RELIGION
When Rome was first established, they believed in numerous gods. They were the same gods and goddesses the Greeks believed in, but the Romans gave each god a different name. The Romans also believed in the same mythology as the Greeks. There were many feasts and celebrations held to honor the gods and goddesses.
Rome became tolerant of different polytheistic religions in the Empire. When Rome captured Judea, they excused Jews from worshiping one god. Many Jews obeyed and followed Roman customs, but some did not. In A.D. 66, some Jews rebeled and were crushed by the Romans. Rome captured Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. When revolts broke out again, Rome leveled Jerusalem, thousands of Jews were killed, and many Jews were enslaved. Many of the rest of the Jews left Judea. As time went on, Rome flourished and expanded and Christianity came to Rome.
CHRISTIANITY: A jew named Jesus started to preach to people all over about God. Jesus followed Jewish tradition. Jesus traveled to Jerusalem and started to preach to the Romans. Rome saw Jesus as a threat and sent him to be crucified. After he died, his apostles spread his message all over. The apostle Peter established Christianity in Rome, but Paul, a disciple had the most inflential part in spreading Christianity to Rome. The Roman rulers were still not accepting of Christianity and killed many Christians. Regardless of the attacks on Christians, Christianity started to appeal to the citizens of Rome. Disciples would educate Romans about Christianity by using ideas from Plato and Socrates. Christianity was finally accepted in A.D. 313 when Constantine the emperor issued the Edict of Milan which granted freedom of of worship in Rome. Then Emperor Theodosius proclaimed Christianity the official religion of Rome at the end of the century.
To join the church you had to be baptized. It was believed that through baptism your sins were forgiven and washed away. Members of the church were equal "brothers," and "sisters." Each Sunday Christians would gather and worship God.
The men who conducted Christian services were called the clergy. Each Christian community and its clergy were called a diocese which had its own preist and a bishop. A bishop was a high Church official who was responsible for everyone in his diocese.They were the successors of the apostles. Bishops that gained great authority became Patriarchs and had authority over other Bishops in the area. Between the Patriarchs became rivalries. To stop these rivalries, a pope was elected. A pope claimed authority over all the other bishops. To end heresies, or false church teachings, councils met to decide official Christian teachings.
Rome became tolerant of different polytheistic religions in the Empire. When Rome captured Judea, they excused Jews from worshiping one god. Many Jews obeyed and followed Roman customs, but some did not. In A.D. 66, some Jews rebeled and were crushed by the Romans. Rome captured Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. When revolts broke out again, Rome leveled Jerusalem, thousands of Jews were killed, and many Jews were enslaved. Many of the rest of the Jews left Judea. As time went on, Rome flourished and expanded and Christianity came to Rome.
CHRISTIANITY: A jew named Jesus started to preach to people all over about God. Jesus followed Jewish tradition. Jesus traveled to Jerusalem and started to preach to the Romans. Rome saw Jesus as a threat and sent him to be crucified. After he died, his apostles spread his message all over. The apostle Peter established Christianity in Rome, but Paul, a disciple had the most inflential part in spreading Christianity to Rome. The Roman rulers were still not accepting of Christianity and killed many Christians. Regardless of the attacks on Christians, Christianity started to appeal to the citizens of Rome. Disciples would educate Romans about Christianity by using ideas from Plato and Socrates. Christianity was finally accepted in A.D. 313 when Constantine the emperor issued the Edict of Milan which granted freedom of of worship in Rome. Then Emperor Theodosius proclaimed Christianity the official religion of Rome at the end of the century.
To join the church you had to be baptized. It was believed that through baptism your sins were forgiven and washed away. Members of the church were equal "brothers," and "sisters." Each Sunday Christians would gather and worship God.
The men who conducted Christian services were called the clergy. Each Christian community and its clergy were called a diocese which had its own preist and a bishop. A bishop was a high Church official who was responsible for everyone in his diocese.They were the successors of the apostles. Bishops that gained great authority became Patriarchs and had authority over other Bishops in the area. Between the Patriarchs became rivalries. To stop these rivalries, a pope was elected. A pope claimed authority over all the other bishops. To end heresies, or false church teachings, councils met to decide official Christian teachings.