Lesson video

Hello, historians.

My name is Ms. Crano and welcome to this unit about the Romans where we are answering the question, "What is the story of Christianity's rise?" In this lesson, we will travel back in time to learn about early Christianity's story.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to tell the story of Christianity grew in different ways, and it is my job to support you with the learning materials and resources so that you achieve this learning outcome.

Before we start this lesson, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

These words will come up during the lesson and if you understand their meaning, it will help you make sense of the learning.

You might want to make a note of these words and their meanings so that you can refer back to the notes when you encounter them.

The words are persecution, Constantine, tradition, pope, and missionary.

Let's find out what these words mean.

Persecution.

Persecution is the unfair and cruel treatment of people because of their beliefs.

Constantine.

Constantine was the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire.

Tradition, a tradition is the beliefs and behaviours of a group of people that develop over a long period of time.

Pope, the pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

And missionary.

A missionary is a religious person who is sent to other places to tell others about that religion.

You may want to pause the video here so that you can make a note of these words and when you are ready to continue with the lesson, press play.

This lesson about Early Christianity's Story has three learning cycles.

The first learning cycle is entitled Christianity's Beginnings.

Approximately 2,000 years ago, a new religion developed in the Roman province of Judea.

This religion was called Christianity and was based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The people who believed in this new religion were known as Christians and they began to spread Christianity in the Roman Empire.

At first, being Christian in the Roman Empire was not easy, as the rulers did not like this new faith, and so the early Christians faced many difficulties.

They often faced persecution, which means that they were treated unfairly and sometimes even harmed because of their beliefs.

Let's take a moment to check our understanding.

The early Christians often faced persecution.

What does persecution mean? Is it A, to be free to practise your faith no matter what your religion is, B, to be treated unfairly and sometimes harmed because of your beliefs, or C, to be forced to pay taxes to be allowed to practise your faith? Pause the video here and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

Persecution means to be treated unfairly and sometimes harmed because of your beliefs.

Well done if you got that correct.

However, in 312 CE, things changed for the better for Christians.

Emperor Constantine became the new leader of the Roman Empire.

He converted to Christianity, making him the first ever Christian emperor.

He encouraged and supported Christians by making it legal for them to openly practise their faith without fear of punishment.

Constantine's law allowed Christianity to spread and grow throughout the Roman Empire.

Let's consolidate our learning.

Explain to your learning partner how Emperor Constantine helped spread Christianity in the Roman Empire.

Here are some phrases to help you.

Converted to Christianity and passed a law.

Pause the video here and when you are ready to reflect on the answer, press play.

Here is an example of what your answer could have included.

"Emperor Constantine helped spread Christianity in the Roman Empire because he converted to Christianity himself and became the first Christian emperor.

He also passed a law which made it legal for Christians to openly practise their faith without fear of punishment.

Constantine's law allowed Christianity to spread and grow throughout the Roman Empire." Well done if your answer is similar to this one, and an extra well done if you manage to use the phrases highlighted in purple.

We are now ready for the first learning task of this lesson.

The first part of this learning task says, "Which of the following statements are true and which are false?" Christianity started in Rome.

Early Christians were allowed to practise their religion openly.

Emperor Constantine persecuted Christians.

Constantine passed a law which helps spread Christianity across the empire.

Pause the video here and when you are ready to hear the answer, press play.

Let's find out which of these statements are true and which are false.

Christianity started in Rome.

That one is false.

Early Christians were allowed to practise their religion openly.

That statement is also false.

Emperor Constantine persecuted Christians.

That statement is also false.

Lastly, Constantine passed a law which helped spread Christianity across the empire.

That statement is true.

Well done if you got those correct.

And the second part of this learning task says, "Correct the false statements." So correct the statements that Christianity started in Rome, that early Christians were allowed to practise their religion openly, and that Emperor Constantine persecuted Christians.

Pause the video here and once you have corrected those false statements, press play to reflect on the answers.

So the corrected statements are as follows.

"Christianity started in Judea, a Roman province.

Early Christians faced persecution and were not allowed to practise their religion.

Emperor Constantine supported Christians and passed a law making it legal for Christians to openly practise their faith." Well done if you're corrected statements were similar to these.

The second learning cycle of this lesson is entitled Division of Empire and Church.

The mighty Roman Empire grew and grew until it became too large to manage and so it was split into two halves.

In 395 CE, the empire split permanently into a Western Roman Empire and an Eastern Roman Empire.

Later, historians named the Eastern Roman Empire the Byzantine Empire.

One consequence of this permanent split was that it laid to slightly different Christian traditions in each part.

In the Western Roman Empire with Rome as its capital, the Roman Catholic Church developed.

In the Byzantine Empire with Constantinople as its capital, the Eastern Orthodox Church developed.

Even after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Christianity continued to grow in the Byzantine Empire.

Let's take a moment to check for understanding.

True or false.

The only Christian Church to develop from the Roman Empire was the Roman Catholic Church.

Pause the video here and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

That statement, of course, is false.

Let's justify our answer.

In other words, let's give a reason why we say that statement is false.

Is it A, that other churches developed but they did not believe in the teachings of Jesus or is it that the Eastern Orthodox Church also developed in the Roman Empire? Pause the video here and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

The correct justification is that the Eastern Orthodox Church also developed in the Roman Empire.

Good work.

The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church had lots of similarities.

Both followed the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Both believed in the Holy Trinity.

Both used the Bible as their holy book.

And both had bishops, presbyters, and deacons.

However, there was one major difference between the churches.

This was that in the Roman Catholic Church, the bishop of Rome, also known as the pope, was the head of the church.

On the other hand, the Eastern Orthodox Church did not recognise the pope supremacy as they did not think that one person should be in charge of everything and make all the important decisions.

They preferred for their church leaders to make decisions together.

Let's check our understanding of what we have just learned.

Which statement is incorrect? Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches had these traditions.

Follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, use the Bible as their holy book, had bishops, presbyters, and deacons, and recognise the pope's supremacy.

Pause the video here and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

The statement that is incorrect is that both churches recognise the pope's supremacy.

The Eastern Orthodox Church did not recognise the pope's supremacy.

Well done if you got that correct.

We can now move on to the second learning task of this lesson.

Just read the statements below, who do you think is correct? Use evidence to support your answer.

Sam says, "The churches that developed from the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire were the same." Jacob says, "The churches of the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire had lots of similarities, but there were also some important differences." Pause the video here and when you are ready to reflect on the answer, press play.

This is an example of what your answer could have included.

"Jacob is correct because the churches of the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire did have lots of similarities.

For example, both followed the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Both used the Bible as their holy book, and both had bishop's, presbyters, and deacons.

Additionally, Jacob is also correct because the churches did have an important difference.

The Eastern Orthodox Church did not recognise the Pope supremacy, whereas the Roman Catholic Church did." The third learning cycle of this lesson is entitled Christianity Beyond the Empire's Borders.

Some Christians believed that it was their mission to spread the Christian ideas across the world.

These people were called missionaries and they helped to spread Christianity beyond the Roman Empire's borders.

One of these missionaries was called Frumentius.

In the early 300s CE, he travelled to the kingdom of Aksum where King Ezana ruled at that time.

Frumentius told the people in Aksum about Christianity.

Let's check our understanding of what we have just learned.

Tell your learning partner what a missionary is.

Can you give an example of a missionary from the early 300s CE? Pause the video here, and when you are ready for the answer, press play.

Let's reflect on a possible answer.

"A missionary is a religious person who travels to different places to tell the people living there about Christianity.

An example of a missionary from the early 300s CE was Frumentius who travelled to the kingdom of Aksum to tell the people there about Christianity." Good job.

King Ezana was influenced by the Christian teachings and he converted to Christianity.

He also made everyone in his kingdom follow Christianity too.

As a result, Aksum became one of the earliest Christian kingdoms in the world.

After the end of King Ezana's rule, the people of Aksum continued to follow Christianity and they created their own Christian traditions.

They created a unique Christian culture with incredible rock-cut churches in the area's mountains and beautiful paintings on the church wall, which told Christian stories.

Let's consolidate our learning.

Place the events in the correct order by numbering them one to five starting with the earliest.

One has been done for you.

King Ezana converts to Christianity.

After King Ezana's rule, the people of Aksum continue to make their own Christian tradition.

Christianity becomes the kingdom of Aksum's religion.

Missionaries arrive in Aksum, and that statement has been numbered one already.

Pause the video here and when you are ready to reflect on the answers, press play.

Let's investigate what the correct order is.

Number one, missionaries arrive in Aksum.

Number two, King Ezana converts to Christianity.

Third, Christianity becomes the kingdom of Aksum's religion.

And number four, after King Ezana's rule, the people of Aksum continue to make their own Christian traditions.

Well done if you've got that order correct.

We have now come to the last learning task of this lesson.

It says, "Sort the words about Christianity's story into three groups.

You should have at least three words in each group and you can use words in more than one group.

Explain why you have made your connections." So the words are, from left to right, persecution, Constantine, Western Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, traditions, pope, missionaries, law, and Aksum.

Pause the video here so that you give yourself enough time to sort these words and to explain why you have made your connections.

Let's find out what possible answers could have been.

You could have grouped the words and explained your choice like this.

In Group one, persecution, Constantine law.

The explanation.

"The early Christians faced persecution, but Constantine, as the first Christian emperor, passed a law that allowed Christians to practise their faith openly." The words in the second group could have been Western Roman empire, Byzantine empire, traditions, and pope.

"After the Roman Empire split, different traditions emerged in the churches of the Western Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire.

The main difference was that the Church of the Byzantine Empire did not recognise the supremacy of the pope." And the words in group three could have been missionaries, traditions, Aksum.

"Missionaries carried Christianity to the kingdom of Aksum in Africa, where King Ezana made it the religion of the kingdom.

After the end of King Ezana's rule, the people of Aksum continue to follow Christianity and create their own Christian traditions." Well done.

We have now come to the end of this lesson about Early Christianity's Story.

But before we go, let's summarise what we have learned.

Christianity started in the Roman province of Judea.

However, the Roman leaders did not like this new religion and so early Christians often faced persecution.

Constantine was the first Christian emperor.

He made it legal for Christians to openly practise their faith.

The churches of the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire shared similar traditions, but the main difference was that the Eastern Orthodox Church did not recognise the pope's supremacy.

Missionaries took Christianity to places outside the Roman Empire, for example, in Aksum.

Separate Christian traditions emerged.

Well done for all your hard work during this lesson.

I have really enjoyed going on a learning adventure about early Christianity story with you and I hope to see you again very soon.