Instructions: Define each term and write your

answers in your lecture notebook. Refer your

answers on pages 166-175 of your AP textbook.
1. Apostolic Tradition
2. Sacred Scriptures
3. Edict of Milan
4. Council of Nicaea
5. Great Schism
6. Magisterium of the Church
7. Doctrine of Petrine Succession
8. Papal Monarchy
APOSTOLIC TRADITION
 “theliving transmission of the
Word of God in its entirety
which has been entrusted to
the apostles by Christ the Lord
and the Holy Spirit”
 SACRED SCRIPTURES
“the speech of God as it is
put down in writing under
the breath of the Holy Spirit”
 EDICT OF MILAN
Granted religious tolerance
to Christianity
 COUNCIL OF NICAEA

 Convened in 325 CE by Emperor

Constantine the Great to settle the
issue of the relationship of Jesus to
the Father;
 Declared that Jesus Christ was “of
the same substance as God,
uncreated and coeternal with Him.”
 GREAT SCHISM
 The split of the Christian Church
into the Roman Catholic Church
and Greek Orthodox Church in
1054 CE.
 MAGISTERIUM OF THE
CHURCH
 Refers to the authority of the Church
to exercise in the name of Jesus
Christ the task of “giving the authentic
interpretation of the Word of God,
whether in its written form or in the
form of Tradition.”
 DOCTRINE OF PETRINE
SUCCESSION
 Advocated the view that Peter was
entrusted by Jesus to continue the
work of preaching and pasturing to
the people of God
 PAPAL MONARCHY
 Where Popes acted as if they were
political rulers themselves exercising
political and economic powers over
the people.
The Rise of Christianity
 Essential Question:
What impact did the rise
and spread of Christianity
have on the Classical World?
What was religion like in Rome?
 Religion in the Roman Empire

Religion in Rome was polytheistic and Roman gods

were based on the Greek gods
Religion in the Roman Empire

Romans worshipped the gods in daily

rituals, but most Roman citizens were not
very emotional about their religion
THE ROMAN EMPIRE AT ITS HEIGHT

The Romans conquered an enormous amount of

territory; with that territory came many different
people and their own cultures and religions
How do you think the Romans treated people
they conquered who had different religions?
 Religion in the Roman Empire

Emperors were mostly tolerant of other religions; but

they expected everyone who lived in their empire to
respect Roman gods as a sign of loyalty
 In 63 BCE, the Romans conquered the Hebrew
kingdom of Judea and allowed “Romanized
Jews” (who showed respect to Roman gods and
obeyed Roman laws) to govern Judea

But, the Jews were monotheistic

and many refused to pay respect
to the Roman gods
 Many Hebrews began to resist
Roman rule; they believed that
God would send the Messiah to
restore the kingdom to the Jews
 What
major
event
occurred
in Judea
during the
time of
Roman
rule?
 Some time
between 6 BCE
and 4 BCE, a
Jew named
Jesus was born
in Judea; many
considered
Jesus to be the
Messiah who
would restore
control of
Judea to the
Jews
 At the age of
30, Jesus began
preaching a
unique version
of Judaism
throughout
Judea
This version of
Judaism would
later be known
as Christianity
What were
the basic
teachings
of Jesus?
 Jesus did good
works, performed
miracles, and
delivered his
religious teachings

Jesus preached a
religion based on the
Jewish belief in a single
God (monotheism)
 Jesus taught that he was God’s son and that God
would rid the world of evil

He taught about
God’s love, mercy,
and forgiveness
towards people
 Jesus
proclaimed
there would
be eternal
life in
Heaven for
those who
repent their
sins

He based much of his good works and teachings on

the Hebrews’ Ten Commandments
What kind of
person would
Christianity
appeal to?
 Jesus and the Disciples
Jesus’ message of eternal life Jesus’ followers
in Heaven appealed to many were known as
people, especially the poor disciples
 How did Jesus die?
For what reasons did he die?
“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar,
and to God what belongs to God.” –
Pontius Pilate
 Many Jews in
Judea did not
accept the idea
that Jesus was the
Messiah (the one
who would free
the Jews from
Rome)
Part of Jesus’
message was that
of equality, which
threatened the
positions of
leading Jews
Some of these leading Jews accused Jesus of
the crime of blasphemy (contempt for God)
The Roman rulers of Judea
also feared Jesus’ rising
popularity amongst Jews

They were concerned that Jesus

might lead a rebellion against the
Romans occupying Judea
In the year 29 CE, Jesus was arrested on
charges of blasphemy against the Jewish
religion and defying Roman authority
 He was
executed by
crucifixion, the
Romans’
favored form of
capital
punishment
After Jesus’ death, the religion of Christianity
was formed and began to spread
 The Spread of Christianity
The Apostles (disciples
of Jesus who become
teachers themselves),
molded Jesus’ teachings
into a new religion
called Christianity
Christianity was based
upon the idea that Jesus
was God’s son and that
he died as way to atone
for humanity’s sins
 The Apostles taught
that Jews and non-Jews
were welcome as
Christians
The Apostle Paul was
especially influential in
the development of
Jesus’ teachings into a
religion called
Christianity
After Jesus’ death, Paul helped spread Jesus’
teachings throughout the Roman Empire
 Christianity spread quickly due to roads,
numerous trade routes, and common language
throughout the Roman Empire; the peaceful
time of Pax Romana made travel safe for those
spreading Jesus’ teachings
 REVIEW
■ What was religion like in Rome?
■ What major event occurred in Judea
during the time of Roman rule?
■ What were the basic teachings
of Jesus?
■ How did the Roman leaders accept
Christianity? Why?
■ What did the Roman leaders do to the
early Christians?
 Persecution of Jews and Christians

The spread of
Judaism and
Christianity was
seen as a problem
by the Roman
emperors:
Persecution of Jews and Christians

Jews and
Christians
refused to
worship the
Roman gods or
recognize the
emperors as
more
important
than God
 Persecution of Jews and Christians
Christians and Jews were persecuted by the Romans;
many were crucified, exiled, or killed during gladiator
events (such as by being fed to lions)
 Persecution of Jews and Christians
Christians who
were executed
were honored
by other
Christians as
martyrs, those
who sacrifice
their lives for
their beliefs
This only
helped spread
Christianity
 The Jews Strike Back
■ 66 AD- Jews rebel against the Romans.
■ 70 AD- Romans stormed Jerusalem and
destroy their temple, leaving only the
Western Wall a.k.a the “wailing wall”.
■ 73 AD- Jews and Romans fight at the
Battle of Masada. Over 500,000 Jews
died in this battle, mostly of suicide.
–Today- The Western Wall is
Jerusalem’s holiest shrine.
 The Victory Arch of Emperor
Titus over the Jews in Jerusalem
Jerusalem’s Western Wall
 The Martyrdom of Peter
■ Peter the Apostle traveled to
Rome and was crucified upside
down by Nero.
– Believed to be the first “Bishop”
or Pope of the Christian Church.
– Today, all Popes are believed to
be descendants of St. Peter.
– We now call this the “Catholic”
church which means
“Universal”.
St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican
City
The Vatican
The Tomb of Saint Peter
ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
The early Christians
organized a hierarchy
of leadership
Priests were supervised
by regional bishops; the
overall head of the
Church was the Pope
Popes later operated
from the city of Rome
(and still do to this day)
 ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Teachings that the Christians believed in (Jesus’

teachings as well as some of Judaism) were
collected into one official text called the Bible
CHRISTIANITY BECOMES RECOGNIZED
Despite Roman efforts to
suppress it, Christianity
spread throughout the
Roman Empire and
gained popularity
In the year 312 CE,
Emperor Constantine
converted to Christianity
after recognizing that the
Christian religion was
becoming the dominant
one in his empire
CHRISTIANITY BECOMES RECOGNIZED

Constantine issued the

Edict of Milan, a ruling
that gave freedoms and
equality to Christians
within the Roman Empire
In the year 395 CE,
Emperor Theodosius
made Christianity the
official religion of the
Roman Empire
 Christianity Under
Constantine
■To strengthen the
religion he called the
Council of Nicaea to
establish the core
beliefs of Christianity,
leading to the Nicene
Creed.
 Edict of Thessalonica
■In 380 AD, Emperor Theodosius
declared Christianity the Offical
Religion of the Roman Empire.
 DID CHRISTIANITY LEAD TO THE
FALL OF ROME?
Some historians think
that Christianity helped
lead to Rome’s fall
Romans spent more time
thinking of the afterlife
than the here and now
As a result, the Christianized
Romans were unprepared for
the invaders who eventually
conquered the Roman Empire
SUMMARY
 SEATWORK #4-1
With your seatmate, discuss and
answer on a ½ crosswise the
question: (3-5 sentences only)

1. How did Christianity begin and

spread in the Roman Empire?
2. What impact did the rise and
spread of Christianity have on the
Classical World?