"It relates and interprets the new covenant, represented in the life and death of Jesus, between God and the followers of Christ, the promised Messiah."

• Heil, M. (2014, May 29). Background. Secrets of the Dead. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/great-fire-rome-background/1446/
• JUL 18, 64 CE: Great fire of Rome. (n.d.). https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-fire-rome
• Niles, R. (2018, November 27). Nero and the burning of Rome – Drive thru history®. Drive Thru History®. https://drivethruhistory.com/nero-and-the-burning-of-rome/

In the provinces, the great territorial gods—such as Saturn in North Africa and Jehovah among the Jews—were accepted as “legal religion” on the grounds that their rites, even if barbarous, were sanctified by ancient tradition. Countless local gods and goddesses, worshiped by the ordinary inhabitants of the Greco-Roman world, were often provided with a classical equivalent name and worshiped as “Roman” deities. 

Despite this toleration, by the early second century the Roman governor of Bithynia (on the Black Sea) had no hesitation in sending to immediate execution those who had been denounced as being Christians. The name alone was a sufficient death warrant.

• Christian history timeline: Persecution in the early church. (n.d.). Christian History Institute. https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/persecution-in-early-church-timeline
• Persecution in the early church: Did you know? (1990, July 1). Christian History | Learn the History of Christianity & the Church. https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-27/persecution-in-early-church-did-you-know.html

• EARLY CHURCH - Definition and synonyms of early church in the English dictionary. (n.d.). Educalingo, the dictionary for curious people. https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/early-church

• Barnes, & D., T. (2021, May 10). Constantine’s conversion to Christianity. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1737/constantines-conversion-to-christianity/

THE NIGHT BEFORE MEETING AT THE MILVIAN BRIDGE, EITHER IN A VISION OR A DREAM, CONSTANTINE SAW AN IMAGE WITH THE SCRIPT "IN HOC SIGNO VINCES" ("IN THIS SIGN, CONQUER").

Eusebius reported that Constantine saw the sign of the cross, while Lactantius said it was the superimposed letters chi and rho (the first two letters of 'Christ' in Greek). Whatever Constantine saw or experienced, he credited his victory to the Christian God.

• Barnes, & D., T. (2021, May 10). Constantine’s conversion to Christianity. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1737/constantines-conversion-to-christianity/

People use the phrase “Middle Ages” to describe Europe between the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th century.

The printing revolution also contributed mightily to the Protestant Reformation that split apart the Catholic Church.

• McFadden, C. (2018, September 12). The invention and history of the printing press. Interesting Engineering | Technology, Science, Innovation News and Videos. https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/the-invention-and-history-of-the-printing-press
• Constitutional Rights Foundation 

The Great Schism split the main faction of Christianity into two divisions, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Today, they remain the two largest denominations of Christianity. On July 16, 1054, Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius was excommunicated from the Christian church based in Rome, Italy.

Rome believed that the pope—the religious leader of the western church—should have authority over the patriarch—the religious authority of the eastern church. Constantinople disagreed. Each church recognized their own leaders, and when the western church eventually excommunicated Michael Cerularius and the entire eastern church. The eastern church retaliated by excommunicating the Roman pope Leo III and the Roman church with him.

• JUL 16, 1054 CE: Great Schism. (n.d.). https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-schism
• East-west schism. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/East-West-Schism-1054

• Solly, M. (2020, March 12). The myth of 'Bloody Mary'. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/myth-bloody-mary-180974221/

• King James Version. (2022, November 18). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/King-James-Version

• The pilgrim’s progress. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Pilgrims-Progress

• Christianity plays an important role in history.
• Christianity was controversial, and it was extremely rare and significant for a Roman to convert into a Christian
• Christians were slandered.