Posted: September 5th, 2022

Christianity in the Roman Empire

Christianity in the Roman Empire
Christianity began in the mid-first century CE in the Roman Empire. It was based on the teachings of Jesus Christ about salvation. Christianity gradually spread throughout the Roman Empire. Several factors supported its growth, while others opposed it.
Factors that supported the growth of Christianity
1. Supportive emperors
Before Christianity, Judaism was the legal religion in the Roman Empire. During the reign of Emperor Constantine, he issued the Edict of Milan that enabled Christianity as well as other religions to gain legal status.
He later convened the council of Nicaea that came up with the Nicene Creed. These were the beliefs of Christianity. In 380 CE, emperor Theodosius made Nicene Christianity the dominant religion. Other sects of Christianity were denied legal status. Ten years after Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan. Christianity became the state religion.
2. Apostles and missionaries
Apostles such as Paul helped in spreading Christianity. Unlike Jesus, who only preached to the Jews, Paul preached to both the Jews and the gentiles. He preached in synagogues and villages. He also sent letters that later became the letters of Paul in the New Testament. Modern communication in the Roman Empire also supported the growth of Christianity. As Christianity continued spreading, it started accommodating different traditions that forced the Jews to relax their rules. Dictates on some practices such as circumcision were relaxed.
Factors that opposed the spread of Christianity
1. Unsupportive leaders
Although emperors such as Emperor Constantine supported the growth of Christianity, others such as Nero did not. When a fire burnt part of the Roman Empire, Emperor Nero blamed Christianity. That led to the persecution of Christians. During that period, Rome experienced a high rate of corruption, moral decadence, and high rates of inflation. Pagans blamed Christians for all these.
2. Prosecution of Christians
Christians were accused of cannibalism and incest. This is because they performed some rituals in secret like partaking the last supper. They were persecuted and punished. Some were burnt alive while others were torn apart by wild animals. This threatened the growth of Christianity. People such as Polycarp were killed for failing to declare Caesar is lord.
How Christianity united and divided the Roman Empire
Christianity played a significant role in uniting the Roman Empire. It not only brought together the Jews but also the gentiles. When it was declared the state religion, most of the people joined Christianity.
Although Christianity united the Roman Empire, it also played a role in dividing it. Some of the leaders like Emperor Nero were not in support of it. They highly contributed to the prosecutions of Christians.

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