THE BEGINNING OF THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
9TH GRADE HONORS WORLD
HISTORY
What you should already know
• Christianity is a monotheistic religion that
developed from Judaism.
• The followers of the teachings of Jesus became the
first Christians.
• Christianity began around the year 33 AD and was
originally outlawed by the Roman Empire.
• In 313 AD the Edict of Milan issued by
Constantine made Christianity a legal religion and
the official religion of Rome.
• Christianity follows the old testament of Judaism
and includes the New Testament which includes
the teachings of Christ.
How did the church as we know
it begin?
• Jesus during his life surrounded himself
with people to help serve him in spreading
his teachings.
• The word Apostle means “One sent on a
mission.
• The apostles of Christ were given the
mission to spread his word. Some of the
most famous are Peter and Paul.
The Martyrdom of Peter and Paul
• Peter and Paul were two of the apostles that
played a huge role in creating the Roman
Catholic church.
• During the time of Nero, both apostles were
punished by death for their religion in the
city of Rome.
• Paul was captured several times before
being stoned to death for his beliefs.
• Peter was crucified upside down for his
preachings.
Becoming a Bishop
• Jesus also appointed pastors to run his
church and uphold the Christian
law.They were called bishops. All
bishops were supposed to be equal.
• At first, Bishops were only supposed to
rule over a certain local group.
Eventually Bishops began to gain
power and rule over entire cities,
known as “diocese”
Corruption from Constantine:
Creating a religion of power
• After Constantine declared Christianity legal, he
gave money from all the Roman temples to the
Christian churches.
• Bishops became more powerful and had more
privileges.
• There were five major diocese that developed:
Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem and
Alexandria.
• The two most powerful, Rome and
Constantinople, began to struggle over who should
be the most powerful, who should rule supreme.
Dealing with Damasus (366 AD)
• In 366, Damasus was elected as bishop of
Rome.
• He encouraged people to recognize Rome
as the supreme diocese because Peter the
apostle, who was told by Jesus to be the
“Cornerstone” of the church, had taught and
died in Rome.
• In 384, Siricius became bishop of Rome and
began claiming himself as Peter’s heir.
Pope Leo I
• In 440 AD, Leo became Pontif or head of the
Church.
• He was a strict believer in that because of Peter,
Rome was the supreme seat of the church.
• The Bishops claimed that Peter was the first
Bishop of the Roman church.
• They claimed that Rome was a “divine city”
because of Peter’s martyrdom.
• In 590, Gregory the Great became bishop of Rome
and gave himself the title, Pope, which means
“father.”
How does Rome remember
Peter?
• Today the Pope lives in Vatican City, a city-
state near Rome.
• Within the Vatican is St. Peter’s Basillica
which is built were the Circus of Nero used
to be.
• This is also the place where St. Peter was
martyred for his faith.
• This site was ordered to be built by
Constantine on an area that used to be a
cemetery for Christians and Pagans.
Special Characteristics of the
Basillica
• Michaelangelo, the
Renaissance artist,
designed the famous
dome. His famous
statue, the Pieta is also
in the Basillica.
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