The Council Of Nicae The Authority Of The Roman Empire Essay

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.

The development of christianity under the empire undoubtedly changed the relation between the political and spiritual spheres in following centuries. In fact, this transpires in how often emperors and empresses played dominant roles in the Eastern church after Constantine I's reign. In many

Constantine is best remembered in modern times for the Edict of Milan in 313, which fully legalized Christianity in the empire for the first time. Constantine’s edict gave Christians the right to openly practice their faith. Until then, they had met in the homes of fellow believers. Within a year of edit, Constantine ordered the building of churches throughout the empire. Although some Christians were very worried about the future of the churches if it became too close with the empire. The only people edit mentioned by name were the Christian, and the laws that came afterwards radically limited the rights of Jews as citizens of the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire was the most powerful Empire during it’s time.It is considered to have “fallen” in 476. Many speculation that have been presented as to why it fell, from flawed economic and social policies. The actual cause of Rome’s fall is the result of many factors, but was mainly caused by Rome’s poor economic strategy. Categorized socio-economic problems and political corruption with the emperors and senate with their selfish,indulgence lifestyles.Constant wars and attacks from enemies. The empire suffered economic decline and political issues within their own government. The decline and eventually the fall the empire led to changes that still affect the modern world in several different sector.

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 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.

Many anthropologists and historians have speculated about the different causes and effects of the fall of the Roman Empire. Some have even stated that Rome did not fall but instead, was merely transformed. However, there were many causes that did end this prodigious empire. Many seemingly small decisions made by powerful emperors over the course of just over a century lead to its destruction. In this paper it will be established that the Roman emperors, in an effort to save their political power, made adjustments to warfare/treaty practices and made political changes which over time lead to the inevitable collapse of the realm, this caused a drastic regression in the living standards of the Roman citizens, implying that the Empire did indeed collapse and not transform.

Before the era of the Byzantine Empire, the Roman Empire had disagreements about their faith and religion. They encountered differences that eventually caused them to split in two. The Byzantine Empire was successful in discovering the Orthodox Christian religion and building a new empire that preserved Roman laws. Without the great schism, Roman laws would’ve been forgotten and there would not have been the exploration of a new religion.

In 325, the Council of Nicea set out to formally characterize the relationship of the Son to the Father, in light of the dubious lessons of Arius. Driven by Bishop Athanasius, the gathering confirmed the precept of the Trinity as conventionality and censured Arius ' showing that Christ was the first making of God. The ideology received by the committee depicted Christ as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father."

Though Arius had supporters, the majority the bishops present at Nicaea disagreed with his formations. Eusebius is the main source of information when researching this council, besides for the creed itself. This council took place in 325 and has left its mark throughout history. To “defeat” the Airian ideal, the council adopted the words homoousios, hypostasis, and ousia. However, these words are not present within their sacred texts and were used in reaction against Airian teachings, rather than objectively trying to figure out the mystery of the incarnation. Homoousios had a very loose meaning during the council and typically meant that “Jesus Christ was fully God, sharing in some way the same divine nature as the Father.” However, if one

The Nicene Creed was made during this Council, and it rebuked the teachings of Arianism, which made it an heresy. Arianism soon rose back from the ashes, and many Church members were turning to it out of fear or corruption. St. Athanasius stayed strong throughout all of this, continuing to preach and write of the heresies of Arianism. He survived five exiles and died peacefully in his bed in the Alexandrian See. Arianism didn’t just appear out of thin air, it had a start just like all other heresies.

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

In 313 AD the Emperor Constantine formally recognized the Christian religion. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, this event affected the way people thought and lived their lives. Had a great impact on how rulers viewed their power and used their powers. Such influence was portrayed in Christian art as we know today.

On the other hand, Athanasius, the leader of the bishops in the west, claimed that the Father and Son were equal and of the same substance. In 325, as a mediator, Constantine called together a council of bishops at Nicaea in Asia Minor. While condemning Arius and his teachings, the council declared the complete equality of God the Father and the Son. The teaching that Father and Son were made up "of one substance" became part of the Nicene Creed, the statement that helped to unite Christianity. The council addressed other issues as well, including the method for consecrating bishops.

One of the most important events in church history includes the Council of Nicea. The First Council of Nicea happened in 325 and involved the first gathering of Christian bishops and the Roman Empire not as enemies but as allies. The bishops wanted to solve the dispute over Arianism. Arianism is the belief that Christ was more than human but something less than God. Arianism taught the people that Jesus