References on Christendom and Constantine Christendom-Noun-1.
The collective body of Christians throughout the
world and
history;"for a thousand years the Roman Catholic Church was the principal
Date
"Christendom" was first used in popular English literature:
sometime before 1050. (references) Source: WordNet
1.7.1
Christendom-The seeds of Christendom were laid in 306 A.D., when Emperor
Constantine became co-ruler
of the
Christendom was given a
firmer meaning with the creation of Charlemagne's kingdom, the Christian Empire
of the West. On Christmas Day, 800 A.D., Charlemagne was crowned by the Pope as
ruler of the
After the collapse of
Charlemagne's empire, Christendom became a collection of states loosely
connected to the Holy See. Tensions between the popes and secular rulers ran
high, as the pontiffs attempted to retain control over their temporal
counterparts. The idea of Christendom was already greatly discredited by the
time of the Rennaissance Popes because of the moral laxity of the pontiffs and
their willingness to make war, peace, and alliances like secular rulers.
Christendom as a cohesive
political unit effectively ended with the Reformation.—
Christendom -The seeds of Christendom were laid in 306 A.D., when
Emperor Constantine became co-ruler of the
From http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Christendom
,
Source: Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia from the article "Christendom."
Constantine1& 2 Established Christianity
as the official religion, but he did so by including the Trinity into the
official religion. The Trinity is unsupported by the Bible and since
Constantine1&2
Established Christianity as the official religion
2.1 The original Nicene Creed of 325
2.3 Comparison between Creed of 325
and Creed of 381
More References
What Christians taught & practiced
prior to
EarliestChristianValues.htm and PatriotismPlus.htm
[edit] 326-death
The Baptism of Constantine, as imagined by students of Raphael.
In
326, Constantine had his eldest son Crispus tried and
executed, as he believed accusations that Crispus had been having an affair
with Fausta,
Constantine's second wife. A few months later he also had Fausta killed as the
apparent source of these false accusations.
Eusebius
reports that Constantine was baptized only shortly before his death in 337. With this, he
followed one custom at the time which postponed baptism till old age or death[6]. According to Jerome,
Constantine's choice fell upon the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, who happened, despite
his being an ally of Arius,
still to be the bishop
of the region.
Notwithstanding
his conversion to Christianity, Constantine was deified, like
several other Christian emperors after him. By this late stage of the Empire,
deification had lost much of its original religious meaning, and had simply
become little more than a posthumous honour.[citations needed]
His body was transferred to Constantinople and buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles there.
[edit] Succession
He was
succeeded by his three sons by Fausta, Constantine II, Constantius
II and Constans.
A number of relatives were taken out of the picture by followers of
Constantius. He also had two daughters, Constantina
and Helena, wife of Emperor Julian.
[edit] Constantine and Christianity
Main article: Constantine I and Christianity
Constantine
is best known for being the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christianity,
although he may have continued in his pre-Christian beliefs, and along with his
co-Emperor Licinius
was the first to bestow imperial favor on Christianity through the 313 Edict
of Milan. Christianity had previously been legalized by Galerius, who
was the first emperor to issue an edict of toleration for all religious creeds
including Christianity in April of 311.[7]
Popular
legend holds that Constantine I was Christian; however, he never publicly
recanted his position as Pontifex Maximus, and the only alleged occurrence
of Constantine I converting was on his deathbed (as reported by later Church
Fathers), which is impossible to verify. Constantinian legislation has been
interpreted as sympathetic towards traditional Roman polytheism. For example,
Constantine issued laws confirming the rights of flamens, priests and duumvirs.[8] Although Constantine passed legislation against
magic and private divination, this was driven out of a fear that others might
gain power through those means, as he himself had achieved power through the
sound advice of soothsayers and this convinced him of the perspicacity of
prophecy.[9] His belief in divination is confirmed by
legislation calling for the consultation of augurs after an amphitheater had
been struck by lightning in the year 320.[10] Constantine explicitly allowed public divination
as well as traditional religious practices to continue.[11]
Constantine and the
Jews
Constantine
instituted several legislative measures regarding the Jews: they were
forbidden to own Christian slaves or to circumcise
their slaves. Conversion of Christians to Judaism was
outlawed. Congregations for religious services were restricted, but Jews were
allowed to enter Jerusalem on Tisha B'Av,
the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple. Constantine also supported the
separation of the date of Easter from the Jewish Passover (see
also Quartodecimanism), stating in his letter after the First Council of Nicaea: "... it
appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we
should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands
with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of
soul. ... Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd;
for we have received from our Saviour a different way." [12]. Theodoret's Ecclesiastical History 1.9 records the
Epistle of the Emperor Constantine addressed to those Bishops who were not
present at the Council: "It was, in the first place, declared improper to
follow the custom of the Jews in the celebration of this holy festival,
because, their hands having been stained with crime, the minds of these
wretched men are necessarily blinded.... Let us, then, have nothing in common
with the Jews, who are our adversaries. ... avoiding all contact with that evil
way. ... who, after having compassed the death of the Lord, being out of their
minds, are guided not by sound reason, but by an unrestrained passion, wherever
their innate madness carries them. ... a people so utterly depraved. ...
Therefore, this irregularity must be corrected, in order that we may no more
have any thing in common with those parricides and the murderers of our Lord.
... no single point in common with the perjury of the Jews." [13]
Constantine's
iconography and ideology
Coins
struck for emperors often reveal details of their personal iconography.
During the early part of Constantine's rule, representations first of Mars
and then (from 310) of Apollo as Sun god consistently appear on the reverse of the
coinage. Mars had been associated with the Tetrarchy,
and Constantine's use of this symbolism served to emphasize the legitimacy of
his rule. After his breach with his father's old colleague Maximian in
309–310, Constantine began to claim legitimate descent from the 3rd century
emperor Marcus
Aurelius Claudius Gothicus, the hero of the Battle
of Naissus (September, 268). The Augustan
History of the 4th century reports Constantine's paternal grandmother
Claudia to be a daughter of Crispus, Crispus being a reported brother of both
Claudius II and Quintillus. Historians however suspect this account to be
a genealogical
fabrication
to flatter Constantine.
Coin of Constantine, with depiction of the sun god Sol
Invictus, holding a globe and right hand raised. The legend on the reverse reads SOLI INVICTO COMITI, to (Constantine's) "companion, the
unconquered Sol".
[[Image:As-Constantine-XR
Gothicus
had claimed the divine protection of Apollo-Sol Invictus. Constantine also
promoted an association of himself with Sol Invictus, which was the last deity
to appear on his coinage.[14] The reverses of his coinage were dominated for
several years by his "companion, the unconquered Sol" — the
inscriptions read SOLI INVICTO COMITI. The
depiction represents Apollo with a solar halo, Helios-like, and
the globe in his hands. In the 320s Constantine has a halo of his own. There
are also coins depicting Apollo driving the chariot of the Sun on a shield
Constantine is holding. Elements of this association remained even after
Constantine's famous conversion to Christianity before the Milvian Bridge in 312. There, Eusebius
tells us Constantine saw God in a vision. Thereafter, Christian symbolism,
albeit ambiguous in some instances, began to appear in Imperial iconography.[15] A coin of ca 312, for example, shows the chi-rho, the
first two letters of the name of Christ in Greek, on a helmet Constantine is
wearing.
An example of "staring eyes" on later Constantine coinage.
Further
continuation of iconographic precedent can be seen in the larger eye of the
coin portrait. This suggests a more fundamental shift in official images.
Beginning in the late third century, portraits began away to become less
realistic and more idealistic. The Emperor as Emperor, not merely as any
particular individual, is of primary importance. The most common
characteristics of this style are the broad jaw and cleft chin. The large
staring eyes will loom larger as the 4th century progresses: compare the early
5th century silver coinage of Theodosius
I
Constantine's
Courts and Appointees
Constantine
respected cultivation and Christianity, and his court was composed of older,
respected, and honored men. Leading Roman families that refused Christianity
were denied positions of power, yet two-thirds of his top government was
non-Christian. [16]
"From
Pagan temples Constantine had his statue removed. The repair of Pagan temples
that had decayed was forbidden. These funds were given to the favored Christian
clergy. Offensive forms of worship, either Christian or Pagan, were suppressed.
At the dedication of Constantinople in 330 a ceremony half Pagan
and half Christian was performed, in the market place, the Cross of Christ was
placed over the head of the Sun-God's chariot. There was a singing of
hymns." [17]
[edit] Constantine's
legal standards
Constantine
passed laws making the occupations of butcher and baker hereditary, and
more importantly, supported converting the coloni (tenant
farmers) into serfs
— laying the foundation for European society during the Middle Ages.
Constantine's
laws in many ways improved those of his predecessors, though they also reflect
his more violent age. Some examples:
· For the first time, girls could not be
abducted (this may actually refer to elopements, which were considered
kidnapping because girls could not legally consent to the elopement).
· A punishment of death was mandated to
anyone collecting taxes over the authorized amount.
· 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,
just on the feet (because God made man in His image).
· Slave "nurses" or chaperones
caught allowing the girls they were responsible for to be seduced were to have
molten lead poured down their throats.
· Gladiatorial
games were ordered to be eliminated in 325, although this had little real
effect.
· A slave master's rights were limited, but
a slave could still be beaten to death.
· Crucifixion
was abolished for reasons of Christian piety, but was replaced with hanging, to show
there was Roman law and justice.
· Easter could be
publicly celebrated.
· Sunday was declared a day of rest, on
which markets were banned and public offices were closed (except for the
purpose of freeing slaves). However, there were no restrictions on farming work
(which was the work of the great majority of the population).[5][18]
Constantine's legacy
Contemporary bronze head of Constantine.
Although
he earned his honorific of "The Great" from Christian historians long
after he had died, he could have claimed the title on his military achievements
and victories alone. In addition to reuniting the empire under one emperor,
Constantine won major victories over the Franks and Alamanni
(306–308), the Franks again (313–314), the Visigoths in
332 and the Sarmatians
in 334. In fact, by 336, Constantine had actually reoccupied most of the
long-lost province of Dacia,
which Aurelian
had been forced to abandon in 271. At the time of his death, he was planning a
great expedition to put an end to raids on the eastern provinces from the Persian
Empire.
The Byzantine
Empire considered Constantine its founder and also the Holy
Roman Empire reckoned him among the venerable figures of its tradition. In
both East and West, Emperors were sometimes hailed as a "new
Constantine". Most Eastern Christian churches consider Constantine a
saint. In the East he is sometimes called "isapostolos"
or the "13th apostle"[2].
[edit] Legend and
Donation of Constantine
Main article: Donation of Constantine
In
later years, historical facts were clouded by legend. It was considered
inappropriate that Constantine was baptized only on his death-bed and by a
bishop of questionable orthodoxy, and hence a legend emerged that Pope
Silvester I (314-335) had cured the pagan Emperor from leprosy.
According to this legend, Constantine was baptized after that and donated
buildings to the Pope.
In the 8th century, a document called the "Donation of Constantine" first
appeared, in which the freshly converted Constantine hands the temporal rule
over Rome, Italy and the Occident to the
Pope. In the High Middle Ages, this document was used and
accepted as the basis for the Pope's temporal
power, though it was denounced as a forgery by Emperor Otto III and lamented as the root of
papal worldliness by the poet Dante
Alighieri. The 15th century philologist Lorenzo
Valla proved the document was indeed a forgery.
[edit] Constantine in
Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia
Because
of his fame and his being proclaimed Emperor on Great
Britain, Constantine was later also considered a British King. In the 11th
century, the English writer Geoffrey of Monmouth published a fictional
work called Historia Regum Britanniae, in which
he narrates the supposed history of the Britons and their kings from the Trojan War,
King
Arthur and the Anglo-Saxon conquest. In this work, Geoffrey claimed
that Constantine's mother Helena was actually the daughter of "King
Cole", the mythical King of the Britons and
eponymous founder of Colchester. A daughter for King
Cole had not previously figured in the lore, at least not as it has
survived in writing, and this pedigree is likely to reflect Geoffrey's desire
to create a continuous line of regal descent. It was indecorous, Geoffrey
considered, that a king might have less-than-noble ancestors. Monmouth also
said that Constantine was proclaimed "King of the Britons" at
York, rather than Roman Emperor.
[edit] Notes
1.
^ In (Latin Constantine's official imperial title was IMPERATOR CAESAR FLAVIVS
CONSTANTINVS PIVS
2.
^ The Byzantine liturgical calendar, observed not only by
the Eastern Orthodox Church but also by Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine
rite, lists Constantine, with his mother Saint Helena on 21 May as a
saint. He is not included in the Latin
Church's Roman Martyrology, which does recognize several other Constantines
as saints, and celebrates Saint Helena on 18 August.
3.
^ De Mortibus Persecutorum ("On the Deaths of the Persecutors",
chapters 34, 35)
4.
^ See article on the Constantinian shift.
6.
^ In this period infant baptism had not yet become a matter of routine in
the west (although many were, it was initially only done in times of emergency,
and it was seen more as a promise of future submission to Christianity than a
deliberate choice to be Christian). Adults who voluntarily submitted to baptism
made a clear statement of their beliefs placing them safely among the redeemed.
Some waited to old age or death for various reasons, creating tensions between
Churchmen who encouraged their audience to submit and those who waivered. See Thomas M.
Finn (1992), Early Christian Baptism and the Catechumenate: East
and West Syria. See also Philip
Rousseau (1999). "Baptism", in Late Antiquity: A Guide
to the Post Classical World, ed. Peter Brown.
7.
^ De Mortibus Persecutorum ("On the Deaths of the Persecutors",
chapters 34, 35)
8.
^ Theodosian Code 12.1.21, 12.5.2
9.
^ Zosimus 2.29.1-2.29.4, Theodosian Code 16.10.1. Laws against the private
practice of divination had been enacted ever since the time of the emperor
Tiberius. The fear of a rival had led many emperors to be severe against those
who attempted to divine their successor.
10.
^ Theodosian Code 16.10.1
11.
^ Theodosian Code 9.16.1-9.16.3.
12.
^ Life of Constantine Vol. III Ch. XVIII by Eusebius
13.
^ The Epistle of the Emperor Constantine, concerning the
matters transacted at the Council, addressed to those Bishops who were not
present
14.
^ N. Hannestad Roman Art and Imperial Policy (Aarhus: 1988)
15.
^ P. Bruun Studies in Constantinian numismatics : papers from 1954
to 1988
16.
^ MacMullen 1969,1984, New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908 Constantine
17.
^ New Catholic Encyclopedia 1908
18.
^ New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908; Theodosian Code.
[edit] References and
further reading
·
The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine
(Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World), edited by Noel Lenski. New
York: Cambridge University Press, 2005 (hardcover, ISBN 0-521-81838-9; paperback, ISBN 0-521-52157-2).
·
Chuvin, Pierre; Archer, B. A. (translator). A
Chronicle of the Last Pagans. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990
(ISBN 0-674-12970-9).
·
Chapman, John. "Donatists", The Catholic
Encyclopedia (1909).
·
"Constantine", Encyclopaedia Britannica
(1911).
·
Dodds, Eric Robertson. The Greeks and the
Irrational. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1964.
·
Dodds, Eric Robertson. Pagan and Christian in an Age
of Anxiety: Some Aspects of the Religious Experience from Marcus Aurelius to
Constantine. Cambridge University Press, 1965.
·
Eusebius of Caesarea. The Life of the
blessed Emperor Constantine in four books from 306 to 337.
·
Fowden, Garth. "The Last Days of Constantine:
Oppositional Versions and Their Influence", The Journal of Roman
Studies, Vol. 84. (1994), pp. 146–170.
·
Herbermann, Charles G.; Grupp, Georg. "Constantine the Great", The
Catholic Encyclopedia (1908).
·
Holloway, R. Ross. Constantine and Rome. New
Heaven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 2004 (hardcover, ISBN 0-300-10043-4).
·
Jones, A.H.M. Constantine and the Conversion of Europe.
London: English University Press, 1948; London: Macmillan, 1949.
·
Kousoulas, D.G. The Life and Times of Constantine the
Great: The First Christian Emperor. Bethesda, MD: Provost Books, 2003
(paperback, ISBN 1-887750-61-4).
·
Lactantius, (240–320). Of the Manner the in Which the
Persecutors Died.
·
MacMullen, Ramsay. Constantine. Dial Press,
1969.
·
MacMullen, Ramsay. Christianizing the Roman Empire
A.D. 100–400. New Heaven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 1984.
·
MacMullen, Ramsay. Changes in the Roman Empire: Essays
in the Ordinary. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990.
·
MacMullen, Ramsay. Enemies of the Roman Order:
Treason, Unrest, and Alienation, Harvard, 1966.
·
Odahl, Charles Matson. Constantine and the Christian
Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.
·
Rassias, Vlassis R. Es Edafos Ferein, 2nd edition.
Athens, 2000 (ISBN 960-7748-20-4).
·
Wilken, Robert L., Christians As the Romans Saw Them.
New Heaven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 1984.
· Sources on the Antonine
Plague:
o Galen. On the
Natural Faculties.
o Marcus Cornelius Fronto. Letters of
Marcus Cornelius Fronto.
[edit] See also
·
Arch of Constantine, triumphal
arch to the victory at Milvian Bridge.
·
Constantine I And Christianity
·
Donatist
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
·
Letters
of Constantine: Book 1, Book 2, & Book 3
·
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Constantine I
·
RomanEmperors.org
Vita of Constantine; with bibliography
·
Ammianus
Marcellinus on-line project
·
12 Byzantine Rulers by Lars Brownworth of Stony Brook School (grades 7-12). 40 minute
audio lecture on Constantine.
·
Constantine
I in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
·
Constantine the
Great A site about Constantine the Great and his bronze coins emphasizing
history using coins, with many resources including reverse types issued and
reverse translations.
·
House of Constantine
bronze coins Illustrations and descriptions of coins of Constantine the
Great and his relatives.
·
BBC North Yorkshire's site on Roman York, Yorkshire and
Constantine the Great
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Constantine I and Christianity
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Saint Constantine the Great |
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mosaic in Hagia Sophia, Constantinople, c. 1000 |
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Born |
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Died |
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Venerated in |
Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Lutheran Church |
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Major shrine |
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May 21 |
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Attributes |
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Troparion From the Byzantine Menaion |
Your servant Constantine, O Lord and only Lover of Man, beheld the figure of the Cross in the Heavens; and like Paul (not having received his call from men, but as an Apostle among rulers set by Your hand over the royal city) he preserved lasting peace through the prayers of the Theotokos. |
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Kontakion From the Byzantine Menaion |
With
his mother Helen, |
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Disputed |
"When
certain oriental writers call |
This
article covers the events of, reaction to, and historical legacy of Roman
Emperor Constantine I's promotion, legitimization,
and conversion
to Christianity.
Christianity's status in the empire before the Galerius' Edict of
Toleration
Contrary
to popular imagery, hunting Christians was not the first priority of the Roman
Empire. Only under the specific direction of reigning emperors and at times of
particular crisis (which were put down to the Christians not worshipping the
state gods) were persecutions enforced:
·
Nero.
·
Trajan (98-117)
wrote the famous response to Pliny
the Younger's letter regarding how Christians should be treated. Also, Ignatius of Antioch was martyred in his reign.
·
Septimius
Severus (193-211) ordered provincial governors to round up Christians and
punish them according to the local governor's preference.
·
Decius launched the
first Empire-wide persecution against Christians in 250, but military
concerns soon led to a loss of interest and the persecution was stopped.
·
Valerian had
led Decius' persecution and in 257 he re-enacted the original edict and in 258 added more stringent
measures that targeted clergy with summary execution.
·
The
Great Persecution 303-311 of Diocletian
(284-305) was the most
extreme; he ordered Christian buildings (and the homes of Christians) torn
down, their sacred books collected and burned, and Christians themselves were
denied the protection offered other citizens by Roman law. Christians were
arrested, tortured, mutilated, burned, starved, and forced to gladiatorial
contests to amuse spectators. His successor Galerius (305-311) was responsible for
the more draconian aspects of this persecution, and some argue that it was he
who persuaded Diocletian to launch the persecution after the success of the
persecution against the Manichees, members of a religion based in Persia which was
at that time a resurgent threat on the Empire's Eastern border.
Most
of the time Christianity was tolerated, though not officially allowed. Alexander
Severus was even friendly to the Christian movement and built a shrine to
Jesus in his own home next to his shrines to the Roman gods. [citation needed]
After emperor Valerian was captured by the Persians in 260, his son and
successor Gallienus
abandoned the persecution of Christians. Until the start of the Great
Persecution, Christianity enjoyed over 40 years of relative peace without major
persecutions.
The
Great Persecution officially ended in April of 311, when Galerius, then senior
emperor of the Tetrarchy, issued an edict of toleration, which granted
Christians the right to practice their religion, though it did not restore any
property to them.[1]
Constantine's conversion
Constantine's conversion, by Rubens.
[edit] Sincerity
Constantine
is best known for being the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christianity,
although he may have continued in his pre-Christian beliefs as well. Fifth
Century historian Salminius Hermias Sozomen wrote that Constantine was
converted to Christianity in Gaul and Britain saying:
... that it was then no easy matter to
dwell in Gaul, in Britain, or in the neighboring countries, in which it is
universally admitted Constantine embraced the religion of the Christians,...[2]
Some
modern scholars, however, question the historicity of his conversion. [citation needed]
This includes those who refer to the Church tradition that he was not baptised until his deathbed, and it was only
witnessed by the same Christian leaders that made the subsequent claims of his
baptism. That delay is likely to be linked to a then widely held belief that
only pre-baptismal sins could be forgiven, so many postponed baptism as long as
they could. [citation needed]
Constantine
even turned to preaching in later life, giving his own sermons in the palace
before his court and invited crowds, preaching harmony at first, but gradually
turning more confrontational with the old pagan ways. The reason for this later
"change of heart" remains conjectural.
Many
historians, including philospher Bertrand
Russell, believe Constantine favored Christianity due to its organization
and contagious zeal:
“In the modern world, we are accustomed to
political organization; every politician has to reckon with the Catholic vote,
but it is balanced by the vote of other organized groups. A Catholic candidate
for the Presidency is at a disadvantage, because of Protestant prejudice. But,
if there were no such thing as Protestant prejudice, a Catholic candidate would
stand a better chance than any other. This seems to have been Constantine's
calculation. The support of the Christians, as a single organized bloc, was to
be obtained by favouring them. Whatever dislike of the Christians existed was
unorganized and politically ineffective. Probably Rostovtseff is right in
holding that a large part of the army was Christian, and that this was what
most influenced Constantine. However that may be, the Christians, while still a
minority, had a kind of organization which was then new, though now common, and
which gave them all the political influence of a pressure group to which no
other pressure groups are opposed. This was the natural consequence of their
virtual monopoly of zeal, and their zeal was an inheritance from the
Jews." Bertrand Russell, a History of Western Philosophy
Peter
Novak also alludes in his book Original Christianity that Constantine
utilized Christianity to strike fear and condemn souls to eternal damnation:
"With a renewed alignment of church and
state, the people would no longer merely fear the ability of the state to take
their lives, but would then also fear its ability to condemn their souls to
eternal damnation in the afterlife. A government that could get the population
to believe it had such power would possess the most successful populace control
system imaginable." Peter Novak, Original Christianity
[edit] Constantine's
vision
The
traditional story of Constantine's conversion is presented as Constantine
seeing an omen in the sky whilst marching along with his troops — in front of
the sun, the shape of an ambigram cross with two Greek letters, chi
(Χ) and rho (Ρ) (the first two letters of the Greek
ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, Christos, or Christ) along with a
Greek inscription
reading "Εν τούτω
Νίκα", En Touto Nika (meaning "with(in) this
win"), which is often translated into the more familiar Latin: In hoc signo vinces (meaning "in this
sign thou shalt conquer") before his victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28,
312.
Either
upon seeing this vision or upon being instructed to use the emblem he had just
seen as a standard in a dream afterwards [citation needed],
Constantine is said to have instituted a new standard to be carried
into battle, the labarum. Another major religion of the time, Sol
Invictus, also used a similar symbol. [citation needed]
There
are at least three different surviving ancient versions of this battle in
greater detail, not all of them are by prominent Christian apologists:
· Panegyric of Constantine, sees the vision
as from Apollo as Constantine's patron (Panegyrici
Latini VI (7), 21 from 310);
· Lactantius,
Of the manner in which the persecutors died, 44;
· Eusebius of Caesarea, The life of
Constantine, 24-31;
· Zosimus, New
History, 2 (43,44) (this version seems to have numerous owls as an omen of victory, and is
by a hostile pagan).
It
should be noted that historical sources of the 4th century Roman
Empire seem to be unusually rich in omens, magic, hexes and spells, while lacking in critical inquiry.[3] A suspicion of literacy and higher learning which
began at least a century before had grown. These may have been the results of
the fear and high mortality rates caused by the first and second outbreak of
the Antonine Plague (165 - 180 and 251 - 266
respectively).
[edit] Other influences
Family
influence is also thought to account for Constantine's alleged later, death-bed
adoption of Christianity: Helena is said to be "probably born a
Christian" though virtually nothing is known of her background, save that
her mother was the daughter of an innkeeper and her father a successful
soldier, a career that excluded overt Christians. Helena became known later in
life for numerous pilgrimages.
The
sign in the sky was not in Latin but Greek: En touto Nika (in this,
conquer). Also, Constantine was responsible for declaring Sunday to be a day of
rest for the empire, though early Christians had already been celebrating on
Sunday (as opposed to on Saturday, the day of the Jewish Sabbath) since
the first century because it was the day of the Resurrection. Sunday was the
day which the Roman state had dedicated to Sol
Invictus (following the Egyptian tradition of associating that day with the
worship of the sun), the main rival religion to Christianity at the time, and
of which Constantine was chief priest (pontifex
maximus) until his death.
[edit] Constantine's
edicts and actions
Coin of Constantine I, making a benediction
gesture, with
his sons, enthroned.
Galerius was
the first emperor to issue an edict of toleration for all religious creeds
including Christianity in April of 311.[4] Constantine confirmed this with his co-Emperor Licinius with
the so-called Edict of Milan of 313. This edict removed penalties
for professing Christianity , under which many had been martyred in previous persecutions of Christians (ie legalized it),
and returned confiscated Church property. However, it neither made paganism illegal nor
made Christianity a state-sponsored religion, but instead granted religious
freedom.
There
is no historical evidence that an Edict of Milan was ever issued as a formal
legal document[5]. Licinius after returning to his Eastern portion
of the Empire, issued a decree from Constantine and himself, but we have no
surviving writing from Constantine on this topic. What is claimed as the text
of the edict [2] is not a
joint "Edict of Milan," but something issued by Licinius in the East.
[edit] Public office
Once
imperial favor was granted to Christianity by the Edict, new avenues were
opened to Christians, including the right to compete with pagan Romans in the
traditional cursus honorum for high government positions,
and greater acceptance into general civil society.
Constantine
respected cultivation, and his court was composed of older, respected, and
honored men. Leading Roman families that refused Christianity were denied
positions of power, yet pagans still received appointments, even up to the end
of his life, and two-thirds of his top government was non-Christian.[6]
[edit] Army
Considered
a critical component of Roman society, the army was a prime target for
conversion. Exerting his absolute power, Constantine had the army recite his
composed Latin prayer in an attempt to convert them to Christianity, which
failed. It was unpopular in the army both because it accepted women, and
because the soldiers generally were members of other religions such as those of
Mithras and Isis. [citation needed]
[edit] Church building
He
began a large building program of churches in the
Holy Land,
which while it greatly expanding the faith also allowed considerable increase
in the power and wealth of the clergy. New churches were allowed to be built, often under
Constantine's (or his mother Helena's) patronage, under which the church
prospered. He gave the Lateran Palace to the Pope, ordered the building of:
·
in
the Holy Land:
o
the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
o
Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
·
in
Rome:
o
an oratory
now the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le
Mura
o
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside
the Walls
·
in
Constantinople
o
the Church of the Holy Apostles where he
was entombed.
[edit] Clergy
The
clergy were patronised by Constantine, and received legal perks. Christian
leadership became increasingly bold — Christian bishops became
prominent and took aggressive public stances that were unheard of among other
religions, drawing a hostile pagan reaction and the outlawing of public proselytism.
[citation needed]
[edit] Internal church
controversy
Christianity's
new status meant that church controversies, lively within the Christian
communities since the mid-2nd century, now flared (often with violent acts)
into public schisms — see, for example, the Donatist schism
in Africa.
Constantine, believing himself divinely appointed, saw quelling religious
disorder as the divinely-appointed emperor's duty. [citation needed]
He therefore called the 314 Council
of Arles against the Donatists and, after becoming Emperor of the East, the first
Ecumenical Council: the First Council of Nicaea (May 20 - July 25, 325), to settle some of
the doctrinal problems plaguing early Christianity, notably Arianism and Quartodecimanism.
In the Council of Nicaea he played an active role, even though he had not even
been baptized.
[edit] Legal reforms
Constantine's
laws enforced and reflected his Christian reforms:
· Crucifixion
was abolished for reasons of Christian piety, but was replaced with hanging, to show
there was Roman law and justice.
· Easter could be
publicly celebrated.
· On
Some
were even humane in the modern sense, possibly originating in his Christianity:
· 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,
just on the feet (because God made man in His image).
· Gladiatorial
games were ordered to be eliminated in 325, although this had little real
effect.
· A slave master's rights were limited, but
a slave could still be beaten to death.
[edit] Opposing paganism?
Neither
the Edict nor later Constantinian legislation outlawed paganism. However,
"From Pagan
temples Constantine had his statue removed. The repair of pagan temples that
had decayed was forbidden. These funds were given to the favored Christian clergy. Offensive
forms of worship, either Christian or pagan, were suppressed. At the dedication
of Constantinople in 330 a ceremony half pagan and half Christian was
performed, in the market place, the Cross of Christ was placed
over the head of the Sun-God's chariot [with]... a singing of hymns."[8]
Pagans
were also still wary of Christians for their public refusal to "sacrifice
and build idols"
(which some modern writers see as an oath of allegiance). Consistent with the Roman
idea that they ruled by the favor of the
gods, refusal to build idols was seen as something that might easily bring
upon all the Roman people the loss of the divine favor and protection. "In
hoc signo vinco" was an attempt to show that this new god also gave Rome
divine protection.
Also,
as Christianity began to move from a position of toleration to one of
preference after Constantine, followers of the old religion turned to appeals
to the state to protect their own traditions. For example, in 340, when the Altar
of Victory was desecrated and removed from its place of honor in the
Senate, the Senate deputized Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, prefect of
Rome, to appeal to the Emperor for its return. In his plea for freedom of religion, Symmachus publicly characterized
the late Emperor Constantine's policy thus:
"[Constantine] diminished none of the
privileges of the sacred virgins, he filled the priestly offices with
nobles, he did not refuse the cost of the Roman ceremonies, and following the
rejoicing Senate through all the streets of the eternal city, he contentedly
beheld the shrines with unmoved countenance, he read the names of the
gods inscribed on the pediments, he enquired about the origin of the temples,
and expressed admiration for their builders. Although he himself followed
another religion, he maintained its own for the empire, for everyone has his
own customs, everyone his own rites. The divine mind has distributed different
guardians and different cults to different cities. As souls are separately
given to infants as they are born, so to peoples the genius of their
destiny." (Possible Christian insertion in italics.)
—Medieval
sourcebook: "The Memorial of Symmachus, prefect of the City".
(The Memorial has been emended to address three emperors, Valentinian
II (died 392), Theodosius I, and Arcadius.
Arcadius was named co-ruler with his father and "Augustus"
in January, 383. So the address to the three Augusti could have been written
anywhere between 383 and 392. There may be Christian adulterations of the text.
The reply of Ambrose,
Bishop of Milan, is appended,
which is highly revealing in the character of his argument in rebuttal.)[9]
[edit] Constantine and
the Jews
See
also: Christianity and anti-Semitism#The
Emperor Constantine the Great
Constantine
instituted several legislative measures regarding the Jews: they were
forbidden to own Christian slaves or to circumcise
their slaves. Conversion of Christians to Judaism was
outlawed. Congregations for religious services were restricted, but Jews were
allowed to enter Jerusalem on Tisha B'Av,
the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple. Constantine also supported the
separation of the date of Easter from the Jewish Passover (see
also Quartodecimanism), stating in his letter after the First Council of Nicaea: "... it
appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we
should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands
with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of
soul. ... Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd;
for we have received from our Saviour a different way." [10]. Theodoret's Ecclesiastical History 1.9 records the
Epistle of the Emperor Constantine addressed to those bishops who were not
present at the Council: "It was, in the first place, declared improper to
follow the custom of the Jews in the celebration of this holy festival,
because, their hands having been stained with crime, the minds of these
wretched men are necessarily blinded. ... Let us, then, have nothing in common
with the Jews, who are our adversaries. ... avoiding all contact with that evil
way. ... who, after having compassed the death of the Lord, being out of their
minds, are guided not by sound reason, but by an unrestrained passion, wherever
their innate madness carries them. ... a people so utterly depraved. ...
Therefore, this irregularity must be corrected, in order that we may no more
have any thing in common with those parricides and the murderers of our Lord.
... no single point in common with the perjury of the Jews." [11]
[edit] Reactions and
reflection
[edit] Persian reaction
Beyond
the limes,
east of the Euphrates,
the Sassanid
rulers of the Persian Empire had usually tolerated their
Christians. A letter supposedly from Constantine to Shapur II
(who was proclaimed king in 309 before he was born, and reigned till his death
in 379), written in c. 324 urged him to protect the Christians in his realm.
With the edicts of toleration in the Roman Empire, Christians in Persia would
now be regarded as allies of Persia's ancient enemy, and were thus persecuted.
Shapur II wrote to his generals:
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 … for we
Gods have all the trials of war and they have nothing but repose and pleasure.
They inhabit our territory and agree with Caesar, our enemy. (Quoted in Freya Stark,
Rome on the Euphrates 1967, p. 375.)
The
Sassanids were perennially at war with Rome (which incidentally raises further
doubt on the authenticity of this letter). Christians were now suspected for
potential treachery. The "Great Persecution" of the Persian Christian
churches occurred in a later period, 340 to 363, after the Persian Wars that
reopened upon Constantine's death. In 344 came the martyrdom of Catholicos Shimun bar Sabbae,
with five bishops and 100 priests.
[edit] Historical
reflections on Constantine's actions
Christian
historians ever since Lactantius have adhered to the view that Constantine
"adopted" Christianity as a kind of replacement for the official
Roman paganism.
Though the document called the "Donation of Constantine" was proved a
forgery (though not until the 15th century, when the stories of Constantine's
conversion were long-established "facts") it was attributed as
documenting the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity for centuries.
Even Christian skeptics have accepted this formulation, though seeing
Constantine's policy as a political one, unifying and strengthening the Empire,
rather than a spiritual move. Still the Edict of Milan indicated that reverence
to the divine, as shown by past events, was for the good of the Roman Empire.
Despite
the questions surrounding Constantine, he is celebrated as a major saint of Eastern
Orthodoxy, together with his mother Helena (both feasted on 21 May). The
emperor is not only considered an example of a "Christian monarch" (isapostolos
- "equal to the Apostles"), he is associated, albeit in
retrospect, with the idea of a "Second Rome" - the Byzantine
one.
[edit] References
1.
^ De
Mortibus Persecutorum ("On the Deaths of the Persecutors", chapters
34, 35)
2.
^ Sozomen, Salminius Hermias. Historia Ecclesiastica. Bk I,
Ch. V.
3.
^ MacMullen,
Ramsay, Changes in the Roman Empire:Essays in the Ordinary, Chapter Eleven:
Distrust of the Mind in the Fourth Century,Princeton, 1990
4.
^ De
Mortibus Persecutorum ("On the Deaths of the Persecutors", chapters
34, 35)
5.
^ see Stuart
Hall, Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church, 1991
6.
^ MacMullen
1969,1984; New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908.
7.
^ MacMullen
1969; New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908; Theodosian Code.
8.
^ New
Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908
9.
^ See: Diocletian's
Edicts against the Christians, Galerius
Maximianus, and Lactantius' Of the Manner in which the Persecutors Died,
Chapters 21-24). (MacMullen, 1990 & 1966, Wilken, 1984)
10.
^ Life of
Constantine Vol. III Ch. XVIII by Eusebius
11.
^ The
Epistle of the Emperor Constantine, concerning the matters transacted at the
Council, addressed to those Bishops who were not present
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
· The Full Text of
the "Edict of Milan"
· OrthodoxWiki:Constantine
the Great
· The
First Missionary War - a non-Christian perspective aftermath of
Constantinian's actions
Retrieved
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