2A - The Path To Formal Recognition

Question 1

it was followers in the major Mediterranean city of _______ that were first called Christians, after Christ (the Greek word for Messiah meaning ‘anointed one’

Answer 1

Antioch

Question 2

Recall that it was followers in the major Mediterranean city of Antioch that were first called Christians, after Christ (the Greek word for Messiah meaning ‘anointed one’). This was an important development because

Answer 2

it means that there is evidence from at least as early as 45-70 CE that Christianity was being recognized as a new religion, distinct from the Jewish faith.

Question 3

Roman authorities who felt Christians

Answer 3

displayed subversive behavior in converting others; for example, holding secret worship, causing riots, refusing to make public sacrifices or take the oath of public service (such as participation in the military). These things led to the impression that Christians were not loyal to the Roman Empire and may even be planning an uprising.

Question 4

Persecutions

Answer 4

harassment and execution of Christians for their religious beliefs - occurred in specific locations for specific reasons, though they had not been universally sanctioned.

Question 5

In 64 CE, the Emperor ______ endorsed the first major persecution of Christians.

Answer 5

Nero

Question 6

Why did Nero persecute christians for the first time

Answer 6

They were blamed as scapegoats for a great fire that burned a vast area between the Palatine and Equiline hills in the center of the capital city, Rome.

Question 7

Today, sources question whether Nero actually started the fire himself to clear prime real estate for the immense _____

Answer 7

Domus Aurea, or Golden Palace, which he built in place of the structures that had been razed.

Question 8

How did Nero persecute christians

Answer 8

His executions moved beyond the use of crucifixions and death by wild animals to include bizarre spectacles in which Christians were burnt on stakes to provide lighting in his garden.

Question 9

Some sources attribute the martyrdoms of saints _____ & _______ in Rome to Nero’s persecutions.

Answer 9

Peter and Paul

Question 10

After Nero’s suicide, his successor, _______, did not continue the persecutions. Many attribute this reluctance to his relationship with a young Jewish commander named ______

Answer 10

Vespasian, Josephus

Question 11

Vespasian did not persecute Christian’s however

Answer 11

year after his accession, Vespasian began construction on the great Roman Coliseum, an amphitheater for entertainments, which would also become the site of so many executions by gladiators or animals in later years.

Question 12

It was under the reigns of Domitian (81-96 CE) and especially Decius and Valerian (250-59) that the existence of Christianity was most at risk. Why?

Answer 12

The Emperor Decius required all Roman citizens to perform a sacrifice to the gods before a magistrate in order to solidify Roman values. Many Christians refused this order on the basis that they were forbidden to worship any other gods and were therefore accused of treason, which was punishable by death.

Question 13

Libellus

Answer 13

note, confirming that an individual had performed sacrifice before a magistrate

Question 14

The last persecution occurred during the reign of _______, between 284-305 CE. He, like Decius, sought to enforce Roman traditions such as public sacrifice, which identified non-compliant Christians as traitors to the state. He also purged his army of Christians, whom he felt were not loyal to the Empire. Like so many others, Diocletian’s punishments included death, enslavement or forced labour in mines until death. Part of his legacy was his division of the Roman Empire, a move designed to simplify its administration following his retirement. However, he did not have the foresight to consider the political power struggle this division would create.

Answer 14

Diocletian

Question 15

Diocletian decided upon a _______, or rule by 4 leaders, to govern the Roman Empire.

Answer 15

Tetrarchy

Question 16

Tetrarchy

Answer 16

rule by 4 leaders, to govern the Roman Empire.

Question 17

What happened when Diocletian created a tetrarchy

Answer 17

He divided the Empire into an East and West, which he and his brother Maximian ruled over as Caesars.

• They appointed 2 generals, to serve as second-in- command.
• While this rule by 4 appealed to Diocletian, it would not last.
• Despite the generals being married into Diocletian’s family and adopted as sons, revolts, fighting and suicides caused the tetrarchy to fall apart.

Question 18

Who ruled following Diocletian

Answer 18

the next stable ruler of the Roman Empire: the son of the general Constantius: a man by the name of Constantine.

Question 19

What did Constantine do as leader and how is this relevant to Christianity

Answer 19

Constantine moved on Rome to take sole leadership as Caesar.
-but faced military opposition at the Milvian bridge

• Constantine’s forces were outnumbered
• -Constantine, fearing the worst, is said to have experienced a vision in which he heard a voice tell him “in this sign you will conquer”, showing him a Chi Ro. The Chi (X) Ro (P) is a symbol that combines the first two Greek letters of the word Christ - ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ.
• Constantine had his soldiers placed this symbol on their shields and won the battle,
• proved to him that the Christian God supported his conquest.
• When he became sole emperor a year later, he officially recognized Christianity as a legal religion- the first time in its history. This act of legalization is called The Edict of Milan. (313 AD)
• Sources describe this battle as essential to Constantine’s acceptance and later conversion to Christianity

Question 20

The act of legalization of Christianity as a religion happened in ______ CE, and is called _____

Answer 20

313, The Edict of Milan

Question 21

Egyptian priest named ______ began to preach that Christ was not God, but merely a man who was selected by God, leading to much confusion amongst believers. Arius’ ideas spread throughout the Empire and Christians soon began to argue over the theological interpretations of the nature of Jesus Christ. These arguments became so great that the Emperor _________ became concerned about the civil unrest such conflicts would cause. What was the emperors plan

Answer 21

Arius, Constantine.

• He the ‘Council of Nicaea’ in 325 to consider this issue
• The council debated about the nature of Jesus and his relationship with God

–. Arius’ ideas were condemned by the council as heresy

Question 22

Heresy

Answer 22

a belief or opinion contrary to established religious rule

Question 23

Constantine created a 2nd capital city (modern day istanbul, turkey) called _____

Answer 23

Constantinople

Question 24

While it cannot be confirmed that Constantine practiced Christian worship during his life, he did support his Christian mother Helen ______

Answer 24

build some of the earliest pilgrimage churches in the East of the Empire.

Question 25

Constantine’s mother Helen supposedly founded what church

Answer 25

Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (; the church that marks the site of Jesus’ resurrection.)

Question 26

Constantine’s mother Helen supposedly also found what

Answer 26

found the first relics or items which had come in contact with Jesus during his life, including the True Cross and nails from the crucifixion.

Question 27

Constantine and his mother Helen had a profound effect on the development of places for worship.

• how did these places of worship develop?

Answer 27

earliest Christian communities often discretely worshipped out of the homes of a member of the congregation,

• then at houses registered to the “episcopus” or custodian of that community.
• During the persecutions and burials of martyrs for the faith, some services were even held underground in catacombs (tunneled burial cemeteries) or at special sites of significance. For example, to escape the persecutions in the city of Rome, early Christians used the catacombs under the city from 100-400 CE.

Question 28

Under the tolerance of Constantine, 2 models for churches began to become more prominent.

Answer 28

1) reuse of old pagan temples, like the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens or the Pantheon in Rome, for Christian worship.
2) repurposing of official places of business; the basilica or town hall.
- This long rectangular building became a popular choice because it was less associated with pagan gods. The bishop could sit in the chairman’s seat, surrounded by his priests and deacons on the benches.
- The only item that needed to be added was an altar table.
- Constantine’s basilica in Rome, completed in 312 CE, became the favoured structural model for early churches over the next few centuries

Question 29

While legalizing and supporting Christianity throughout his reign, Constantine himself did not become a Christian until ______….. why?

Answer 29

He was baptized on his deathbed in 337 CE

-? A likely explanation is that, as the head of the empire, he had many un- Christian tasks that required his focus: from war and assassination, to pagan public ceremonies

Question 30

Constantine and his mother Helen had a profound effect on the development of places for worship.

• how did these places of worship develop?

Answer 30

worshipped out of the homes of a member of the congregation,

• then at houses registered to the “episcopus” or custodian of that community.
• During the persecutions and burials of martyrs for the faith, some services were even held underground in catacombs (tunneled burial cemeteries) or at special sites of significance. For example, to escape the persecutions in the city of Rome, early Christians used the catacombs under the city from 100-400 CE.