Constantine's Personal Beliefs

When Constantine was battling for control of Rome, he prayed for divine interference and saw a cross, the sign of Christianity. He put a cross on all of his soldiers, and they were victorious, with Constantine crediting his triumph to the Christian God. After Constantine took power in 313 AD, he announced the end of Christians persecutions. Later, in AD YEAR, Constantine converted, and Christianity grew faster than ever. Of all factors that influenced Christianity development, Constantine’s conversion was one of the most important, because he made it acceptable.

Throughout history, there have been many instances of leaders converting to new religions, but none have had an impact such as the conversion of Constantine I, nor as ground-breaking as that of Clovis I. Constantine I was born in the year 280. During his reign as emperor of the Roman Empire, the state was falling apart. 1 He was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He called the Council of Nicea in 325 to resolve conflicts arising between the Arian Christians and the Athansian Christians. 2 This resulted in the canonization of Athansian Christianity, to which Constantine I converted his empire. 3Clovis I was born in the year 466, he was the king of the Franks and ruled Gaul for 30 years. 4 It is unknown when he converted to Christianity, however he was baptised in 496. Clovis I was the first Germanic king to convert to Christianity, and while he did not convert his entire state, his conversion was a turning point in Frankish and European history. Behind any conversion, is a reason. For Constantine I, it was an empire coming apart at the seams. For Clovis, it was a need to be more palatable to a mostly Christian populous.

The new faith that brought a message and established the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the faith that Constantine adopted as a child from his mother. Christianity during Constantine’s reign established much dominance over other religions and was the main reason for influence of the Christian. Christianity in the Roman world had many perils from gladiatorial battles, to forms of charity which affected the Roman world for good (McGiffert, 34). Charity became with

“Beginning with the reign of Constantine I and the establishment of the Byzantine Empire, the Eastern Christian church became a tool of the Emperors. Byzantine Emperors and Empresses played a dominant role in the Eastern church and used the Christian religion to strengthen the Empire internally, to spread Byzantine cultural and political influence, and at times, to fortify their own power”

Constantine reportedly looked to the sky where he saw the sign of the cross superimposed over the sun. “Under it was the inscription In Hoc Signo Vinae or “conquer by this sign.” That night, in a dream, he received an explanation of the sign - Christ appeared before him telling him to carry the sign of the cross into battle” (Wasson 1). Constantine decided to inscribe the symbol on his soldier’s shield.

People would only do things, if there was money in it for them. In Rome, the rise of Christianity started and people joined to worship Jesus. The Roman government was not a fan of Christianity. For years they tried, and tried to end the religion once and for all, but their attempts were in vain. Most emperors thought Christianity was a barbaric religion, until Emperor Constantine declared that he was Christian. Unlike Constantine, his father believed in the Roman gods, which led him and his father declared a battle on each other. Constantine ended up winning the fight, and made sure the government would stop harassing people for being Christian. After Constantine won, uproar in Rome started over Jesus, and their beliefs. After trying to solve the uproar in Christianity, Constantine changed the location of the Roman capital, and renamed it to Constantinople. He then tried to convince more noble families of Rome to move there. This caused the empire to split into two. The two sides also adapted two different forms of Christianity. They were also separated from each other, which caused them to fall at different times. Augustine then finally decided to put his faith into

The first clear instance where Christianity is seen in Constantine's life is during his campaign against Maxentius. In the spring of 311, when Constantine was marching to Rome to battle against Maxentius, he saw a vision in the sky, a bright cross along with the words "by this sign conquer." Later that night, he had a dream in which God told him to use that sign as a safeguard to use in all of his future battles. Constantine awoke and immediately ordered his troops

After Constantine and his troops won the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine adhered to Christianity. After adhering to Christianity, it was no surprise to anyone in the empire that Constantine’s power had grown; how could it not when he had converted to the fastest growing religion in the region? This is where the conflict comes in. Did Constantine use Christianity to grow his power and secure his place as a powerful emperor or was his worship

Spencer Langdon Dr. Proctor Byzantine World 9/18/17 For centuries historians have heatedly debated the reason behind Constantine’s choice to convert to Christianity. Some believe he was swayed by political motives, while others credit it to his upbringing in a devout Christian family. Before Constantine came into power the Byzantine Empire was falling apart economically, politically, and the Byzantine Military did not strike the same fear in its opponents that it once did. It would make sense for Constantine to use Christianity to bring his empire together and bring it back to its former glory.

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.

Constantine both welcomed Christianity and moved the capital because the people of Rome needed a fresh start. Before Constantine, Christians went through tough times. Emperors such as Nero were out to get Christians. He would brutally kill Christians just for the fun of it. People like Perpetua were martyred for about their faith. People were so afraid of their possible fate that Christianity was kept a secret for 330 years until Christians stood up to the discrimination. The Roman Christians needed change before it was to late.

Even though Constantine was the first emperor to introduce Rome to Christianity, Rome wasn’t completely Christian. Pagan was still practiced and the Christian church was built outside of Rome that way he didn’t offend his people since a few upper-class man were still pagan. The whole irony of this is that he wasn’t baptized yet and he was still practicing paganizing while claiming to be Christian. While on his journey he noticed he was starting to feel weak and after a time his illness started getting worse and had to halt his campaign against Persia. Constantine died on May 22, 337, in Ancyrona, near Nicomedia, Bithynia at the approximate age of 57. Before dying, he got baptized so he could rest in peace. (Constantine I

The conversion of Constantine was pivotal to the Christian faith. In the "Edict of Milan", Constantine allowed freedom to every member of the empire to worship as they chose. Constantine restates this principle after acquiring the eastern half of the empire from Licinius in a document called the "Edict to the Provincials." Constantine strove for a peaceful coexistence between the Christians and the non-Christians. Throughout this document and an oration called "To the Assembly of the Saints", Constantine continues to push for a united, Chrisitan empire. The second edict and the discourse together looked more to be a policy change than a religious one. Constantine's next speech entitled "Oration to the Saints" began to set the tone of 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

Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity. He started his reign in 306 AD. During this time the Roman Empire was still composed mainly of pagans. Although the population of Christians was on the rise, in the beginning of the fourth century Christians made up only 10 percent of the population in the Roman Empire. There were approximately five million Christian in the Roman Empire meaning that they were still the minority (Waldron). His conversion was an important turning point not only for Christians but also for the Roman Empire as a whole. Although most Romans still believed in Greco-Roman religions, Constantine decided to become a Christian because he knew that it would be beneficial for his role as emperor. His conversion was prompted by his desire to end the tetrarchy structure of he Roman Empire and to become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. The story of Constantine’s conversion was told through Eucbuius of Caersera. His recount of the story is skewed by his bias. In order to show a more holistic view of the story I will be comparing his account to the account of Andreas. Constantine had other motives for converting to Christianity such as Alföldi. Constantine’s decision to become a Christian was influenced by numerous external factors. Constantine emulated the monotheistic nature of Christianity and used it as the foundation of his reign and used Christianity to advance his political agenda.