THE CONVERSION OF ROME The greatest period of the Roman Empire was from AD 96-192 under the Antonine Emperors
The Severan Emperors followed until AD 235 The fifty years that followed the death of Severus Alexander. were a period of disaster and of crisis for the Roman Empire (M. Cary) Civil war Internecine feuds Persecution of Christians Foreign invasion War with Persia Mutinies in the army Plague Severe inflation
In the endless chain of imperial murders he that slew the slayer s slayer had the shortest respite before he himself was slain. (Cary) From 235-384 the empire was ruled by twenty emperors Little wonder there was a decline in imperial cult However, the situation improved with the rise of C. Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (Diocletian)
DIOCLETIAN (284-305) Established a tetrarchy of two Augusti and two deputies called Caesars to share the burden of rule. It is this administrative arrangement that led to the rise of Constantine
This included the division of the empire into east and west with Greece being the beginning of the east (the division between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox today)
Conversion of Rome s ally, King of Armenia Tiridates III (261-317) Diocletian & Maximian abdicated in 305 and passed power to their Caesars Galerius & Constantius (father of Constantine) Despite Diocletian s act of self-denial the empire was virtually partitioned into four separate and rival sovereignties and the constitution was thrown back into the melting pot.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Ultimately Constantine was recognised as Caesar (deputy ruler) under Galerius and Constantius In 311 Galerius died of an illness which he attributed to the God of the Christians whom he had mercilessly persecuted. He issued a death-bed edict that granted greater toleration to Christians (but it doesn t seem to have helped him very much)
In 312 Constantine, stationed in Gaul, declared war and invaded Italy ruled by Maxentius (son of Maximian). He was heavily outnumbered by at least 2:1 (some sources say 4:1), but he struck hard and fast. As he moved south he had victories at Turin Milan (surrendered) Verona
Maxentius initially prepared for a siege of Rome then changed his mind and rode north to meet Constantine just to the north of Rome, over the Tiber beyond the Milvian Bridge.
When he came upon Constantine s troops he noticed they all had a strange emblem painted on their shields. It was the Chi-Rho monogram the first to letters in Greek of the word Christ Hemmed in between hills and river Maxentius and thousands of his men perished in the river.
On the next day 29 th October 312 Constantine entered Rome Soon afterwards Constantine proclaimed his allegiance to the Cross by erecting a statue of himself holding a cross with an inscription which read: By this sign of salvation, the true mark of valour, I saved your city and freed it from the yoke of the tyrant. (Eusebius)
And on the Arch that he built, which still stands to commemorate the victory, can be read the words: because of the promptings of the Divinity and the greatness of his soul he with his forces avenged the commonwealth In invading Italy Constantine had undertaken a great risk; he may have done so because of a growing faith in the Christian God.
While Diocletian had rigorously persecuted Christians in the eastern part of the empire Constantius had not, choosing not to press them too far. Then came news of Galerius defeat and the reversal of his cruel policy with an edict of toleration.
This seeming victory of the God of the Christians apparently made a deep impression on Constantine. According to Lactantius, on the night before the battle of the Milvian Bridge Constantine was instructed in a dream to put the heavenly sign of God on his soldiers shields. (Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author (c. 240 c. 320) who became an advisor to the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his religious policy as it developed, and tutor to his son. (Wikipedia))
Whatever may be thought of the dream, the fact remains that Constantine s soldiers did go into battle into battle with the Chi- Rho monogram on their shields. More puzzling is the story of the heavenly vision of the Cross, which many years afterwards Constantine himself told to Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea c. AD 260/265 339/340) was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314.
One afternoon, when marching against Maxentius, Constantine and his army saw a cross of light across the sun and the words In this conquer written in the sky.
The next night Christ appeared to him and ordered him to make a copy of what he had seen to serve as a war-standard. He then had a Labarum made of precious metals. The labarum (Greek: λάβαρον) was a military standard that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol, formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" (ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ) Chi (χ) and Rho It was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine I. Since the vexillum consisted of a flag suspended from the crossbar of a cross, it was ideally suited to symbolize the crucifixion of Christ
It was this monogram and not the Cross which he used both for the Labarum and henceforth his own helmet. It is noteworthy that the vision came from the sun, to which Constantine had paid great devotion. It seems though that he believed that he was borne to victory by the favour of the God of the Christians.
THE EAST Constantine s victory at the Milvian Bridge gave him sole control of the western empire; the east was held by his colleague Licinius. Constantine then made several arrangements with Licinius Licinius would marry his sister Constantia There would be complete religious toleration for Christians in all the empire, both east and west (Edict of Milan AD 313)
The result was an uneasy peace which lasted for ten years (until 323) which was further destabilised when Licinius reversed his policy on Christians. War erupted in 324 and Licinius was defeated. He was executed in 325. The entire Roman Empire was once again under the authority of a single ruler.
Constantine abandoned Rome and moved the capital to Byzantium, which was rebuilt and renamed Constantinople in 330.
It was to be a Christian city, founded by the commandment of God and as a memorial to the victory which God had granted him. (Lasted as such until 1453)
This action changed the course of history. Constantine enlisted the spiritual support of the Christian Church on behalf of the rule of the Caesars. European history started off on a new course.
The reign of Constantine constitutes the sharpest break with the past in all Roman history, and it may be fitly selected as the terminal point of ancient history as a whole. (M. Cary)
The closing sentence of the Cambridge Ancient History: Constantine sitting amongst the Christian bishops at the oecumenical council of Nicaea is in his own person the beginning of Europe s Middle Age. The Christian Monarchy (all but one of the remaining emperors claimed to be Christian rulers)
Emperors gradually came to be greeted as dominus (lord) All Romans were regarded as their subjects The emperor and all his court were labelled sacrum (sacred) Constantine was regarded as the divinely appointed viceregent of one God The Church accepted this status in all secular matters Generally ready to accept him as the ultimate authority even in ecclesiastical disputes.
Henceforth Roman emperors maintained a mysterious aloofness from their subjects: When they deigned to appear in public they wore a diadem and purple and gold clothing and shoes sparkling with jewels and pearls. They required those who were admitted to their presence to prostrate themselves (adoratio) and kiss the hem of their garments. The emperor s advisory council became the sacrum consistorium, whose members no longer sat but stood in the emperor s presence.
INTERPRETATION There had been sporadic persecution of Christians for about 250 years before Constantine. Yet the stiffest ordeal came under Diocletian and Galerius from 303-311 when the persecution was more persistent than ever before.
There was a series of decrees against Christians: Feb 303 churches to be destroyed, scriptures handed over and burnt, privileges removed (no bloodshed) Two palace fires at Nicomedia led to more stringent edicts: clergy imprisoned in large numbers and forced to sacrifice to pagan deities Galerius executed Christians who would not do this In 306 & 309 edicts became even more savage
The number of victims of persecution under Diocletian (who had a Christian wife!) and Galerius probably exceeded all previous totals.
Constantine s edicts Ordered persecution to stop Church property was restored Money was provided for relief The Edict of Milan in 313 provided complete toleration throughout the empire, east and west Freedom of worship was granted to all subjects of the empire Christian Churches were recognised as legal corporations
Thus Constantine s attitude to the Church is unambiguous, but the true nature of his conversion remains an enigma. Some depict him as truly committed to Christ Other argue that he merely used Christianity for his own self-aggrandisement He did not accept baptism until near death He did not submit to the discipline of the Church and its leaders; rather he called himself the bishop of those of those outside
He showed deference to Christian advisers by legislation on matters of private morality and by the institution of a compulsory Sunday rest from work. He prohibited the construction of pagan temples in the new capital, but he did not persecute its followers He made every effort to heal breaches between Christians and pagans and with the Church itself
But his inmost beliefs we will never know: In a letter, supposedly from him, to bishops gathered at a conference at Arles he refers to God s blessing in showing him his past errors and guiding him into the way of truth. He became actively involved in Church affairs believing the wrath of God if he did not remove dissensions within His Holy Church.
In a division in the African Church between Donatus and Catholics he used force to stamp out the Donatist churches. In a dispute in the Eastern Church over the divinity of Christ involving a heretic named Arius he seemed more concerned with unity than theology. He had Athanasius exiled because he refused to recognise the aforementioned Arius in the Church.
His direct intervention led to the Council of Nicaea in 325 over which he personally presided. This led to the Nicaean Creed which we still use today. This council was funded out of the public purse and delegates were entertained at a state banquet by the emperor himself. For many who had who had been accustomed to a long and severe persecution, this meeting with the head of the Roman State must have been an awe-inspiring occasion.
H.M.D. PARKER There seems little doubt that Constantine truly believed in Christianity as a stabilising force for the future of the Roman Empire. The Christians were a small minority in the population; many thought that the unity of the empire depended on their eradication, not their elevation. Yet it was on this derided and detested faith that Constantine decided to build the future destiny of Rome, and his determination transformed the history of the world. (H.M.D. Parker)
It has been suggested that the fate of persecutors such as Galerius had a deep effect on Constantine. It is said that he noticed that fortune seemed to favour the West, where persecution was minimal, rather than the East where it was much more extreme. Whatever we make of the visions and dreams attributed to him by Eusebius and Lactantius it seems very likely that he had a deep seated conviction that Christ would give him victory in Italy. How else are we to explain his daring and apparently hopeless enterprise? (Parker)
He seemed to truly believe that the maintenance of proper Christian worship was closely bound up with the welfare of the empire itself. He also remained acutely aware of the reality of heavenly vengeance. But he saw the Church as the means by which the supernatural force could be made of greatest avail in the empire. So he determined that the Church and State should work in close cooperation
His belief in Christ was essentially a conviction of his power in the world. That, and not the ethical or doctrinal teaching of Christianity, of which till his death he had no clear understanding, was the reason for his faith. But his conversion was none the less real. CONCLUSION Despite Constantine Christianity remained a minority religion. Possibly in Syria, Asia Minor and Alexandria it was dominant Elsewhere Christians made up half the population at most in Rome and the West they were a small minority.
But because of Constantine The clergy had become a powerful aristocracy The educated, thoughtful and intelligentsia of the empire were being won over A generation later, the last pagan emperor, Julian the Apostate (355-360) admitted that the ultimate victory of Christianity in the Roman world was assured.
THE END