult, I started partying and I did not want to go to church.
During the first three centuries of the Early Christian Church, they were persecuted at the hands of the Roman Authorities. The persecution of the Early Church also sparked the cult of the saints, facilitated the rapid growth and spread of Christianity, prompted defenses and explanations of Christianity. The total number of Christians persecuted in the Early Christian Church is unknown, but some of “early” modern scholars believe that the number of Christians persecuted is not as big as you imagine it to be. There were 54 roman emperors who ruled between 30 and 311, and only a dozen of them actually went out of their way to persecute christians. It has been said that between the first persecution under Nero in 64 to the Edict of Milan in 313, Christians did experience 129 years of persecution and 120 years of toleration and peace.