The Apostles
How Christianity Spread
Pax Romana
Pax Romana means “Roman
Peace” and it is a period of
time from Augustus’ crowning
as Emperor of Rome in 27 B.C.
until about 180 A.D.
A period of roughly 200
years.
Pax Romana
The Pax Romana was a time
of relative peace within the
Roman Empire.
During this time people
could travel in safety
throughout the Empire.
No major wars were fought
within the borders of the
Empire, all the fighting was
in the frontiers.
Pax Romana
The Pax Romana allowed
for relatively easy travel
for the Apostles of Christ
to spread out around
the Roman Empire and
even beyond in a fairly
short amount of time.
But despite their missionary
work, all of the Apostles
had numerous, difficult
obstacles to overcome.
The Apostolic Age
The beginnings of the Christian
Church lay in what we call
today the Apostolic Age. It is
the period of time when the
Apostles preached the teachings
of Christ.
During this time, there was no
New Testament, no formal churches,
and they didn’t even have a name
for the religion yet, they simply
called it “The Way.”
The Apostolic Age
This age last from the Death of
Jesus around 33 A.D. until the
death of John, the last of the
Apostles, around the year 100 A.D.
During this time the foundation
of the Christian Religion would
be formed as it spread throughout
the Roman Empire and beyond.
St. Peter
St. Peter was originally named
Simon, and got the name of
Peter from Jesus, who referred
to him as his “Rock.”
Peter comes from the Latin
name Petrus and it literally
means Rock.
Peter would be a fisherman
in the Sea of Galilee, before
he meets Jesus.
St. Peter
Peter traveled around Judea
to the cities of Lydda, Joppa
and Caesarea preaching the
teachings of Christ.
He then went to Antioch where
he headed the church there for
seven years, before finally going
to Rome itself, where he helped
to found the church and served
as the head bishop of Rome.
Making him technically the first
Pope.
St. Peter
Peter is said to have been
martyred by Emperor Nero.
During Nero’s reign around
65 A.D. there was a great
fire in Rome. Nero blamed
the Christians in the city as
the people who set the fire.
Peter was crucified, but he
insisted that he be crucified
upside down, because he was
not worthy to die in the same
way as Christ.
St. Andrew
Andrew is the brother of St. Peter.
Andrew was originally a disciple
of John the Baptist, but began
following Jesus after he met him.
Andrew was Jesus’ first disciple.
It is said that Andrew introduced
Jesus to Peter.
St. Andrew
During his missions, Andrew
would travel to Scythia, and
preached around the Black
Sea, going as far as Kiev and
Novgorod.
He also went to Byzantium,
which would later be renamed
Constantinople, and set up
the first churches there.
St. Andrew
Andrew was martyred in Greece
in the city of Patras. The
governor of Greece at the time
did not want the new Christian
church to spread within his
territory. So he enforced a law
which said that everyone had
to worship the Roman gods.
Andrew refused to sacrifice to
the Roman gods, and was martyred
by crucifixion on an X-shaped cross.
St. Thomas
St. Thomas is nicknamed
Doubting Thomas, because
it was said when Jesus
returned from the dead,
Thomas refused to belief it
was him until he saw the nail
wounds on his hands.
St. Thomas
Thomas traveled outside of the
Roman Empire on his
missions to far away India.
He set up the first Christian
churches in India, and is
revered to this day in India
by Christians, Hindus and
Muslims alike.
There are several different
stories as to how Thomas
died.
St. Paul
Paul was not one of Jesus’
disciples. In fact he never
met Jesus in person.
Paul actually persecuted
early Christians.
He even took part in the
martyrdom of St. Stephan,
who is regarded as the
first Christian Martyr.
St. Paul
But then on his way to the
city of Damascus one day
he had a vision of Christ,
who asked him why he was
persecuting his followers.
Paul is said to have fallen
to his knees, and then was
blinded for three days,
when he got his vision back,
he became a believer in Jesus.
St. Paul
Paul would make three huge
missionary trips. Around the
Mediterranean world.
The first would take him 1400
miles, the second 2800, and
then 2700 miles. All before
eventually traveling to Rome
and points beyond.
St. Paul
Paul was the most widely Traveled of
the Apostles. And he along with
Peter and Thomas are considered
responsible for spreading the new
religion beyond its Jewish roots.
Paul was eventually martyred in Rome
where he was put to the sword rather
then crucified, because he was a Roman
citizen.
Early Christians
The Bravery, Faith and Persistence
in the face of adversity of the early
Christian followers, martyrs and
Apostles helped to spread
Christianity throughout the Roman
Empire.
They would face many years of
hardship and persecution, but the
time would eventually come, when
Rome would cease to be their
biggest enemy and become their
biggest supporter.