Did Rome help promote Christianity?

Without the Roman Empire, Christianity might never have spread so successfully. You could say the empire was a tinderbox awaiting the spark of Christian faith.
The empire’s unifying elements aided in the expansion of the Gospel: Roman roads made travel easier than it had ever been before; throughout the realm, people spoke Greek; and the mighty Roman army kept peace. As a result of the increased mobility, pockets of migrant craftsmen settled for a time in a major city—Rome, Corinth, Athens, or Alexandria—then moved on to another.
Christianity stepped into an open climate, religiously. In a sort of “new age” movement many people had begun to embrace eastern religions—the worship of Isis, Dionysus, Mithras, Cybele, and others. Worshipers searched for new beliefs, but some of these religions had been declared illegal, because they were suspected of offensive rituals. Other faiths were officially recognized—like Judaism, which had enjoyed a protected position since the days of Julius Caesar, though its monotheism and biblical revelation set it apart from the other ways of worship.
Taking full advantage of the situation, Christian missionaries traveled throughout the empire. In the Jewish synagogues, craftsmen’s quarters, and tenements, they shared their message and won converts. Soon all the major cities, including the imperial capital, had churches.
Rome, center of the empire, drew people like a magnet. Paul had wanted to visit the city (Romans 1:10–12), and by the time he wrote his letter to the Roman church, he could greet many Christians there by name (Romans 16:3–15)—perhaps because he had met them on his travels.
When Paul arrived in Rome, he did so in chains. The Book of Acts closes with the apostle under rather loose house arrest, receiving guests and teaching them.
Tradition tells us that Peter, too, spent time with the Roman church. Though we have no definite numbers on it, we can guess that under the leadership of these two men the church grew strong, including nobles and soldiers as well as craftsmen and servants.
For three decades the Roman officials perceived Christianity as a branch of Judaism—a legal religion—and had little interest in persecuting the new Jewish “sect.” But many Jews, scandalized by the new faith, went on the attack, even trying to draft Rome into the conflict.
Roman obliviousness to the situation may be shown in the report of the Roman historian Tacitus. In one of the tenements of Rome he reports a disturbance among the Jews at the instigation of a certain “Chrestus.” Tacitus could have misheard; the people were probably arguing about Christos, that is, Christ.
By A.D. 64, some Roman officials had begun to realize that Christianity differed significantly from Judaism. The Jews rejected the Christians, and more and more others saw Christianity as an illegal religion. Even before Rome’s fatal fire, public opinion may have begun to turn against the fledgling faith. Though the Romans eagerly accepted new gods, Christianity was not willing to share honors with any other faith. As Christians challenged the deep-set polytheism of Rome, the empire struck back.
On July 19 a fire broke out in a working-class section of Rome. For seven days it raged, consuming block after block of crowded tenements. Ten of the fourteen wards were destroyed, and many people died.
Legend has it that Emperor Nero “fiddled” while Rome burned. Many of his contemporaries thought Nero was responsible for the fire. When the city was rebuilt, at great public expense, Nero seized a substantial hunk of land for himself and built his Golden Palace on the site. The fire may have been a quick way to achieve urban renewal.
Deflecting the blame from himself, the emperor established a convenient scapegoat—the Christians. They had set the fire, he charged. As a result, Nero vowed to hunt them down and have them killed.
The first wave of Roman persecution lasted from shortly after the fire until Nero’s death in 68. With barbaric bloodthirstiness, he had Christians crucified and set afire. Their bodies lined the Roman roads, providing torchlight. Christians dressed in animal skins were mauled by dogs in the arena. According to tradition, both Peter and Paul became martyrs in Nero’s persecution; Paul was beheaded, and Peter was crucified upside-down.
But persecution occurred sporadically and remained localized. An emperor might heat up the persecution for ten years or so, but a time of peace would follow, only to be abruptly broken when a local governor lashed out at the Christians in his area—with Rome’s blessing. This pattern lasted for two and a half centuries.
Tertullian, a second-century Christian writer, said, “Blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Amazingly, each time persecution erupted, there were more Christians to persecute. In his first letter, Peter had encouraged Christians to endure suffering, confident of the ultimate victory and rule that would be established in Christ (1 Peter 5:8–11). The growth of the church under such pressure in part proved his words.


Curtis, A., Lang, J. S., Petersen, R., & Curtis, J. S. L. A. K. (1998). 100 most important events in christian history, the. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.