Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets World Religion

The History of Christianity World Religion

---

The History of Christianity
Print The History of Christianity Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 9 to 12
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.62

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		holiness, sacked, cornerstone, friar, foreground, monastery, plague, reading, casket, spans, devotion, monk, nuns, drama, brutal, unravel
	content words:		Jesus Christ, Roman Empire, Many Christians, Most Christians, Holy Spirit, Saint Patrick, Orthodox Christians, Western Catholic, Holy Land, Pope Urban II

---

The History of Christianity By Colleen Messina

---

¹     Have you ever seen a medieval tapestry? In one corner, knights on horseback might be fighting. In another section, there might be a peaceful monastery full of praying nuns. A lady might sit under a tree reading a book in the foreground. Pockets of people dot the hills as they chat about their medieval problems like the plague and how many baths were safe. The story of Christianity is like a tapestry. It has many colorful threads of crusading and contemplation, and it is full of surprising details!
 
²     Christianity started over two thousand years ago with the birth of Jesus Christ. He preached a message about the Kingdom of God. According to the Bible, he went all through Judea, performing many miracles and healing the sick. He was thought of as a rebel by the Roman authorities, who eventually crucified him. After his death, it is believed that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Jesus' message became the cornerstone of Christianity.
 
³     Jesus' closest students, called the disciples, began to travel and tell people about his teachings. The disciples and other apostles set up many churches throughout the Mediterranean, and Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire. The Romans did not like this one bit! Many Christians were brutally executed for their beliefs. Christians expected that Jesus would return to help them. After a while, many realized that Jesus wasn't coming right away. In the meantime, they decided to work to create the Kingdom of God on Earth.
 
⁴     Christianity splintered into different groups. Most Christians believed that God is expressed as a trinity of the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit, but they disagreed about other details of their beliefs. A saint named Saint Patrick used the shamrock with its three equal leaves as a symbol of the Trinity. Christians didn't agree on a statement of belief, called a creed, until 390 A.D. This statement is called the Apostle's Creed.
 
⁵     Even though Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century A.D., Christians didn't agree about the role of Jesus. Some groups thought he was purely divine, while other thought he was also human. This is the main argument between the Orthodox Christians and the Western Catholic traditions, or churches. Other arguments centered on the role of Mary, his mother.

Paragraphs 6 to 12:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Feedback on The History of Christianity

Leave your feedback on The History of Christianity   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

World Religion

World Religion

---

More Lessons

High School Reading Comprehensions and High School Reading Lessons

---

Social Studies

Social Studies

United States History and Theme Units         American Government         Ancient America         Ancient China         Ancient Egypt         Ancient Greece         Ancient India         Ancient Mesopotamia         Ancient Rome         Biographies         Canadian Theme Unit         Country Theme Units         Crime and Terrorism         Economics         European History: 1600s-1800s

Explorers         Famous Educators         Geography         Grades 2-3 Social Studies Wendy's World Series         History of Books and Writing         History of Mathematics         How Can I Help?         Inventors and Inventions         Middle Ages         Renaissance         World Religion         World War I         World War II         World Wonders

Copyright © 2025 edHelper