Introduction
While the rise of Christianity to dominate western religion may very well have been inevitable, certain key moments along the way helped secure this position.
The arrival of the Constantinian Dynasty was one such moment.
Christ and the Cross surrounded by Disciples
In the early 4th century AD, in 306 AD, Constantine rose to become Emperor in the West upon the death of his father, Constantius. However, he and his brother-in-law - and co-emperor in the west - Maxentius, were bitter rivals. Open hostility and war broke out between the two after several years of political scheming.
Before the two met in the fateful battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, Constantine supposedly had a vision of the sign of Christ in a dream.
Eusebius gives an account several years later in which Christ appeared to Constantine and instructed him to place the heavenly sign on the battle standards of his army.
The chi-rho symbol, or Labarum, was described by Eusebius as "a long spear, overlaid with gold", which included a bar crossing the spear to form the shape of the Christian cross.
"On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones, and within this the symbol of the Savior's name, two letters indicating the name of Christ by means of the initial letters, the letter X intersection P at the center."
Included with the banner were the words: in hoc signo vinces ("in this sign thou shalt conquer"), and, armed with this holy power, Constantine crushed Maxentius, thereby securing his place as sole western Emperor.
Constantine, though previously a worshipper of Sol Invictus, the Sun God, took on the support of Christianity with some zeal.
He declared that his victory was owed to the God of the Christians, and set about adopting an imperial policy to advance its cause.
Some claims have been made that Constantine converted to Christianity simply for political means, and that justifiably may have played a part.
Arguments have been made that Constantine was baptized years after the fact, just before his death, as a political tool to aid the accession of his sons, but it was often the custom of the early Christians to be 'cleansed' just prior to death rather than at birth.
Despite these arguments, Constantine's policies and actions as emperor would indicate some considerable devotion to the Church.
Christian Bishops under Constantine functioned in an official capacity as Imperial advisors.
Tax exemptions were granted to Christian priests, and money was granted from the Imperial treasury to provide for new and rebuilt churches.
At a meeting of Bishops in Milan (313 AD) an edict (the Edict of Milan) was passed, which essentially granted complete tolerance to all religions, but Christianity would benefit the most. Previous victims of various persecutions were also granted compensation directly from the Roman treasury.
Still, however, Constantine left a confusing trail for his personal religious thoughts.
Association with Sol Invictus is still cited for several more years, at least until the complete unification of the Empire.
The emperor in the East, Licinius, maintained an adversarial relationship with Constantine for many years, which included two short wars for Imperial dominance. Licinius seems to have maintained more support for traditional pagan customs, and Constantine may have resisted complete Christian conversion in order to maintain the approval of the non-Christian majority population.
Perhaps in order to lure Constantine into a final battle, Licinius began inciting Pagans against Constantine's edict which favored Christianity, and championed a Pagan cause.
By 324 AD, the conflict and rivalry came to a head. Constantine defeated Licinius in battles at Adrianople and Chrysopolis, which ended in Licinius' capture and execution.
With Constantine's victory, he became the sole ruler of the Roman Empire and, likely feeling more secure in his position, began to advance the Christian cause more earnestly.
New Churches were built in Rome and around the empire, such as the new basilica church on the Vatican hill, on the place where St. Peter had been martyred (Related Page: St. Peter's Basilica). The St John Lateran in Rome was commissioned and the Church of Nicomedia, which had been destroyed by Diocletian, was rebuilt.
When the Roman capital was moved to the city of Byzantium, Constantine built new churches there as well. The Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) and Hagia Eirene (Holy Peace) were built, along with the foundation of the Church of the Holy Apostles.
In fact, Byzantium, which was essentially a rebuilt city on old Greek ruins, was renamed Constantinople, and unlike Rome, was built with a predominately Christian flavor.
His mother, Helena - after Constantine executed his own son (Crispus) and wife (Fausta) in a very un-Christian manner - embarked on a pilgrimage to the eastern provinces. There she played a part in establishing the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, and the Church of the Eleona on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives.
Perhaps more importantly, according the Eusebius, she was given credit for discovering the True Cross. For this, and other deeds in favor of Christianity (although records seem to indicate that the True Cross had already been enshrined prior to her trip) she was canonized into Sainthood, and remains recognized by both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches today.
Constantine also shifted to a somewhat hostile stance towards Pagans, as opposed to a simple supporter of Christianity.
Pagan sacrifice was forbidden, and treasures of many temples were confiscated and given to Christian churches (excepting those temples dedicated to the Imperial cult).
However, Constantine didn't direct aggression only against Pagans. 'Heretic' cults of dissension from the larger established Church caused problems as well.
Among the most notable was the sect of Arianism which was deeply dividing the concept of Christian thought.
At the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, in which some 300 bishops from all over the empire assembled to discuss the state of the church, important doctrines were developed to counter 'heretic' ideas.
The core belief system of the Christian faith was developed, adopting the concept of the Holy Trinity as the supreme deity.
This in itself may have included compromise between Bishops and Politicians, but it is perhaps more important that the Church was becoming a powerful and far reaching institution.
After Constantine's death in 337 AD, his son Constantine II held a tolerant, if not supportive, view of the ancient Pagan faith. His second son, Constantius, was a brutal supporter of Arianism. Constans, the third son, was also a Christian, but adhered to strict Orthodoxy.
A rift between sects of Christianity developed, as well as a struggle for supreme power among the brothers, causing much political instability.
Constantine II was killed only a few years after his father, and the remaining brothers settled in to continue the advance of Christianity.
During their reigns, many anti-Pagan laws were put into place, and Constans dealt with dissent in a particularly brutal fashion.
The forcible expansion of Christianity on the populace, which was now quickly becoming a part of the everyday social fabric, also brought a great deal of resentment from some.
Julian the Apostate (so named later for his pro-Pagan stance) came to power upon the death of Constantius and attempted, in vain, to stem the tide of Christian advancement.
Julian attempted to bring back the ancient religion to the people of the Roman world, but Christianity had become too deeply ingrained.
He removed various advantages that Christian priests and churches had enjoyed since Constantine, and bestowed them upon Pagans instead. Christian teachers were also removed from their occupations in many cases.
Though, for the most part, he avoided open violence against the Christians, he did encourage the growth of non-Catholic or Orthodox sects.
The fight for religious supremacy, which could be brutal at times, evolved between these various factions, but Paganism was a dying part of the dominant culture. Even temples re-established by Julian were simply overrun by fanatical Christian mobs.
Despite Julian's best efforts, hindered by his short reign of only two years, Paganism continued on the path towards virtual extinction.
The final death knell of the Pagan faith came only a generation later, under the rule of Theodosius.
An ardent Christian, and recognizing the amazing growth of the still relatively young faith, Theodosius, and his western counterpart Gratian, recognized Christianity as the official religion of the Empire in 380 AD.
Gratian too, likely at the partial behest of Theodosius, refused the title of Pontifex Maximus (head priest), and it was bestowed instead on the Catholic Pope in Rome.
Severe punishments for Pagan, and especially 'heretic' Arianism, were enforced, and the established Church prospered.
In 390 AD, a massacre ordered by the Emperor of 7,000 people who revolted in Thessalonica resulted in his own 8 month penance.
By the beginning of the 5th century AD, after just 400 years, the Church grew from a fledgling mysterious cult into a power on nearly equal terms with the Roman Emperor himself.
Though there would still be much work to be done, especially among Germanic tribes and in places such as Britain, Christianity would slowly come to dominate the entire western world.
History of Christianity in Ancient Rome
The emergence of Christianity in the Roman Empire was based on many factors, and its spread was an indication of massive social upheaval and changing environments.
This article is intended to be a look at the history of the Christian religion, and not an ideological exploration of its mystical foundation.
The concept of the historical Jesus Christ and the accuracy of the Bible's 'New Testament' (only from a mystical persepective as its recognition as a historical source is generally well accepted), can be considered irrelevant in understanding Christian history.
Despite the written evidence for a historical Jesus, the mystical nature of the story of Christ has led to a timeless debate.
Whether one argues for or against the divinity of Jesus, one cannot argue the impact or rapid spread of the 'Mystery Cult' that eventually came to dominate the western world.
Biblical and theologian scholars have long debated the ancient texts and Christian theory with archaeologists or scholars of alternative thought on this matter.
That debate will rage timelessly, but the history of the religion can be examined even without dwelling on its divine beginnings, various historical components or conversely, the roles men may have played in arranging early doctrine.
While the debate regarding the mystical portion of the story of Jesus ("Yeshua" means "savior" in Hebrew) Christ ("Christos" means "anointed" in Greek) of Nazareth can be debated on many fronts from either side of the equation, the belief in his existence became the focal point of Christianity's missionary spread.
While even a date of birth is subject to great debate, and a rather confusing interpretation of the calendar, Biblical sources place his birth in a 10 year period somewhere between 4 BC and 6 AD.
As for the calendar, the birth of Jesus created an interesting alteration of the dating system used in the western world to this day.
The change in the Roman (or Julian) calendar counting forward from the founding of Rome (Ab Urbe Conditum or AUC) to a date counting forward from the estimated birth of Christ was established in the 6th century AD by Dionysius Exiguus.
The creation of AD (Anno Domini for "Year of our Lord" in Latin) was added much later in the 12th century AD, and BC ("Before Christ" in English) centuries after that (which explains the use of English words rather than Latin).
While not necessarily important in the context of Christian history, the complete alteration of the calendar does show the great influence of the Church in the late Roman Empire and beyond.
Jesus the man is as shrouded in mystery as his birth, but the general theories and teachings of his adult life are well known.
Because of the relationship between Jesus' crucifixion and the known dates of Pontius Pilate serving as Prefect of Judea (26 - 36 AD), his death is generally ascribed as occurring between the years 30 and 35 AD.
This period in Roman history is important for the foundation of this new fledgling cult, because of the social conditions where it all originated.
Judea and Palestine were governed by Rome and the people, in their zeal for religious freedom of their own ideology, were often openly hostile to foreign rule (especially Pagan or polytheistic faiths).
Indeed, many were resistant to their own King Herod, for a multitude of reasons, but in part for what was deemed to be an oppressive government.
Jesus' teachings, under the concepts of Jewish law, taught of social equality, harmony and the freedom of men to decide their own fate. These ideas led to a small, yet slowly growing following for a new hope and idea, in a time when the appearance of oppression and inequality from Rome, their own governing authorities, and spiritual leaders was front and center in the Jewish public eye.
It is certainly difficult to determine the effect of Jesus' death on his following immediately afterwards, but the rising popularity of anti-establishment theory certainly played a part.
One might think the death of its leader would stop the fledgling concept cold, but Jesus' death became a rallying cry for martyrdom that dominated the early religion.
The Jewish Christians spread slowly in the general region, and established themselves in Syria, but real advancement occurred under the work of the early missionaries.
James the Just (sometimes referred to as the brother of Jesus) remained in Palestine, and is understood to be the earliest leader of the Jewish Christian sect.
Thaddeus went east to Armenia which would eventually, in the 4th century AD, become the first official Christian state.
Peter went to Rome, where later Catholic leaders attributed the founding of the Catholic Church to him and recognized him as the Church's first Pope, while other early apostles spread the word elsewhere.
Arguably the most important of all the early missionaries, though, was Paul of Tarsus. His tireless efforts in Greece, Asia Minor and throughout those provinces which make up modern Turkey, helped establish pockets of Christians all over the east. His writings are the source for much of the early Church doctrines, and they paint a vivid portrait of its early struggles and strategies.
It is impossible to determine the number of Christians throughout the empire in this earliest formative period or how quickly it caught hold, but Paul's missions changed the scope from one of a Jewish sect to a Gentile cult.
While the Jewish sect was markedly different from the Gentile persuasion that followed, many of the basic principles in conducting one's life remained similar enough to allow a cross-cultural conversion (discussing the differences requires an in-depth study of the historical Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God and other early monotheistic theories and will not be done here).
As Paul's mission spread, its most likely appealing teachings were the messages of equality in the eyes of God and eternal life in his kingdom.
The poor, the slaves, women and any who felt disenfranchised with the Roman social system, that offered very limited upward mobility, gravitated eagerly to this new idea of hope after death.
The early Christians were more easily converted in places far from the central Roman authority, and the religion took root in the east.
Though it would later become a much more urban practice, in which cities were largely Christian and rural Paganism would survive for centuries, Rome was slow to acknowledge its spread. It would not be long, however, before Rome did take notice of this subversive, counter-culture cult, and the early Christians were forced to practice their faith in secrecy.
Christian Persecution
As Christianity gained a foothold in the consciousness of the ancient world, the Roman authorities initially reacted slowly.
As Jewish Christian migrations, and certainly the work of Peter, brought the new cult to Rome, it became largely identified with the Jews.
As the Jews, with their one God concept, and refusal to adopt the Roman Caesar worship ideology, were so largely associated with the early Christians, the new cult got off to a very inauspicious start.
This refusal of typical Roman religious custom wasn't just an issue of a damaged ego for the Roman elite, but a serious undermining of the religious tradition incorporating the ideas of many cultures and practices.
The Romans had little concern over either Jewish or Christian practices on their own; it was their steadfast dedication to their own gods that would eventually lead to problems.
The relationship of early Christianity to the Jewish faith, and the foundation of the cult deeply rooted in a people accustomed to religious intolerance, actually helped it take hold initially.
The Jews were accustomed to resisting political authority in order to practice their religion, and the transition to Christianity among these people helped foster the sense of Imperial resistance.
To the Romans, Christians were a strange and subversive group, meeting in catacombs, sewers and dark alleys, done only for their own safety, but perpetuating the idea that the religion was odd, shameful and secretive.
Rumors of sexual depravity, child sacrifice and other disturbing behavior, left a stigma on the early Christians.
Perhaps worst of all was the idea of cannibalism. The concept of breaking bread originating with the last supper, partaking of the blood and body of Christ, which later came to be known as Communion, was taken literally. To the Romans, where religious custom dictated following ancient practices in a literal sense, the idea of performing such a ritual as a representation was misunderstood, and the early cult had to deal with many such misperceptions.
The first mention of Christians from a perspective of Roman government intervention occurred under Claudius. The limited description is provided by Suetonius, the somewhat gossip-oriented historian of the 'Twelve Caesar's":
"Since the Jews were constantly causing disturbances at the instigation of Christ, he (Claudius) expelled them from the city (Rome)."
Despite this, Christians remained in Rome, and by the reign of the next emperor, Nero, the first major incident of Christian persecution took place in 64 AD.
The fire that ravaged Rome in that year, and the subsequent building of Nero's golden palace on the destroyed property, was wildly unpopular in Rome. Many placed blame directly on Nero, accusing him of intentionally lighting the fire, in order to build his palace.
Nero, seeking an unpopular scapegoat, turned the blame on the subversive Christians, playing on people's fears that their intention was the complete destruction of the Roman world as they waited for the judgment day.
Tacitus, the invaluable Roman historian, writing years later, described Nero's response with some detail:
"Neither human resources, nor imperial generosity, nor appeasement of the gods, eliminated the sinister suspicion that the fire had been deliberately started. To stop the rumor, Nero, made scapegoats--and punished with every refinement the notoriously depraved Christians (as they were popularly called). Their originator, Christ, had been executed in Tiberius' reign by the Procurator of Judaea, Pontius Pilatus (who was actually a Praefectus, not a Procurator). But in spite of this temporary setback, the deadly superstition had broken out again, not just in Judaea (where the mischief had started) but even in Rome. All degraded and shameful practices collect and flourish in the capital. First, Nero had the self-admitted Christians arrested. Then, on their information, large numbers of others were condemned--not so much for starting fires as because of their hatred for the human race. Their deaths were made amusing. Dressed in wild animals' skins, they were torn to pieces by dogs, or crucified, or made into torches to be set on fire after dark as illumination.... Despite their guilt as Christians, and the ruthless punishment it deserved, the victims were pitied. For it was felt that they were being sacrificed to one man's brutality rather than to the national interest."
Suetonius added his own short confirmation:
"...punishments were also inflicted on the Christians, a sect professing a new and mischievous religious belief."
This persecution wasn't aimed directly at the Christians in order to drive them out of Roman consciousness. Instead they provided an easy alternative target to the blame, which was being cast directly on the Emperor.
Still, Tacitus' description provides an in-depth look at the early Roman perception of Christianity. As he suggests, however, Nero's violence likely did little to stop the spread, but instead helped spur its growth.
Under Domitian, just a generation later, some sources indicate another persecution directed at Christians.
Operating with the knowledge that Christians refused adhering to the Imperial Cult of Caesar worship, Domitian may have launched an investigation, sending a team to Galilee to discover the roots of Jesus.
Though evidence is sketchy, it does indicate at least a general knowledge and adversarial relationship between the Emperor and the cult.
Domitian has also been accused of mass executions of Christians, which is true, but it wasn't necessarily a purge targeted at that single group. Domitian ruled in an almost tyrannical reign of terror in which many perished, not just Christians. Political enemies, 'divisive' groups and individuals of all kinds met terrible fates.
Though he, too, may have used the excuse of Christianity to justify some murders, there is little evidence that he had a personal agenda against the cult.
Shortly after Domitian, the Emperor Trajan and the Governor of Bithynia-Pontus, Pliny, leave a record of Imperial attitude towards Christianity.
In this period, Trajan forbid meetings of secret societies, and their potential for subversion, which would include the Christians.
Though Trajan's reign indicates a slight shift towards tolerance, there is little doubt that Christianity created problems for the administration and led to punishment for those who practiced it.
Pliny writes in a letter to Trajan (c. 112 AD):
"I have never been present at an examination of Christians. So, I do not know the nature or the extent of the punishments usually dealt out to them, nor the grounds for starting an investigation and how far it should be carried...For the moment this is the line I have taken with all persons brought before me on the charge of being Christians. I have asked them in person if they are Christians; if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and a third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for punishment; for whatever the nature of their admission, I am convinced that their stubbornness and unshakeable obstinacy ought to be punished. There have been others similarly fanatical who are Roman citizens; I have entered them on the list of persons to be sent to Rome for punishment.... I considered that I should dismiss any who denied that they were or ever had been Christians, once they had repeated after me a formula of invocation to the gods and had made offerings of wine and incense to your statue (which I had ordered to be brought into court for this purpose along with images of the gods), and furthermore had cursed the name of Christ. Real Christians (I understand) can never be induced to do these things... They declared that the sum total of their guilt or error amounted to no more than this: they had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day to chant verses alternately among themselves in honor of Christ as if to a god, and also to bind themselves by oath, not for any criminal purpose, but to abstain from theft, robbery and adultery, to commit no breach of trust and not to refuse to return a deposit upon demand. After this ceremony it had been their custom to disperse and later to take food of an ordinary harmless kind. But they had in fact given this up since my edict, issued on your instructions which banned all political societies. This made me decide it was all the more necessary to extract the truth from two slave women (whom they call 'deaconesses' by torture. I found nothing but a degenerate sort of cult carried to extravagant lengths... I have therefore postponed any further examination and hastened to consult you..."
Trajan replies giving evidence of a general procedure of punishment for Christians, while also indicating that there is no need to seek them out:
"You have followed the right course of procedure, my dear Pliny, in your examination of the cases of persons charged with being Christians. For it is impossible to lay down a general rule to a fixed formula. These people must not be hunted out. But if they are brought before you and the charge against them is proved true, they must be punished. But in the case of anyone who denies that he is a Christian, and makes it clear that he is not, by offering prayers to our gods, he is to be pardoned as a result of his repentance--however suspect his conduct may have been in the past. But pamphlets circulated anonymously must play no part in any accusation. They create the worst precedent, and are quite out of keeping with the spirit of our age."
Trajan's successor, Hadrian, seems to have continued a mostly indifferent approach to Christianity, provided they didn't engage in open hostility.
Instead, massive uprisings of Jews led to harsh punishment. This punishment meted out to the Jews, involving massive expulsions from eastern settlements, is clearly identified as separate from Christianity.
This is important in that the Christians by now were growing beyond their Jewish roots, and were becoming more and more a religious option for Gentiles.
Still though, Hadrian and those in authority must have identified some Jews and Christians as part of the same group, and it is impossible to think that some Christians didn't meet a similar terrible fate under his rule.
Under Marcus Aurelius, the so-called stoic emperor, Christianity continued to be identified in a similar way to that of Trajan and Hadrian. Marcus Aurelius, however, had a personal dislike of Christianity, and though he continued the practice of not seeking them out for punishment, persecutions during his reign, especially those in Lyons (c. 177 AD) were particularly bloody.
Shortly thereafter, during the reign of Commodus (180 - 192 AD), who was much maligned for personal debauchery, there seems to be a slight shift in favor of Christians.
By this time, the religion was definitely beginning to become more common among Romans of means and influence. A concubine of the Emperor, by name of Marcia, apparently negotiated the release of Christian mine workers, who must have lived under deplorable conditions.
Though the attitude towards Christianity was beginning to change, widespread acceptance was still a long time off.
Some sects, such as the Montanists of the 2nd century AD, adhered to encouraging death by persecution. Not only would this advance the faith through martyrdom, it would bring the victim closer to Christ, by following in his footsteps.
By the later 3rd century AD, however, Christian persecution from imperial sources was beginning to decline. Instead, the infighting between various sects of the faith became the source of persecution.
The Pagans too, in much later periods, would suffer as terrible atrocities as the early Christians.
Despite this switch, one more great persecution was still to occur.
Under the Eastern Emperor Diocletion, beginning in 303 AD and lasting for 8 years, he and his successor Galerius began a systematic purge of Christians. While many certainly perished, most were displaced from home and property.
Many migrated west where the Imperial authority was more tolerant by this point. However, in places like Syria, Egypt and Asia Minor, the Christians certainly suffered terribly.
Diocletion though, seems to have relented as he approached his own deathbed. He ordered the discontinuation of his aggressive policy, if only the Christians would pray to their god on his behalf.
This final persecution against the now massive religion would soon be supplanted by the coming of Constantine, and would not yet gain Imperial favor, but certainly complete tolerance.
Despite the sporadic persecutions, Christianity was persistent.
Between the beginning of the cult through the Great Persecution of Diocletion, some estimates have placed the death toll as high as 100,000 people during that period.
Others, like the ancient source Origen, list the number of Christian martyrs simply as 'relatively few'.
Edward Gibbon, the 18th century writer, lists the number at 'less than 2,000', but the truth of the matter will never be known for sure, and these numbers are also dependent on semantics.
Some viewed the concept of 'martyrdom' as any Christian who had been killed for any reason. Others defined it more conservatively as only those that were executed in defense of their religion.
Regardless, by 337 AD and the ascension of Constantine as sole Emperor, the population of the Christian world continued to surge forward. As many as 25 to 30% of the population of the Roman Empire (15 to 20 of 60 million people) has been estimated as being Christian.
Together with other similar monotheistic cults, like those of Mithras and Sol Invictus, the old Pagan traditions were slowly becoming a thing of the past.
The church also would do everything in its power to be sure of its continued path to dominance, and the tables would be completely turned on both traditional Pagans and dissenting 'heretics'.
The Spread of Christianity in the Imperial Roman Age
Christianity emerged as a leading religion in the Imperial Roman age for a variety of factors.
The teachings of Christ and Christian ideology - including the concept of equality in the afterlife - were obvious draws.
However, people gravitated towards anything that would offer a new hope, especially as the stability of the late Empire continued to unravel.
Some have suggested that the spread of Christianity had direct responsibility for the fall of the Empire, but it was more a symptom of the failings of Roman culture than the cause of the fall.
Rome had suffered social disorder from its very foundations. Beginning with resistance to the Etruscan Kings, the political battles between Patricians and Plebes, and continuing into the social wars fought by disenfranchised Italians seeking Roman citizenship, religious change was just another result of these various social occurences.
Continuing from the early Roman Republic and the great influx of foreign slaves, to the very end of the Empire with massive migratins of foreign residents, along with all their differing ideas and cultures, its not at all surprising that religion would be altered just as much as the social climate.
The single God concept (monotheism) was nothing new to the Romans either, though Christianity did initiate a change in philosophy where that God stood above both the Emperor and Rome itself.
Christianity had many similarities to other cults that had already gained widespread acceptance.
Mithraism, derived from eastern Zoroastrism, was a belief in the son of the sun who also came to earth to rescue mankind from itself.
The similarities in the stories of Jesus and Mithras cannot be overlooked as an aid in Christian growth. Mithras was extremely popular in the Legions, and as the army traveled throughout the empire, the acceptance of the monotheistic concept (and the story of the son of god coming to earth to save humanity) traveled with it.
The cult of Dionysus, one of the old gods of both Greeks and Romans, also had enough similarities to aid a slow conversion to Christianity.
Perhaps even the Imperial cult (emperor worship) played its own part. Augustus himself was considered the son of a god (Julius Caesar) and transcended his human existence to become a divine being after his death.
The Roman people had certainly been exposed to enough religious ideas bearing similarities to Christ to make the possibility of the Son of God and Savior of humanity a believable and relatively easy concept to adopt.
The idea was not so pronounced in the early empire and the foundation of the faith, however.
Evidence of early Christian behavior and practices is limited, but it's known that Christians weren't always of like mind and beliefs either. Several various sects with widely divergent schools of thought developed as the concept of Christ spread.
Though most of the pronounced deviations from the Catholic norm, (ie. Donatism, Montanism, Gnosticism, Arianism, Pelagianism, among many others) were fairly late developments, it is evidence of widely varying views and practices regarding Christianity throughout its rise.
Eventually, the Orthodox Church would gain supreme hold of the eastern empire, while Catholicism would reign in the west.
The Catholic Church brought uniformity to the faith and established it as a public institution, rather than small communities of individual followers.
The Church not only established strict laws and religious doctrine, but it wiped out 'heretic' and divergent thoughts. Sometimes through violence as severe as the persecutions against the early Christians, and at other times through subtle adoption of pre-existing religious concepts, the Catholic church virtually destroyed these other sects and Paganism along with it.
Early Christians, facing scorn at best and persecution at worst, depending on Emperor and the era, were forced to blend in with their Pagan counterparts.
In order to celebrate the 'holidays' of their religion, the Christians used pre-existing holidays and festivals to blend in.
Christmas, for example, was originally part of the great festival of the Winter Solstice, or the Saturnalia. By adopting this grand event as the celebration of Christ's birth, Christian revelry was allowed to take place, largely unnoticed.
The Church also manipulated customs and traditions of the Pagan Empire to make their faith more adaptable.
One of the more difficult challenges was simply getting people to believe in a single god, and give up all the others that they were accustomed to. In overcoming this obstacle, the Church began to adopt Patron Saints of various daily life functions, to allow an easier conversion.
Though these Saints weren't gods in the Pagan sense, having multiple choices for the population to look to for guidance helped ease the transition.
The idea of the holy trinity harkens to a time where people needed separate entities to spread their prayer.
Even the office of the Pope, as the head of the faith, began to replace the Emperor in the eyes of the people as the living incarnation of God on earth.
The Church, too, as it began to become an institution of considerable power in the later 3rd century AD, used tactics as brutal as anti-Christian Emperors.
While the teachings of Christ taught love and compassion for humanity the Church itself was run by men. Like any other institution, some of these men were as motivated and power hungry as any political official in the history of Rome. Others turned a blind eye to apparent hypocritical behavior in order to advance the Church.
Unlike the many cultures and beliefs of the Pagans before it, this new power was unified under a mostly single set of rules and concepts. There was one God, one set of rules and, generally speaking, one way to practice the faith.
By the time Christianity took firm hold on a large part of the population, people who followed Christ knew these rules and customs without the interference of other gods and their unique traditions.
The Pagans, with so many different ideas and traditions, were unable to put up any sort of unified resistance to the juggernaut that the Church became.
By the fall of the western Empire in 476 AD, Christianity was not only the official religion of the Roman world, but it had supreme authority in matters of morality and human behavior.
Censorship played a large role as well. Historical documents of an incalculable number were destroyed or edited in order to prevent anti-Christian (or perceived anti-Christian) thought.
It is hard to imagine how much written history, and evidence of the ancient world, was lost forever due to this manipulation, but, on the contrary, humanity must also recognize the great contribution of the Church to historical preservation.
As the empire, the law and order of Rome and the legions fell, there was little left to preserve the vast recorded history of the Greeks and Romans. The world shifted into a turbulent dark age where political and social instability was only countered by the constant nature of the church.
Without the church, despite the historical evidence that may have been lost at the hands of fearful priests, perhaps little of the ancient world's recorded history would be available to modern man.
Its stability and consistency, in the turmoil of post Roman Empire Europe, offered a perfect escape for the minds and hearts of humanity. The Church remained a beacon of hope to the greater part of the population, and it remained the last bastion of the old Roman world in a Europe that was facing massive upheaval.
The Popes of Rome
Christian Popes of Rome Through to the Fall of the Western Empire |
|
Year AD |
Pope |
32 - 67 |
St. Peter (Simon ben Johanan) |
67 - 76 |
St. Linus |
76 - 88 |
St. Anacletus (Cletus) |
88 - 97 |
St. Clement I (Clemens Romanus) |
97 - 105 |
St. Evaristus |
105 - 115 |
St. Alexander I |
115 - 125 |
St. Sixtus I |
126 - 136 |
St. Telesphorus |
136 - 140 |
St. Hyginus |
140 - 155 |
St. Pius I |
155 - 166 |
St. Anicetus |
166 - 175 |
St. Soter |
175 - 189 |
St. Eleutherius |
189 - 199 |
St. Victor I (Victorianus Africanus) |
199 - 217 |
St. Zephyrinus |
217 - 222 |
St. Callistus I |
217 - 235 |
St. Hippolytus (anti-pope) |
222 - 230 |
St. Urban I |
230 - 235 |
St. Pontianus |
235 - 236 |
St. Anteros |
236 - 250 |
St. Fabian |
251 - 253 |
St. Cornelius |
251 - 258 |
Novatian (anti-pope) |
253 - 254 |
St. Lucius |
254 - 257 |
St. Stephen I |
257 - 258 |
St. Sixtus II |
260 - 268 |
St. Dionysius |
269 - 274 |
St. Felix I |
275 - 283 |
St. Eutychianus |
283 - 296 |
St. Caius |
296 - 304 |
St. Marcellinus |
304 - 306 |
vacant |
306 - 308 |
St. Marcellus |
308 - 310 |
vacant |
310 |
St. Eusebius |
311 - 314 |
St. Miltiades |
314 - 335 |
St. Sylvester I |
336 |
St. Marcus |
337 - 352 |
St. Julius I |
352 - 366 |
Liberius |
355 - 365 |
Felix II (anti-pope) |
366 - 383 |
St. Damasus I |
366 - 368 |
Ursinus (anti-pope) |
384 - 399 |
St. Siricius (Tiburtius Siricius) |
399 - 401 |
St. Anastasius I |
401 - 417 |
St. Innocent I |
417 - 418 |
St. Zosimus (Zosimus Abramides) |
418 - 422 |
St. Boniface I |
418 - 419 |
Eulalius (anti-pope) |
422 - 432 |
St. Celestine I |
432 - 440 |
St. Sixtus III |
440 - 461 |
St. Leo I |
461 - 468 |
St. Hilarius |
468 - 483 |
St. Simplicius |
Did you know...
Julian is called "The Apostate" because he reverted from Christianity to Paganism, suppressed the persecution of pagans and destruction of temples that had followed Constantine I's official encouragement of Christianity.
Did you know...
Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life and death by crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament.
Did you know...
In little over 300 years, Christianity grew from the personal practice of a minority of Jews to the dominant religion of the Mediterranean world.
Did you know...
There have been three African popes of the Roman Catholic Church. Their skin color is unknown. All three African Popes ruled early in the history of the Catholic Church.
