HOW DID ROMANS TREAT CHRISTIANS?
Roman officials saw the Christians as a threat to the government. Romans wanted everyone to honor the emperor as a God. Christians refused and said the God could only be worshipped. Romans saw Christians as traitors because they refused to hold public office and criticized Roman festivals and games. In 64 the Roman government began to persecute Christians. Christianity was made illegal and many Christians were killed. Despite all the hardships, Christianity actually spread. It spread to all different classes and Romans began to admire the faith and courage of the Christians. At the same time, Christians began to accept the empire.
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WHY DOES ROME ADOPT CHRISTIANITY?
Once Diocletian failed at persecuting all the Christians, Roman officials realized that Christianity had grown too strong to be destroyed. Then in 312, the Roman Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity. Later he issued an order that gave religious freedom to all people and made Christianity legal. Constantine's successor, the emperor Theodosius, made Christianity Rome's official religion and at this time he outlawed other religions.
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WHAT IS THE NEW TESTAMENT?
Church leaders preserved a written record of the life of Jesus and put together writings in order to help Christians. Jesus himself left no writings, but followers passed on everything they knew about him. Each work was called a gospel( Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), which means "good news". Christians later combined the 4 gospels with writings of Paul and other early Christian leaders. Together, these works form the New Testament of the Bible.
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WHO IS THE POPE?
As the church grew, the bishop of Rome believed that he had the authority of Peter, Jesus' leading disciple. By 600, the bishop had gained a very important title- Pope. Churches with a Pope became known as Roman Catholic Church. CHurches that did not accept the Pope formed their own churches in the Eastern Roman Empire, which is the Byzantine Empire.
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