The rise of Christianity*

GUIDED READING The Rise of Christianity 

Section 3 

A. Analyzing Causes and Recognizing Effects As you read about the rise of 

Christianity, fill in the charts below. 

How did each of the following people influence the development of Christianity as a new religion? 

1. Jesus of Nazareth 

• Began public ministry at age 30
• He preached, taught, did good works, and performed miracles
• Emphasized God's relationship to each human being
• Preached the world of heaven
• Spoke from the Gospel

2. The Jews 

• Jewish customs were incorporated
• 10 commandments
• Monotheistic religion
• Jewish authority didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah
• Some of Jesus’ first followers

3. Pontius Pilate

• Arrested Jesus
• Sentenced him to be crucified
• Accused Jesus of defying the authority of Rome

4. Peter 

• traveled to Rome from Jerusalem an became the first bishop 

How did each of the following help to promote the spread of Christianity? 

5. Pax Romana 

• Made the teaching of Christianity safe
• Exchange/spread of the religion

6. Paul 

• Said he had a vision of Jesus while traveling
• Spent the rest of his life spreading and interpreting Jesus’ teachings 
• Stressed the idea that Jesus was God’s only son who died for our sins

7. Constantine 

• Roman emperor
• Prayed for divine help during a battle
• Said he saw an image of the cross
• Crosses were put on his soldiers shields
• Ended Christian persecution

8. Theodosius 

• In 380 he made it the empire's official religion

B. Clarifying On the back of this paper, explain how these terms relate to 

Christianity. 

Apostle- Jesus’ first followers

Bishop- who was also a priest, supervised several local churches

Pope- father or head of the Christian Church

TERMS & NAMES 

1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
• Jesus- Believed to be the only son of God sent to save us from our sins

 • apostle- Jesus' first followers

• Paul- Preached that Jesus is Gods only so. sent to save us

• Diaspora- The dispersal of Jews from their homeland

• Constantine- Stopped the persecution of Christians

• bishop- Supervised local churches

• Peter- Became first bishop in Rome

• pope- Head of the Christian Church

USING YOUR READING GUIDE

2.Which event do you feel was most significant in the spread of Christianity? Why?

When Constantine stopped the persecution of Christians in the empire because it allowed it to spread freely.

MAIN IDEAS

3. What did Jesus emphasize in his early teachings?

God's personal relationship to each human being.
4. Why did the early Christians face persecution from the Romans?

They were going against Roman government and religion.
5. What was the importance of the Nicene Creed?

It is used in Christian Liturgy