远程抹掉 锁定iphone:Rome and Christianity

Religionwas very important to theRomans.Within theRoman Empire, Christianity was banned and Christians were punished for many years.Feeding Christians to the lions was seen asentertainmentinAncient Rome.

A Roman mosaic which is said to be the head of Christ
The message of Christianitywas spread around the Roman Empire by St. Paul who founded Christian churches inAsia Minor and Greece. Eventually, he took his teachings to Rome itself.
The early converts toChristianity inAncient Rome faced manydifficulties. The first converts were usually the poor and slaves as they had agreat deal to gain from the Christians being successful. If they were caught,they faced death for failing to worship the emperor. It was not uncommon foremperors to turn the people against the Christians when Rome was faced withdifficulties. In AD 64, part of Rome was burned down. The Emperor Nero blamedthe Christians and the people turned on them. Arrests and executions followed.
"Nero punished a race of men who were hated for their evil practices. These men were called Christians. He got a number of people to confess. On their evidence a number of Christians were convicted and put to death with dreadful cruelty. Some were covered with the skins of wild beasts and left to be eaten by dogs. Others were nailed to the cross. Many were burned alive and set on fire to serve as torches at night."
Tacitus
The dangers faced by theChristians in Rome meant that they had to meet in secret. They usually usedunderground tombs as these were literally out of sight. Rome had a large numberof poor people within its population and Christianity continued to grow. In AD313, the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal and for the first time,they were allowed to openly worship. Churches were quickly built not just inRome but throughout the empire. In AD 391, the worship of other gods was madeillegal.