Christian Jerusalem

Week 8 Lecture 1 (2/22/11)

After the Jews were banned from Jerusalem, the city no longer was a center of religious activity. However, during the Byzantine Empire, the rise of Christianity made Jerusalem a focal point in religion once again. Over 300 years before Constantine, miraculous events were happening in Jerusalem. A man named Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. He preached about a religion based on faith, not a Temple, and one of love and passivity. Jerusalem was said to be the place where Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead, and these events became essential to the Christian faith.

In 312, Constantine got rid of the tetrarchy and declared himself emperor of all of the the Roman Empire. After the Battle of the Milvian Bridge where he believed he saw a sign from God, Constantine became a Christian. He made Christianity legal, and Christianity became the main religion of Rome. Christians were no longer persecuted for their religion, but they did have to interpret Christianity the way the emperor did. Therefore, many scholars can argue whether Constantine's contributions to Christianity were great or destructive. He played a large role in promoting the religion, but he also changed it so it was no longer the religion Jesus preached, one of passivity and spirituality. Constantine's mother also contributed to the Christian pilgrimages we practice today. Jerusalem, and specifically the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, became the new axis mundi. Myths that were once associated with the Temple Mount were transferred to the Church of the Holy Sepulchur, and the Nea Church was build to replace Solomon's Temple.