We begin with Athanasius, the defender of the Christian faith. He was born in the year 296 A.D in a Christian family and was later noticed as one of the smartest kid in his village. He received his educated in Alexandria, which at that time the city was a symbolic beacon of wisdom and education across all the Roman Empire. He was soon picked up as a disciple of Bishop Alexander of Alexandra who later became the 19th Pope of Alexandria. As Athanasius became a disciple to Bishop Alexander, it significantly impacted his Christian theology. In the year 313 A.D. Emperor Constantine declared a freedom of religion across the Roman empire. This declaration enabled a priest named Arius from Libya to begin his false preaching about the Christian religion.
With the hindsight of the 1960s, it is easy for us to view how influencers of the era have reformed and revitalised the Christian tradition to a great extent. Because of this hindsight of the 1960s, an era in which the zeitgeist was full of intellectuals, poets, musicians and authors, we can see the traditions of Christianity were considered to be backward to a world that was changing in terms of beliefs and ethics as society embraced these social reforms. The statement then clearly reflects Pope John XXIII and his impacts on Catholicism. Pope John XXIII recognized these changes and through his leadership, the impacts he had on Christianity had a substantially large influence over the Catholic Church as he ultimately altered the Christian tradition by creating the Vatican II. By doing so, he adjusted traditional Church Scriptures (ressourcement), involved himself with promoting ecumenicalism and also interfaith-dialogue as well as becoming engaged in the modern world (aggiornamento), therefore meeting the needs of the evolving society by revitalising the old traditions.
There are five core beliefs in the Bible that has a significant impact on the Christian faith and the lives of its adherents. These five beliefs are, the divinity and humanity of Jesus, the death and resurrection of Jesus, the nature of God and the trinity, the revelation and salvation. These beliefs are all clearly demonstrated in various forms and quantities across all Christian denominations.
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
Thomas a Kempis was a monk in the Augustinian order. He was born in Kempen, Germany in the year 1380. In his life time he wrote a book about his way of viewing Christianity. The book The Imitation of Christ, is more about the spiritual and emotional approach pertaining to faith. Boethius, was born in Italy, and was a Roman senator, philosopher, and more. He was born a couple years after the last Roma Emperor, naming himself as the King of Italy. Boethius wrote his book Consolation of Philosophy, while he was imprisoned for conspiracy to overthrow Theodoric the Great. While kemps book is more about the spiritual and emotional sides of faith Boethius’s is about the philosophical outlook on faith.
Constantine I (February 27, 280 C.E.- May 22, 337 C.E.), also known as Constantine the Great, was the first Roman emperor to not only abolish persecution of Christians, but he was also the first to convert to Christianity in 312 A.D. Around 200 years later, in 496 A.D. Clovis I (466 C.E.- 511 C.E.), the King of the Franks, converted to Christianity, in which he was called a “new Constantine” . Constantine and Clovis’ reign through Christianity were alike in the way that they decided to convert. However, the two emperors were different in their commitment to God and their impacts on the church and state.
The saints are remembered most often for their courageous acts of love and devotion to God. These acts, in St. Ambrose’s case are acts of great political and religious peace. The Roman Empire was in immense turmoil and many pagan beliefs were circling when Ambrose became Bishop of Milan, but he managed to keep peace in the empire throughout his life. Those in poverty were Ambrose’s main concern and he was very charitable to the poor and spent his time trying to help them. His religious writings made him one of the four original Doctors of the Church. St. Ambrose was an extremely impactful saint during the time of the Roman Empire and even today he continues to impact the Church with his influential writings and devotion to others.
Christians went from being persecuted to dominating Rome rather quickly. In a world where separation between church and state does not exist, a Christian becoming the sole emperor of Rome symbolized a huge turning point in history. The power switched and the Pagans in turn became persecuted. Christians rose up and took control of all aspects of Roman society. The Pagan past was destroyed, banned, or forgotten about. Those Christians that did not agree with how things were being run either left the empire and became monks or formed their own sect. All of Rome changed.
Christianity is a diverse religion with a multitude of beliefs that comprise the core of the religion. There are an abundant number of sects within Christianity however there are a few core principles which are generally true for all of them, for example the belief of the Holy Trinity or better known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is what would be considered a primary belief. A primary belief is an idea that is a generally universal idea that is accepted by all the different sects of Christianity and must influence the secondary beliefs in the religion. For example the Holy Trinity is accepted by Roman Catholics, Protestants, Baptist, and etc. However what separates the different sects in the religion apart from one another are their secondary beliefs. A secondary belief is a belief that is accepted by many of the sects however the belief maybe slightly altered. Also another characteristic that must be true is that in order for it to be considered a secondary belief it must have a correlation to the primary belief. An example of this is the sacraments because the sacraments are believed in throughout Christianity but the number of sacraments in each denomination varies. The sacraments do play a specific role in the religion when dealing with the Trinity particularly concerning with the Eucharist. Because of these two credenda’s it is evident to see what an instrumental role these beliefs have in defining Christianity.
The world we live in is revolved around the beliefs and religions that individuals practice. Millions of people worship their idea of who God is to them, Christianity and Catholicism are the world’s biggest religions in today’s society with millions of followers who give their life for God. Both Christianity and Catholicism share the same beliefs and traditions, although Catholicism derived from Christianity both religions have their own differences which separates them from being alike.
In the study of the ancient Church Fathers, you cannot avoid studying Athanasius. He was the first Church Father to really understand and articulate a theology of the Trinity and its mutual love towards Creation. As well, the development of his Trinitarian theology came at a crucial time in Christian thought. Athanasius was influential in refuting the Arian controversy which had Christ as a lesser being than the Father. Understanding the theology of Athanasius is essential to understanding who he was as a person.
Throughout history, Christianity has been molded, hardened, melted, refined and shaped into the different sects that are witnessed today. While many different controversies and thinkers have influenced Christianity, Gnosticism contains the supreme importance in influencing Christianity. The Gnostic Conflict influenced church history into the culture it is today by spurring much of the intellectual foundations of faith by making claims in the subordinationism of the trinity and the incarnation of Christ, as well as producing some of the first sects in Christianity through Marion. By claiming that there are lesser and higher divinities in the universe, this set the tone for much of the arguments made for subordinationism in the upcoming centuries.
The Christian persecution refers to the “religious persecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith, both historically and in the current era” (Princeton.edu, 2013). Over the years in history, Christians have experienced persecution for professing their faith under the hands of different nations and individuals. The persecutors include; Jews-from which Christianity originates, the Roman Empire, Hindu groups and Muslim groups. The reasons for the persecutions of Christians by various groups are still unclear. Rumors have it that Christians were persecuted because they were atheists, incestuous and cannibals (Morey, 2013; Lunn-Rockliffe, 2011). These rumors have however not been proven and continue to be treated just like that -rumors. Nevertheless, it is undisputed that various good Roman emperors persecuted Christians. It has been said that they were called good emperors because of having such great success in securing the empires borders, a prosperous economy, and an overall general peace which their predecessors had failed (Thenagain.info, 2013). Therefore, this paper delves into the persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire, particularly in the reigns of the five said good emperors- Nerva, Hadrian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelias, and Antonius Pius.
...s elevated to official religion of Rome by Theodosius I in 380 AD. Theodosius further influenced Christianity's acceptance by also proclaiming it the only legitimate religion of Rome and began a campaign persecuting members of the old Roman religion. Roman religion progressed slowly as evident by Rome’s four century shift toward Christianity.
Constantine the Great, first Christian Emperor, originator of Constantinople, creator of the Byzantine Empire, military conqueror, and honored saint, has been labeled by many the most instrumental emperor of the Roman Empire. Constantine played a crucial role in the development of Europe during the Middle Ages, and founded Christianity as the formal religion of the Roman Empire. His dynamic yet effective predominance laid the infrastructure of European development. From his humble beginnings, to his command of the Roman Empire, to his final days, Constantine’s impact on world history and Christianity has left behind an unforgettable legacy. He was described by Eusebius as “such an emperor as all history records not.” Ware compared him to, “a watershed in the history of the Church.” Additionally, Meyendorff states, “No single human being in history has contributed to the conversion of so many to the Christian faith.” Norwich declared that “No ruler in all of history has ever more fully merited his title of ‘the Great’…Constantine has serious claim to be considered the most influential man in all of history.” Some of Constantine’s notable acts in the history of Christianity was his calling of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, his institution of freedom for Christianity with the Edict of Milan, and the relocation of the capital of empire from Rome to Constantinople.
Another important person in the history of Christianity is a man named Saul. Saul originally hated and persecuted the Christians. However, after having a vision in which Jesus came to him, he switched his name to Paul and began believing that Christianity was the religion God wanted everyone in the world to follow. As a result, he built many churches and went on to become a very important Christian leader.