Starter quiz
- When did Christianity start?
- when Jesus was born
- after Jesus died and his followers spread his teachings ✓
- when Constantine converted to Christianity
- when the first Christian church was built
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- Match the word to its meaning.
- supremacy⇔ultimate power and authority ✓
- religion⇔a belief in a god or gods ✓
- convert⇔to change to a different religion ✓
- bishop⇔a religious leader in some Christian churches ✓
- The capital of the Eastern Roman Empire was ...
- Constantinople ✓
- Rome
- Athens
- Judea
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- Order these leaders of the Western Roman Church according to rank from highest to lowest.
- 1⇔pope
- 2⇔bishop
- 3⇔presbyter
- 4⇔deacon
- What is the Holy Trinity according to Christian belief?
- It is the three Christian gods.
- It is three leaders of the Church.
- It is God but He has three parts: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. ✓
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- Christians' holy text is called the ...
- 'Bible' ✓
Exit quiz
- Which emperor established Constantinople?
- Julius Caesar
- Justinian
- Constantine ✓
- Augustus
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- The citizens of the Byzantine Empire considered themselves ...
- Roman ✓
- Greek
- Christian ✓
- Jewish
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- Match the word to its function in Constantinople.
- churches⇔for Christian worship, such as Hagia Sophia ✓
- hippodrome⇔for chariot races and public events ✓
- artwork⇔to adorn the city and show religious scenes ✓
- Who was Justinian?
- emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire ✓
- emperor of the Western Roman Empire
- the pope
- a bishop of the Church
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- How did Justinian make Christianity the main religion in the Byzantine Empire?
- He bought a Bible for everyone.
- He ordered all his subjects to be Christian. ✓
- He had food banks in churches.
- He paid people to be Christian.
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- Which of the following was NOT a feature of the Eastern Orthodox Church?
- belief in the Holy Trinity
- the Bible
- bishops, priests and deacons
- the supremacy of the pope ✓
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- After Rome's fall in 476 CE, the Byzantine Empire survived in the east, and considered themselves Romans.
- Constantinople grew strong and beautiful with impressive artworks, churches and the famous hippodrome.
- The Emperor Justinian ruled from 527 to 565 CE.
- Justinian compiled a code of law and ordered all his subjects to be Christian, and to worship in the way he told them.
- The Eastern Church believed many of the same things as in the West, but they did not recognise the pope's supremacy.
Common misconception
The Byzantines weren’t Roman.
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was a continuation of the Roman Empire. The term "Byzantine" is a modern designation used by historians, but the people of that time considered themselves Romans.
Keywords
Byzantine - the Byzantine Empire is the name given by historians to the eastern half of the Roman Empire
Hippodrome - a hippodrome is an arena for chariot or horse races
Law - laws are a set of rules that everyone agrees to follow
Worship - to worship is to show love and respect to a god
Pope - the pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church
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