THE EMPEROR S NEW MIND: ON CONSTANTINE S I DECISION TO LEGALIZE CHRISTIANITY

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1 DOI: /SS THE EMPEROR S NEW MIND: ON CONSTANTINE S I DECISION TO LEGALIZE CHRISTIANITY CONSTANTINE BOURLAKIS Abstact: Empeo Constantine s I Edict of Toleation in 33 CE ended the age of Chistian pesecution in the Roman Empie, and healded the ea whee Chistian monotheism stated displacing the dominant Geco - Roman paganism. Secula powe and eligious authoity aligned togethe to goven the empie, so monotheism in the fom of Chistianity and Geco - Roman polytheism became stategic complements, as the Empeo loweed the existing highe pice fo Chistian monotheism. Was Constantine s I decision ight? By moving the capital fom Rome to Constantinople, Empeo Constantine I had to solve a coodination poblem among ational playes thoughout the empie. Adoption of ituals within a society esults in the einfocement o the inculcation of shaed beliefs and values. Following Schelling (960), when pesons ae confonted with coodination poblems often seem to do supisingly well when focal points povide to them a point of convegence fo individual expectations. I ague in the pesent pape that Constantine s I decision to legalize Chistianity was followed by a set of caefully chosen stategic decisions essential to pomote social coodination, and with the aim to convet the city of Constantinople into a stong focal point of eligious ituals. The building of the Chuch of St Eiene ( The Chuch of Hagia Eiene ) and othe Chistian chuches, alongside the exploitation of the administative oganizational stuctue of the Chistian chuch that existed within the empie, wee all pat of expansion - deteence stategies against the old pagan wold, and also the need to ceate a stong focal point of eligious ituals away fom the Holy Land. Keywods: Economics of Religion; Chistianity; Chuch; Focal Points; Rituals; Economic Histoy; JEL Classification: B, D70, Z3 Authos: CONSTANTINE BOURLAKIS, Depatment of Business Administation, School of Business, Athens Univesity of Economics and Business, Geece, cboul@aueb.g Citation: CONSTANTINE BOURLAKIS (206). The Empeo s New Mind: On Constantine s I Decision to Legalize Chistianity., Vol. V(), pp , /SS

2 . Intoduction Empeo Constantine s I Edict of Toleation in 33 CE ended the age of Chistian pesecution in the Roman Empie, and healded the ea whee Chistian monotheism stated displacing the dominant Geco - Roman paganism and stated esticting othe monotheistic eligions. The Empeo stopped the pesecution of the Chistian chuch, contibuted to the financial welfae of the chuch and also etuned confiscated chuch popety, and even became involved with the fomation and the enfocement of the new (othodox) Chistian doctine in the Easten pat of the Empie. By moving the capital fom Rome to Constantinople, Empeo Constantine I faced a coodination poblem to solve among ational playes thoughout the empie. It was a time in histoy whee secula powe was not fagmented in the domain of the Easten Roman Empie, but the times wee highly volatile. Constantine I unified the secula leade and the eligious ules unde the umbella of aligned ituals within a new Holy Capital. By doing so the Empeo ceated a stong focal point of common knowledge emanating fom the amalgamation of State - Chuch eligious ituals ceating hamony of common belief expectations thoughout the Easten Empie. 2. The Empeo s New Mind - Ceating New Sanctuaies and New Identity to Align State and Chuch The Empeo Constantine I stands at a wateshed in the histoy of Chistianity, as in his ea the fomation of the impeial Chistian Chuch took place whee secula powe and Chistian eligious authoity align togethe to goven the empie. The Edict of Toleation in 33 CE ( The Edict of Milan ) was the beginning of a new ea whee monotheism in the fom of Chistianity becomes gadually a Stackelbeg leade ove Geco - Roman polytheism as the Empeo pohibited the constuction of new pagan temples. In 324 CE the Empeo decided to tansfe the capital of the Roman Empie eastwad fom Italy to the ancient Geek city of Byzantium, whee he built the New Rome, which he named afte himself, "Constantinople". The New Rome was inauguated in 330 CE with a numbe a numbe of Chistian Sanctuaies built, among them thee chuches all devoted to God s Attibutes: (a) The Chuch of Hagia Eiene ( The Chuch of Holy Peace ) the fist chuch commissioned by the Empeo and seved as the Cathedal of Constantinople (the Chuch of the Patiachate) until the completion of the Fist Chuch of Hagia Sophia, (b) The Fist Chuch of Hagia Sophia ( The Chuch of Holy Wisdom ), that was completed in 360 CE, and (c) The Chuch of Hagia Dynamis ( The Chuch of Holy Powe ). The Empeo also built Constantinople with pagan temples in an effot to offe eligious and political guaantees to all subjects of his empie. In 325 CE the Empeo summoned and pesided the fist Geneal o Ecumenical Council of the Chistian Chuch at Nicaea (to deal mostly with the Aian contovesy), and the duty of the Nicene Council was to elaboate the content of Chistian faith. Howeve, the Empeo did an impotant stategic move, he did shift the Chistian headquates fom Jeusalem to Rome and to Constantinople, and so Constantinople 48

3 and Rome became the two new headquates of Chistianity. In addition, by moving the capital fom Rome to Constantinople the Empeo changed the elationship of Chistianity to the state, as the new city was moe o less clean of pagan and othe monotheistic eligions. The building of Chistian chuches and othe sanctuaies unde the Empeo s seal of appoval in the new capital of the Easten Empie healded the ise of an unpecedented fom of govenment within Euope: A ule ules with the blessings of a monotheistic eligion in a newly fomed capital that can wok as a focus of eligious ituals. Moe impotantly the new capital is a Chistian monotheism attacto away fom the Holy Land, as it apidly builds the infastuctue to be the focal point of eligious ituals and Constantinople expands into being a Chistian city [Hein (2008), MacCulloch (200) and Nowich (203)]. In the new state of the wold the ule consides himself esponsible to God fo the spiitual health of his subjects. Howeve, the ule does not decide eligious doctine (to say the least ovetly), as he leaves the latte to be the esponsibility of the bishops. Howeve, the Empeo upholds ecclesiastical unity by enfocing eligious doctine and by ooting out foms of monotheistic heesies, and by ensuing that Chistian doctine and ituals wee popely woshiped thoughout the empie. Why the Empeo changed his mind? Accoding to Muelle (2009, Chapte 5) in the Geek and in the Geco - Roman polytheism gods wee not Supeme Beings, and the pagan eligion had no moality platfom as such, as gods and myths offeed answes to questions elated to the foces of natue. The Geco - Roman ea was a secula wold with the eligion having no impotant ole in public - state decisions and on moal questions, and the latte in paticula was left fo answes to philosophes. Ancient Geek temples in paticula wee seved by piests, who pefomed local ituals fo a god o gods in an appoved customay fashion on behalf of the community. Piests wee not nomally seen as a caste apat fom the est of fee citizens, but they wee athe acting as the equivalent of a moden public office. So the ancient Geek pagan eligion was a set of myths o stoies belonging to the entie city - state, athe than being a set of statements about philosophical and moal values. I believe that Constantine I did make the ight stategic move hee by encicling the ule s authoity with the moal values of the Chistian Chuch, so the citizens view the Empeo standing ight in the middle of this new and unpecedented painting of moal values. On the othe hand, Chistian eligious signaling in the fom of matydom duing the fist thee centuies ceated a potent souce of inte geneational investment on moal values that could not be ignoed [Feeo (2006) and Feeo (203)]. Neithe the aleady existing oganizational stuctue of the Chistian Chuch thoughout the Easten Empie could be ignoed, as Chistian Bishops wee in a good position to administate substantially lage aeas. I think that both factos cited above did have substantial influence upon the Empeo, who used them subsequently to fom the new administative oganizational stuctue of the Easten Empie. 49

4 3. Expansion Deteence Stategies against Paganism and Judaism 3. Raising Baies to Futhe Expansion - The Building of the Chuch of Hagia Eiene and othe Chuches Unlike the westen capital of Rome, Constantinople employed ovetly Chistian achitectue with Chistian chuches within the city walls, but moe impotantly it had no aleady lage scale built temples fom othe ival eligions. The building of the Chuch of St Eiene ( The Chuch of Hagia Eiene ), and also othe sanctuaies mentioned above, signal the fact that the Empeo stated aising baies to futhe expansion to the old pagan wold. Note that a simila pactice of a lage scale Cathedal building in ode to foestall Potestant enty and expansion was followed by the Roman Catholic Chuch in the ealy sixteenth centuy [Becea et al (2005)]. The Empeo took ove the ole of the paton by allocating land popety ights to the chuch, by ganting tax exemption pivileges to clegy, and by etuning popety taken away duing the Geat Diocletian Pesecution. In addition, Constantine I built a substantial numbe of basilicas within the new capital and ovetly pomoted Chistians to high - anking state offices. Fo the new capital of Constantinople that was constucted between 324 CE and 330 CE the Empeo equied that Roman citizens that had not conveted to Chistianity had to finance the building of the new city. The changes implemented by the Empeo enabled chuch leades to have access to state machiney in ode to execise ecclesiastical contol, the Bishop of Constantinople outanking any othe Bishop in the Easten pat of the Empie and also to be in pa with the Bishop of Rome. As Chistianity keeps building new eligious infastuctue in the fom of investment in new chuches the Empeo elaxes the difficulty of enty to be an odinay membe of the Chistian chuch, as baptized pesons ae welcomed to the chuch and ae feed fom sin. Anothe point that should be mentioned is the Empeo s decision to change the time of Jesus bith to Decembe 25. This was the date of the winte solstice whee the existing pagan wold ejoiced the bith of a new sun, so this time shift tailoed by the Empeo did not upset old habits thoughout the Easten Empie. Gatheing the infomation fom the above it seems that Constantine I ochestated a thee pone attack to shape up identity of the new capital in ode to align the State with the Chuch: (a) The Empeo ceated new Chistian Sanctuaies in Constantinople, (b) The new Roman Empie capitals wee Rome and Constantinople, and (c) The new Roman Empie Chistian Religious capitals wee Constantinople, Rome and Jeusalem. These changes wee pat of futhe expansion deteence stategies against the old pagan wold, and also with the aim to ceate a eligious focal point away fom the Holy Land. The chosen stategic changes led the capital of Constantinople to distance itself fom Holy Jeusalem and to emege as a stong focal point of eligious ituals. 3.2 Distancing fom Competitos via Poduct Diffeentiation - The Caving of a New Dogma Raising baies to enty to futhe expansion upon the existing eligions in the Easten Empie was not enough fo the New Chistianity. The new identity equied 50

5 to diffeentiate itself fom them, and in paticula to cave a new dogma against monotheistic eligions in ode to distance itself fom them. Distancing fom competitos via poduct diffeentiation led to the caving of a new Chistian dogma and a new exclusive eligion (Feeo, 2008). The New Chistianity was facing a thee dimensional game consisting of: (a) A game of Chistianity vesus Geco Roman Paganism and Monotheistic Pagan Sects, (b) A game of Constantine s I New Chistianity vesus Monotheistic Jewish Heesies, and (c) A game of the New Chistianity vesus (Monotheistic) Judaism: (a) New Chistianity vesus Geco - Roman Paganism and Monotheistic Pagan Sects : Chistianity elaxes the difficulty of enty to be an odinay membe of the Chistian chuch, in ode to compete with Geco - Roman Paganism and Monotheistic Pagan Sects. The Chuch lowes the peviously high pice paid, so the level of commitment and sacifice to be a Chistian is open and easily accessible. The new Chistian membeship is now inclusive and eady to compete against the existing low commitment and low sacifice / low pice of Paganism. The Empeo stated aising the pice of not being a Chistian citizen as he equied that Roman citizens who had not conveted to Chistianity had to pay fo the building of the new city of Constantinople, and also by binging in othe po - Chistian legislation. One can ague that Constantine I by making Chistianity the state eligion of the Roman Empie bought into the Chistian Chuch citizens who did not eally believe o had a weake belief, and the latte had a demoalizing effect upon the stong faithfulness of the existing Chistian community membes who noticed fee ides invading public life. As the New Chistianity lowes the pice and making cheape - than befoe Chistian eligious commitment duing the fist ound of the game the ival eligions become Stategic Complements. In the second ound of the game, Chistianity engages Paganism in a fom of Stategic Substitutes ivaly in tems of eligious infastuctue. Chistianity systematically aises baies to enty to futhe expansion, and it becomes a Stackelbeg leade in the second and all subsequent ounds of the game. (b) Constantine s I New Chistianity vesus Monotheistic Jewish Heesies : Chistianity faces challenges fom within (the Old Chistianity ) in the fom of heesies. Constantine s I New Chistianity equies exclusive dogma to diffeentiate itself fom them (Feeo, 2008). In the Council of Ales in 34 CE - the fist called by Constantine I - Donatism was fomally condemned as a heesy. This was the pelude to the Fist Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 CE whee the Aian contovesy was discussed. The Fist Ecumenical Council eached a consensus on the New Chistian dogma that epesented all of Chistendom unde the Empeo s pesence and appoval. It is in the Fist Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 CE whee fo the fist time a Roman Empeo is pesiding a eligious decision pocedue, and ovesees that the new doctine bests codifies both Sciptual and taditional Chistian belief. Unde the new exclusive dogma Chistian Bishops can be easily monitoed by the state and by the Chuch as they cannot easily defect to othe Chistian Jewish Heesies. 5

6 (c) New Chistianity vesus (Monotheistic) Judaism: A game of Stategic Complementaities is not an issue hee as by loweing the pice of eligious commitment fo Chistianity against Judaism would have made no diffeence. Hee the New Chistianity encountes a completely diffeent game played fom the games played in (a) and (b). Chistianity engages Judaism in a game of Stategic Substitutes upon eligious infastuctue ight fom the stat. Chistianity keeps building new eligious infastuctue in the fom of investment in new chuches, it systematically aises baies to futhe expansion to Judaism, and eventually becomes a Stackelbeg leade in the second and all subsequent ounds of the game. Howeve, Chistianity still equies an up font exclusive and distinguishable dogma to stongly diffeentiate fom Judaism as both eligions shae common belief oots. So this is not a simple game of Stategic Substitutes against Judaism, as the alignment of State and Chuch in the sect to chuch pocess fo Chistianity equied in addition exclusive dogma to contol Bishops and the oganizational stuctue of the new Chuch. Bishops with an exclusive dogma can be easily monitoed and cannot defect to Judaism (o to Jewish Sects ) [see also the elevant agument in (Feeo, 2008)]. To conclude, New Chistianity needs stong and clealy visible diffeentiation in dogma fom Judaism. The New Chistianity ceates exclusive dogma in ode to compete against Judaism, and aises the difficulty of enty in that eligious segment via apid expansion with an exclusive dogma, but also giving an inclusive membeship to odinay Roman citizens. I ague below that the new capital of Constantinople gadually becomes a stong focal point of eligious ituals to compete against Jeusalem, a point of common efeence fo both Judaism and Chistianity. 4. Rituals and Focal Points - How Rational Playes Solve Coodination Poblems 4. Rituals Adoption of ituals within a society esults in the einfocement o the inculcation of shaed beliefs and values. Within a ational choice analysis of ituals offeed by Coyne and Mathes (20), ituals ae defined as pedictable and egula obsevances of pocedues o acts that enhance both individual and goup social identity. By signalling identity and alleviating asymmetic infomation elated issues, common ituals pomote coopeation among citizens. The existence (and the pesistence) of ituals is closely elated with individual and goup identity, and ituals associated with identity educe tansaction costs among individuals and goups by evealing infomation about one s tue identity (to the est of the Chistian club as it follows). People deive utility fom thei own behaviou within a social categoy that identify themselves, the actions of the pee goup aligned to that social categoy, as well as fom the emegence and the stengthening of the paticula identity within the society [see fo example the wok by Akelof and Kanton (2000)]. Fo example, pio to the time of Constantine I, Chistian baptism as itual by tiune immesion in the Name of the Fathe, Son and Holy Spiit followed convesion. Afte the time of Constantine I Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Chistian life, as baptized 52

7 pesons ae incopoated into the chuch and its mission, ae feed fom sin and ebon as sons of God become membes of the Chistian Chuch. 4.2 Focal Points - How Rational Playes Solve Coodination Poblems Following Chwe (203), successful social coodination of actions equies common knowledge. This can be achieved via the existing o newly ceated institutions that seve the pupose of disseminating the common coodination knowledge needed fo all social playes involved: I have a stong incentive to accept the Empeo s authoity, if eveybody else accepts the authoity. In a simila manne, I have a small incentive to accept the Empeo s authoity, if the est of my fellow citizens eject the authoity. Howeve, Chwe (203) goes on to ague that authoity is einfoced with the ceation of public events in which the authoity is ecognized. As tansaction costs ae substantially high fo the authoity to veify in pivate that each individual is inclined to espect the authoity, it is in the best inteests of the authoity to establish a public act to alleviate infomation asymmeties. Chwe (203) claims that public acts geneate knowledge chains efeed to as common knowledge, and whee: it is impotant that eveyone knows that eveyone else is inclined to accept the authoity, and that eveyone knows that eveyone knows that eveyone else is inclined to accept the authoity, etc. Within the context of the pesent wok, the Empeo can obseve allegiance to his authoity by aanging public acts in which eveyone can obseve eveyone else expessing devotion to the Empeo in the fom of ituals that thei main function is to popagate common knowledge. Schelling (960) obseved that pesons ae confonted with coodination poblems often seem to do supisingly well when focal points povide to them a point of convegence fo individual expectations. As Schelling (960) puts it, focal points povide some clue fo coodinating behaviou among individuals, in the sense that a focal point assists each peson s expectation of what the othe expects him to expect to be expected to do. Sugden (995), inte alia, assimilate focal points to game theoy in a way which two playes solve poblems of equilibium selection by choosing an equilibium which is uniquely best fo both of them (payoff dominance). Othes ague that this equilibium is a distinctive mode of ational choice of team easoning in which individuals identify with a goup of two playes in a way that the combination of actions maximizes that goup s shaed objective. In this case each individual chooses his pat of this combination, so such a situation pesents the playes as easoning togethe (team easoning) [see also Sugden and Zamaon (2006) fo a thoough citique and econstuction upon Shelling s focal points]. In line with the Schelling (960) spiit, Leeson et al (2006) examine the ability of focal points to tansfom situations of potential conflict o wost case scenaios, into situations of coopeation o bette case scenaios. I ague hee that ational social playes duing the Constantine I ea wee in a position to enhance coodination poblems via the ceation of State - Chuch Rituals that esulted into a Stong Focal Point of social coodination, the whole pocess ochestated by the Empeo himself. I tun now to the task of combining the infomation gatheed so fa into two simple games, namely the N - Citizens Dilemma 53

8 Game and the State - Chuch - Society Coodination Game. I illustate the N Citizens Dilemma Game in the payoff matix in Figue below, that assumes a state of wold with no eligion, no cental authoity o no state, and thus no state o eligious ituals fo all citizens. I define ω = (ewad in the fom of social peace / no social anachy and/o no ciminal hostilities among citizens), ψ = (coopeate, othes defect), θ = (defect, othes coopeate), φ = (punishment in the fom of social unest / social anachy and/o ciminal hostilities among citizens). The subscipts and coespond to citizen (playe ) and to the est of the citizens (N - playes) espectively. Fo an outside obseve of this game it is easy to obseve that ω > ψ > θ > φ, and that a playes choice such as defect - defect will lead to a mutually destuctive payoff of φ in the matix, o a catastophic Nash Equilibium in this case as eveyone has a stong incentive to defect to gain tempoay benefits. It is clea that it is in eveyone s best inteest to achieve the fully coopeative solution coopeate - coopeate of no conflict / no social anachy and/o no ciminal hostilities among citizens with the espective ω payoffs in Figue. Figue : The N - Citizens Dilemma Game Rest of the Citizens Coopeate ω Defect ψ Coopeate ω Citizen θ θ φ Defect ψ φ As mentioned above, the state of wold depicted in Figue assumes no eligion, no state o no cental authoity, and unavoidably no state and no eligious ituals. Hee the social playes ae in geat need to enhance tust and coodination, and this may become possible via a stong focal point of eligious ituals with the endosement of the state itself. In ode to embak upon such a coodination task, I define a weak focal point as a focal point that povides patial social coodination on a limited numbe of common expectations about the degee of coopeative behaviou. A weak focal point convets in most cases an outcome of conflict into an outcome of patial coopeation. Howeve, although a weak focal point may pomote social welfae enhancing coodination outcomes, it tansmits a weak coodination signal, so tansaction costs and infomation asymmety among social playes (citizens) may not entiely vanish. In this case a weak focal point may lead to a conflict ( wost case ) scenaio situation if the social playes (citizens) fail to coodinate. A stong focal point pomotes social welfae enhancing coodination outcomes by tansmitting a stong 54

9 coodination signal, so tansaction costs and infomation asymmety among social playes (citizens) may completely vanish. In this case a stong focal point seves to align individuals inteests, inceases social coopeation and eventually leads the social playes (citizens) to a situation of a geate coodination ( bette case ) scenaio outcome. Fo example, ancient Geece expeienced a sepaation between saced and secula powes that led to a athe diffeent patten of inte city - state coodination to emege. Religion pe se was not in a position to fully coodinate the local playes, so hamonious life among the city - states was in need of a Pan - Hellenic aangement to avoid falling into a Hobbesian situation of wa of eveyone against eveyone. Iannaccone et al (20) suggest that at the City of Delphi it was located one of the majo Pan - Hellenic decision suppot institutions, known as the Delphic Oacle. Iannaccone et al (20) point out that if secula powe is fagmented a saced space acts as a neutal nexus. That means that eligion in the fom of the ancient Geek paganism was a weak focal point as saced and secula powes occupied sepaate sphees of influence, so the need fo geate coodination made it essential to tun eligious sponsoed games (the Olympic Games in paticula) into a stong focal point. This sepaation between saced and secula powes caused a adically diffeent equilibium of coodination to emege, as eligious ituals wee weak focal points, and game ituals occupied the popety of being the stong focal points in the Pan - Hellenic coodination game (Boulakis, 204). In the Westen Roman Empie and fo the Holy Capital of Rome the ceation of a stong focal point was not feasible fo some time. In medieval Italy, secula powe was also fagmented among the Italian city - states, so given the absence of a stong secula ule, the Pope himself took the initiative of playing the ole of the Pope - Empeo. When the Pope lost his tempoal kingdom in 870 the Roman Catholic Chuch enacted the dogma of papal infallibility to educe intenal stife and to foeclose all expectations of doctinal change within the Chuch (Feeo, 20). The capital of Constantinople gadually became a stong focal point of eligious ituals in ode to compete against Pagan sanctuaies, such as the one mentioned above and located at the City of Delphi, a majo Pagan institution known as the Delphic Oacle. Moe impotantly, the capital of Constantinople emeged as a stong focal point of eligious ituals to compete against Jeusalem and Rome. Figue 2 depicts this agument in the fom of the State - Chuch - Society Coodination Game in the pesence of state - chuch ituals egaded as stong focal points (SFP), alongside the stategic option of using eithe state o eligious ituals consideed as weak focal points (WFP). I suggest the payoffs within the matix of Figue 2 as follows: λ > γ, whee λ > ω and γ > φ, with ω and φ as defined in Figue, and whee: λ = (geate ewad than ω in the fom of social peace / no social anachy and/o no ciminal hostilities among citizens stemming fom a stong focal point), γ = (geate coodination and less punishment than φ attibuted to a commonly accepted weak focal point). 55

10 Figue 2: The State - Chuch - Society Coodination Game Rest of the Citizens State - Religious Rituals (SFP) λ State - Religious Rituals (SFP) λ Citizen γ Eithe State o Religious Rituals (WFP) Eithe State o Religious Rituals (WFP) λ γ γ λ γ If all citizens in the empie follow the stategy of obseving messages coming exclusively fom weak focal points they have the patial coodination payoff of γ, a payoff that is geate than the defect - defect payoff of no state, of no eligious ituals and of no focal points of φ in Figue (γ > φ). Religious ituals o state ituals in thei own ight ae not in a position to fully coodinate citizens and to lead to the full eadication of social anachy and/o ciminal hostilities among citizens, as the signal is tansmitted fom a weak focal point that povides patial social coodination on a limited numbe of common expectations about the degee of coopeative behaviou. The playes coodinate and tust each othe moe if they follow the stategic option of obseving a stong focal point that pomotes social welfae enhancing coodination outcomes by tansmitting a stong coodination signal that geatly educes tansaction costs and infomation asymmety among social playes (citizens), so uncetainty is substantially educed. The new capital of Constantinople acts now as stong focal point of State - Chuch Religious Rituals, and the outcome of the coodination game is a univesally beneficial outcome of the highest possible payoff of λ. The payoff of λ in Figue 2 is the highest possible ewad in the fom of maximum possible social peace / minimum social anachy and/o ciminal hostilities among citizens, as now the playes spend moe time to obseve the message of such a signal coming fom a stong focal point. The λ payoff of the State - Chuch Religious Rituals stategy in Figue 2 is also geate than the coopeate coopeate ω payoff of no state ituals, no Chuch ituals and of no focal points in Figue (λ > ω). We ae in a bette position now to evaluate the easons of why Constantine I endosed Chistianity, and of why Constantine I embaced a state - sponsoed Chistianity. Apat fom my suggestions above, othe explanations include Ekelund and Tollison (20) who suggest that Chistianity fo a well-specified eal pice povided a well - defined set of aftelife ewads, compaed to othe existing eligions. Chistian teaching on moality loweed the cost of intenal social contol within the empie at a time when the elevant cost was ising due to extenal theats. Theefoe, 56

11 Chistianity became the state eligion of the empie because both state and chuch did benefit fom that: the state loweed the public spending on social contol and the chuch with the adoption of an exclusive dogma stamped out ival views as heesies. In addition, Stephenson (2009) points out that the Roman Theology of Victoy was an ideological glue between eligion and politics, o moe pecisely, the inteaction of faith and powe. Constantine I incopoated the new eligion both into the Roman Amy Religio (in ode to have full contol upon his amy legions), and also into the Roman State Religio (The Impeial Cult). The Empeo incopoated Chistianity into this belief system by pesenting the Chistian God as The Geatest God, the binge of victoy, and Chistianity as the eligion of Victoy (Stephenson, 2009). Constantine I managed to convet and to incopoate Chistian Religious Rituals into both the Roman Amy Religio, and moe impotantly, into the Roman State Religio, and by doing so Chistianity was absobed within the Stong Focal Point of the Impeial Cult. To conclude, Constantine I hanessed the inte - tempoal momentum geneated by thee centuies of Chistianity befoe him, and also the oganizational stuctue of the Chistian Chuch to his own inteests. The Empeo also kept othe eligions within the sphee of the Roman State Religio, and fo that eason he etained the title of Augustus - Pontifex Maximus (supeme eligious leade of the city of Rome) until the end of his life. The building of the new Chistian city of Constantinople was pat of the pocesses descibed above. 5. Concluding emaks By applying some well - known instuments fom the micoeconomics toolbox, I pointed out that conceted action, tust and identity in the Easten Roman Empie was enhanced by the existence of common eligious and state ituals. State o eligious ituals in isolation wee weak focal points and povided limited State Chuch - Society coodination, as the weak coodination signal coming fom eithe state only o eligious only ituals could not exclude a scenaio of an intenal conflict in the Hobbesian wa of eveyone against eveyone mode. State - Chuch Religious Rituals offeed the elevant platfom of common knowledge that pomoted welfae enhancing society coodination outcomes. The beacon of this Stong Focal Point of Religious Rituals was the newly fomed capital of Constantinople that conveyed signals to the citizens of the Easten Roman Empie that loweed tansaction costs and infomation asymmety. Was Constantine s I decision to align the ule with the chuch within a new Holy Capital ight? If human ational behavio may lead to collectively undesiable outcomes in the absence of stong focal points that can act as a catalyst fo geate social coodination, then the Empeo s decision to have a new mind was ight. Acknowledgements An ealy vesion of the pesent pape was pesented at the Annual Meeting of the Euopean Public Choice Society 205, Univesity of Goningen, Goningen, The Nethelands, 7-0 Apil, 205. I am gateful to Maio Feeo and to the confeence 57

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