Why the pagan emperor was canonized, and how he changed the course of the history of Christianity

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

For several centuries, Christianity suffered under the rule of the Roman Empire. Christians were arrested, subjected to terrible torture, tortured and mutilated, burned at the stake. Houses of prayer and dwellings of ordinary Christians were plundered and destroyed, and their holy books were burned. Emperor Constantine put an end to religious persecution when he ascended the throne. Why and how did the pagan emperor become the patron saint of Christians, and later was even canonized by the Orthodox Church?

Unlike his predecessors, the emperor was a great patron of the Church. He built a huge number of basilicas in all parts of the empire. The Christian clergy were granted unprecedented privileges. Constantine endowed the church with land and wealth, and even returned property confiscated from Christians by earlier rulers.

Historians and theologians have struggled for centuries over the question of what made Constantine stop persecuting Christians. It was assumed that this was the influence of his mother, who was a Christian. Many even claimed that Constantine himself converted to Christianity. However, this information is not confirmed by any sources. On the contrary, the emperor worshiped pagan gods to death and was extremely cruel to competitors.

The future emperor was born, presumably, in the year 275, in the city of Naissa (now Nis), on the territory of today's Serbia. Constantine was the illegitimate son of a prominent Roman general, Constantius, and the innkeeper, Flafia Helena. Constantine was brought up at the court of the Eastern Roman Empire, received an excellent education and followed in the footsteps of his father - he became a military man.

By 305, he had already made a military career and returned to his father, who at the time was appointed Augustus of the Western Roman Empire. Just a year later, Constantius died and the army chose his son as Augustus. This was the first step of Constantine on the road to absolute power over the Roman Empire.

In those ancient times, government in the empire was carried out according to the principle of tetrarchy. The territory was divided into eastern and western parts, and those, in turn, into two more zones. In each part, August was elected, he ruled for one half. Caesars were appointed to govern the other half of August.

The ambitious and ambitious Constantine in 307 entered into a marriage alliance with the daughter of Caesar Maximilian, Fausta. After Maximilian died, the future emperor had only two competitors - August Licinius and Maxentius (Maximilian's son). Constantine gave Licinia to his sister, Constance, in marriage, thus concluding an alliance with him. With Maxentius, it was necessary to fight, since he had many supporters.

Before the battle with Maxentius, Constantine was terribly worried and cried out in prayers to all his pagan gods. According to Eusebius, an early Christian historian, before the start of the battle, he saw a vision of a cross burning in the heavens with the inscription in Greek "With this you will conquer." At first, Constantine did not betray much significance to this vision, but that very night he had a dream where Christ appeared to him and told him to use the sign of the cross against his enemies. In the morning, Constantine ordered his soldiers to inscribe crosses on their shields, and his army was victorious. Constantine dedicated this victory to Christ. And after this battle at the Milvian Bridge, Constantine became the sole ruler of the Western Roman Empire and a supporter of the Christian religion. From that moment on, Christianity began to peacefully coexist with pagan cults. Together with Augustus Licinius, they concluded a peaceful edict, which included a ban on the persecution of Christians, but also allowed any pagan rituals to be carried out. Only sacrifices were forbidden.

During all the years of the reign of Constantine, who is considered a model of a wise ruler, construction began on such monuments of Christian architecture as St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. At the same time, the "patron of Christianity" was far from a righteous person. His actions were very contradictory, not only in the light of the law, but also completely contradicted the Christian way of life and all Christian doctrines. In the struggle for absolute power, nothing could stop Constantine. To achieve his goals, he literally walked over corpses. In 323, Constantine defeated the army of his ally Licinius and executed him. Despite the fact that Licinia's wife is his own sister, she begged to leave her husband's life.

So the Roman military leader, the illegitimate son of August Constantius, became Constantine I the Great. Sole ruler and emperor of the great Roman Empire. But what made him become so loyal to the Christian faith? Such a drastic change in the outlook of the emperor and the state policy of Rome does not give rest to modern scientists.

In particular, geologists believe that Constantine's vision is a meteorite falling. The crater that remained after this fall is still in central Italy. This is the Sirente crater, located in the mountains to the north of the massif. It has a neat round shape. Swedish geologist Jens Ormo believes that this crater was formed from the impact: "Its shape is consistent, and it is also surrounded by numerous small secondary craters, hollowed out by the ejected debris."

The analyzes and studies carried out date the appearance of the crater around the time when Constantine had his vision. According to scientists, a flaming meteorite flying across the sky was visible from a great distance. When it fell, it flared up, taking the form of a fireball, and this sight literally hypnotized the commander. The fall of the meteorite was akin to the explosion of a small nuclear bomb with a capacity of about a kiloton.

The age of the crater is also consistent with local history. The neighboring village was suddenly abandoned, possibly due to a fire in the 4th century. In the Catacombs dating back to the same period, archaeologists have found many bodies, hastily buried. The local legend, transmitted orally, also provides a vivid description of this catastrophic event. One version of the legend goes like this:

The coincidence in time and geography of the meteorite fall and the Battle of the Milvian Bridge forced researchers to reconsider historical events. Historians believe that the military camp of the army of Constantine was located 100 kilometers from the place of the impact of the celestial body. Flashes of light, a fireball and a mushroom cloud that arose after a meteorite hit the ground are similar to Constantine's description of his vision.

Three years after the destruction of the rival Licinius, the emperor executed his wife Fausta and the eldest son Crispus. Constantine suspected them of conspiring against him. Despite the fact that the emperor himself remained a pagan to his deathbed, he gave his children a Christian upbringing. Rumors that the emperor received holy water baptism before his death are not supported by any historical facts.

Bishop Sylvester I spread a rumor that before his death the emperor had told him that henceforth the ecclesiastical authority was superior to the secular one. This rumor was refuted by medieval historians. But this historical falsification, which was called "The Gift of Constantine" gave the right to establish the institution of the papacy.

Constantine the Great left a significant mark on history thanks to many ambitious projects. One of which is the construction of Constantinople (Istanbul now). The emperor made his city the new capital of the Roman Empire. When a political split occurred in the Christian Church in 1054, Constantinople became the main center for the Orthodox Church. Constantine was elevated to the rank of saint both as the founder of Constantinople and as the Roman emperor who changed the course of the history of Christianity.

If you are interested in the history of Christianity, read our article on the other the great reformer Martin Luther.