Constantine's Impact On Christianity

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 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.

As the founder of the Christian empire, Constantine began a new era. He was an absolute ruler, and his reign saw the end of the tendency toward despotic rule, centralized bureaucracy, and separation of military and civil powers evolved by Diocletian. Constantine's legal reforms were marked by great

Even though Constantine (early 4th CE) and Augustus (early 1st century) ruled at different times during the Roman Empire, physically and ideologically, they ruled in many comparable ways. Both emperors strived for peace and unity throughout Rome, demonstrated by their actions (Lecture 3/14). Many emperors and bishops consider Constantine to be ‘August of the fourth century’ because of the similar ideals that he shared with August. Compared to Augustus’s attitudes towards religion, Constantine took similar actions to integrate Christianity into Roman society such as claiming relation to the Gods and identifying them as divine beings, and incorporating religion into the military victories. Through these acts, Constantine eagerly integrated the

Before Constantine fought in the Battle of the Milivian Bridge, he had a vision of Christ. Some say the night before battle, Constantine was told in a dream to put crosses on the shields of his army. Yet, about 25 years later another story was told: on their way to Rome, Constantine and his army

Constantine’s success at the Milvian Bridge was definitely a battle that deserves praise because of his great military operation. Nevertheless, his motivation for fighting was something that must be taking into consideration. It is commonly stated and believed that on the evening of October 27th, while preparing for battle, Constantine had a vision, which let him fight under the protection of the Christian God. Eusebius stated,

In 312, he first won the Battle of Milvian and defeated Maxentius with his troops who had shields decorated with the Chi-Rho, after Constantine had saw in a vision, this Christian symbol in the sky and heard the words that “in this sign, you will conquer!” After this, people began to see the power of Christianity and he even told others that his successes were because of his religion and that God had protected him and his troops throughout the battle. In February 313, Constantine went even further as he created the Edict of Milan with Licinius and it became an extension of Galerius’ Edict of Toleration. This was influential as it allowed not just Christians, but people of all religions, regardless of what God they worshipped, to follow and practise their own religion.

One of the Most monumental moments for the Christian Church was the conversion of Constantine in 312 AD. This drastically changed christians lives, before they had suffered huge amounts of persecution. In Rome today still stands the Coliseum, to which the christians were fed to the lions as entertainment. Constantine, under the influence of his epiphany, changed this. He believed his victory at the battle of Milvian Bridge was a sign from God and as a result he enforced christianity as the main religion of Rome . Constantine, was inspired by his new found faith, four main aspects made Chrisianity far more attractive to him than other pagan religions. Christianity was a well established church, it had solid roots in its faith and beliefs. In comparison with other churches this was

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.

The conversions of Aksun Emperor Ezana and Armenian King Trdat to Christianity show Christianity was used as an imperial religion. Constantine set this conversion model in 312 when he proclaimed Jesus Christ as his patron deity. Constantine’s strategic decision was not based in faith but in a power to win the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The Christian God is credited with this military triumph signaling the Christian God is one of imperial power.

Sometimes it was debated whether he was the first Christian emperor at all. The religion he did have was a mix blend of Paganism and Christianity. Constantine’s

Constantine the Great, first Christian Emperor, originator of Constantinople, creator of the Byzantine Empire, military conqueror, and honored saint, has been labeled by many the most instrumental emperor of the Roman Empire. Constantine played a crucial role in the development of Europe during the Middle Ages, and founded Christianity as the formal religion of the Roman Empire. His dynamic yet effective predominance laid the infrastructure of European development. From his humble beginnings, to his command of the Roman Empire, to his final days, Constantine’s impact on world history and Christianity has left behind an unforgettable legacy. He was described by Eusebius as “such an emperor as all history records

Besides Constantine’s hunger for power, there was another detrimental flaw in his strategy for the spread of Christianity. According to many historians, Constantine did not actually believe in the Christian religion. Although he made it a priority to spread Christianity through the Roman Empire, He continued to worship the Sun God. According to The Impact of Constantine on Christianity there was,

In 312 CE, Roman Emperor Constantine achieved a victory at the Milvian Bridge. The night previous to this battle, Constantine dreamt of a cross inscribed in hoc signo vinces, in this sign you will conquer. As trivial as this dream may seem, it ultimately signified the beginning of the rise of Christianity. With his victory, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and supported and encouraged it throughout the empire. In 313 CE, another milestone occurred as the emperors, both Constantine I of the West and Licinius of the East, signed the Edict of Milan declaring that the Diocletianic Persecution would end, and Christianity would be tolerated in the Roman Empire. This religion began to flourish as people quickly converted from pagan