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Christianity
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Religious Diversity in Early Rome
• Within the culturally diverse Roman empire, a variety of religious beliefs and practices existed.
• Jupiter, Mars, Juno and other traditional Roman gods remained important to some people.
• However, a growing number of people were looking elsewhere for spiritual fulfillment.
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Jesus and His Message
• Jesus was born around 4 B.C. in Bethlehem near Jerusalem, Israel.
• Jesus’ teachings were firmly rooted in Jewish tradition.
• Jesus believed in One God and accepted the Ten Commandments.
• He also preached that he was the Son of God or messiah (chosen one).
• His mission was to bring spiritual salvation and eternal life to anyone who believed in him.
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Death on the Cross
• Some Jews welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem, but others regarded him as a dangerous troublemaker.
• The Romans thought that he would try to take over Rome.
• He was nailed to a cross (crucified) which was the Roman method of killing a person.
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Spread of Christianity
• Following Jesus’ death, his apostles and other disciples (followers) spread Jesus’ message of love and salvation and established Christian communities.
• Paul was one of the first Christian missionaries (a person who spreads Christianity).
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Appeal of Christianity
• The reason many Romans found Christianity appealing is because Jesus had welcomed all people, especially the humble, poor and oppressed.
• Paul also added ideas from Greek philosophy to Jesus’ message.
• The work of missionaries such as Paul was made easier by the unity of the Roman empire.
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End of Persecution
• The persecution of Christians finally ended in 313 A.D. when the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan.
• It granted freedom of worship to all citizens of the Roman empire.
• In making his decision, Constantine was influenced by his mother who was a devout Christian.
• Some 80 years later, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire.
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Structure of the Church
• There are three branches of Christianity today: The original sect of Christianity was the Roman Catholic Church.
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Christianity
Roman Catholicism
ProtestantismEastern
Orthodox
There are 27,000 Protestant denominations.
A few are Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Evangelical, Anglican,
Baptist, Pentecostal, Mormon, Episcopal
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Structure of the Church
• When the Roman Empire split into two sections, an eastern half with it’s capital being in Constantinople, Turkey, and a western half with it’s capital staying in Rome, the Christian Church split as well.
• The western portion remained Roman Catholic and the eastern portion formed a new sect called Eastern Orthodox.
• In the 1500’s a new sect of Christianity formed because the Catholic Church was becoming corrupt. This was called Protestantism.
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Split of the Roman Empire
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Split of the Roman Empire
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Roman Catholic:
• Pope (greatest authority of the Roman Catholic Church)
• Cardinals (people directly beneath the pope who chooses the pope)
• Bishops (a Church official who is responsible for all Christians in an area known as a diocese)
• Priests (a Church official who is responsible for ceremonies called mass in one Church)