Constantine And The Spread Of Christianity In The Roman Empire

The conditions in the Roman Empire were optimal for the development of what is now a prevalent and well established religion. Many factors were influential in the development of Christianity in Rome, and they all were successful in their own way. From Constantine to Paul, and the people their messages reached throughout the empire, they were all united under one

Constantine was a very influential leader throughout his life. He was able to accomplish many things, everything from making a major world religion possible, to running a successful empire. It all started when he was born in around 280 CE in Naissus, Moesia, to father Flavius Valerius and mother Helena. His father became Roman emperor in around 305 CE. He was elected to the position of emperor by Maximalla, who was the emperor of Western Rome at the time. While his father was alive, Constantine was sent off to Eastern Rome, where he received a great education and became fluent in both Greek and Latin. This is when most historians agree that he was introduced to Christianity. Constantine then went back to Western Rome where he would take over the position of emperor after his father died. At the age of 57, Constantine got sick and died in Constantinople on May 22, 337 CE. Throughout his whole life, Constantine made many efficacious and influential contributions as a leader, and he was a great example of the Gerstell academy definition of leadership and the Principles and Attributes.

Factors Which Led to the Spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire Christianity was not born in a vacumn. There were many social, geographical, historical and religious issues prevailing at the time of Christ and all of which were favorable to the spread of Christianity. Geograpicly, Christianity came into being in the Meditation world, the largest of the various centers of civilization at that time. Israel stands almost central to the five continents, dividing the east and west.

Without the support of Roman emperors, christianity would not have become as dominant of a religion that it is today. One reason for this, is Emperor Constantine converted to christianity, and favored people who practiced it. By doing, Emperor Constantine helped make the religion more established because when the people saw that their leader became apart of and favored this group, it made it become taken seriously and made people want to convert. Another reason for this is that Emperor Theodosius made christianity the imperial state religion. Because of this, it made it impossible for the people to not be christians and be citizens at the same time. This expanded christianity even more because people wanted to convert out of fear of prosecution

Although scholars debate whether he was actually a convert to Christianity, Constantine’s legalization of the religion helped to spread Christianity and secured Constantine’s political authority over a large geographic region. During the 30 years of Constantine’s reign, many changes were made to the status, structure, and beliefs of the Christian Church. These changes helped to secure Constantine’s power and ensured both the survival of the Christian faith and its proliferation.

In 314 he convened a synod at Arles to regulate the Church in the West, and in 325 he organized and presided over a council at Nicaea to deal with the troubles over Arianism. In 330 he moved the capital to Byzantium, which was rebuilt and renamed as Constantinople, a city predominantly Christian and dedicated to the Virgin. He seemed to have favored compromise with Arianism, and in 335, in defiance of the Council of Tyre, he exiled St. Athanasius.

In 313 A.D., after centuries of persecution by the Roman Empire, Christianity was accepted as a legal religion by Emperors Constantine and Licinius. This sudden acceptance was due to Constantine’s dramatic conversion to Christianity. While many argue whether Constantine truly had visions and dreams from Christ, his impact on the Church cannot be denied. Ending Christian persecution is one of the most obvious contributions he made to the faith, but he did much more than that. As Emperor, he used his power and wealth to fund the Church, give benefits to priests, and build churches. Constantine was very interested in Christian theology and helped to unify the faith. The conversion of Constantine was a critically important factor to the growth of Christianity.

Section 1: Evaluation of sources This investigation will explore the question, ‘To what extent did the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, adopt and impose Christianity as a political strategy?'. This investigation will focus on the rise of Christianity, Constantine's role, the effect it had, and examining the impact and relationship of Constantine and Christianity. The two sources that will be examined in depth are, the Swiss historian, Jacob Burckhardt's book: ‘The age of Constantine the Great', 185, argues that Constantine was a scheming Emperor who exploited the numerous conflicting religions to maintain control and recover the economy after Civil War with Licinius had, whereas, the British historian, A.H.M Jones' book: ‘Constantine and the conversion of Europe', 1948, argues that Constantine

Constantine was the idealistic ruler. He helped restore his people and empire in a time of inflation, social crisis and political turmoil. In the modern world he is seen as a great ruler in history. He is also seen as a major contributor to modern day civilization. In his ruling he helped pave the way for christianity and the secular world.

Christian Studies Research Paper- Constantine Constantine was Roman Emperor from 303 to 337 and has become an important historical figure, as he was the first ever-Christian emperor. It is unsure what motivated him to be a Christian. Many argue that his mother, Helena, had influenced him. On the other hand, others say that Christianity came to him gradually as he only declared to be a Christian after he was 42.

Christians went from being persecuted to dominating Rome rather quickly. In a world where separation between church and state does not exist, a Christian becoming the sole emperor of Rome symbolized a huge turning point in history. The power switched and the Pagans in turn became persecuted. Christians rose up and took control of all aspects of Roman society. The Pagan past was destroyed, banned, or forgotten about. Those Christians that did not agree with how things were being run either left the empire and became monks or formed their own sect. All of Rome changed.

Constantine was a Roman emperor from AD 306-337. Being the first emperor to proclaim Christianity, he was an important factor to Christians during that time. Constantine was given the role Augustus by his soldiers after his father died during the campaign against the Picts. Constantine fought in the Battle of the Milivian Bridge, governed according to his great concern for his followers, and also fought two wars against his brother-in-law, Lincinius.

The history of religion continues to play an important role in defining why certain aspects of religion are the way they are today. Understanding religion’s history can also help one appreciate the importance, value, and determination that certain individuals went through in order for that particular religion to gain freedom and acceptance in society. Throughout history, Christianity has shown exactly this. By learning about its history, one can gain an understanding of how it emerged into being one of the most popular religions in the world. Furthermore, better understanding of the religion, both historically and contemporarily, can help dispel any negative preconceived notions about Christianity.

In addition, there were prominent figure during this time that also aided in the growth of Christianity. One person who aided to the growth of Christianity was Constantine. Constantine was a Emperor of the Western Roman Empire and was the first emperor to publicly convert to Christianity in 312 AD. Constantine conversion was prompted before going into war he was Alerted by a vision that the Christian God is on his side, Constantine

The single most important aspect of European empires, beginning just prior to the fall of Rome, is the spread of Christianity to all areas of the continent in as little as a few hundred years. Many theologians state that Christianities spread is the indirect influence of God and the adoration of people to one true faith. Though it is true that Christianity has brought about people that even atheists could call saints, it is unquestionable that Christianity was so monumental because it united larger groups of people and its spread is contributed to adherence to local customs and its lack of new ideas in comparison to other religions of the day.