Christianity in the Roman Empire

Christianity in the Roman Empire describes the formation, spread, persecution, and eventual imperial acceptance of Christian communities across Roman territories.

Paul the Apostle: An early Christian missionary whose letters and journeys helped establish communities across the eastern Mediterranean. His travels and letters linked early congregations across Roman provincial cities.
Second Temple Judaism: The forms of Jewish religion and society centered on the Jerusalem Temple from its reconstruction around 516 BCE until its destruction in 70 CE. Christianity began within this diverse religious world.
Nero: Roman emperor from 54 to 68 CE, associated by ancient sources with the persecution of Christians after the fire of Rome in 64. His reign supplies the earliest reported imperial persecution of Christians in Rome.
Roman imperial cult: Public rituals that honored the Roman emperor and imperial family as objects of religious veneration. Refusal to perform some civic rites could make Christians appear disloyal.
Council of Nicaea: A council convened by Constantine in 325 CE that addressed disputes about Christ's relation to God the Father and issued the Nicene Creed. Imperial involvement in the council signaled a new relationship between emperors and doctrine.
Roman roads: A network of roads built and maintained across Roman territories for military, administrative, and commercial travel. Roads made overland travel between provincial communities faster and more dependable.
Jesus: A first-century Jewish teacher whose followers proclaimed him the Messiah and the risen Christ. His teachings and execution form the movement's starting point.
Pliny the Younger: Roman governor of Bithynia and Pontus and author of a surviving letter asking Emperor Trajan how to handle accused Christians. His correspondence records Roman procedures for investigating Christians around 112 CE.
Traditional Roman religion: The diverse civic and household cults practiced in Rome and its territories before and alongside Christianity. Its public sacrifices contrasted with Christian worship of one God.
Arian controversy: A fourth-century dispute over whether the Son was eternal and equal to the Father or subordinate to him. Its persistence shows that imperial support did not end Christian disagreement.

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