Stages Of Christianity In Ancient Rome

When Christianity was first developed, it was often thought of as a radical cult targeting Rome. These thoughts come from the higher powers of the Roman civilization, yet as time progressed the leaders started assimilating the religion into society. The view of the Christians began to change as the religion began to spread its ideals throughout the lower class. The morals of Christianity gave the lower class comfort, for they did not have the same luxuries as the upper class did. Especially for women, it gave them a voice in a society that suppresses them. Although the first stages of Christianity were used to scapegoat the problems of Rome, soon it integrated into a tolerance for the Romans and later appealed to a larger group of people.
The beginning stages of Christianity brought up many alert signs to the Romans thinking that it was a danger.
In 64 AD emperor Nero had caused a colossal fire breakout in Rome which destroyed a good portion of the city. To stop all the rumors he devised a plan to blame the Christians for the great fire of Rome by ordering them to be gathered up and killed. In addition, generalizations of the religion can be accounted for the persecutions of Christians. People in the Roman society accused them for incest and cannibalism, for they celebrated the agape and the Eucharist. Pagan followers had a suspicion towards the Christians for their refusal to sacrifice to the Roman gods and to the Emperors. “General persecutions tended to be sparked by particular events”(Lunn-Rockliffe). These particular events could be very desperate events when the higher powers in Rome have to use the followers of Christianity as a scapegoat. During times of desperation the society needed a group to blame and that would be the Christians. However, the religion started gaining popularity to the lower class of citizens in the Roman society. These people are trying to make it in Rome and belonging is one of their concerns. Christianity provided a sense of community and belonging that provided comfort to these people. As time progressed this religion started to appeal to more and more
Romans.
Rome was beginning to slowly fall for which poverty and famine started to creep in.
People in these groups were in a dark world in which Christianity showed light in the world, a better vision showing a simple life and love. The lower classes and slaves made up a good amount of the Roman population. The more oppressed they were, the more the religion seemed appealing to them. Christianity provides an ideology of the moral structure in the universe. This explains the evil in the world and justice that God will guarantee. This especially appealed to women, for their lack of voice and say in the society has oppressed them. Churches in this new religion made efforts and concentrated converting women to Christianity. The rationale behind this plan is that if the women convert to Christianity, the men would also. This religion gave them a place to speak their minds and provided a place of belonging, whereas in Roman society they belonged in the house to tend. “An unnamed Gentile woman taught Jesus that the ministry of God is not limited to particular groups and persons, but belongs to all who have faith” (King). The ideals and morals of Christianity can appeal to a widespread of groups and people. It is not limited like the pagan religion in Roman society. However, different Emperors of Rome either disapproved these ideas or embraced them. These Emperors played a significant role on how Christianity was viewed as a
whole.
During the early stages of Christianity there were emperors who either persecuted the followers of the religion for selfish matter and ones that embrace the idea of it. Emperor Nero had set a great fire to Rome that had burnt down a great part of it. In order to direct all the blame away from himself he blamed the followers of Christianity for the fire. He ordered the brutal killing of Christians and over the next hundred years small persecutions of the followers were made. It was not until the Emperor Diocletian made the Edict of Diocletian. It ordered the destruction of Christian scriptures, destruction of worship place, and the arrest of Christian clergy. Anyone who refused to renounce their faith would be sentenced to torture and death. This continued for 10 years until the death of Diocletian. Subsequently, Emperor Constantine came into power and converted his ideas towards the religion from a military victory. “The conversion was a result of either a vision or dream in which Christ directed him to fight under Christian standards, and his victory apparently assured Constantine in his faith in a new god” (Lunn-Rockliffe). This military victory influenced him to give the legal rights to Christians when he made the Edict of Milan. The Edict of Milan made it possible to worship any deity as any person pleases in the Roman Empire. Constantine was the first emperor to embrace and legalize the religion of Christianity.