Christian History Institute 

Constantine 272-337: A Vision of Triumph

Constantine wins the day for Christianity

IT STILL STANDS IN ROME, the Milvian Bridge, over the murky Tiber River. Here the battle took place that would be a critical milestone in the unfolding of Chris­tian and European civilization.

The report has been preserved even though it was written almost 1700 years ago. The writer was the first really great histo­rian of the church (Dr. Luke excepted), Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea. He had no doubts whatsoever that the account he gives us is true. After all, The Man was his friend—he told Eusebius personally all that had happened and swore to him it was true. It’s an amaz­ing and perplexing story, relating one of those moments that redirects the stream of history for centuries to come.


The Man, Constantine.

Here’s what hap­pened. The last great persecutor of the church, Diocletian, reformed the admini­stration of the Roman Empire and appointed three co-rulers to govern with him. After Diocletian retired, there was a scramble for power. One of the scramblers was a general named Constantine, the son of one of Dio­cletian’s co-rulers.

It was October, 312 A.D. Constantine and his troops marched toward Rome to do battle with his oppo­nent, another would-be emperor, the tyran­nical Maxentius. It was the greatest chal­lenge the gifted young general had ever faced. The stakes were high: Who would control the mightiest empire that had ever appeared up to that time on the face of earth?

As Constantine stopped to consider his battle plans, he re­alized he needed greater power than just military force. Maxentius was relying on magical enchantments. But how should Constantine pray? His father was a mono­theist, believing there was only one God over all. Constantine saw that the pagan gods failed to protect their worshipers. So he sought his father’s God in prayer, plead­ing for him to tell him who he was and to stretch forth his hand to help him. As he prayed (it was a little after noon), Con­stantine had an absobing vision. He saw the sign of the cross emblazoned across the sky and the words In hoc signo vinces, “In this sign you will win.”

Constantine was struck with amazement, along with his whole army (which also witnessed the miracle). That night in his sleep it was confirmed: this was the Christ of God he was dealing with.

So went the report of Eusebius.

Constantine accepted the vision. He adopted the sign. He had the cross in­scribed on his soldiers’ armor. He went into battle. Even though his forces were outnumbered, he won.

A new period
After his momentous victory in the battle at the Milvian Bridge, it is safe to say that the world would never be same—and the church would never be the same. It is hard to miss the perplexing irony that a church that had been largely pacifist, that long survived as a suffering body, never cooked up any subversive political plots, and had never taken up arms, would find its right to exist established through a political and military conquest.

New privileges
The church began to savor the first sweet taste of secular power. Constantine patron­ized the church with favors it had never known before. He moved toward making Christianity the official religion of the em­pire. It didn’t happen all at once, of course. But a dramatic new course had been set. Christianity had prevailed. It became the authorized faith of the Roman Empire by the end of the fourth century. And the more the political power of the empire waned, the more the church became the stabilizing and unifying source for the Roman society, outlasting the empire, and in a sense even­tually replacing the empire.

New problems
“Success” brings its own kind of problems. For the church, prestige and power proved more precarious than the pressure of persecution. The church spread more rapidly than it ever had before. It became easier, indeed fashionable, to become a Christian. Accommodations were made to the pagan pasts of the new members. And sad to say, the church, which had known such pro­longed oppression, did not shrink from becoming an oppressor once in power.

Was Constantine a Christian?
Was Constantine truly a Christian or just a political opportunist who saw the Chris­tian movement as the wave of the future, a good ally for his ambitions? Why did he put off his baptism until just before his death in 337? Some see him as God’s ap­pointed agent for the church. They remind us of his great contributions to Christianity. For instance, in 325 he convened and pre­sided over the Council of Nicea, an impor­tant council that checked heresy and de­fined orthodox doctrine. Beyond any doublt, he took great personal risks in his espousal of Christianity. However, others see him as the catalyst that plunged the church into a sad departure from biblical faith and practice.

“Constantinian Christianity” provided ben­efits that have blessed the church down to our own day. But it also brought many temptations and raised questions about the true nature of the church. Some of these problems we are still facing.


Constantine's Mom: The First "Christian Archeologist"?

Helena, the emperor's mother was one of the most prominent women in Early Christianity. She was born into a humble family around 255and married  Constantinius Chlorus.  He abandoned and divorced her for political reasons in 292 to marry the step-daughter of emperor Maximian.  Constantine gave Helena the honor due a "queen  mother" and she became known as a devout Christian and took upon herself the task of finding and restoring historical sites sacred to Christianity.  She made pilgrimages to Bethlehem and Jerusalem,and sponsored the building of churches there.She was credited with finding the true cross of Jesus, though most scholars doubt this.



The Emperor's New Religion

By Bruce Shelley

The story of early Christianity's most famous—and most controversial—convert.

The first Life of Constantine describes its subject as "resplendent with every virtue that godliness bestows." This panegyric came from the hand of Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, and perhaps Constantine's greatest admirer. It is the classic image that prevailed in Eastern Christianity for more than a thousand years.

Historians now debate whether "the first Christian emperor" was a Christian at all. Some think him an unprincipled power seeker who sought only to inflate his ego. What religion he had, many argue, was at best a blend of paganism and Christianity for purely political purposes.

Certainly, Constantine held to ideals we no longer share. He knew nothing of religion without politics or politics without religion. Yet he clearly believed he was a Christian, and he looked back to a battle at the Milvian Bridge, just outside the walls of Rome, as the decisive hour in his newly found faith.


Commander and strategist

Constantine's early years lie mostly in history's shadows. We know only that he was born in Illyria, a region in the Balkans. His father, Constantius Chlorus, was already a Roman official on the rise. Helena, the daughter of an innkeeper and Constantius's wife, gave birth to Constantine around A.D. 280 in Naissus, just south of the Danube.

In 293 his father became caesar of the West (assistant to the Western augustus [emperor], Maximiam), and the young Constantine served in the court of Diocletian, the Eastern augustus.


The Most Widely Used Christian Symbol

The symbol Constantine made famous was formed by the overlapping of the Greek letters chi (X) and rho (P), an abbreviation for Christos already in use. Sometimes an alpha (a) and omega (w) were added, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, representing Christ as the first and the last.

When Diocletian retired in 305, in a realignment of power, Constantine's father became augustus of the West, and when he died a year later, Constantine succeeded him. The young ruler decided to let the East resolve its own conflicts while he turned his attention to consolidating power in his own empire, gaining valuable field experience as a commander and strategist.

But when Galerius, the Eastern augustus, died in the spring of 311, defending outlying regions became peripheral. Maximian's son, Maxentius, anxious about Constantine's power, was in the capital claiming to be the legitimate emperor of the West.


Field vision

With 40,000 soldiers behind him, Constantine rode south to confront an enemy whose numbers were four times his own.

Under a fatal sense of security, Maxentius waited in Rome, with his Italian troops and the elite Praetorian Guards, confident no one could successfully invade the city. But Constantine's army was already overwhelming his foes in Italy as he marched toward the capital. When the formidable army at Turin fell, even the Roman crowds turned against Maxentius. At the October 26 chariot races, commemorating the anniversary of his accession two days later, the spectators openly mocked their leader.

The aggravated Maxentius turned to pagan oracles, finding a prophecy that the "enemy of the Romans" would perish on October 28, Maxentius's accession day. But Constantine was still miles away. Bolstered by the prophecy, Maxentius left the city to meet his foe. He made his stand at a place called Red Rocks, nine miles north of Rome. On one side stood massive hills. On the other flowed the Tiber River. It was a strong defensive position but made retreat difficult.

Meanwhile, Constantine and his army saw a vision in the afternoon sky: a bright cross with the words Hoc vince: "By this sign conquer." As the story goes, Christ himself told Constantine in a dream to take the cross into battle as his standard.

Though accounts vary, Constantine apparently believed the omen to be a word from God. When he awoke early the next morning, the young commander obeyed the message and ordered his soldiers to mark their shields with the now famous Chi-Rho.

Maxentius and his troops fought well but were overwhelmed by Constantine's army, which was invigorated by this sign from heaven. Maxentius's troops fled in disarray toward the surging Tiber. The would-be emperor attempted to escape over the wooden bridge erected to span the stream, but his own army-turned-mob, pressing through the narrow passage, forced him into the river where he drowned by the weight of his armor.

Constantine had no desire to impose his newfound faith as a state religion. "The struggle for deathlessness," he said, "must be free.". Constantine entered Rome the undisputed ruler of the West, the first Roman emperor with a cross in his diadem.


Wavering believer

Once supreme in the West, Constantine met Licinius, the ruler of the Balkan provinces, and issued the famous Edict of Milan that gave Christians freedom of worship and directed the governors to restore all the property seized during the Diocletian persecution.

Eusebius in his Church History recorded the Christian jubilation: "The whole human race was freed from the oppression of the tyrants. We especially, who had fixed our hopes upon the Christ of God, had gladness unspeakable."

Constantine's faith was still imprecise, but few questioned its authenticity. In 314 Constantine sent a message to the assembled bishops at the Council of Arles. He wrote about how God does not allow people "to wander in the shadows" but reveals to them salvation: "I have experienced this in others and in myself, for I walked not in the way of righteousness. … But the Almighty God, who sits in the court of heaven, granted what I did not deserve."

For a decade, though, he wavered. For example, on the Arch of Constantine, which celebrates his Milvian Bridge victory, pagan sacrifices usually depicted on Roman monuments are absent. Then again, there are still no Christian symbols, and Victory and the Sun God are honored.

He had no desire to impose his newfound faith as a state religion. "The struggle for deathlessness," he said, "must be free." He seemed to begin where his father left off: more or less a monotheist opposed to idols, and more or less friendly toward Christians. Only through the years did his Christian convictions grow.

Ten years after the Edict of Milan, Licinius had fought his way to supremacy in the East and, given the ambitions of the two emperors, conflict seemed inevitable. In 323 they took up arms to settle their differences. Constantine fought as the Christian champion against an enemy who put his trust in Jupiter.

Constantine triumphed and became the sole ruler of the Roman world.


Public relations expert

The victory over Licinius enabled Constantine to move the seat of government permanently to the East, to the ancient Greek city of Byzantium (now Istanbul). He enlarged and enriched the city at enormous expense and built magnificent churches throughout the East. The new capital was dedicated as New Rome, but everyone soon called the city Constantinople.

Christians were more populous and vocal in the East than they were in Rome, so during the last 14 years of his reign, "Bullneck" could openly proclaim himself a Christian. He proceeded to create the conditions we call "state-church" and bequeathed the ideal to Christians for over a thousand years.

In 325 the Arian controversy threatened to split the newly united empire into two camps. To settle the matter, Constantine called together a council of the bishops at Nicea, a city near the capital. He ran the meeting himself.

"You are bishops whose jurisdiction is within the church," he told them. "But I also am a bishop, ordained by God to oversee those outside the church."

Presiding at the council, Constantine was magnificent: arranging elaborate ceremony, dramatic entrances and processions, and splendid services. He was also a gifted mediator, now bringing his skill in public relations to the management of church affairs.

Unfortunately he could not follow abstract arguments or subtle issues and often found himself at a great disadvantage at these councils. This explains, in part, his explosions of temper and indecisive policy making and why he could be ardent in his convictions yet remain oblivious to moral implications.


Fat with flattery

As Constantine grew older, his private life seemed to degenerate. He grew fat and delighted in flattery and elaborate titles. His nephew Julian said he made himself ridiculous by his appearance: weird, stiff Eastern garments, jewels on his arms, a tiara on his head, perched crazily on top of a tinted wig.

He waited until death drew near to be baptized as a Christian. His decision was not unusual in a day when many Christians believed one could not be forgiven after baptism. Since the sins of worldly men, especially those with public duties, were considered incompatible with Christian virtue, some church leaders delayed baptizing such men until just before death.

He gave his sons an orthodox Christian education and his relations with his mother were generally happy, but he continued to act as a typical Roman emperor. He ordered the execution of his eldest son, his second wife, and his favorite sister's husband. No one seems to be able to explain fully his reasons.

While many of his actions cannot be defended, he did bid farewell to the old Roman gods and make the cross an emblem of Victory in the world.


Bruce Shelley is senior professor of church history at Denver Seminary and author of Church History in Plain Language (Word).



The Emperor Strikes Back

By John O. Gooch

How the once illegal religion became the law of the empire.

 

"Let superstition cease; let the folly of sacrifices be abolished. Whoever, after the publication of this law, continues to sacrifice, shall be punished according to his deserts."

That decree of Emperor Constantius in 341 marked the end of paganism and the beginning of the Christian era. Christianity was no longer a persecuted minority; it began its journey to becoming the official religion of the empire.


New persecutors

The story really begins in 313, when Emperor Constantine gave Christians complete freedom of worship and equality with other religions. Confiscated Christian property was returned, and Christians were again recognized as full citizens of the empire. A series of laws favorable to the church made it plain that Constantine was pro-Christian and anti-pagan.

With this, paganism collapsed. It apparently had been practiced only as a civic duty.

By Constantius's reign (337-61), Christians had become a majority in some areas, and they sometimes persecuted the pagans who had once persecuted them. The government rarely encouraged the behavior, but neither did it try to stop it.

In Alexandria, Egypt, philosopher Demetrius Chytas was convicted of sacrificing to the gods. He argued he was only carrying on a lifelong practice, one begun when such sacrifices were legal, even commanded. Nonetheless, Demetrius was tortured and put under house arrest. In some areas, wearing amulets against diseases and having astrologers cast horoscopes were considered crimes and could result in torture and death.

In his book On the Error of Profane Religions, a famous convert from astrology, Firmicus Maternus, urged rulers to wholly eradicate paganism. "Away with those temple treasures," he wrote. "Let the fire of your mints or the flames of your smelting works roast the gods. Transfer all the gifts to your service and control."

Not all Christians agreed. Some told the emperor he was hurting, not helping, the faith when he used the power of the state to advance the church's cause. Athanasius of Alexandria (who was sent into exile by the government four times) pointed to the example of Jesus, who only asked people to follow him: "How can there be anything like persuasion when the fear of the emperor rules?"


Mandating faith

Although emperors continued to add laws benefiting Christians and penalizing pagans, paganism continued. For example, Constantius did not destroy the pagan temples of Rome. It was not until 380, during Theodosius' reign, that Christianity became mandatory.

"It is our will," he decreed, "that all the peoples we rule shall practice that religion that Peter the Apostle transmitted to the Romans."

By 380 Christians constituted a majority of the empire's population. In fact for the first decade of his 16­year reign, Theodosius did not demand the closing of temples, preferring, like Constantius, to retain them as historical curiosities.

But in 391, public outcry against the temples, especially from the East, was too great. Temples were closed, and every pagan practice Theodosius could imagine was banned.

The "conversion" of the empire was complete. 

Last modified: Tuesday, August 7, 2018, 8:05 AM