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Christabelle Intong

Mr. Palcsey

Honors English 10

April 25, 2018

Conversion of Rome and the Impact of Christianity

Centuries ago the Roman Empire was one of the most influential empires in the world.

Ancient Rome has influenced the world and changed throughout the centuries. Rome set up a

good example of trade, had many technological advances, and had a great handful of effective

Emperors. With these things, Rome was strong, but another thing that made Rome powerful was

the change of faith, from Paganism to Christianity. This conversion of faith made a significant

impact on the world. Without the transformation faith of the Roman Empire from Paganism to

Christianity, Rome would not be the religious capital of Catholicism.

Christianity is the most popular religion with at least 2.04 billion followers, and it all began

with one man. Christianity began in Nazareth when Jesus Christ was born and started his

ministry. Throughout the years, people have interpreted Jesus in different forms. Jesus has been

interpreted as a Jewish rabbi and a reformer and as the son of God. Jesus had the 12 disciples and

had many followers. Stories of Jesus began to spread. His miracle acts began to spread like

wildfire. Jesus cured many people. When Jesus was alive, during the time people believed that

congenital disabilities and diseases were punishments from Gods. (Isobuts 24-29). Jesus began to

heal and change the way people thought. By healing, he started to dismiss the idea that people

deserved to suffer. After the Resurrection of Christ, Jesus told his disciples to spread the good

news, and this made Christianity more appealing. The disciples received the gift to speak in
different languages from all parts of the world. Scriptures and stories were being written and told

that Jesus is the Risen One. Christianity was spreading all throughout the world.

The Roman Empire was at its peak. The Roman Empire grew and reached many lands

from Britain, Mesopotamia, China, North Africa, Germany, and parts of Hungary. (Moczar 19).

Romans did not believe in the Christian faith. The people of Rome worshiped Pagan gods and

goddesses. Many Emperors created laws that only allowed the worship of Paganism, meanwhile

some emperors wanted to be praised by the citizens as if they were a god. According to James

O’Donnell, Alexandria, Egypt had many cultures that could have started the trend of Paganism.

(O’Donnell 166). From reading the epistles of St. Paul, Christians learn how the disciples

followed Jesus’ example and orders to go out to the world and preach to “all nations.” (Moczar

1). Paul’s missionary into Rome helped spread the Gospel, and this allowed the idea of Pagan

worship become less prominent. (Zavada 4). Christianity spread from Nazareth to almost all of

the Roman Empire by the fourth century. Besides the Apostles, other Christians who dedicated

their time and effort to spread Christianity also helped influenced many people around them.

Small missionaries formed, and some soldiers from the Roman Army secretly passed down

stories of Christ’s teachings. Romans who believed in Christ had to worship in private because

Emperors did not like Christianity. Persecutions of Christians grew.

The very first Roman persecution was A.D. 64, under Roman Emperor Nero. Many

Roman Emperors did not favor Christianity. Nero was an unstable leader. Persecutions continued

over the next centuries. After Nero many emperors like Marcus Aurelius, Septimus Servus,

Decius, Valerian, Maximus the Thracian, Aurelian, Diocletian, and Galerius all persecuted

Christians under their rule. Christians faced many years of suffering and toleration. By year 300,

the underclass majority of Rome were Christians. After these emperors, the first emperor who
truly did not have anything against Christianity was Constantine. Constantine was said to have

seen signs from God. Constantine saw a cross in the sky and heard the words “In this sign, thou

shalt conquer,” while he was on the way to fight a battle. (Moczar 24). Another incident was the

victory at Milvian Bridge. Although Constantine was not baptized, he did harm Christians

because he was influenced by his mother Helena, who was said to be a Christian. (Isbouts 82).

The Roman Empire was later on split into two under his rule, the east, and west. (Jones, Ereira

13-14). Licinius and Constantine who were rivals agreed on the Edict of Milan. The Edict stated

that every citizen had the freedom to worship and that Christians were allowed to practice their

faith. Because of this, Christians were allowed to worship publicly, and soon the construction of

churches began. Constantine began to make improvements for New Rome. Constantine changed

the calendar and established the seven-day calendar, church festivals, and had orders to celebrate

certain feast days. Constantine built a church on top of St. Peter’s grave, which was Old St.

Peter’s Basilica. The St. Peter’s Basilica that exists today started under Pope Julius II.

Catholicism adopted similar pagan traditions. Christians adopted Christmas. Pagans had a

winter festival, and many Aryans would celebrate this because the sun would reach the most

southern part of the equator starting on December 21st ending on December 25th. For Christians,

Christmas falls around the same to the winter solstice. Easter was also adopted by Christians.

The word "Easter" originates from an Anglo-Saxon goddess "Eastra" and in Latin, "Astare."

Astare, the goddess of fertility, is mention in the Old Testament. The Spring festival is celebrated

in her honor and based on the Resurrection of the sun ascending east. The main difference

between Christianity and Paganism is that Christianity is a monotheistic faith.

Christians faced a period of conflicts that started in the 11th century. The Crusades

began. Crusades were military expeditions that were against the Muslims controlling Palestine.
In the 19th century, the selling of indulgences started to become popular in Europe. Martin

Luther wrote a 95 These that attacked the indulgences. Martin Luther started a religious

movement with no intention. Luther wrote the three treaties which is the foundation of the

Lutheran Church. The idea of Reformation soon spread. A French theologian, John Calvin

started a movement of Calvinism. In England, Anglicanism became another movement.

Protestant Churches were founded by Ulrich Zwingli and John Knox.

The Age of Enlightenment, the Discovery of the New World, and the Age of Colonialism

were all affected by religious beliefs. Many Kings and Queens wanted to expand their kingdoms

and spread Christianity. Many missionaries, churches, and schools were built. Throughout the

centuries and different eras, Christianity has affected art, literature, architecture, and music.

(Isbouts 273-320). Today, many catholic schools are all over the world. Because of the

missionaries founded by explorers, nuns, and priests, Catholic education became a trend. Many

schools nowadays are either privet, Public, of Catholic. Catholic education has spread

internationally.

Today, people have easy access to connect with one another. Catholics and Christians

many changes today. Christians can easily connect with one another. Social issues may also be

affected. Catholicism in the United States has grown because of the Latino communities.

Christianity in Europe is still spreading due to evangelization. Because of conversion of Rome,

the Vatican City is the religious capital of Catholicism. Many people through the years also

converted to Christianity. In Mexico and South America, more than 90% of the population are

Christians, in Southern Africa more than 90% of the population are Christians. In Europe, a

majority of the countries percentage are 75-more than 90% of the population are Christians, and
countries like Philippines and Australia, 35- more than 90% of the populations are Christians.

(Isbouts 352-353).

Christianity has affected people internationally. The conversion of Rome played a

significant role in the spread of Christianity. Society would be different. Protestant, Anglican

Churches, and other churches would not exist if it were not for the schism from the Catholic

Church. Schools, literature, art, and books would be different. The conversion from Paganism to

Christianity in Rome impacted billions of lives and continues touch many people today.
Works Cited

Isbouts, Jean-Pierre. The Story of Christianity: A Chronicle of Christian Civilization From

Ancient Rome to Today. Washington D.C:

National Geographic, 2014. Print.

Jones, Terry and Alan Ereira. Crusades. New York:

BBC Books, 1995. Print.

Moczar, Diane. Converts and Kingdoms: How the Church Converted the Pagan West and

How We Can Do It Again. San Diego:

Catholic Answers Press, 2012. Print.

O’Donnell, James J. The End of Traditional Religion Pagans and the Rise of Christianity. New

York:

Harper Collins Publishers, 2015. Print.

Persecution in the Early Church. Religion Facts.

www.religiousfacts.com/persecution-early-church. Accessed April 18, 2018.

The Pagan Origins of Jesus Christ and Christianity. The Christian Enterprise, 2002.

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/biblianazar/esp_biblianazar_33.htm. Accessed April

15, 2018.
Zavada, Jack. “Who was Caesar Augustus?” ThoughtCo, 17, March 2017,

https://www.thoughtco.com/caesar-augustus-first-roman-emperor-701063. Accessed

April, 16 2018.

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