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the influence of constantine's conversion to christianity
the influence of constantine's conversion to christianity
Constantine and the Christianity
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Constantine as a Christian Hero
Christianity’s history is filled with division, controversy, and conflict. One of the most important people who contributed to the lasting success of this diverse religion was Constantine. While legalizing Christianity in Roman society, he founded the capital of the eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople. Because of this and other great accomplishments, Constantine appropriately earned the name Constantine the Great.
After his father’s death in 306, the Gaul army hailed Constantine as their ruler. After five years as the emperor of Gaul, Constantine invaded Italy. After defeating the Roman army, Constantine entered Rome as the ruler of the western half of the empire. In 313, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, granting freedom of worship to all persons in the western Roman Empire. The edict also guaranteed legal rights to Christians and the return of property taken from Christians in the past.
By the year 323, Constantine had brought the entire Roman Empire under his rule. At this time, a quarrel threatened the division of Christi...
However, this was different compared to Constantine who converted to Christianity and evangelized people to convert to Christianity as well. Constantine ruled as emperor from 306-337 A.D. and was the first Christian emperor of the time and credited
During Justinian’s reign he was able to conquer and take over many parts of Europe expanding his Byzantium Empire, which was a huge start in reviving Roman Authority. He took back a huge amount of territory that was once belonged to the Roman Empire before Barbarian invasions in fourth and fifth century in Western Europe including Northern Africa and Italy. Justinians vast war against the Persians to the East of Constantinople was a problem for Justinian but after several battles a peace was arranged with fairly equal terms. Justinian then de...
Constantine’s departure from Rome took with him the political seat of power. With the removal of the political head a power vacuum was created. The body that remained in Rome was that of the Christian church, feeble though it may have been. Rome’s identity was so deeply rooted in the pagan tradition that despite his best efforts Constantine was unable to convert it entirely. The former capital was still home to a powerful group of aristocrats which held on firmly to the roots of paganism. Gradually, with the support of the imperial court and the city’s urban masses, the church was able to gain a foothold in the fifth century (Krautheimer 33).
Historians still question why Emperor Constantine decided to get baptized on his deathbed, converting him to a Christian just minutes before his passing- but his decision changed the fate of Christianity forever. In the Roman Empire, the only option was the belief in the Greek-Roman Gods, such as Apollo. Those who believed in Christianity were victimized for their beliefs, often killed, and were considered martyrs. However, after Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, it inspired more people to believe in Jesus Christ. Christianity became the foundation for Byzantine culture, and established order and control in the empire until its collapse in the 15th century.
Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, or Constantine, is commonly referred to as the fist Christian emperor of the Roman Empire and as the defender of Christianity. Such grand titles are not necessarily due for the reasons that people commonly think of them today.
This is what Constantine's Christianity was all about. St. Constantine was not only interested in the religion in Christianity, but also in politics. For example, if the god of the Christians were going to support St. Constantine win his battles, then he was going to worship the Christian god. Also, St. Constantine managed to successfully gather a lot of Christian advisors at his court to tell him what the Christian God wanted, so he could be sure to keep God on his side. One last subject of the matter is that St. Constantine did not receive a Baptism until his dying days. Constantine was a lifelong pagan who was baptized against his will on his deathbed. All in all, the Christianity faith is a hybrid religion, because of the result of St.
Founder of Constantinople, Constantine claimed the great Byzantine Empire and in turn inherited the new Holy Roman Empire. With the Edict of Milan in 313, Constantine proclaimed religious tolerance of Christians throughout the empire and soon the religion spread. Constantine then transformed the city of Byzantium into the new capital of the Roman Empire, which then was known and proclaimed as Constantinople. The new capital would profit from its location being closer to the east frontier, having then the advantage of better trading, and a militarily sound location being protected on three sides by water.
Constantine went far beyond the Edict of Milan, which extended indulgence of Christians during the persecution. By 313 A.D., Constantine had donated the property of Lateran, where a new cathedral, the Basilica Constantiniana was soon built, to the bishop of Rome. Constantine had an arch erected in his honour at Rome after the defeat of Maxentius ascribed the victory to the “inspiration of the Divinity”. After his victory over Licinius in 324, Constantine wrote that he had come from the farthest shores of Britain as God’s chosen instrument for the suppression of impiety. Later, in a letter he proclaimed that he had come to bring peace and prosperity to all lands, with the help of God. He gave vast amounts of money from his own personal treasury to the churches of God, to help enlarge the sacred buildings and to decorate the sanctuaries. Throughout his life, Constantine ascribed his success to his conversion to Christianity and the support of the Christian
The “Fall of the Roman Empire” occurred in 330 C.E when the Roman Empire was split into two sides which was the Eastern and Western Empire. Constantine the Great whom was the Roman Emperor approved the split and later became the Emperor of the Eastern side of Rome which is where the name of Constantinople came from which was he capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, and later became known as the Byzantine Empire. On the other hand, the capital of the Western Roman Empire became Rome. Not only were the capitals different, but Western and Eastern Empire did not share the same religious beliefs, language, nor relationships between state and church, hinting as to why the Roman Empire had split.
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
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 not.” Ware compared him to, “a watershed in the history of the Church.” Additionally, Meyendorff states, “No single human being in history has contributed to the conversion of so many to the Christian faith.” Norwich declared that “No ruler in all of history has ever more fully merited his title of ‘the Great’…Constantine has serious claim to be considered the most influential man in all of history.” Some of Constantine’s notable acts in the history of Christianity was his calling of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, his institution of freedom for Christianity with the Edict of Milan, and the relocation of the capital of empire from Rome to Constantinople.
In The History of the Franks, Gregory of Tours portrayed Clovis as a leader who, although his conversion to Christianity appeared to be genuine, nonetheless, used his conversion to realize his political aspirations. By converting to Christianity, Clovis, according to Gregory of Tours’ narrative, was able to garner the support of Christian leaders such as Saint Remigius and, consequently, gain powerful political allies. Moreover, as a result of his conversion, Clovis became a king who was more attractive to orthodox Christians. Furthermore, Clovis’ conversion provided him with a reason for conquering territories that were not ruled by orthodox Christians. Thus, Clovis was able to bring additional territories under his command without resistance from local orthodox Christian leaders and with a degree of approval from the orthodox Christian masses as he, in essence, took on the Christ-like role of savior and liberator who relieved the orthodox Christian masses of flawed leadership from “false” Christians, pagans, or the morally inept. Interestingly, it seems that Clovis’ alleged behavior was not entirely unique as parallels and discrepancies exist between Gregory of Tour’s account of Clovis’ conversion to orthodox Christianity, his depiction of Gundobad’s conversion, and Eusebius’ description of Constantine’s conversion.
As the greatest empire in the western world began to crumble one city at a time, the leader of the Roman Empire, Constantine, under pressure from external and internal sources moved the capital of Rome to Constantinople around 330 AD. The movement of the capital was after his conversion to Christianity in 312 AD, a growing religion throughout the empire despite being officially illegal. Constantine was not the devote saint that the church may speak of today, “from 312-320 Constantine was tolerant of paganism, keeping pagan gods on coins and retaining his pagan high priest title "Pontifex Maximus" in order to maintain popularity with his subjects, possibly indicating that he never understood the theology of Christianity” (Ferguson & Grupp, 1998). The first Christian Emperor claimed to have converted after a victorious battle with his brother and there are many that corroborate this story it appears highly suspicious to only promote Christian ideals and worship. Constantine was not even the Emperor that made Christianity the religion of the Roman people, but simply permitted religiou...
Constantine’s conversion made him more tolerant of Christianity in Rome, allowing the Church to spread to other parts of his empire and to preach in public society. Constantine is praised as the emperor who made Christianity no longer anti-Roman. Had Constantine not converted and reformed Rome, the Church would have never been able to gain as much of a foothold in Rome and the West. His conversion ended the widespread persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire and greatly increased Christian power and influence in Rome. Additionally, his conversion contributed Roman law to the Catholic Heritage of the West, forming a basis of Western thought on law and justice. The time frame significant to Constantine and the Church stretches back to as early as Nero’s persecution in AD 64 all the way to after the death of Constantine in ca. AD 400, when paganism in Rome finally fell.
In the first half of the third century, Christian persecution was fragmented and while Christianity was illegal, there is not evidence that it was widely persecuted. It also grew enormously during this time. Mostly, very outspoken Christian leaders were persecuted. In 249, the emperor, Trajan Decius, issued an edict that required all citizens to sacrifice to the gods. After this edict, there are numerous reports of Christian martyrdom in Alexandria, Smyrna and parts of Egypt. In 257, persecution was renewed under Valerian. After his reign, Galienus issued an edict ending the persecution of Christians, and peace in regards to religion was maintained throughout his rule . During this time, Christians became part of many Roman institutions, including the Senate and the Roman Army. It remained relatively stable until 303 under Diocletian and the tetrarchy. This period, called the Great Persecution, lasted until 312. Essentially, these persecutions led to an even greater spread of Christianity, and the cruelty of the Roman emperors’ in their treatment of Christians helped to quicken it.