Writing to Christians, Constantine made clear that he believed that he owed his successes to the protection of the High God alone.
Curated/Reviewed by Matthew A. McIntosh
Public Historian
Brewminate
Introduction
During the reign of the Roman emperorย Constantine the Greatย (306โ337ย AD),ย Christianityย began to transition to the dominant religion of theย Roman Empire. Historians remain uncertain about Constantine’s reasons for favoring Christianity, and theologians and historians have often argued about which form ofย early Christianityย he subscribed to. There is no consensus among scholars as to whether he adopted his motherย Helena’s Christianity in his youth, or, as claimed byย Eusebius of Caesarea, encouraged her to convert to the faith he had adopted.
Constantine ruled the Roman Empire as sole emperor for much of his reign. Some scholars allege that his main objective was to gain unanimous approval and submission to his authority from all classes, and therefore he chose Christianity to conduct his political propaganda, believing that it was the most appropriate religion that could fit with theย imperial cult. Regardless, under theย Constantinian dynastyย Christianity expanded throughout the empire, launching the era of theย state church of the Roman Empire.[1]ย Whether Constantine sincerelyย converted to Christianityย or remained loyal toย paganismย is a matter of debate among historians.[2]ย His formal conversion in 312 is almost universally acknowledged among historians,[1][3]ย despite that it was claimed he was baptized only on his deathbed by theย Arianย bishopย Eusebius of Nicomediaย in 337;[4][5][6]ย the real reasons behind it remain unknown and are debated also.[2][3]ย According to Hans Pohlsander, professor emeritus of history at theย State University of New York at Albany, Constantine’s conversion was a matter of realpolitik, meant to serve his political interest in keeping the empire united under his control:
The prevailing spirit of Constantine’s government was one of conservatism. His conversion to and support of Christianity produced fewer innovations than one might have expected; indeed they served an entirely conservative end, the preservation and continuation of the Empire. – Hans Pohlsander,ย The Emperor Constantine[7]
Constantine’s decision to cease theย persecution of Christians in the Roman Empireย was a turning point for early Christianity, sometimes referred to as the Triumph of the Church, the Peace of the Church or theย Constantinian shift. In 313, Constantine andย Liciniusย issued theย Edict of Milanย decriminalizing Christian worship. The emperor became a great patron of the Church and set a precedent for the position of the Christian emperor within the Church and raised the notions ofย orthodoxy,ย Christendom,ย ecumenical councils, and the state church of the Roman Empireย declared by edict in 380. He is revered as aย saintย andย isapostolosย in theย Eastern Orthodox Church,ย Oriental Orthodox Church, and variousย Eastern Catholic Churchesย for his example as a Christian monarch.
Before Constantine
The first recorded officialย persecution of Christians on behalf of the Roman Empireย was in ADย 64, when, as reported by theย Roman historianย Tacitus, Emperorย Neroย attempted to blame Christians for theย Great Fire of Rome. According to Church tradition, it was during the reign of Nero thatย Peterย andย Paulย were martyred in Rome. However, modern historians debate whether the Roman governmentย distinguished between Christians and Jewsย prior toย Nerva’s modification of theย Fiscus Judaicusย in 96, from which point practising Jews paid the tax and Christians did not.[8]
Christians suffered from sporadic and localizedย persecutionsย over a period of two and a half centuries. Their refusal to participate in theย imperial cultย was considered an act ofย treasonย and was thus punishable by execution. The most widespread official persecution was carried out byย Diocletianย beginning in 303. During theย Great Persecution, the emperor ordered Christian buildings and the homes of Christians torn down and their sacred books collected and burned. Christians were arrested, tortured, mutilated, burned, starved, and condemned toย gladiatorialย contests to amuse spectators.[9]ย The Great Persecution officially ended in April 311, whenย Galerius, senior emperor of theย Tetrarchy, issued anย edict of tolerationย which granted Christians the right to practice their religion, although it did not restore any property to them.[10]ย Constantine,ย caesarย in the Western Empire, andย Licinius, caesar in the East, also were signatories to the edict.[11]ย It has been speculated that Galerius’ reversal of his long-standing policy of Christian persecution has been attributable to one or both of these co-caesars.[12]
Constantine’s Conversion
Overview
It is possible that Constantine’s mother,ย Helena, exposed him to Christianity. In any case, he only declared himself a Christian after issuing theย Edict of Milan.[13][14]ย Writing to Christians, Constantine made clear that he believed that he owed his successes to the protection of the High God alone.[15]
Vision of Apollo
In 310 aย panegyric, preserved in theย Panegyrici Latiniย collection and delivered atย Trierย for the joint occasion of the city’s birthday and Constantine’sย quinquennalia, recounted a vision apparently seen by the emperor while journeying betweenย Marseilleย and Trier.[17]ย The panegyricist recounts that the godย Apolloย appeared to Constantine in company withย Victoriaย and together presented him with three wreaths representing thirty years of power.[17]
This vision was perhaps in a dream experienced by the emperor while practisingย incubationย at the shrine ofย Apollo Grannusย inย Grand, Vosges.[17]ย Eusebiusย was aware of this vision, or reports of it, and refers in his ownย Panegyric of Constantineย of 336 to “tricennial crowns”[18]ย bestowed by the hand ofย God in Christianityย on Constantine, “augmenting the sway of his kingdom by long years”.[19][17]
Battle of Milvian Bridge
Eusebius of Caesarea and other Christian sources record that Constantine experienced a dramatic series of events sometime between his fatherย Constantius Chlorus’s death in 306 and theย Battle of the Milvian Bridgeย on 28 October 312.[17]ย The battle secured Constantine’s claim to the title ofย augustusย in the West, which he had assumed unilaterally when his father died.[17]ย According to the Eusebius’ย Life of Constantine, Constantine saw aย visionย of “a cross-shaped trophy formed from light” above the sun at midday.[17]
About the time of the midday sun, when the day was just turning, he said he saw with his own eyes up in the sky and resting over the sun, a cross-shaped trophy formed from light, and a text attached to it which said, “By this conquer.” (ฯฮฟฯฯแฟณ ฮฝฮฏฮบฮฑ) Amazement at the spectacle seized both him and the whole company of soldiers which was then accompanying him on a campaign he was conducting somewhere, and witnessed the miracle. – Eusebius of Caesarea,ย Vita Constantini, 1.28.2
The Greek wordsย แผฮฝ ฮคฮฟฯฯแฟณ ฮฮฏฮบฮฑย ‘in this sign, conquer’ are often rendered in Latin asย in hoc signo vincesย ‘in this sign, you will conquer’.[20]ย According to Eusebius, Constantine also had a dream that same night.[17]ย In the dream,
the Christ of God appeared to him with the sign which had appeared in the sky, and urged him to make himself a copy of the sign which had appeared in the sky, and to use this as a protection against the attacks of the enemy. – Eusebius of Caesarea,ย Vita Constantini, 1.29
Writing hisย Church Historyย shortly after 313, Eusebius makes no mention of this story in that work and does not recount it until composing his posthumous biography of Constantine decades afterwards.[17]ย Life of Constantineย was written by Eusebius after Constantine had died, and Eusebius admitted that he had heard the story from Constantine long after it had happened.ย Lactantius, writing 313โ315 and around twenty years before Eusebius’sย Life, also does not mention a vision in the sky.[17]ย Instead, Lactantius mentions only that Constantine’s dream took place on the eve of the climactic battle on theย Ponte Milvioย across theย Tiber, with the crucial detail that the “sign” was marked on the Constantinian soldiers’ shields.[17]ย According to Lactantius:
Constantine was advised in a dream to mark the heavenly sign of God on the shields of his soldiers and then engage in battle. He did as he was commanded and by means of a letter X turned sideways, with the top of its head bent around (transversa X littera,ย summo capite circumflexo), he marked Christ on their shields (Christum in scutis notat). Armed with this sign, the army took up its weapons. – โLactantius,ย De Mortibus Persecutorum, 44.5โ6
It is unclear from these sources what Constantine saw and what was marked on his army’s shields.[17]ย Eusebius’s description of the daytime vision suggests a cross-shaped symbol, whereas Lactantius’s description suggests aย staurogram, although theย crux ansata or the Egyptianย ankhย have been proposed as interpretations as well.[17]ย All of these symbols were used by Christians in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Eusebius concurs with Lactantius that a new device was added to Constantine’s soldiers’ shields but does not connect this with the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, saying only that the “sign of the saving trophy” was marked, but not specifying when.[21][17]ย Sometime after 317, Eusebius was permitted by Constantine, probably either in 325 or in 335, to see a standard that was made according to the emperor’s dreamt instructions during the civil war.[17]ย He described it as:
A tall pole plated with gold had a transverse bar forming the shape of a cross. Up at the extreme top a wreath woven of precious stones and gold had been fastened. On it two letters, imitating by its first characters the name “Christ,” formed the monogram of the Saviour’s title,ย rhoย being intersected in the middle byย chiย … From the transverse bar, which was bisected by the pole, hung suspended a cloth … But the upright pole … carried the golden head-and-shoulders portrait of the Godbeloved Emperor, and likewise of his sons. – Eusebius of Caesarea,ย Vita Constantini, 1.31.1โ2
This later description of Eusebius’s, written after 324, suggests a more elaborate symbol than does Lactantius’s earlier text, involving the Greek lettersย rhoย (ฮก) andย chiย (ฮง)ย ligatured as theย chi rho referring toย Jesus.[17]ย Possibly Eusebius’s description refers to aย chi–rhoย inside the loop of anย ankh.[22]
Following the battle and the defeat and death ofย Maxentius, Constantine became the undisputed emperor in the West and performed anย adventus, a ceremonial entrance to the city.[17]ย Arriving inside Rome’s walls he ignored the altars toย the godsย prepared on theย Capitoline Hillย and did not carry out the customary sacrifices to celebrate a general’s victorious entry into Rome, instead heading directly to the imperial palace.[15]ย This is probably because the traditionalย Roman triumph, concluding with the sacrifice toย Jupiterย Optimus Maximusย at his temple on the Capitoline, was traditionally celebrated after victory over Rome’s enemies, rather than after the conquest of the city by a claimant in a civil war.[23]ย Theย Arch of Constantine, for which numerousย reliefsย from earlier monuments depicting prior emperors sacrificing to various gods were re-carved with the face of Constantine, does not have an image of Constantine sacrificing to Jupiter, although he is shown sacrificing to Apollo and toย Hercules.[23]
Edict of Milan
In 313 Constantine and Licinius announced “that it was proper that the Christians and all others should have liberty to follow that mode of religion which to each of them appeared best,”[24]ย thereby granting tolerance to all religions, including Christianity. The Edict of Milan went a step further than the earlierย Edict of Serdicaย by Galerius in 311, returning confiscated Church property. This edict made the empire officially neutral with regard to religious worship; it neither made the traditional religions illegal nor made Christianity theย state religion, as occurred later with theย Edict of Thessalonicaย of 380. The Edict of Milan did, however, raise the stock of Christianity within the empire and reaffirmed the importance of religious worship to the welfare of the state.[25]ย Most influential people in the empire, especially high military officials, had not been converted to Christianity and still participated inย traditional Roman religion; Constantine’s rule exhibited at least a willingness to appease these factions.ย Coinsย minted up to eight years after the battle still bore the images of Roman gods.[20]ย The monuments he first commissioned, such as the Arch of Constantine, contained no reference to Christianity.[15][26]
Patronage of the Church
Overview
The accession of Constantine was a turning point for early Christianity. After his victory, Constantine took over the role of patron of the Christian faith. He supported the Church financially, had a number ofย basilicasย built, granted privileges (e.g., exemption from certain taxes) to clergy, promoted Christians to high-ranking offices, returned property confiscated during the Great Persecution of Diocletian,[27]ย and endowed the church with land and other wealth.[28]ย Between 324 and 330, Constantine built a new city,ย New Rome, atย Byzantiumย on theย Bosporos, which would be namedย Constantinopleย for him. Unlike “old” Rome, the city began to employ overtly Christian architecture, contained churches within the city walls, and had no pre-existing temples from other religions.[29]
In doing this, however, Constantine required those who had not converted to Christianity to pay for the new city.[28]ย Christian chroniclers tell that it appeared necessary to Constantine “to teach his subjects to give up their rites … and to accustom them to despise their temples and the images contained therein,”[30]ย This led to the closure of temples because of a lack of support, their wealth flowing to the imperial treasure;[31]ย Constantine did not need to use force to implement this.[28]ย It was the chroniclerย Theophanesย who added centuries later that temples “were annihilated”, but this was considered “not true” by contemporary historians.[32]
Constantine respected cultivated persons, and his court was composed of older, respected, and honored men. Men from leading Roman families who declined to convert to Christianity were denied positions of power yet still received appointments; even up to the end of his life, two-thirds of his top government were non-Christian.ย Constantine’s laws enforced and reflected his Christian attitudes.ย Crucifixionย was abolished for reasons of Christian piety but was replaced withย hanging, to demonstrate the preservation of Roman supremacy. On March 7, 321, Sunday, which was sacred to Christians as the day of Christ’s resurrection and to the Roman Sun Godย Sol Invictus, was declared an official day of rest. On that day markets were banned and public offices were closed,[33]ย except for the purpose of freeing slaves.[34]ย There were, however, no restrictions on performing farming work on Sundays, which was the work of the great majority of the population.[35]
Some laws made during his reign were even humane in the modern sense and supported tolerance, possibly inspired by his Christianity:[36]ย a prisoner was no longer to be kept in total darkness but must be given the outdoors and daylight; a condemned man was allowed to die in the arena, but he could not be branded on his “heavenly beautified” face, since God was supposed to have made man in his image, but only on the feet.[37]ย Publicly displayed gladiatorial games were ordered to be eliminated in 325.
Early Christian Bibles
According to Eusebius, in 331 Constantine had commissioned him to deliver fifty volumes of scriptures for the churches of Constantinople, which were to be bound in leather and easily portable.[38]ย Only three or four churches are known certainly to have existed in Constantine’s reign, but others appear to have been planned or established, for which the scriptures were commissioned.[38]ย The volumes were likelyย gospel booksย containing the Canonicalย Gospelsย of theย Four Evangelistsย rather than complete Bibles with the entireย Biblical canon, which were very rare in antiquity.[38]
Athanasiusย (Apol. Const. 4) recorded around 340 Alexandrian scribes preparing Bibles forย Constans. Little else is known. It has been speculated that this may have provided motivation forย canon lists, and thatย Codex Vaticanusย andย Codex Sinaiticusย are examples of these Bibles. Together with theย Peshittaย andย Codex Alexandrinus, these are the earliest extant Christian Bibles.[39]
Church Construction
According toย Socrates Scholasticus, Constantine commissioned the construction of the first Church ofย Hagia Ireneย in Constantinople, on the site now occupied by theย Justinianย church of the same name.[38]ย It commemorated the peace won by Constantine andย Crispus’s victory over Licinius andย Licinius IIย at the Battle of Chrysopolis in 324; its name, the Church of the Holy Peace recalled the Altar of Peace (Latin:ย ara pacis) built byย Augustus, the first deified Roman emperor.[38]ย Two other large churches were dedicated to Saintย Mociusย and to Saintย Acacius; both worthies had supposedly been martyred in Byzantium during the Diocletianic Persecution.[38]ย The Church of St Mocius was supposed to have included parts of a former temple of Zeus or Hercules, though it is unlikely that such a temple existed on the site, which was without the walls of the Constantinian city as well as of erstwhileย Severanย Byzantium.[38]ย According to Eusebius, Christian liturgies were also performed in Constantine’s Mausoleum, the site of which became theย Church of the Holy Apostles; although Eusebius does not mention any Byzantine church by name, he reports that Christian sites were numerous inside the city and around it.[38]ย Later tradition ascribed to Constantine the foundations in Constantinople of the Church ofย Saint Menas, the Church of Saintย Agathonicus, the Church ofย Saint Michaelย at nearbyย Anaplous, and the Church of Hagios Dynamis.[38]
Christian Emperorship
Enforcement of Doctrine
The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the Christian emperor in the Church. Emperors considered themselves responsible to the gods for the spiritual health of their subjects, and after Constantine they had a duty to help the Church define and maintain orthodoxy.[40]ย The Church generally regarded the definition of doctrine as the responsibility of theย bishops; the emperor’s role was to enforce doctrine, root outย heresy, and uphold ecclesiastical unity.[41]ย The emperor ensured that God was properly worshiped in his empire; what proper worship (orthodoxy) and doctrines and dogma consisted of was for the Church to determine.[42]
Constantine had become a worshiper of the Christian God, but he found that there were many opinions on that worship and indeed on who and what that God was. In 316, Constantine was asked to adjudicate in aย North Africanย dispute of theย Donatistย sect (who began by refusing obedience to any bishops who had yielded in any way to persecution, later regarding all bishops but their own sect as utterly contaminated). More significantly, in 325 he summoned theย First Council of Nicaea, effectively the firstย ecumenical councilย (unless theย Council of Jerusalemย is so classified).[43]ย The Council of Nicaea is the first major attempt by Christians to define orthodoxy for the whole state. Until Nicaea, all previous Church councils had been local or regional synods affecting only portions of the Church.
Nicaea dealt primarily with theย Arianย controversy. Constantine was torn between the Arian andย Trinitarianย camps. After the Nicene council, and against its conclusions, he eventually recalledย Ariusย from exile and banished Athanasius of Alexandria toย Trier.
Just before his death in May 337, it is claimed that Constantine was baptised into Christianity. Up until this time he had been aย catechumenย for most of his adult life. He believed that if he waited to get baptized on his death bed he was in less danger of polluting his soul with sin and not getting to heaven.[citation needed]ย He was baptized by his distant relative Arian Bishopย Eusebius of Nicomediaย or byย Pope Sylvester Iย which is maintained by theย Catholic Church, theย Coptic Orthodox Church, theย Antiochian Orthodox Church, theย Greek Orthodox Church, theย Russian Orthodox Church, theย Serbian Orthodox Church, upon by many otherย Eastern Orthodox,ย Nestorian Orthodox, andย Oriental Orthodoxย Churches.[44][45][46][47][48][49]ย During Eusebius of Nicomedia’s time in the imperial court, the Eastern court and the major positions in the Eastern Church were held by Arians or Arian sympathizers.[50]ย With the exception of a short period of eclipse, Eusebius enjoyed the complete confidence both of Constantine andย Constantius IIย and was the tutor of Emperorย Julian the Apostate.[51]ย After Constantine’s death, his son and successor Constantius II was an Arian, as was Emperorย Valens.
Suppression of Other Religions
Constantine’s position on the religions traditionally practiced in Rome evolved during his reign. In fact, his coinage and other official motifs, until 325, had affiliated him with the pagan cult of Sol Invictus. At first, Constantine encouraged the construction of new temples[52]ย and toleratedย traditional sacrifices;[15]ย by the end of his reign, he had begun to order the pillaging and tearing down ofย Roman temples.[53][54][55]
Beyond theย limes, east of theย Euphrates, theย Sasanianย rulers,ย perennially at war with Rome, had usuallyย tolerated Christianity. Constantine is said to have written toย Shapur IIย in 324 and urged him to protect Christians under his rule.[56]ย With the establishment of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire, Christians in Persia would be regarded as allies of Persia’s ancient enemy. According to an anonymous Christian account, Shapur II wrote to his generals:[57][58]
You will arrest Simon, chief of the Christians. You will keep him until he signs this document and consents to collect for us a double tax and double tribute from the Christians โฆ for we Gods[59]ย have all the trials of war and they have nothing but repose and pleasure. They inhabit our territory and agree with Caesar, our enemy. – Shapur II, A History of Christianity in Asia: Beginnings to 1500
Constantinian Shift
Constantinian shiftย is a term used by someย theologiansย andย historians of antiquityย to describe the political and theological aspects and outcomes of theย 4th-centuryย process of Constantine’s integration of the imperial government with the Church that began with the First Council of Nicaea.[60]ย The term was popularized by theย Mennoniteย theologianย John H. Yoder.[61]ย The claim that there ever was a Constantinian shift has been disputed;ย Peter Leithartย argues that there was a “brief, ambiguous ‘Constantinian moment’ in the fourth century,” but that there was “no permanent, epochal ‘Constantinian shift’.”[62]
See endnotes and bibliography at source.
Originally published by Wikipedia, 08.01.2005, under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.
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