The

Christian Church

Looking Back, Looking AheadIn the last section, you read

about the origins of Christianity. Inthis section, you will discover howChristianity grew and was organized.

Focusing on the • Christianity won many followers

and eventually became the officialreligion of the Roman Empire.(page 510)

• Early Christians set up a churchorganization and explained theirbeliefs. (page 513)

Locating PlacesRome

Meeting PeopleConstantine (KAHN•stuhn•TEEN)Helena (HEHL•uh•nuh)Theodosius I (THEE•uh•DOH•shuhs)

Content Vocabularypersecute (PURH•sih•KYOOT)martyr (MAHR•tuhr)hierarchy (HY•uhr•AHR•kee)clergy (KLUHR•jee)laity (LAY•uh•tee)doctrine (DAHK•truhn)gospel (GAHS•puhl)pope

Academic Vocabularyestablish (ihs•TAH•blihsh)issue (IH•shoo)unify (YOO•nuh•FY)

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information Complete a diagram like the one below showingreasons for the growth of Christianity.

Reasons for Growth of Christianity

A.D. 64Romans begin topersecute Christians

A.D. 312ConstantineacceptsChristianity

A.D. 392Christianity becomesthe official religion ofthe Roman Empire

A.D. 100 A.D. 300 A.D. 500A.D. 100 A.D. 300 A.D. 500

Jerusalem

Rome Constantinople

ITALY

GREECE

CHAPTER 11 • The Rise of Christianity 509

HistorySocial ScienceStandardsWH6.7.7 Describe thecircumstances that ledto the spread ofChristianity in Europeand other Romanterritories.

WH7.1.3 Describe theestablishment by Con-stantine of the newcapital in Constanti-nople and thedevelopment of theByzantine Empire, withan emphasis on theconsequences of thedevelopment of twodistinct Europeancivilizations, EasternOrthodox and RomanCatholic, and their twodistinct views onchurch-state relations.

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N

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W E 500 km

500 mi.0

0Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection

0° 20°E

40°E40°N

A F R I C A Sicily

ASIAMINOR

ATLANTICOCEAN

Mediterranean Sea

AegeanSea

Black Sea

Red Sea

JUDAEA

EGYPT

SYRIA

GREECE

ITALY

GAUL

SPAIN

BRITAIN

Rome

Alexandria

Tarsus Antioch

DamascusTyre

NazarethJerusalem

Constantinople

WH6.7.7 Describe the circumstances that led to the spread of Christianity in Europe and other Roman territories.

WH7.1.3 Describe the establishment by Constantine of the new capital in Constantinople and the development of the ByzantineEmpire, with an emphasis on the consequences of the development of two distinct European civilizations, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and their two distinct views on church-state relations.

A Growing FaithChristianity won many followers and

eventually became the official religion of the RomanEmpire.

Reading Connection Why do you think people like

to belong to a community? Read to learn about early

Christian communities.

During the 100 years after Jesus’ death,Christianity won followers throughout theRoman world. The empire itself helpedspread Christian ideas. The peace and orderestablished by Rome allowed people totravel in safety. Christians used well-paved

Spread of Christianity A.D. 325

510 CHAPTER 11 • The Rise of Christianity

Roman roads to carry their message fromplace to place. Since most of the empire’speople spoke either Latin or Greek,Christians could talk with them directly.

Why did Christianity attract followers?First, the Christian message gave meaningto people’s lives. Rome’s official religionurged people to honor the state and theemperor. Christianity instead reached outto the poor and the powerless who led veryhard lives. It offered hope and comfort.

Second, some ideas of Christianity werefamiliar to many Romans. They were alreadyaware of many other eastern Mediterraneanreligions. Like these faiths, Christianity

Main areas of Christian growthto A.D. 325Paul’s first journeyPaul’s second journey

KEY

1. Location To what areas did Paul’s journeystake him?

2. Movement Why do you think Christianityspread as it did by A.D. 325?

Find NGS online map resources @ www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

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Christian Catacombs Christiansbelieved in resurrection, the idea thatthe body would one day reunite withthe soul. For this reason, they wouldnot allow their dead bodies to beburned, which was the Roman custom.Also, Roman law did not allow bodiesto be buried aboveground. Therefore,starting in the A.D. 100s, Christiansburied their dead beneath the city ofRome in a series of dark, cold, stench-filled tunnels called catacombs.

Each tunnel was about 8 feet (2.4 m) high and less than 3 feet (1 m)wide. Bodies were stacked in slotsalong the sides of the tunnels. Thecatacomb walls were painted withimages from the Bible or from Greek or Roman mythology.

More than fivemillion bodies were buried underRoman streets andbuildings. Many ofthe Christians buriedthere were martyrswho had been killedfor their beliefs.

Connecting to the Past1. Why did Christians bury their dead in

catacombs?

2. What skills do you think would benecessary to dig and plan catacombs?

appealed to the emotions and promised hap-piness after death.

Finally, Christianity gave people thechance to be part of a caring group. Withintheir churches, Christians not only wor-shiped together but helped each other. Theytook care of the sick, the elderly, widows,and orphans. Many women found thatChristianity offered them new roles. Theyran churches from their homes, spread Jesus’message, and helped care for those in need.

How Did the Romans Treat Christians?Over time, Roman officials began to see the Christians as a threat to the government.All people in the empire were usuallyallowed to worship freely, but the Romansexpected everyone to honor the emperor asa god. Christians, like the Jews, refused todo this. They claimed that only God couldbe worshiped. Christians also refused toserve in the army or hold public office.They criticized Roman festivals and games.As a result, the Romans saw the Christiansas traitors who should be punished.

In A.D. 64 the Roman governmentbegan to persecute (PURH • sih • KYOOT),or mistreat, Christians. At this time, theemperor Nero accused Christians ofstarting a terrible fire that burned muchof Rome. Christianity was made ille-gal, and many Christians were killed.

Other persecutions followed. Duringthese difficult times, many Christiansbecame martyrs (MAHR • tuhrz), peoplewilling to die rather than give up theirbeliefs. At that time, Romans requireddead people to be cremated, or burnedto ashes. Christians wanted to bury theirdead. They were forced to bury theirdead outside Rome in catacombs, orunderground burial places. Catacombswere also used for religious services dur-ing times of persecution.

Christian catacombsin Rome

511

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Rome Adopts Christianity Despite theenormous challenges, Christianity spread.Over time it even began to draw peoplefrom all classes. In the A.D. 200s as invadersattacked the empire, many Romans becameworried. They admired the faith andcourage of the Christians. At the same time,many Christians started to accept theempire.

In the early A.D. 300s the emperorDiocletian carried out the last great perse-cution of Christians. Diocletian failed, andRoman officials began to realize thatChristianity had grown too strong to bedestroyed by force.

Then, in A.D. 312, the Roman emperorConstantine (KAHN • stuhn • TEEN) acceptedChristianity. According to tradition,Constantine saw a flaming cross in the skyas he was about to go into battle. Written

beneath the cross were the words “In thissign you will conquer.” Constantine wonthe battle and believed that the ChristianGod had helped him.

In A.D. 313 Constantine issued an ordercalled the Edict of Milan. It gave religiousfreedom to all people and made Christianitylegal. Constantine began giving govern-ment support to Christianity. With the helpof his mother, Helena (HEHL • uh • nuh), hebuilt churches in Rome and Jerusalem. Healso let church officials serve in governmentand excused them from paying taxes.

Constantine’s successor, the emperorTheodosius I (THEE • uh • DOH • shuhs), madeChristianity Rome’s official religion in A.D. 392. At the same time, he outlawedother religions.

Explain Why did theRomans see the Christians as traitors?

Constantine led his troops to victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridgeafter his conversion to Christianity. Constantine’s enemies were defeatedas a bridge made of boats collapsed under their weight. The X and P sym-bols on the shields represented the first two letters of the Greek word forChrist. How did Constantine’s Edict of Milan support Christianity?

Constantine’s ConversionConstantine’s Conversion

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WH6.7.7 Describe the circumstances that led to the spread of Christianity in Europe and other Roman territories.

WH7.1.3 Describe the establishment by Constantine of the new capital in Constantinople and the development of the ByzantineEmpire, with an emphasis on the consequences of the development of two distinct European civilizations, Eastern Orthodox and RomanCatholic, and their two distinct views on church-state relations.

The Early ChurchEarly Christians set up a church organi-

zation and explained their beliefs.

Reading Connection How can good organization

make the difference between whether a plan or project

fails or succeeds? Read how early Christians organized

their churches and chose what to include in the Bible.

In its early years, Christianity was looselyorganized. Leaders like Paul traveled fromone Christian community to another. Theytried to unify the isolated groups. In theirteaching, they emphasized that all the individual groups of Christians were part of one body called the church. EarlyChristians, however, faced a challenge.How were they to unite?

Organizing the Church The early Christiansturned to a surprising model to organizethe church—the Roman Empire itself. Likethe Roman Empire, the church came to beruled by a hierarchy (HY • uhr • AHR • kee). Ahierarchy is an organization with differentlevels of authority.

The clergy (KLUHR • jee) were the lead-ers of the church. They had different rolesfrom the laity (LAY • uh • tee), or regularchurch members. As the church’s organi-zation grew, women were not permitted toserve in the clergy. However, as membersof the laity, they were relied upon to carefor the sick and needy.

By around A.D. 300, local churches wereled by clergy called priests. Several churchesformed a diocese (DY • uh • suhs), led by abishop. A bishop in charge of a city diocesewas sometimes also put in charge of anentire region. This made him an arch-bishop. The five leading archbishopsbecame known as patriarchs (PAY • tree •AHRKS). They led churches in large cities andwere in charge of large areas of territory.

CHAPTER 11 • The Rise of Christianity 513

Archbishops

Bishops

Priests

Laity

Archbishops

PatriarchsPatriarchs

Bishops

Priests

Laity

Early Church HierarchyEarly Church Hierarchy

The bishops explained Christian beliefs.They also took care of church business onbehalf of the laity and met to discuss ques-tions about Christian faith. Decisions theyreached at these meetings came to beaccepted as doctrine (DAHK • truhn), or offi-cial church teaching.

What Is the New Testament? Along withexplaining Christian ideas, church leaderspreserved a written record of the life ofJesus and put together a group of writingsto help guide Christians. Jesus himself leftno writings. His followers, however, passedon what they knew about him. By A.D. 300,four accounts of Jesus’ life, teachings, andresurrection had become well-known.Christians believed these accounts werewritten by early followers of Jesus namedMatthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Each work was called a gospel (GAHS •puhl), which means “good news.” Christianslater combined the four gospels with thewritings of Paul and other early Christianleaders. Together, these works form theNew Testament of the Christian Bible.

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Reading SummaryReview the • After its followers suffered

Roman persecution for severalhundred years, Christianitybecame the official religion ofthe Roman Empire underEmperor Theodosius.

• As Christianity grew, the churchbecame more united under ahierarchy of leaders. Christianwritings were gathered into theNew Testament of the Bible.

1. What is a martyr?

2. What writings are included inthe New Testament?

Critical Thinking3. Organizing Information

Draw a chart like the onebelow. Fill in details describinghow each emperor helpedChristianity to grow.

4. Analyze Following Jesus’death, why was Christianityable to attract followers?

5. Analyze Why do you thinkthe Christian church became ahierarchy?

6. How did theChristian religion affect theRoman Empire?

7. WritingQuestions Write five questionsthat you might have askedConstantine about Christianity.

CA 6RC2.1CA HR1.

CA HI2.

CA 6RC2.0

CA HI2.

CA 6RC2.4

What Did You Learn?

Diocletian Constantine Theodosius

Roman Emperors

Other important writings also influ-enced early Christians. Scholars known asthe Church Fathers wrote books to explainchurch teachings. One leading ChurchFather was a bishop in North Africa namedAugustine. In his writings, Augustinedefended Christianity against its oppo-nents. He wrote The City of God—one of thefirst history books written from a Christian

viewpoint. He also wrote a work calledConfessions. It was an account of his per-sonal journey to the Christian faith.

Who Is the Pope? As the church grew, thebishop of Rome, who was also the patriarchof the West, claimed power over the otherbishops. He believed that he had theauthority of Peter, Jesus’ disciple. Also, hisdiocese was in Rome, the empire’s capital.

By A.D. 600, the bishop of Rome hadgained a special title—pope. The title comesfrom a Latin word meaning “father.” Latin-speaking Christians accepted the pope ashead of the church. Their churches becameknown as the Roman Catholic Church.Greek-speaking Christians rejected thepope’s authority over them. As you willlearn, they formed their own church in theEastern Roman Empire.

Identify What are thegospels, and why are they significant?

Matthew wroteone of the fourgospels in theNew Testament ofthe ChristianBible. What is thesubject of thegospels ofMatthew, Mark,Luke, and John?

Study Central Need help understanding theearly Christian church? Visit ca.hss.glencoe.comand click on Study Central.

Cott Nero DIV f.25v Portrait of St. Matthew/British Library, London/Bridgeman Art Library

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