Year 4 - History
Early Christianity's story
The Romans: what is the story of Christianity's rise?
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils learn about the history of early Christianity's changing fortunes: from a persecuted faith to the official religion of the Roman Empire. They also learn about three great centres of this religion: Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the East African kingdom of Aksum.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to tell the story of how Christianity grew in different ways.
Key Notes
- Early Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire, but under Constantine, the faith was encouraged and it spread.
- The division of the Roman Empire led to slightly different Christian traditions in each part.
- The Byzantine Empire carried on after the fall of Rome, but did not recognise the Pope's supremacy.
- A separate Christian tradition also emerged in the African kingdom of Aksum.
- A good story about the way Christianity grew will use knowledge from across this unit.
Vocabulary To Learn
- 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
- missionary: a missionary is a religious person who is sent to other places to tell others about that religion
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- The only Church to emerge from the Roman Empire is the Roman Catholic Church.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Summarise this historical learning in two key ideas.
Early Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire, but under Constantine, the faith was encouraged and it spread. The division of the Roman Empire led to slightly different Christian traditions in each part.
2. Define this history term and explain why it matters in this topic. 'persecution'
persecution is the unfair and cruel treatment of people because of their beliefs.
3. Correct this common history misconception using evidence language.
Mistake: The only Church to emerge from the Roman Empire is the Roman Catholic Church. Correction: Two Christian Churches with slightly different ideologies emerged: the Roman Catholic Church was a product of the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church developed in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
More Lessons In This Unit
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