Paganism And Paganism

Constantine issued the Edict of Milan to proclaimed and promoted religious tolerance in the Roman Empire. The edict of Milan allowed people to live together as one and have heart of toleration of Christianity religion within the Empire. It was the historic agreement between Emperor Constantine the great and the brave and wise Licinius in Milan. The agreement also brought peace and stabilities among people of west and eastern of Roman Empire governed by two different emperors. Constantine the great was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity and he did so for many reasons. Constantine I converted to Christianity because he wanted to become a true believer of God and united the Roman Empire. Constantine also converted to Christianity

It was this refusal that caused its practice to be illegal and those who chose to stick with the faith were prosecuted. Although people were being killed for practicing, Christianity started to become even more popular. After seeing Christian martyrs risk their lives for the sake of Christianity, many Romans were compelled and attracted to the faith. Also, there were Apostles who traveled around the empire spreading the message of Christianity. Then in 312 CE, Emperor Constantine proposed the Edict of Milan that banned all laws against Christianity. That allowed people to freely worship, without the fear of harsh punishment. He eventually converted on his deathbed. Then in 392 CE, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of Rome. Christianity went from being an illegal religion to the official religion of the Roman Empire.

The Pax Romana allowed Rome to expand, and created a period of peace that would spread the important religion of Christianity throughout the strong empire. The new religion of Christianity was Jesus’ interpertation of monotheistic religion, Judiasm. Christianity was unlike the polytheistic Roman religion which infuriated many Roman rulers. Despite the hatred of rulers it spread quickly throughout the empire and continued even after Jesus died. Although Christianity followers were persecuted they felt strongly about their beliefs and eventually the Edict of Milan was passed whih meant that Christianity was a religion approved by the emperor. Christianity changed from a sect of persecution to a state religion within the Roman Empire because

This declaration was a precursor to the manipulation of religion as a means to acquire wealth, enhance social and political power, and as a method of societal control; a manipulation that would only grow and continue in coming centuries. Constantine understood that by getting people to believe that there was only one true and worthy God to worship and obey, convincing them to obey and worship only one worthy and true earthly leader, was entirely feasible. Implementing this religion upon his people was a self-serving attempt at coming to be an all-powerful, rightful and ruling God on earth: a concept later defined as “divine right” by successive emperors (Lundskow, 2008, 72). Abrupt social changes occurred under the rule of Constantine, and this aided with the people’s ready reception of and conversion to the Christianity. Pagan practices, although still in existence, were becoming out-dated and society was open to the idea of a religion that was a more accurate reflection of their current lifestyle; Christianity responded accordingly to this desire. Similarly, to the Emperor, not every individual was particularly overcome by everlasting faith in Christianity. Rather, its social advantages and opportunity for economic advancement proved to be the deciding factors for most. The people’s acceptance of Christianity is attributable to Constantine’s political ascension to power, which in turn is attributable to a multitude of subsequent worldly leaders embracing the Christian faith to push their own personal

When we look back at Christianity over the years, there are several people who are remembered for their impact on the religion. The first most important figure was Jesus Christ. However, if we travel forward a bit, into the 4th Century we come across Constantine. Historians agree that Constantine served as an important component in the spread of Christianity. Although he spread the religion in a massive way, others wonder if his methods were more harmful then anything. In this paper I will be discussing Constantine in his rise to power and his impact on Christianity. Constantine provided a mean for the word of God to be spread, which is a major benefit. However, He also used violence and hate as

Constantine the ruler of the Roman Empire had been surrounded by many controversies during his reign (Cameron, 14). He was the son of a great warrior and he defeated Manutius a great ruler at Milia Bridge. He had gained much respect and admiration among the Romans as a fair ruler. He emerged as a ruler who supported Christianity and then became popular as a Christian ruler himself. His reign and victory over the Roman Empire is a significant event in the history of Christian religion. With the Edict of Milan in 313 Christianity was recognized as a religion, and the followers were free to practice Christianity without fear. It has been argued that Constantine failed to treat different religions equally as paganism (Cameron, 57). Constantine also sponsored churches, promoted Christians to high government ranks, exempted taxes for the clergy. In the latter days of his rule Constantine had a stricter approach towards Christianity and professed that there is one God, the Christian God. He rewarded building temples into churches. He played a key role in framing important church policies namely The Council of Arles, A.D. 314 and The Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325.

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”.

Constantine the Great was a Roman Emperor from 306-337 AD. He was a soldier who arduously worked to climb through the ranks, working through a civil war to become emperor. He is most famous for establishing a new capital where Byzantium once was, and named the new establishment “Constantinople.” However, Constantine is most famous for becoming Roman Emperor who converted to Christianity in his forties. His mother, Helen, was a Christian and ultimately decided to convert after believing that the Christian god had helped him in his success though the war. He enacted the Edict of Milan in the third century with his co-emperor Licinius, and officially declared Christianity legal. This document was one of the most significant and important writings of the time because it declares that Christians could freely practice religion.

While Christianity appeared to be rapidly growing, with significant conversions in the 4th century CE, the reality behind those conversions would become key for the future of religion in the empire. Julian opposed Christianity on a multitude of points and strove to revive paganism, specifically his Neoplatonist paganism, in the empire. Indeed, an analysis of the empire’s demographics would point towards the continuing supremacy of paganism in the empire, however, earlier imperial patronage and the declining economic state of the empire played significant roles in spurring mass conversions of the local elites to Christianity. The struggle between paganism and Christianity continued after Julian’s death in 363, less than three years after his ascension to the throne, with a shift from imperial patronage against the Church to that of individuals. Although Julian must have understood the economic realities behind the mass conversions of the decurions and how to logistically

When Diocletian’s guiding hand was removed, years of dreary fighting amongst rulers ensued, Constantine I emerged as the sole winner. By 324, he had disposed of all rivals, and for a brief period there was again, one empire and one emperor. Unlike Diocletian, Constantine ordered complete freedom of worship throughout the territories under his control (Edict of Milan) This was the beginning of the adoption of Christianity by the empire, however, it could not solve the immediate problems it encountered: rivalries and warfare among emperors and would-be emperors, the threat of barbarian invasions and the economic decline of the West. The destruction of the West was also due to high taxation and rising prices, which by the third century, turned the prosperous cities of the early empire to heavily fortified outposts whose citizens had lost all real self-government.

Constantine’s mother, Helena, was a Christian. Still influenced by pagan culture, Constantine worshipped the sun god. However, in 312, Constantine went to battle for the right to his father’s throne and something happened that would change the course of Christianity forever. Before entering into battle, Constantine was resting and was taken up into a dream in which Jesus Christ appeared in a bright light and announced that by this symbol he would win the battle which was about to ensue. The outcome of the battle was in Constantine’s favor. After his victory he moved the Empire in the direction that was favorable to Christians. One of his first acts was to establish the “Edict of Milan,” which allowed Christians and all others to worship freely. He also established a city named after himself and the said city was deemed the first Christian

Once Constantine became the ruler of the entire Western Roman Empire, he met with Licinius, the co-emperor of the eastern empire, in Milan in 313. The intended purpose of this visit was to secure an alliance between the two rulers by the marriage of Constantine's half-sister Constantia to Lucinius. It was at this time that the emperors established what is now known as the Edict of Milan. It granted the freedom to pursue any religion within the empire, not just Christianity. Christianity was merely made legal at this point, not the state-sponsored religion. The edict also granted the return of properties seized from Christians by governors. Maximinus Daia, who was the co-ruler of the eastern empire invaded Lucinian territory in the Balkans and was defeated by Lucinius' army. After a time, relations soured between Constantine and Lucinius. Lucinius eventually went back on the agreement made during the Edict of Milan and in 322 and began persecuting Christians once again (Constantine I). This led to the conflict between him and Constantine in 324, which was viewed as a war of religious beliefs in which Lucinius and his army of Goth mercenaries represented ancient pagan beliefs, and Constantine and his army of Francs represented Christianity. The opposing armies met at Adrianople on the third of July and eventually led to Constantine besieging the city of Byzantium with his ground troops and naval fleet.

The emperor Nero used Christianity as a scapegoat to divert attention away from his own failings and the empire problems. He told the empires people that because the Christians were not practicing the traditional pagan religion the gods were mad punishing the Romans. During Nero Rule some problems were plagues, famine, barbarians, and lots of other natural disasters. Nero and many other emperors’ prosecutions of the Christian brought them closer together. With the plagues, wars, famine and other chaotic events taking place the first converts were slaves and the poor people who need hope that there was an afterlife a better place beyond the chaotic roman world called heaven. In 313 Constantine I and Eastern Roman Emperor Licinius ratified the Edict of Milan, Which finally made Christianity legal and later the religion of Rome. The emperor would have difficulty ruling since the pope and other church officials were involved in politics and as powerful as he was further complicating governance. Unlike Rome pagan roots Christians during those days had zero tolerance for any other religion of any one who stood against their beliefs and

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.

Constantine was the first emperor of Rome to openly support Christianity (244). In 313 AD, he issued the Edict of Milan, which legalized the new religion (245). This edict was the beginning of a central organized church, making him the founder of the Orthodox Church of which he also named himself head. Constantine paid for the training of priests and the building of churches and other Christian practices (245). Additionally, Constantine provided special tax breaks for Christians. Under Constantine, Christianity began to spread at an increased speed