LECTURE OUTLINE FOR HISTORY 203

                                                                                  Prof. Martha Carlin

                                                                                   Week 2: Tuesday

 

                                                       THE RISE AND SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY
 

c. 6 BCE - c. 30 CE       Lifetime of Jesus in Judaea

c. 50s - 96 CE            27 canonical texts of New Testament written:
                                            4 Gospels (attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)
                                           Acts of the Apostles
                                           Revelation (also called Apocalypse)
                                           21 Epistles (letters), many attributed to St. Paul (written c. AD 50s-62)

    66-70                        Jewish revolt in Judaea put down by Romans; Temple destroyed
   c. 70-96                     4 Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and Revelation written

2nd cent.                        Roman Empire at its height

3rd cent.                         Roman Empire in crisis (250s: persecution of Christians)

284-305                         Diocletian reorganizes Empire; persecutes Christians (leading to DONATISM)

312-337                         Constantine
    312                                Wins battle of Milvian Bridge and becomes emperor of the Western Empire
    313                                 Edict of Milan legalizes Christianity
    324                                 Conquers Eastern emperor and re-unites Empire; founds Constantinople
    325                                 Convenes Council of Nicaea, which condemns ARIANISM and issues NICENE CREED

 c. 375 - 600                    Germanic migrations into Western Empire (many tribes convert to Arianism)

Late 300s - early 400s     3 "Latin Doctors" of the Church:
                                                St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan (forces Emperor Theodosius to repent of massacre)
                                                St. Jerome, translator of Hebrew Bible and New Testament into Latin (="Vulgate" Bible)
                                                St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo Regius and author of Confessions and City of God

    391                              Emperor Theodosius I makes Christianity the Roman state religion

    395                              Death of Theodosius I;  final division of empire into Eastern and Western halves

    410                              Sack of Rome by Visigoths  (prompts St. Augustine of Hippo to write City of God)

    455                              Sack of Rome by Vandals

    476                              End of Western Roman Empire with deposition of last Western emperor (Romulus Augustulus)
                                            by barbarian general Odovacer

Early Christian concepts shared with pagan mystical religions include:
        baptism
        eternal salvation
        death and resurrection of a savior-god
        sacramental meal
        human brotherhood under a divine father

Early Christian concepts shared with Judaism include:
        monotheism: one eternal, omnipotent, unseen god
        messiah
        prophets
        angels
        miracles
        sacredness of Hebrew Bible
        importance of prayer, alms, tithing, fasting, pilgrimage to Jerusalem
        ritual use of bread and wine

Early Christian concepts not shared with Judaism or pagan mystical religions include:
        Trinity (one god, with three divine, co-equal, consubstantial, co-eternal persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
        original sin
        Eucharist (Holy Communion)
        sacramental powers of priests (7 sacraments: baptism, confirmation, penance, Eucharist (communion),
                 marriage, extreme unction, ordination)
        sacredness of New Testament
        administrative hierarchy: laypeople, parish priests, bishops, archbishops, patriarchs (bishops
            of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and, later, Constantinople)


                                                                           Thursday:
 

Click here for a picture-gallery of the Roman emperors of the fourth century (Diocletian-Honorius)

Click here for an image of   Theodosius II (r. 408-450)   and of  his older sister and advisor Pulcheria
 
 

                                             SOME SOURCES ON EARLY CHRISTIANITY
 

Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea (c. 260-340), Ecclesiastical History: The conversion of  Constantine, 312

The Nicene Creed, 325: defines the Trinity; condemns Arianism

Theodosius I (the Great), Law-code (excerpts):
    Christianity to be the state religion; pagan temples to be closed; Jews and Manichaeans to be scorned, fined, etc.

Hypatia, famed pagan philosopher and teacher of Alexandria: 3 accounts of her life and her murder by Christians in 415