Constantine: God's Gift to Christianity

While Constantine I ruled the Roman Empire, Christianity became the overriding faith of Rome. 5 While Constantine I had been exposed to Christianity during childhood through his mother, Helena, he was never a true believer. Many Christian sources write that Constantine received a revelation in 312 before the Battle of Milvian Bridge.

Constantine roll the roman empire from 306 through 337 c e. Under his rule as emperor he decreed that anyone involved in growing, preparation, and transportation best food and other essentials now have careers as farmers. During the civil war in 312 CE Roman Emperor Constantine wonder or question what God would bring him victory. The day before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine looked up to the sky and saw the Christian cross. He also had a dream that told him that he was going to won the way, but he had to fight under labarum. Constantine was Rome's first Christian emperor.

The conversion of Roman Emperor, Constantine, marked the start of a reform that would change Rome forever. A once pagan society, Rome was one of the last to grasp the Christianity concept. The start of “Christianizing” Rome began with two of Jesus’ disciples, Peter and James, as well as the apostle Paul in the Roman province of Antioch during the first century ("New Women of Color Study Bible" 1742). From this, Christianity spread all over the province, by the time it got to Rome it was not widely practiced. It wasn’t until the reign of Constantine that Christianity took its place as the empires forefront religion. Since Rome was known for its worship and idolizing of gods, how and for what reasons did Constantine transform his subjects’ beliefs? According to authors, Ramsay MacMullen, John Curran, and A.H.M. Jones, a number of tactics were used to sway the masses’ minds. Use of coercion, money, and campaigns aided Constantine’s questionable Christian “cleanse”.

The life of Constantine, a Roman emperor from 306 to 337 AD, is explained by two different accounts that differ from each other. The first one that was written by Eusebius in 337 AD states that Constantine is a victorious, pious emperor who helps others and orders the construction of sacred places to honor Christ. The second account was written in 520 AD by Zosimus and it states that Constantine is an impious, arrogant and selfish emperor who is responsible of the Roman Empire’s collapse.

Constantine I is credited with adapting Christianity to the Roman Empire, ending persecution of Christians, and eventually converting to the religion himself. However, historians have debated over his motives; some consider them to be politically fueled, while others argue that they were based on personal beliefs. After considering the various changes that were brought upon following the conversion, it is clear that while Constantine’s efforts were primarily strategically rooted, personal beliefs did play a subsidiary role.

Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman Emperor who reigned between 306 and 337. He was the son of Constantius I, who was appointed Augustus of the western regions of the Roman Empire, under Diocletian’s tetrarchy, and his first wife Helena. He was acclaimed emperor of the Roman army following the death of his father in 306. Following the defeat of his co-emperor Maxentius in 312 at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine became the sole emperor of the Western Roman Empire. His victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge has been credited as the catalyst for his conversion to Christianity and subsequent legislation such as the edict of Milan which allowed Christians the freedom to worship and facilitated

Constantine is one of the most influential and important leaders known in history. Credited for ushering the spread of Christianity, it is often wondered if Constantine truly had a passion for the religion or if he embellished his positive feelings for the Christian faith to gain power and political advancement. Arguments for both sides are often debated by modern historians. Some believe that Constantine craved power and used religion to gain a following and build an empire. Others believe that Constantine did in fact have a passion for Christianity and simply used it to his advantage.

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.

1 Throughout history, changes are made in organizing civil principles such as laws, leaders, trade, and especially religion. These developments have been influenced by a multitudinal developments, in particular, the rise of authority of both government and the current regime. Constantine, the emperor of the Roman Empire, was an authoritative leader throughout history, but specifically his legacy is largely reflected in the profound changes he made in Christianity. The transformation in the original model of Christianity can be traced to the Rule of Constantine, the religious power he put into place during his reign by the changes made from his ways of uniting the Church, the formation of his empire and the impacts made within it.

The Christian changing state of mind to another of Constantine is one such event that brought about immediate effects for the modern generation of the Roman Empire and lasting effects upon Christianity. This happened before the Law of Milan which ended the terrible, scary mistreatment that had been formed against Christians in the Roman Empire under Diocletian. The Law of Milan, though important of its own right, takes a second place to Constantine 's changing state of mind, for out of the changing state of mind, came a variety of events that could not have happened independently.

Many people think that the Jews are the most persecuted because of the Holocaust. However, Christians are the most persecuted in the world. Since the death of Jesus Christians have been suffering forever. Right now Christians are being persecuted all over the world and under the United States government.

Constantine’s journey to ruling all of Rome commenced with the Battle of Milvian Bridge, which consequently lead to the defeat of Maxentius in 312. His death presented Constantine with complete control of the West. With the Edict of Milan immediately issued following his gain of the west, Christianity became widely accepted. At the moment, Licinius presently controlled the East and acted brutal towards many Christians, with the burning of Churches and executions. Constantine, enraged by his actions, fought Licinius multiple times, finally defeating him at Chrysopolis in 324 CE. The victories over Maxentius and Licinius prepared Constantine for power over an entire empire and aided in forming him into a stronger person with distinct morals.

In 313 CE, Constantine passed the Edict of Milan. This edict declared the freedom of everyone in the Roman Empire to choose their own religion. He neither made polytheism illegal nor did he make Christianity the official religion of Rome. Instead, to placate both pagans and Christians, both were acceptable to be practiced. This edict also stated that the emperor was protected by the “highest divinity,” whether that was God, Jupiter or any other god in the Roman pantheon. Constantine continued his work to bring pagans and Christians into peaceful coexistence. He gave the Christians their property confiscated during Diocletian’s Great Persecution, but he had the Roman treasury reimburse the people who had bought the stolen goods. He also declared the Lord’s Day to be called “Sunday” in honor of the day the Christian’s God rested and in honor of the sun, an aspect of pagan worship. He even kept the traditional title of “Pontifex Maximus” or chief priest. After decades of persecution the Christians finally had an emperor on their

After his father Constantius Chlorus died, Constantine the Great ruled the Roman Empire from 307 to 337 AD. When he gained the throne, Constantine led his military troops and conquered the eastern portion of Rome, which gained him the support of the Romans. Constantine created a long-lasting legacy by making Christianity the first official religion of Rome. Additionally, he created the gold coin which was used for thousands of years after his death. Constantine was an effective leader because he united Rome by conquering the eastern city, strengthened the empire by separating the military from the civil government which helped the empire economically, and he supported Christianity.

The reign of Constantine the Great marks the transition of the Christian religion from under persecution by the secular government to union with the same, beginning the state-church system (Schaff, pg., 4). However, following Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension, many questions arose about Christ, his nature, and in answer to those, different hypocritical positions arose. In the fourth and fifth centuries, the early Church Fathers gathered to discuss and agree to a common, Biblical view of Christ in response to some erroneous views. These were the Councils of Nicaea (325 A.D.), Constantinople (381 A.D.), and Chalcedon (451 A.D.).