The Vatican And The Eastern Orthodox Church 's Impact On The Modern Church

Religion is an important feature in most cultures throughout time. Different religions have been more prominent than others, one of the most popular being Christianity. Christianity developed during the time of the Roman Empire. It began as a minority religion and grew into something much more than that. Christianity’s importance to the empire increased over time. At first, Christian values seemed different than those of pagan Roman civilization and Romans were not sure how to react to this growing minority religion. The difference between the two religions became clearer as Christianity became more prominent.

Although the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church ultimately had more differences which ended up causing their

expressed through both his human and divine natures. These caused an embarrassment to other Popes

-Once the pope got authority over the whole Christian Church, there were problems with preachers in many eastern churches—which lead to a division of eastern and western churches.

The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II as it is often called, was an Ecumenical Council, (which means it affected the worldwide Christian community) of the Roman Catholic Church. It began on October 11, 1962 under, Pope John XXIII with over two thousand attendants (Hollis 23). The council ended on December 8, 1965, with Pope Paul VI presiding over the council due to the death of Pope John XXIII in 1963. The council consisted of four different sessions convening in the fall of the four years during which the council took place. Topics discussed and debated throughout the council were issues concerning the church, the liturgy, revelation and scripture, and the clergy.

As time constantly presses forward and the earth continues to revolve, the world will never stop progressing and adapting to better suit the needs of mankind. The evolution of religion has greatly enhanced the quality of life for humanity by providing individuals with a strong belief system that is now the foundation of many peoples’ core values. One universal religion that has undergone extensive amounts of reform is Christianity. In particular, the Catholic church is well-known for the development of their famous ecumenical council meetings that help determine the future of the church. Numerous Councils have been conducted throughout the course of history, but none more significant than the most recent, the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II. The Catholic church was operating as if it was still the medieval period and desperately needed to be modernized. As a result, every Roman Catholic Church official was gathered to meet and devise a plan for how to introduce the church to the modern world. Consequently, the following will reveal the Second Vatican Council and the ramifications of the agenda, history and theology evolution, significant texts, and new developments.

Romans was written around 57 A.D. In those days the emperor was Nero. And Nero was a man who was considered to have no morals. It is speculated that Paul and Peter were both martyred during Nero’s reign. During that time the early church was growing at a very fast rate, but was also being persecuted at an all-time high. This put the early church in a very bad position, they would have to have their gatherings in secret to hide from the Romans who persecuted them. You would think this would intimidate the

Ancient Rome practiced many religions which had their own rules. Christians had to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. People believed Jesus Christ was the son of God because of his resurrection. Christians had to pray and worship, as well as be a good person. In Ancient Rome Christianity took time to be accepted. Christians as well as Jesus Christ were persecuted for their beliefs. Romulus and Remus are the mythical founders of Rome

The document The Spread of Christianity & Hypatia talked about the major spread of Christianity in many parts in Rome. The start came around the time of the foundation of Rome and a new movement came into Alexandria and many other empires. This movement started the development of Christianity and then the spread of Christianity in Rome. Even though it got recognition in Rome, in the year 249 to 250 AD, everyone was forced to worship the roman god. If they didn’t, the chance of death wasn’t a low chance. At the time, the Church only as one third of the population of the greek speakers and less than 10 percent of the latin speakers. It was until the fourth century where Christianity was being converted in Rome. Even the emperor Constantine

So the story everyone knows is the Romans executed Jesus and other Christians/Jews. According to Tacitus and later Christians, “Nero blamed the devastation on the Christian community in the city, initiating the empire's first persecution against the Christians” (Wikipedia). The Romans hated Christians, but then they become known as Romans Catholics? “When a Roman soldier, Constantine, won victory over his rival in battle to become the Roman emperor, he attributed his success to the Christian God and immediately proclaimed his conversion to Christianity. Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.”(BBC)

Prior to the spreading of Christianity,

Pastor Aeternus states the importance of what the pope says about this subject and created a way to try and help these issues be

“Church History: The Fall of Rome Early Church History, Part 16.” IIIM Magazine Online 1, no. 30 (1999): 1. Accessed May 30, 2016. http://www.thirdmill.org/newfiles/jac_arnold/CH.Arnold.CH.16.html.

Ancient Rome’s events led to spread of Christianity around the world. To begin, Rome did not like Christianity until Cincinnatus a well-known and respected leader baptized before his death. This was a great awakening to many Roman’s because they saw Cincinnatus as a role model. Christian leaders in Rome were sent to jail in which they would face death later for not believing in roman gods.

The Catholic Church, Catholic meaning universal is a church with unique practices, beliefs, and traditions compared to the Christian church. (5) The Catholic Church is the closest related to the Christian Church but is extremely different when it comes to rules and specific beliefs. The Christian church is more focused around the belief of followers of Jesus.(1) The Church is centered on the belief that their religion should be focused on the life and walks of Jesus the Son of God. The Protestant Church is a branch of Christianity and shares the belief of