Christianity Early Christianity The Late Roman Empire Spread to Rome early in the first century Brought by nameless individuals Benefited from freedom of travel during Pax Romana Diocletian One of two Roman emperors to reform the Roman Empire Born in the Balkans Rose to power through the Roman army Strong-willed and insisted on divine status Overtly emphasized his image as emperor Brought some stability and reasonable prosperity Diocletian Restructured the empire Installed a Tetrarchy four rulers sharing Imperial power, with two senior Augusti supported by two junior Caesars Reformed & strengthened the Imperial bureaucracy Reformed taxation to make it more equal Attempted to control wages and prices Split empire into two halves with each rules by an Augustus and a Caesar Divided the provinces into dioceses Diocletian Persecuted the Christian Church for eight years (even after Diocletian retired) Sought to eliminate Christianity altogether Forbade Christians to worship Destroyed their churches and books Arrested their bishops Anyone found practicing Christianity must make a sacrifice to the emperor Failure to do so was punishable by death Purpose was to eliminate Christianity but it did the opposite
Made martyrs, Many new converts, Strength of faith Constantine Civil wars between tetrarchs after Diocletian s reign Constantine was son of one of the tetrarchs Fought his way to power and became sole emperor Constantine s Achievements Established two capitals One in Rome and one in Byzantium (later named Constantinople) Made two Roman empires (West and East) Elaborate administrative system Split into four Imperial prefectures, a dozen dioceses, and 120 separate provinces Constantine s Achievements Reformed the army Imposed taxes that made people incredibly poor Legalized Christian Church in Rome Priests could be found in the army Bishops were part of the Imperial court Rebuilt Byzantium as a Christian center and filled it with Christian churches and monuments All following emperors were Christian Christian Concepts Rooted in Judaism s post-exilic hopes for a Messiah Arose as God s intervention in human history Purpose was to establish a new covenant to supplant the covenant established by Moses Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ Messiah
After Jesus death, Christology divided Christians Christology What was the nature of Jesus Christ? Man or God or combination? Relationship of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit? Jesus Christ Information comes from later writings called the gospels Gospels the first four books of the New Testament of the Christian Bible Jesus early life remains unkown The gospel of St Matthew traces Jesus ancestry to King David Provides stories about Jesus birth, The Wise Men, The flight to Egypt The slaughter of the innocents The return to Israel The residence in Nazareth Provide few details of Jesus life Jesus Christ The Gospel of St Luke connects Jesus and John the Baptist through their mothers Birth date approximated around 4 B.C.E. No further information exists about him until age 30 Began public ministry The gospel of St Mark is vague about Jesus being a carpenter Baptized by John the Baptist Shared John s message that Israeli s must repent Jesus Teachings Jesus called the twelve disciples to share his teaching and healing ministry Jesus teaching centered on the Kingdom of God Jesus evokes God s active involvement in saving humankind and in establishing a reign of justice and peace
Reveals God s steadfast love and grace offered without precondition This steps away from conventional Judaism Jesus Teachings Central focus is love: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself. Gospels portray Jesus as a teacher, miracle worker, and friend of sinners Goes out of his way to associate with poor, downtrodden, and socially unacceptable Such people constitute the special objects of God s love and care Revolutionary message Concerns Revolutionary message Caused concern because it created unrest among people in Palestine Jesus was crucified with other criminals on a hill called Golgotha (the place of the skull) outside Jerusalem All four gospels maintain that on the third day after death, Jesus rose from the dead Three gospels suggest that Jesus appeared to his disciples in a solid body before ascending to heaven The Resurrection becomes a miracle and God s redeeming act in the salvation of the world The Apostolic Mission Christianity spread because Jesus commanded his followers to carry on his commission from God, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, & Luke The new name Christian appeared Became an organized movement with clear leaders Jews and Jews who embraced Jesus saw each other as different Worshipped in the same place Followed the same religious practices The Apostolic Mission The Romans made no distinction between the two groups Many divisions within early Christianity
Earliest Christian Bible was the Old Testament the Jewish canon Supplemented in Christian worship by oral accounts of Jesus St Paul s Letter to the Romans in the New Testament formulated Christianity into understandable terms compatible with a wide range of peoples Felt an intense need to create institutions Loosely organized and totally different from religions around it Christians fought over beliefs The Church brought people together Appealed to men and women of late Roman and post-roman periods Christianity had a multifaceted appeal Acceptable to the most lowly and illiterate as well as the educated and sophisticated Aristocracy and upper classes in the Roman Empire converted Made Christianity a political force Every city had a Christian community presided over by a bishop, priests, and deacons Bishops were chosen by their communities and decided theological disputes Christians suffered fierce persecution Refused to worship the emperor as a divine being Abhorred violence and refused to serve in the Roman army Constantine converted to Christianity and claimed that he was brought to faith by God to be the means of the faith s triumph Christianity became the official religion of the empire Clergy was exempt from taxes
Bishops could settle disputes of law in all civil cases involving Christians Church buildings became places of safety where a criminal could escape arrest or punishment The Church began to build up its own administration similar to civil bureaucracy Bishops of Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria claimed special privilege because each city s Church was founded by the apostles Rome claimed supremacy because it was founded by St Peter whom Jesus had entrusted with building the Church and because it was the capital of the empire The Empire and the Church became strongly connected The Popes Claim of a pope with complete authority over Christendom developed slowly Rome s supremacy was acknowledged Constantinople was second because Constantinople was considered the New Rome The Petrine theory Pope Leo I All apostles were subordinate to Peter, all other bishops were subordinate to bishop of Rome Nearly all Western Christians came to acknowledge the pope of Rome as head of the whole Church Assignment Based on everything you ve learned (in this class and elsewhere), do you think Constantine s conversion to Christianity was wise? Do you think the Roman Empire would have been equally successful without the integration of religion? Explain your answer in a complete paragraph. Due Thursday at the beginning of class