I know that Ancient Rome is famous for its coliseums and amphitheatres hosting all manner of gladiator bouts, races and other spectacles. I’m wondering if these pastimes changed at all as Rome’s faith changed from the Pagan gods (war, wine, fertility etc.) to the Christian faith that preached peace and love to one’s neighbour. I can’t imagine that the common people would be happy about losing this entertainment. If so, how was the shedding of blood justified by the new faith (if at all)?
Theodosius oversaw the introduction fo Christianity as official religion in Rome in 380 AD The last gladiatorial games in the Colosseum were under the emperor Honorius in 404.
Did Christianity have anything to do with the end of the games? It may have played a part. Theodoret tells a probably apocryphal story of St Telemachus who was said to have been so horrified by the games that he jumped into the arena and tried to stop the games. He was stoned to death by the crowd who just happened to have stones on hand, so that was convenient. The emperor Honorius was so impressed, however, that he called for an end to the games. The original story is also in Foxes' Book of Martyrs.
But bear in mind that 410 Alaric the Goth sacked Rome. Gladiatorial games were expensive, and after 410 it was more than anyone was really up to.
(There is also the story of Alypius and the Gladiators found in the Confessions of St Augustine (354-430), which at least shows Augustine's view of the games.)