Christianity in the Roman Empire: Timeline and History

Christianity in the Roman Empire: In the Judea province, Christianity developed out of Jewish tradition in the first century CE. It then spread throughout the Roman Empire, eventually becoming its official religion. Soon after, Christ’s followers began spreading Christ’s message throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. Originally, Christianity was a small, unorganized sect that promised personal salvation after death. Eventually, Christianity gained followers not only from Jewish communities but from throughout the Roman world. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, receiving legal status in 313 CE. Now, Christians could openly practice their religion. In 380 CE, Christianity gained more acceptance when it became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Christianity in Roman Empire

How Christianity Spread in Roman Empire

Religion was an essential aspect of Roman society. Often, it was seen how religious and political positions were in sync with the fact that many priests held high political positions. The Romans also adopted Greek religious and mythological gods and figures.

While the Romans accepted and tolerated some religions, they persecuted others. Christianity began in the Roman Empire. Jesus Christ, Christianity’s founder, was killed by Roman officials in the province of Judea after being charged with sedition. Soon after, Christ’s followers, for instance, missionaries like Paul, traveled to spread Christ’s message throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. However, this was only limited to people talking about it with their friends, family, and neighbors.

Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, receiving legal status in 313 CE. Now, Christians could openly practice their religion. In 325 CE, the Council of Nicaea gave Christianity greater influence because the Roman Emperor now formally recognized the religion and aimed at forming a clear set of beliefs and practices.

In 380 CE, Christianity gained more acceptance when it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. This led to the standardization of Christian beliefs and practices to a greater extent. Also, Christianity was a reflection of certain Roman cultural practices and ideas.

Rome’s paganistic religion was based on the belief that heaven was only meant for gods and that everyone else would spend eternity in the underworld. However, what attracted people to Christianity was that it believed in equality and that everyone was equal, irrespective of any hierarchy or caste.

Christianity and Rome

Following the decades after Jesus’s death, the Apostle Paul wrote many letters, which are now part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. These letters show that Paul and his fellow Christians were still figuring out what it meant to be a Christian. The exact relationship between Judaism and Christianity and between Christianity and the Roman government were issues that were being discussed.

Although Christianity developed out of Jewish traditions, it had no legal protections. During the first two centuries CE, Christians were occasionally persecuted for their beliefs. However the Roman state officially ignored the Christians unless they clearly challenged imperial authority.

Rome becomes Christian

Let us see how Rome eventually embraced Christianity, a new faith, into their lives.

• Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, which granted Christianity and several other religions legal status. This, however, didn’t mean a total replacement of traditional Roman beliefs with Christianity.

• Constantine called the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, a gathering of Christian leaders to determine the formal—or orthodox—beliefs of Christianity. This resulted in the formation of the Nicene Creed, which laid out the agreed-upon beliefs of the council.

• Emperor Theodosius, in 380 CE, issued the Edict of Thessalonica, which made Christianity, especially Nicene Christianity, the official religion of the Roman Empire. Most other Christian sects were deemed heretical, lost their legal status, and had their properties confiscated by the Roman state.

5 ways in which Christianity spread through ancient Rome

There are certain ways through which we will see how, in ancient Rome, people started embracing Christianity into their lives. Given below are the 5 ways in which Christianity spread through ancient Rome:

1. Citizens spread the word about Christianity.

First, all missionaries like Paul’s travelled to spread Christianity amongst people; however, this was only limited to people talking about it with their friends, family, and neighbours.

An important question to be asked is: How did Christianity go from a small sect in a corner of the Roman Empire in the first century to the religion that the emperor converted to in the early fourth century? The real reason that led to the spread of Christianity was due to the Roman Empire’s political unification and extensive road system, along with the belief among many Christians that the religion was something anyone could adopt, regardless of their regional or religious background.

2. Early on, Christianity coexisted with ‘Paganism’

In the 2nd century, the Roman Empire stretched into Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. One of the important reasons Christianity spread throughout this vast empire was because many people viewed the new religion as something they could easily adopt. They weren’t required to change their existing cultural and religious practices, per se.

Most people in the Roman Empire worshipped multiple gods at once during the 1st and 2nd centuries. It was seen that many people adopted Christianity by adding Jesus to the group of gods they already worshipped.

3. Early Christians Didn’t Present Themselves as an Exclusive Club

Christianity also received acceptance and popularity amongst the masses, as it was a religion that could be followed by anyone, irrespective of the region they came from or the religion they followed prior to this. Though this was debated by some Christians, missionaries like Paul preached that a person didn’t have to obey Jewish laws around circumcision and kosher food practices in order to become a Christian.

In addition, the translation of Christian gospels from their original Aramaic to Greek made them accessible to more people in the Roman Empire. Unlike Aramaic, a regional language spoken in Judea, Greek was spoken throughout the Roman Empire.

4. Early persecution wasn’t widespread.

Emperors like Decius, who ruled from 249 to 251, and Valerian, who ruled from 253 to 260, launched campaigns to promote traditional Roman values and customs, like sacrificing animals to pagan gods. However, Decius’s campaign didn’t target Christians as such, but rather anyone who wasn’t practicing pagan sacrifice. But Valerian’s campaign directly targeted Christians.

After this, the Great Persecution targeted Christians. It started in 303 CE, under the Emperor Diocletian, which led to the deaths of many Christian religious leaders and the seizure of Christian property.

5. An Emperor Converted and Officially Recognised the Faith

However, after the Great Persecution, we see how, in 312 CE, Emperor Constantine became the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. A year later, he helped enact the Edict of Milan, which ended government persecution of Christians and made Christianity a recognised, legal religion within the empire.

Constantine’s rule wasn’t an immediate shift in the Roman Empire from pagan to Christian. Christianity did continue to spread throughout the territories of the Western Roman Empire after its fall in 476 CE. It became the dominant religion in Rome and the European regions over which the Roman Empire ruled in the following centuries.

Conclusion

Despite the widespread persecution of Christians, Christianity grew rapidly in the Roman Empire. What led to its massive spread amongst people in the Roman Empire was that the religion mostly appealed to the poor in Rome. They were drawn to the religion’s belief in salvation and that if you lived a good life, you would go to heaven. Also, the real reason that led to the spread of Christianity was due to the Roman Empire’s political unification and extensive road system, along with the belief among many Christians that the religion was something anyone could adopt, regardless of their regional or religious background.

Frequently Asked Questions: How Christianity Spread in the Roman Empire

1. How likely is it that Christianity developed out of Judaism and affected its spread?

Because it was unclear to early Christians if they were separate from Judaism or not. They questioned whether they should try to convert to being non-Jews. This might have been the reason that initially limited the spread of Christianity to areas with Jewish populations. But, in the long term, we see how Christianity spreads beyond the Jewish communities as well.

2. What do Paul’s letters tell us about Christianity in the mid-first century CE?

Christianity was still not clearly defined at this time. The belief in Jesus as the saviour—the Christ—was established as the defining trait of Christians, but other questions about whether this meant Christians were separate from Judaism were not yet settled. This is what we get to know from Paul’s letters about Christianity in the 1st century CE.

3. How did the Roman Empire shape early Christianity?

Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, receiving legal status in 313 CE. Now, Christians could openly practice their religion. In 325 CE, the Council of Nicaea gave Christianity greater influence because the Roman Emperor now formally recognised the religion and aimed to establish a clear set of beliefs and practices. In 380 CE, Christianity gained more acceptance when it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. This led to the standardisation of Christian beliefs and practices to a greater extent. Also, Christianity was a reflection of certain Roman cultural practices and ideas.

4. Which Roman Emperor converted to Christianity, which further led to the widespread adoption of Christianity in the Roman Empire?

After the Great Persecution in 312 CE, Emperor Constantine became the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. After a year, he helped enact the Edict of Milan, which ended government persecution of Christians and made Christianity a recognised, legal religion within the Roman empire. His rule wasn’t an immediate shift in the Roman Empire from pagan to Christian. Christianity did continue to spread throughout the territories of the Western Roman Empire after its fall in 476 CE. It became the dominant religion in Rome and the European regions over which the Roman Empire ruled in the following centuries.

5. How did Christianity go from a small sect in a corner of the Roman Empire in the first century to the religion that the emperor converted to in the early fourth century?

First, all missionaries like Paul’s travelled to spread Christianity amongst people; however, this was only limited to people talking about it with their friends, family, and neighbours. The real reason that led to the spread of Christianity was due to the Roman Empire’s political unification and extensive road system, along with the belief among many Christians that the religion was something anyone could adopt, regardless of their regional or religious background.