Rise of

Christianit
y
 ‘Mediev
al’
The word ‘Medieval’ comes from a Latin word

‘time in the middle’

 History is divided into 3 periods -
• The Ancient or Early
Period
• The Medieval Period
• The Modern Period

The Medieval period is in

between the Ancient and the
Modern Period
 Medieval period
01 In India
8th – 18th century

02 Subdivided into two periods

Early Medieval Period (8th – 13th century)
Later Medieval Period (13th – 18th century)

03 Further divided into two phases:

The Delhi Sultanate phase (1200-1526 CE)
The Mughal Dynasty phase (1526 – mid – 18 th century)

04 Medieval period in India does not

correspond to the Medieval period in
other parts of the world
Medieval Period in Europe
• The Medieval period in Europe
stretches from 600 CE to 1500
CE.
• The transition from Ancient to
Medieval was not abrupt or
sudden.
• It took place gradually.
 Birth of Christianity
- In the middle of the1st century the
Romans conquered Palestine, the
homeland of the Jews.

-They appointed Herod a puppet

ruler
-Jews suffered grave injustice and
oppression
• The jews resented their
loss and looked forward
with faith and hope to the
coming of the Messiah
(the Christ) who would
liberate them from foreign
bondage and establish the
kingdom of God in
Palestine.

• This belief was based on

the predictions of the
Prophets of the Old
Testament
The Birth of Jesus
Christ
 Life of
•
Jesus
In 4BCE, Herod died. Around 6-4BCE in a
tiny village of Bethlehem in Judea, Jesus,
believed to be the son of God, was born to
Mary.

• Her husband Joseph, was a poor carpenter

but a descendant of King David, Israel’s
most famous King who had liberated Israel
from foreign rule 1,000 years ago.
• Jesus grew up in Nazareth, in
Northern Palestine, where he
studied the Jewish scriptures. He
realized that traditions and
practices that violated the Law of
Moses were being followed by
certain Jewish religious groups,
such as the Pharisees.
The Law of
Moses
Baptism of
Jesus • Jesus got baptized when he was 30
years old.
• A divine revelation convinced him
that the time had come for him to
fulfil his mission.
• He had to free men from the
bondage of evil and guide them on
the path that would lead to the
triumph of good over evil.
• Jesus gathered his band of 12
disciples and travelled throughout
Galilee for 3 years preaching,
teaching and healing the sick.
The Baptism of
Jesus in Jordan
 Main teachings of Jesus
01 02
The teachings of Jesus He established a code of
were simple yet conduct for men and
revolutionary women based on:

• True love for

• Unconditional one’s
love for God neighbour
 Jesus taught that there was one
• compassion
ate
God was
• loving • forgiving

As children of God we Since God loved

must mould sinners and
ourselves in the We should love our forgave them, we
image of God. neighbours, including should do the
the poor, the sinners and same.
even our enemies;we Jesus complteley
should help the needy and rejected the ‘eye
do good even to those for an eye and a
who harm us; tooth for a tooth’
We should forgive our principle.
enemies and win them
over with love.
• Jesus’ interpretation of the Jewish laws clashed
with the ideas of the Jewish religious leaders who
followed the scriptures literally, and not in spirit.
• Jesus did not claim his teachings were original.
His mission was not to change the laws but to
propogate them according to his understanding
and interpretation of the Jewish scriptures.
 • This enraged the

Jesus’ Jewish religious

leaders.
Strength of
Intelligence,
character, • They felt
Wisdom, threatened by his
growing popularity
compassion
and simplicity
attracted large • They convinced
Pontius Pilate, the
crowds Roman governor, that
Jesus was a threat
to the political
authority of the
Romans
How Jesus chooses His disciples
Pontius Pilate sentences Jesus to
death
 Jesus is
nailed onto the
cross
● Jesus was put on trial and sentenced to death.
● He was nailed on to a cross and crucified.
● He died a slow and painful death, firm in the
belief that through suffering, he had fulfilled
his mission as the Messiah or Saviour
 Jesus is laid in the tomb
Jesus resurrected on the third day • Jesus’ body was
placed in a sealed
tomb.
• On the third day
after his death, his
disciples found the
tomb empty.
• His followers
believed that Jesus
had been
resurrected.
The story of Easter
 • This conviction among the
followers led to the
emergence of a new
community – the Christian
community.
• The enemies of Jesus had
crucified him but he lived
on in the hearts and minds
of his followers, not only in
Palestine, but far beyond its
boundaries.

• His life and teachings

impacted the then known
civilized world in an
extraordinary and
revolutionary manner.
The world would change
dramatically and these
chamges -

Social, political,
cultural and economic

would bear the imprint of

Christian doctrines
 The life amd teachings of Jesus Christ were
recorded in the Gospels by four of his disciples-

John Mathew Mark Luke

-The teachings of Jesus were spread in
Palestine by Peter – the ‘foundation rock’ of
Christianity.
-Later by Paul, who became one of the most
powerful and enthusiastic exponents of
Christianity.
-He travelled throughout the Roman empire,
preparing the grounds that would turn
Christianity into a world religion in the future.
-For almost 300 years after Jesus’ death,
Christians were a religious minority within the
Roman empire, oppressed and persecuted by
their imperial masters.
● In 313 CE, the status of
Christianity changed
dramatically.
● The Roman emperor,
Constantine, won a major
battle against his enemy
Maxentius.
● He attributed his victory
to the divine inspiration
of Jesus and made
Christianity a legal
religion.
● The persecution of
Christians thus came to
an end.
 Constantinople
● Constantine defeated all (current day Istanbul)
his rivals and established
himself as the undisputed
emperor of a unified
Roman empire.
● He declared himself a
Christian.
● The capital was shifted
from Rome to
Constantinople, the site
of the ancient city of
Byzantium.
● It was named • St. Peter’s Church in Rome
Constantinople in the
became the religious
honour of the Emperor
Constantine and it headquarters of the Christian
would endure as a world.
Christian capital for • The Bishop of St. Peter’s
1,000 years. church , the Pope, became the
spiritual head of Christians all
● Towards the end of 4th over the world, and was
century ce, Christianity acknowledged as the
became the official
representative of Christ on
religion of the Roman
empire. earth.
St. Peter’s Pope Francis
Church, Rome (current Pope of the
Christian community)
St. Peter’s
Basilica
Thank you