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In the year before the First Council of Constantinople in 381, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire when Theodosius I, emperor of the East, Gratian, emperor of the West, and Gratian's junior co-ruler Valentinian II issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, [1] which recognized the catholic orthodoxy [a] of Nicene Christians as the Roman Empire's state religion.
Religion in Graeco-Roman times differed from religion in modern times. In the early Roman Empire religion was polytheistic and local. It was not focused on the individual but was focused on the good of the city: it was a civic religion in which ritual was the main form of worship.
Possible explanations for the purpose of persecution in Luke–Acts have included: to portray Christianity as a non-threat to the Romans by contrasting the movement with a disruptive Jewish community; [10] to craft a polemic to discredit critics of Christianity; [11] and to provide encouragement in times of hardship. [12]
The Letter to the Romans attributed to St. Ignatius of Antioch implies that Peter and Paul had special authority over the Roman church, [105] telling the Roman Christians: "I do not command you, as Peter and Paul did" (ch. 4). However, the authenticity of this document and its traditional dating to c. 105–110 have also been questioned, and it ...
On February 27, 380, the Roman Empire officially adopted Trinitarian Nicene Christianity as its state religion. [8] Prior to this date, Constantius II (337-361) and Valens (364-378) had personally favored Arian or Semi-Arianism forms of Christianity, but Valens' successor Theodosius I supported the Trinitarian doctrine as expounded in the Nicene Creed.
Christianity began as a Jewish sect and remained so for centuries in some locations, diverging gradually from Judaism over doctrinal, social and historical differences. Despite the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, the faith spread as a grassroots movement that, by the third century, was established both in and outside the empire.
Christianity "emerged as a sect of Judaism in Roman Palestine" [21] in the Hellenistic world of the first century AD, which was dominated by Roman law and Greek culture. [22] A major challenge for Jews during this time was how to respond to Hellenization and remain faithful to their religious traditions. [23]
The general significance of Jerusalem to Christians entered a period of decline during the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. According to Eusebius, Jerusalem Christians escaped to Pella, in the Decapolis (Transjordan), at the beginning of the First Jewish–Roman War in AD 66. [88]