Download Name: Date: Period: Chapter 13: The Rise of Christianity

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Chapter 13: The Rise of Christianity
Lesson 13.1: Early Christianity
I. Judaism and Rome
Many Jews hoped that God would send a
They wanted the kingdom of Israel to be
to rescue them from Roman rule.
.
A. Control by Romans
1. Although the Romans had taken over Judah, they allowed
to rule it.
2. Augustus made Judah a Roman
and called it by the Roman name of
.
3. Judea became tightly controlled by the
.
4. The Jews
among themselves over how to deal with the Romans. Still,
Jerusalem remained their
.
B. Jewish Revolts
1. The
rebelled against Roman rule in A.D. 66 but the Romans brutally
the uprising. The temple in Jerusalem was
and
thousands of Jews were
.
2. After the fall of Jerusalem, the Jewish defenders overtook the
.
3. The fortress is now recognized as a symbol of
.
4. By A.D. 700, Jews had settled in regions as far west as
and as far east as
. Later, they settled throughout Europe and the Americas.
5. Although the Jews were scattered around the world, they kept their faith alive by
.
II. Jesus of Nazareth
A few decades before the first Jewish revolt, a Jew named
grew up in a small town
called
in Galilee. Later, Jesus began to travel and preach to people about his
ideas. A group of 12 close followers called
traveled with Jesus.
A. What Was the Message of Jesus?
1. Jesus preached that God was coming soon to
. He urged people to
turn from their selfish ways and welcome the
.
2. The message of Jesus reinforced the Jewish teachings.
3. Jesus told people they had to
.
4. He often preached using
that helped people
the ideas
Jesus taught.
B. How Did Christianity Begin?
1. Many believed that Jesus was the
. Some Jews, however, felt he was
deceiving people and opposed him. Roman rulers viewed Jesus as a threat to
.
2. In about A.D. 33, Jesus traveled to Jerusalem with his 12 disciples to celebrate the
Jewish holy days of
.
3. When he arrived, he was greeted enthusiastically and took part in the
,
where Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples.
C. Betrayal of Jesus
1. During the meal, Jesus said one of his closest followers would
. After
the meal, leaders arrested Jesus to prevent trouble. He was questioned by the Roman
governor and
.
2. According to Christian belief, Jesus
3. The message of Jesus’ resurrection led to the
three days after his death.
.
III. Who Were the Apostles?
A. Early Christian Leaders
1. The early Christian leaders who spread the message of Jesus were called
2. Those who accepted Jesus and his teachings became known as
.
3. Early Christians met in
. At these gatherings,
Christians prayed and studied the
and early Christian
writings.
.
B. Early Christian Leaders
1. Peter and Paul were two important
of the early Christian church.
According to Christian tradition, Peter helped set up a
in
Rome after the death of Jesus.
2. Paul was raised as a loyal Roman who
Christians. But while
traveling to Damascus, Paul saw a
and heard the voice of Jesus. As a
result, Paul became a Christian and devoted his life to
.
3. Paul traveled throughout the eastern
and founded
numerous churches.
C. What Are Basic Christian Beliefs?
1. Early Christians believed in
, and that Jesus was the
.
They believed he had come to save people. By becoming Christians and by accepted
Jesus and his teachings, people could
.
2. Because of their faith in Jesus, Christians began to believe in God in a new way. They
believed in the Christian
, which refers to the three persons of God:
.
3. These teaching became the basis of Christian faith.
4. During the 100 years after Jesus’ death, Christianity
throughout
the world. The peace and order established by the
gave people the
ability to spread the Christian
.
Lesson 13.2: The Early Church
I. Christianity and the Empire
As apostles spread the message of Jesus, many people in the
became Christians – the
contributed to this growth.
world
A. Christianity Spreads
1. Well-constructed roads meant Christians could easily travel form one region to
another, and most people in the empire spoke either
.
2. Also, Christianity provided comfort to people during
times.
3. It also spread quickly because it provided followers with security. Christians lived in
where each member was responsible for
the
needs of others.
B. Why Did Romans Mistreat Christians
1. As the number of Christians grew, some Romans believed they were
and a threat to the empire.
2. Romans expected everyone to worship the emperor as a god. The Christians believed
that
could be worshipped.
3. Also, Christians did not support
as a way to resolve problems.
4. People who thought Christians were dangerous believed they should be
.
5. Christians were often mistreated, arrested and
– they were willing to die rather than give up their beliefs.
. Some became
C. The Empire Accepts Christianity
1. In A.D. 312, Emperor Constantine ordered his soldiers to
on their battle shields. He
the battle and believed the Christian God
helped him.
2. Constantine became a strong supporter of
. He attended
religious meetings of Christian leaders and gave
to Christians.
3. One of Constantine’s successors,
, banned Greek and Roman
religions and made Christianity the official religion of the
.
D. Axum and Kush
1. While Christianity was flourishing, great
were rising in East
Africa. The empire of
was powerful, and its city-state of Axum was a
trading center for
worlds.
2. Around A.D. 300, Axum defeated neighboring
, another city-state.
3. In A.D. 334,
of Axum made
the official religion of
Axum.
II. Organizing the Church
After the time of the apostles, separate Christian communities began to practice Christianity
differently.
A. Church Leadership
1. Like the Roman Empire, the church came to be ruled by a
– an
organization with different levels of
.
2. The clergy were the
of the church and the
were regular church
members.
3. By A.D. 300, individual churches were headed by clergy called
. These
individuals led worship services and
.
4. Bishops explained Christian beliefs and managed
church affairs.
Bishops met in councils to
of the Church. The
decisions they made were accepted as
, or official church teaching.
B. What Writings Shaped Christianity?
1. By A.D. 300, four accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus were widely known.
Each account was called a
, which means “
”. The four
gospels and the writings of Paul and other early Christian leaders became known as
the
.
2. The New Testament along with the Greek version of the Jewish sacred writings (Old
Testament) formed the
.
3. Christian thinkers who explained the church teachings became known as the
. One of the most important Church Fathers,
, wrote
“The City of God”. This was one of the first history books written from the
.
C. The Bishop of Rome
1. By A.D. 600, the bishop of Rome was called by a special title:
.
2. Christians in the western part of the empire accepted the pope as
. Latin churches became known as the
.
Greek-speaking Christians, however, would not accept the authority of the pope over
them. Their churches became known as the
.