Constantine I (February 27, 280 C.E.- May 22, 337 C.E.), also known as Constantine the Great, was the first Roman emperor to not only abolish persecution of Christians, but he was also the first to convert to Christianity in 312 A.D. Around 200 years later, in 496 A.D. Clovis I (466 C.E.- 511 C.E.), the King of the Franks, converted to Christianity, in which he was called a “new Constantine” . Constantine and Clovis’ reign through Christianity were alike in the way that they decided to convert. However, the two emperors were different in their commitment to God and their impacts on the church and state. Constantine converted in Constantine’s conversion to Christianity was a result in his victory in battle. Though Constantine encountered
The Emperor personally invited bishops of the church to spend time with him. He treated them favorably by showering them with gifts. This was usual for a Roman to do this, because most Romans were not Christian. The Christians received ill treatment from the Romans for many years. It was then that Constantine began to send letters around the empire of Rome telling them to allow certain privileges to the Christians. Constantine also sent letters around the Roman Empire to tell them about the empire’s conversion to Christianity. By 400 A.D., Christianity became the official religion practiced by almost all Romans. Constantine’s profession to Christianity continued on throughout his descendants. Constantine’s loyalty to the bishops of the Christian churches, resulted in a vast majority of Christian
Constantine went far beyond the Edict of Milan, which extended indulgence of Christians during the persecution. By 313 A.D., Constantine had donated the property of Lateran, where a new cathedral, the Basilica Constantiniana was soon built, to the bishop of Rome. Constantine had an arch erected in his honour at Rome after the defeat of Maxentius ascribed the victory to the “inspiration of the Divinity”. After his victory over Licinius in 324, Constantine wrote that he had come from the farthest shores of Britain as God’s chosen instrument for the suppression of impiety. Later, in a letter he proclaimed that he had come to bring peace and prosperity to all lands, with the help of God. He gave vast amounts of money from his own personal treasury to the churches of God, to help enlarge the sacred buildings and to decorate the sanctuaries. Throughout his life, Constantine ascribed his success to his conversion to Christianity and the support of the Christian
However, this was different compared to Constantine who converted to Christianity and evangelized people to convert to Christianity as well. Constantine ruled as emperor from 306-337 A.D. and was the first Christian emperor of the time and credited
When he won the throne, similar to Emperor Han Wudi’s conversion to Confucianism in Han Dynasty China, converted to Christianity. Because of this conversion, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Christian way became very involved in government in the Roman Empire. Even though Christianity’s message is a sense of universal love, because of it intolerance of other religions, there was persecutions of pagans that lead to death. It was not until 450 CE. that a small majority of the Roman Empire was Christian. There ultimately was a split in the empire between the east and the west. The Western Empire struggled on its survival unlike the eastern Empire. The Eastern Empire strived because it stayed involved in Roman politics, administration, and armies. Because the east stayed involved within the government, they were able to last longer. The east was able to spread Christianity more effectively than that of the
Eusebius’ account of Constantine’s conversion is comparable to Gregory of Tours’ accounts of Clovis’ and Gundobad’s conversions to Christianity, in the sense that they all initially called upon the “Christ-God” (albeit Gundobad perhaps indirectly) to come to their aid, which he did, during periods of military crisis. The si...
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
Constantine Did have the financial backing of a rich empire, as he was Emperor of Rome. Soon after he outlawed the imprisonment and killing of christians he ordered a grand church to be built. Old Saint Peter’s Basilica was built between 320 and 333 A.D. It was immediately recognized as a place of high religious importance (and still is today).
Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, or Constantine, is commonly referred to as the fist Christian emperor of the Roman Empire and as the defender of Christianity. Such grand titles are not necessarily due for the reasons that people commonly think of them today.
Constantine the Great or Constantine I was the emperor of Rome from 306 to 337 AD. He was born Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus May 22, 337 AD. In Naissus, Moesia Superior (present-day Serbia). He was the first emperor of Rome to be Christian. “And thus by this wholesome counsel and most upright provision we thought to arrange that no one whatsoever should be denied the opportunity to give his heart to the observance of the Christian religion, of that religion which he should think best for himself, so that the Supreme Deity, to whose worship we freely yield our hearts may show in all things His usual favor and benevolence”. He was declared emperor a series of civil wars against the emperors Maxentius and Licinius. He gained control of the east and the west. He is important because of his history with the church and also because he founded the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empires capital would later be named Constantinople after Constantine. Constantine is very import to the church because he helped spread Christianity throughout much of Rome. In his early years C...
But, as time went on, Christianity grew more popular, and the Roman attitude towards it was
Constantine was devoutly Christian and was the first Christian Roman emperor. Like Diocletian Constantine also came into power as Rome was facing many problems. Furthermore, Constantine also proposed and implemented many of the same solutions as Diocletian, such as strengthening the central government. Additionally Constantine furthered the division of the Roman empire into western and eastern portions by creating the imperial capital of Constantinople where Europe and Asia meet. Moreover, Constantine also regained Dacia and fought off Germanic
Constantine felt that the acceptance of Christianity would cause the religion to grow numerically and have greater influence in all areas of society. He also felt Christianity was the best religious choice for the people under his rule and beyond. Without the Edict of Milan, Christians would of been forced to continue secretly meeting in underground churches. Also, the pagan torture would have persisted and the confiscation and plundering of Christian churches would have still remained. Without the recognition of Christianity, the Christians would not have been able to maintain equal status with people from other religions.
Most importantly, the Roman Empire began to be seen as an earthly imitation of heaven, where the emperor acted as God’s regent (Maas, 1). The head of the state now became a leading figure in the Church as well. This new role meant that the emperor was allowed to mediate issues concerning Christian ideology (Maas, 110). Of course this created tension with the clergy, who felt that matters of the Church should be dealt with internally rather by imperial decree. Later emperors, like Justinian, tried to placate the priesthood by echoing the sentiment that it was best “When the clergy shows a proper spirt and devotes itself entirely to God, and the emperor governs the state which is entrusted to him” (Maas, 9). This did not mean that these emperors did not also try to influence matters of the Church. Even Justinian was reprimanded for attempts to solve the Three Chapters Controversy (Maas, 9). So while the emperor gained influence as God’s chosen regent, he had to contend with the desires of the priesthood just as earlier emperors had to contend with the
As the Imperial system gained hold, it was common practice for the Emperors to accept divine honors before their deaths. These living gods, in some cases, required sacrificial rituals as signs of loyalty and ingrained themselves with the older more traditional pagan gods. The requirement of a sacrifice to the emperor, as well as the forced belief in the complete pantheon became a significant source of conflict with early Christians. As Christians refused to worship the emperor as a god, persecution of the Christians and conflict with the cult was a constant source of strife. Emperor worship would continue until late in the western Empire until the reign of Constantine. In the early 4th century AD, Constantine either converted to Christianity or made it an acceptable part of Roman religion, eliminating the emperor deification altogether. Later Emperors such as Julian attempted to revive the old ways, but the deeply rooted Mithraism, and Christian cults combined were firmly set within Roman society. By 392 AD, Emperor Theodosius I banned the practice of pagan religions in Rome altogether and Christianity was, without question, the official religion of the state.
Constantine the Great initiated the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 326 CE (Ousterhout 1990: 44). It was often believed that Constantine built the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to commemorate Jesus because he converted to Christianity after the battle of Milvian Bridge. However, this remained controversial because he received baptism very late in his life. It is arguable that as a Roman emperor, he noticed the expanding community of Christians and their power, and decided to take advantage of their religion to strengthen his empire. Constantine promoted Christianity as a tolerated religion of the Empire, be-leveled the pagan temple on the site of Golgotha and erected a grand church to commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
Though this was just the beginning, soon after in the year 496 another ruler converted to Christianity. Colvis, the king of the Franks, was baptized along with thousands of his peoples. Colvis’ conversion to Christianity held
The situation changed drastically after Constantine winning the final decisive battle of Milvian Bridge in 312CE became the sole Roman Emperor. In 313CE, Constantine legalized and legitimized the Christian faith as an acceptable practice within the Roman Empire. It is noted by the historian Eusebius that Constantine’s mother Helen was a Christian and it was through her influence that Constantine took these steps and ultimately became a Christian himself. Constantine also changed the nature of the relationship between church and state. With a strong Emperor on the throne of Rome, a state sponsored religion becomes a tool for unity and control. This is the change in relationship that Constantine fosters. For the purposes of this discussion, this idea of the sep...