172-512: In 4th-century Christianity , the Anomoeans / ˌ æ n ə ˈ m iː ə n z / , and known also as Heterousians / ˌ h ɛ t ə r ə ˈ j uː ʒ ə n z / , Aetians / eɪ ˈ iː ʃ ə n z / , or Eunomians / j uː ˈ n oʊ m i ə n z / , were a sect that held to a form of Arianism , that Jesus Christ was not of the same nature ( consubstantial ) as God the Father nor
344-407: A corpus permixtum , a 'catholic' Church geared to mass conversions and institutionally endowed with extensive powers of sacramental grace and redemption". This "momentous transformation" threatened the survival of the marginal religious movement as it naturally led to divisions, schisms and defections. Bryant explains that, "once those within a sect determine that "the 'spirit' no longer resides in
516-507: A Christian, he waited to be baptised on his deathbed, believing that the baptism would release him of any sins he committed in the course of carrying out his policies while emperor. He supported the Church financially, built basilicas, granted privileges to clergy (such as exemption from certain taxes), promoted Christians to high office, and returned property confiscated during the long period of persecution. His most famous building projects include
688-544: A collection of panegyrics from the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, provides valuable information on the politics and ideology of the tetrarchic period and the early life of Constantine. Contemporary architecture—such as the Arch of Constantine in Rome and palaces in Gamzigrad and Córdoba — epigraphic remains, and the coinage of the era complement the literary sources. Constantine
860-678: A formula stating that the Father and the Son were similar in accord with the scriptures, the crowning victory for Arianism. The opponents of Arianism rallied, but in the First Council of Constantinople in 381 marked the final victory of Nicene orthodoxy within the empire, though Arianism had by then spread to the Germanic tribes, among whom it gradually disappeared after the conversion of the Franks to Catholicism in 496. The First Council of Constantinople approved
1032-525: A grand adventus in the city which was met with jubilation. Maxentius' body was fished out of the Tiber and decapitated, and his head was paraded through the streets for all to see. After the ceremonies, the disembodied head was sent to Carthage, and Carthage offered no further resistance. Unlike his predecessors, Constantine neglected to make the trip to the Capitoline Hill and perform customary sacrifices at
1204-578: A great many renowned Church Fathers who wrote volumes of theological texts, including Augustine of Hippo , Gregory Nazianzus , Cyril of Jerusalem , Ambrose of Milan , Jerome , and others. Some, such as John Chrysostom and Athanasius , suffered exile, persecution, or martyrdom from heretical Byzantine emperors. Many of their writings are translated into English in the compilations of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Influential texts and writers between 325 and c.500 include: Those who wrote in Greek are called
1376-487: A guide for monastic life and his Conferences , a collection of spiritual reflections. Honoratus of Marseilles was a wealthy Gallo-Roman aristocrat, who after a pilgrimage to Egypt, founded the Monastery of Lérins , on an island lying off the modern city of Cannes . The monastery combined a community with isolated hermitages where older, spiritually-proven monks could live in isolation. One Roman reaction to monasticism
1548-541: A helmet emblazoned with the Chi Rho , and coins issued at Siscia in 317/318 repeat the image. The figure was otherwise rare and is uncommon in imperial iconography and propaganda before the 320s. It was not completely unknown, however, being an abbreviation of the Greek word chrēston (good), having previously appeared on the coins of Ptolemy III Euergetes in the 3rd century BC. Following Constantine, centuries of Christians invoked
1720-553: A large donative pledge to any who would support him as emperor, most of Constantine's army remained loyal to their emperor, and Maximian was soon compelled to leave. When Constantine heard of the rebellion, he abandoned his campaign against the Franks and marched his army up the Rhine. At Cabillunum ( Chalon-sur-Saône ), he moved his troops onto waiting boats to row down the slow waters of the Saône to
1892-483: A long evening of drinking, Galerius granted the request. Constantine's later propaganda describes how he fled the court in the night, before Galerius could change his mind. He rode from post-house to post-house at high speed, hamstringing every horse in his wake. By the time Galerius awoke the following morning, Constantine had fled too far to be caught. Constantine joined his father in Gaul , at Bononia ( Boulogne ) before
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#17330862473092064-460: A military support, which Maxentius accepted. According to Eusebius, inter-regional travel became impossible, and there was military buildup everywhere. There was "not a place where people were not expecting the onset of hostilities every day". Constantine's advisers and generals cautioned against preemptive attack on Maxentius; even his soothsayers recommended against it, stating that the sacrifices had produced unfavourable omens. Constantine, with
2236-475: A momentous event in the history of the Church and subsequent history of Europe. The council was opposed by the Arians , and Constantine tried to reconcile Arius with the Church. Even when Arius died in 336, one year before the death of Constantine, the controversy continued, with various separate groups espousing Arian sympathies in one way or another. In 359, a double council of Eastern and Western bishops affirmed
2408-485: A more organized community in which the monks lived in individual huts or rooms ( cellula in Latin ) but worked, ate, and worshipped in shared space. Guidelines for daily life were created, and separate monasteries were created for men and women. This method of monastic organization is called cenobitic or "community-based." All the principal monastic orders are cenobitic in nature. In Catholic theology, this community-based living
2580-531: A palace complex in the northeastern part of the city. To the south of his palace, he ordered the construction of a large formal audience hall and a massive imperial bathhouse. He sponsored many building projects throughout Gaul during his tenure as emperor of the West, especially in Augustodunum ( Autun ) and Arelate ( Arles ). According to Lactantius, Constantine followed a tolerant policy towards Christianity, although he
2752-835: A period referred to as the Constantinian shift . This initiated the Christianization of the Roman Empire . Constantine is associated with the religiopolitical ideology known as Caesaropapism , which epitomizes the unity of church and state. He founded the city of Constantinople and made it the capital of the Empire, which remained so for over a millennium. Born in Naissus , in Dardania within Moesia Superior (now Niš , Serbia), Constantine
2924-550: A position ahead of the other chief metropolitan sees, except that of Rome. Mentioning in particular the provinces of Asia , Pontus and Thrace , it decreed that the synod of each province should manage the ecclesiastical affairs of that province alone, except for the privileges already recognized for Alexandria and Antioch. The divisions in Christian unity which led to the East–West Schism started to become evident as early as
3096-449: A result of a debilitating sickness taken in the winter of 304–305, announced his resignation. In a parallel ceremony in Milan , Maximian did the same. Lactantius states that Galerius manipulated the weakened Diocletian into resigning and forced him to accept Galerius' allies in the imperial succession. According to Lactantius, the crowd listening to Diocletian's resignation speech believed, until
3268-508: A revolting and horrifying sight." Galerius died soon after the edict's proclamation, destroying what little remained of the Tetrarchy. Maximinus mobilised against Licinius and seized Asia Minor . A hasty peace was signed on a boat in the middle of the Bosphorus . While Constantine toured Britain and Gaul, Maxentius prepared for war. He fortified northern Italy and strengthened his support in
3440-544: A spirit that left a deep impression on his followers, inspiring some to believe that he had some form of supernatural guidance, ignored all these cautions. Early in the spring of 312, Constantine crossed the Cottian Alps with a quarter of his army, a force numbering about 40,000. The first town his army encountered was Segusium ( Susa , Italy), a heavily fortified town that shut its gates to him. Constantine ordered his men to set fire to its gates and scale its walls. He took
3612-460: A temple to Aphrodite . Generations later there was the story that a divine vision led Constantine to this spot, and an angel no one else could see led him on a circuit of the new walls. The capital would often be compared to the 'old' Rome as Nova Roma Constantinopolitana , the "New Rome of Constantinople". Constantine was the first emperor to stop the persecution of Christians and to legalize Christianity, along with all other religions/cults in
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#17330862473093784-435: A tolerant and politically skilled man, Constantius advanced through the ranks, earning the governorship of Dalmatia from Emperor Diocletian, another of Aurelian's companions from Illyricum , in 284 or 285. Constantine's mother was Helena , a Greek woman of low social standing from Helenopolis of Bithynia . It is uncertain whether she was legally married to Constantius or merely his concubine . His main language
3956-609: A very rigid interpretation of Christianity that excluded many who had abandoned the faith during the Diocletian persecutions, created a crisis in the western Empire. A Church synod , or council, was called in Rome in 313 followed by another in Arles in 314. The latter was presided over by Constantine while he was still a junior emperor . The councils ruled that the Donatist faith was heresy, and when
4128-539: A willingness to appease these factions. The accession of Constantine was a turning point for the Christian Church. In 313, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan affirming the tolerance of Christians. Thereafter, he supported the Church financially, built various basilicas, granted privileges (e.g., exemption from certain taxes) to clergy, promoted Christians to high ranking offices, and returned property confiscated during
4300-415: A year, rejected it. Constantine sent Galerius an official notice of Constantius' death and his own acclamation. Along with the notice, he included a portrait of himself in the robes of an augustus. The portrait was wreathed in bay . He requested recognition as heir to his father's throne and passed off responsibility for his unlawful ascension on his army, claiming they had "forced it upon him". Galerius
4472-528: Is also no division between the "active" and "contemplative" life. Orthodox monastic life embraces both active and contemplative aspects. The earliest phases of monasticism in Western Europe involved figures like Martin of Tours , who after serving in the Roman legions converted to Christianity and established a hermitage near Milan , then moved on to Poitiers where he gathered a community around his hermitage. He
4644-602: Is collected in the Apophthegmata Patrum ("Sayings of the Desert Fathers"). The first efforts to create a proto-monastery were by Saint Macarius , who established individual groups of cells such as those at Kellia (founded in 328.) The intention was to bring together individual ascetics who, although pious, did not have the physical ability or skills to live a solitary existence in the desert . At Tabenna around 323, Saint Pachomius chose to mould his disciples into
4816-552: Is considered superior because of the obedience practiced and the accountability offered. The head of a monastery came to be known by the word for "Father;" – in Syriac , Abba ; in English, " Abbot ." Pachomius was called in to help organize others, and by one count by the time he died in 346 there were thought to be 3,000 such communities dotting Egypt, especially the Thebaid . Within the span of
4988-472: Is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking , his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom , and his ascetic sensibilities. After his death (or, according to some sources, during his life) he was given the Greek surname chrysostomos , meaning "golden mouthed", rendered in English as Chrysostom. Chrysostom
5160-632: Is known within Christianity chiefly as a preacher , theologian, and liturgist, particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Outside the Christian tradition Chrysostom is noted for eight of his sermons which played a considerable part in the history of Christian antisemitism and were extensively used by the Nazis in their ideological campaign against the Jews. Those fathers who wrote in Latin are called
5332-627: Is my Rome ". Sirmium and Thessalonica were also considered. Eventually, however, Constantine decided to work on the Greek city of Byzantium , which offered the advantage of having already been extensively rebuilt on Roman patterns of urbanism during the preceding century by Septimius Severus and Caracalla , who had already acknowledged its strategic importance. The city was thus founded in 324, dedicated on 11 May 330 and renamed Constantinopolis ("Constantine's City" or Constantinople in English). Special commemorative coins were issued in 330 to honor
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5504-472: Is not known. His praenomen is variously given as Lucius , Marcus and Gaius . Whatever the case, praenomina had already disappeared from most public records by this time. He also adopted the name "Valerius", the nomen of emperor Diocletian , following his father's ascension as caesar . Constantine probably spent little time with his father who was an officer in the Roman army, part of Emperor Aurelian 's imperial bodyguard. Being described as
5676-461: Is somewhat doubtful, the fact is that he seems to have been far less open in his support of Christianity than Constantine. Therefore, Licinius was prone to see the Church as a force more loyal to Constantine than to the Imperial system in general, as the explanation offered by the Church historian Sozomen . This dubious arrangement eventually became a challenge to Constantine in the West, climaxing in
5848-513: Is the anonymous Origo Constantini , a work of uncertain date which focuses on military and political events to the neglect of cultural and religious matters. Lactantius ' De mortibus persecutorum , a political Christian pamphlet on the reigns of Diocletian and the Tetrarchy , provides valuable but tendentious detail on Constantine's predecessors and early life. The ecclesiastical histories of Socrates , Sozomen , and Theodoret describe
6020-518: Is venerated as a saint in Eastern Christianity , and he did much to push Christianity towards the mainstream of Roman culture. The age of Constantine marked a distinct epoch in the history of the Roman Empire and a pivotal moment in the transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages . He built a new imperial residence in the city of Byzantium and renamed it New Rome , later adopting
6192-500: The Via Flaminia , allowing the weakness of Maxentius to draw his regime further into turmoil. Maxentius' support continued to weaken: at chariot races on 27 October, the crowd openly taunted Maxentius, shouting that Constantine was invincible. Maxentius, no longer certain that he would emerge from a siege victorious, built a temporary boat bridge across the Tiber in preparation for a field battle against Constantine. On 28 October 312,
6364-554: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Old St. Peter's Basilica . In constructing the Old St. Peter's Basilica, Constantine went to great lengths to erect the basilica on top of St. Peter 's resting place, so much so that it even affected the design of the basilica, including the challenge of erecting it on the hill where St. Peter rested, making its complete construction time over 30 years from
6536-590: The Coptic Orthodox Church maintain that he was baptised by Pope Sylvester I . He played an influential role in the proclamation of the Edict of Milan in 313, which declared tolerance for Christianity in the Roman Empire. He convoked the First Council of Nicaea in 325 which produced the statement of Christian belief known as the Nicene Creed . The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built on his orders at
6708-582: The Council of Nicaea , which was effectively the first Ecumenical Council (the Council of Jerusalem was the first recorded Christian council but rarely is it considered ecumenical ), to deal mostly with the Arian heresy, but which also issued the Nicene Creed , which among other things professed a belief in One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church , the start of Christendom . John Kaye characterizes
6880-587: The Donatists . It is the Donatist schism that Bryant sees as the culmination of this sect to church dynamic. During the Melitian schism and the beginnings of the Donatist division, bishop Cyprian had felt compelled to "grant one laxist concession after another in the course of his desperate struggle to preserve the Catholic church". Roman emperors had always been religious leaders, but Constantine established precedent for
7052-572: The Peshitta and Codex Alexandrinus , these are the earliest extant Christian Bibles. In order to form a New Testament canon of uniquely Christian works , proto-orthodox Christians went through a process that was complete in the West by the beginning of the fifth century . Athanasius , bishop of Alexandria, Egypt , in his Easter letter of 367, which was approved at the Quinisext Council , listed
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7224-626: The Sarmatians —and resettled territories abandoned by his predecessors during the Crisis of the Third Century with citizens of Roman culture. Although Constantine lived much of his life as a pagan and later as a catechumen , he began to favour Christianity beginning in 312, finally becoming a Christian and being baptised by Eusebius of Nicomedia , an Arian bishop, although the Catholic Church and
7396-638: The Temple of Jupiter . However, he did visit the Senatorial Curia Julia , and he promised to restore its ancestral privileges and give it a secure role in his reformed government; there would be no revenge against Maxentius' supporters. In response, the Senate decreed him "title of the first name", which meant that his name would be listed first in all official documents, and they acclaimed him as "the greatest augustus". He issued decrees returning property that
7568-414: The de facto principle of dynastic succession by leaving the empire to his sons and other members of the Constantinian dynasty . His reputation flourished during the lifetime of his children and for centuries after his reign. The medieval church held him up as a paragon of virtue, while secular rulers invoked him as a prototype, a point of reference, and the symbol of imperial legitimacy and identity. At
7740-418: The state church of the Roman Empire . With Christianity the dominant faith in some urban centers, Christians accounted for approximately 10% of the Roman population by 300, according to some estimates. Roman Emperor Diocletian launched the bloodiest campaign against Christians that the empire had witnessed. The persecution ended in 311 with the death of Diocletian. The persecution ultimately had not turned
7912-540: The 4th century. Although 1054 is the date usually given for the beginning of the Great Schism, there is, in fact, no specific date on which the schism occurred. The events leading to schism were not exclusively theological in nature. Cultural, political, and linguistic differences were often mixed with the theological. Unlike the Coptics or Armenians who broke from the Church in the 5th century and established ethnic churches at
8084-599: The 5th century, the Anomoean presbyter Philostorgius wrote an Anomoean church history. Christianity in the 4th century Christianity in the 4th century was dominated in its early stage by Constantine the Great and the First Council of Nicaea of 325, which was the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils (325–787), and in its late stage by the Edict of Thessalonica of 380, which made Nicene Christianity
8256-577: The Anomoeans in the Council of Seleucia , and the Anomoeans condemned the semi-Arians in their turn in the Councils of Constantinople and Antioch ; erasing the word ὅμοιος ( omoios ) from the formula of Rimini and that of Constantinople and protesting that the Word had not only a different substance but also a will different from that of the Father. From that, they were to be called ἀνόμοιοι ( anomoioi ). In
8428-590: The Arian Philostorgius also survive, though their biases are no less firm. The epitomes of Aurelius Victor ( De Caesaribus ), Eutropius ( Breviarium ), Festus ( Breviarium ), and the anonymous author of the Epitome de Caesaribus offer compressed secular political and military histories of the period. Although not Christian, the epitomes paint a favourable image of Constantine but omit reference to Constantine's religious policies. The Panegyrici Latini ,
8600-545: The Athanasian faction (though he was baptized on his death bed by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia ). His successor Constantius II supported a Semi-Arian position. Emperor Julian favored a return the traditional Roman/Greek religion, but this trend was quickly quashed by his successor Jovian , a supporter of the Athanasian faction. In 380 Emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica , which established Christianity as
8772-781: The Bosphorus and appointed Martinian , his magister officiorum , as nominal augustus in the West, but Constantine next won the Battle of the Hellespont and finally the Battle of Chrysopolis on 18 September 324. Licinius and Martinian surrendered to Constantine at Nicomedia on the promise their lives would be spared: they were sent to live as private citizens in Thessalonica and Cappadocia respectively, but in 325 Constantine accused Licinius of plotting against him and had them both arrested and hanged; Licinius' son (the son of Constantine's half-sister)
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#17330862473098944-546: The Bosporus and invaded European territory. Licinius departed and eventually defeated Maximinus, gaining control over the entire eastern half of the Roman Empire. Relations between the two remaining emperors deteriorated, as Constantine suffered an assassination attempt at the hands of a character that Licinius wanted elevated to the rank of Caesar; Licinius, for his part, had Constantine's statues in Emona destroyed. In either 314 or 316,
9116-467: The Christian church they had seen as a threat to empire, and Constantine and his successors did the same, for the same reasons. Constantine's precedent of deferring to councils on doctrine, and accepting responsibility for their enforcement, would continue generally until the empire's end, although there were a few emperors of the 5th and 6th centuries who sought to alter doctrine by imperial edict without recourse to councils. In 325 Constantine called for
9288-430: The Christian community by allowing it to elect Eusebius as bishop of Rome . Maxentius' rule was nevertheless insecure. His early support dissolved in the wake of heightened tax rates and depressed trade; riots broke out in Rome and Carthage ; and Domitius Alexander was able to briefly usurp his authority in Africa. By 312, he was a man barely tolerated, not one actively supported, even among Christian Italians. In
9460-412: The Christian world as Julian the Apostate , was a philosopher who upon becoming emperor renounced Christianity and embraced a Neo-platonic and mystical form of paganism shocking the Christian establishment. While not actually outlawing Christianity, he became intent on re-establishing the prestige of the old pagan beliefs and practices. He modified these practices to resemble Christian traditions such as
9632-429: The Church and the Church becoming ever more divided. The Council of Nicaea in 325 supported the Athanasian view. The Council of Rimini in 359 supported the Arian view. The Council of Constantinople in 360 supported a compromise that allowed for both views. The Council of Constantinople in 381 re-asserted the Athanasian view and rejected the Arian view. Emperor Constantine was of divided opinions, but he largely backed
9804-487: The Church inside the Roman Empire adopted the same organisational boundaries as the empire: geographical provinces, called dioceses , corresponding to imperial governmental territorial division. The bishops, who were located in major urban centres as per pre-legalisation tradition, thus oversaw each diocese as Metropolitan bishops . The bishop's location was his "seat", or "see." The prestige of important Christian centers depended in part on their apostolic founders , from whom
9976-458: The Danube with a Sarmatian captive to drop at Galerius' feet. It is uncertain how much these tales can be trusted. Constantine recognised the implicit danger in remaining at Galerius' court, where he was held as a virtual hostage. His career depended on being rescued by his father in the West. Constantius was quick to intervene. In the late spring or early summer of 305, Constantius requested leave for his son to help him campaign in Britain. After
10148-406: The Donatists refused to recant, Constantine launched the first campaign of persecution by Christians against Christians. This was only the beginning of imperial involvement in the Christian theology. Christian scholars within the empire were increasingly embroiled in debates regarding Christology . Opinions were widespread ranging from the belief that Jesus was entirely mortal to the belief that he
10320-438: The East, and the military strategic importance of protecting the Danube from barbarian excursions and Asia from a hostile Persia in choosing his new capital as well as being able to monitor shipping traffic between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Licinius' defeat came to represent the defeat of a rival centre of pagan and Greek-speaking political activity in the East, as opposed to the Christian and Latin-speaking Rome, and it
10492-643: The East, from Nicomedia ( İzmit , Turkey). The division was merely pragmatic: the empire was called "indivisible" in official panegyric, and both emperors could move freely throughout the empire. In 288, Maximian appointed Constantius to serve as his praetorian prefect in Gaul . Constantius left Helena to marry Maximian's stepdaughter Theodora in 288 or 289. Diocletian divided the empire again in 293, appointing two caesars to rule over further subdivisions of East and West. Each would be subordinate to his respective augustus but would act with supreme authority in his assigned lands. This system would later be called
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#173308624730910664-422: The East. Christianity came to dominance during the reign of Julian's successors, Jovian , Valentinian I , and Valens (the last Eastern Arian Christian emperor). Over the course of the 4th century the Christian body became consumed by debates surrounding orthodoxy , i.e. which religious doctrines are the correct ones. By the early 4th century a group in North Africa , later called Donatists , who believed in
10836-402: The Emperor, to serve on campaigns against external enemies or Roman rebels, and frontier-garrison troops ( limitanei ) which were capable of countering barbarian raids, but less and less capable, over time, of countering full-scale barbarian invasions . Constantine pursued successful campaigns against the tribes on the Roman frontiers —such as the Franks , the Alemanni , the Goths , and
11008-471: The Father or merely of similar substance. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position; the popular presbyter Arius , from whom the term Arian controversy comes, took the second. The council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly (of the estimated 250–318 attendees, all but 2 voted against Arius). Another result of the council was an agreement on the date of the Christian Passover ( Pascha in Greek; Easter in modern English),
11180-400: The Goths and Sarmatians in 322, and on the Goths in 323, defeating and killing their leader Rausimod . In 320, Licinius allegedly reneged on the religious freedom promised by the Edict of Milan and began to oppress Christians anew, generally without bloodshed, but resorting to confiscations and sacking of Christian office-holders. Although this characterization of Licinius as anti-Christian
11352-400: The Greek (Church) Fathers. Athanasius of Alexandria was a theologian, Pope of Alexandria , and a noted Egyptian leader of the 4th century. He is best remembered for his role in the conflict with Arianism. At the First Council of Nicaea, Athanasius argued against the Arian doctrine that Christ is of a distinct substance from the Father. John Chrysostom , archbishop of Constantinople,
11524-463: The Greek words " ΕΝ ΤΟΥΤΩ ΝΙΚΑ " ("by this, conquer!", often rendered in the Latin " in hoc signo vinces "); Constantine commanded his troops to adorn their shields with a Christian symbol (the Chi-Ro ), and thereafter they were victorious. How much Christianity Constantine adopted at this point is difficult to discern; most influential people in the empire, especially high military officials, were still pagan, and Constantine's rule exhibited at least
11696-401: The Italian turmoil; now, instead of giving Maxentius military aid, he sent his troops against Germanic tribes along the Rhine. In 308, he raided the territory of the Bructeri and made a bridge across the Rhine at Colonia Agrippinensium ( Cologne ). In 310, he marched to the northern Rhine and fought the Franks. When not campaigning, he toured his lands advertising his benevolence and supporting
11868-476: The Latin (Church) Fathers. Ambrose of Milan was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He is counted as one of the four original doctors of the Church . The Desert Fathers were early monastics living in the Egyptian desert; although they did not write as much, their influence was also great. Among them are St. Anthony the Great and St. Pachomius . A great number of their usually short sayings
12040-408: The Picts and securing his control in the northwestern dioceses. He completed the reconstruction of military bases begun under his father's rule, and he ordered the repair of the region's roadways. He then left for Augusta Treverorum ( Trier ) in Gaul, the Tetrarchic capital of the northwestern Roman Empire. The Franks learned of Constantine's acclamation and invaded Gaul across the lower Rhine over
12212-425: The Praetorian Guard and Imperial Horse Guard . The tombstones of the Imperial Horse Guard were ground up and used in a basilica on the Via Labicana , and their former base was redeveloped into the Lateran Basilica on 9 November 312—barely two weeks after Constantine captured the city. The Legio II Parthica was removed from Albano Laziale , and the remainder of Maxentius' armies were sent to do frontier duty on
12384-466: The Rhine. In the following years, Constantine gradually consolidated his military superiority over his rivals in the crumbling Tetrarchy. In 313, he met Licinius in Milan to secure their alliance by the marriage of Licinius and Constantine's half-sister Constantia. During this meeting, the emperors agreed on the so-called Edict of Milan , officially granting full tolerance to Christianity and all religions in
12556-401: The Roman Empire further contributed to disunion in the Church. Emperor Diocletian divided the administration of the eastern and western portions of the empire in the early 4th century, though subsequent leaders (including Constantine) aspired to and sometimes gained control of both regions. Theodosius I , who established Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, died in 395 and
12728-581: The Roman Empire. In February 313, he met with Licinius in Milan and developed the Edict of Milan, which stated that Christians should be allowed to follow their faith without oppression. This removed penalties for professing Christianity, under which many had been martyred previously , and it returned confiscated Church property. The edict protected all religions from persecution, not only Christianity, allowing anyone to worship any deity that they chose. A similar edict had been issued in 311 by Galerius, senior emperor of
12900-560: The Tetrarchy, which granted Christians the right to practise their religion but did not restore any property to them. The Edict of Milan included several clauses which stated that all confiscated churches would be returned, as well as other provisions for previously persecuted Christians. Some scholars think that Helena adopted Christianity as an adult, and according to Eusebius she was converted by Constantine, but other historians debate whether Constantine adopted his mother Helena's Christianity in his youth or whether he adopted it gradually over
13072-417: The Tetrarchy. Diocletian's first appointee for the office of Caesar was Constantius ; his second was Galerius , a native of Felix Romuliana . According to Lactantius , Galerius was a brutal, animalistic man. Although he shared the paganism of Rome's aristocracy, he seemed to them an alien figure, a semi-barbarian. On 1 March, Constantius was promoted to the office of Caesar, and dispatched to Gaul to fight
13244-535: The Veronese forces and Maxentius' praetorian prefect, was in a strong defensive position since the town was surrounded on three sides by the Adige . Constantine sent a small force north of the town in an attempt to cross the river unnoticed. Ruricius sent a large detachment to counter Constantine's expeditionary force but was defeated. Constantine's forces successfully surrounded the town and laid siege. Ruricius gave Constantine
13416-399: The [sect is] in the personal holiness of its members". A church, on the other hand, is an organization where sanctity is found in the institution rather than the individual. To become a church, "Christianity had to overcome its alienation from the 'world' and successfully weather persecution, accept that it was no longer an ecclesia pura , (a sect of the holy and the elect), but was instead
13588-624: The baptismal creed of Constantinople. Later, the Catholic Church in the west, added two additional Latin phrases ("Deum de Deo" and "Filioque"). The exact time, and origin, of these additions is disputed. However, they were formally accepted only in 1014. The council also condemned Apollinarism , the teaching that there was no human mind or soul in Christ. It also granted Constantinople honorary precedence over all churches save Rome. The council did not include Western bishops or Roman legates, but it
13760-552: The beginning of the Renaissance , there were more critical appraisals of his reign with the rediscovery of anti-Constantinian sources. Trends in modern and recent scholarship have attempted to balance the extremes of previous scholarship. Constantine was a ruler of major importance and has always been a controversial figure. The fluctuations in his reputation reflect the nature of the ancient sources for his reign. These are abundant and detailed, but they have been strongly influenced by
13932-462: The bishops were therefore the spiritual successors according to the doctrine of Apostolic succession . Constantine erected a new capital at Byzantium , a strategically placed city on the Bosporus . He renamed his new capital Nova Roma ("New Rome"), but the city would become known as Constantinople . The Second Ecumenical Council , held at the new capital in 381, elevated the see of Constantinople to
14104-429: The cipher of Christ. Having this sign (☧), his troops stood to arms." Eusebius describes a vision that Constantine had while marching at midday in which "he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, In Hoc Signo Vinces " ("In this sign thou shalt conquer"). In Eusebius's account, Constantine had a dream the following night in which Christ appeared with
14276-551: The claimed site of Jesus' tomb in Jerusalem and was deemed the holiest place in all of Christendom . The papal claim to temporal power in the High Middle Ages was based on the fabricated Donation of Constantine . He has historically been referred to as the "First Christian Emperor", but while he did favour the Christian Church, some modern scholars debate his beliefs and even his comprehension of Christianity. Nevertheless, he
14448-413: The coinage of Constantine advertised Mars as his patron. From 310 on, Mars was replaced by Sol Invictus , a god conventionally identified with Apollo. There is little reason to believe that either the dynastic connection or the divine vision are anything other than fiction, but their proclamation strengthened Constantine's claims to legitimacy and increased his popularity among the citizens of Gaul. By
14620-456: The conversion of Christianity " to the culture and ideals of the Roman world, Brown says Constantine would never have converted himself. By the end of the second century Christianity was steadily expanding and its membership was socially rising. The church was becoming increasingly institutionalized, and there is evidence of moral erosion and declining commitment amongst its expanding membership. Bryant explains that, "The governing principle of
14792-465: The conversion of Constantine, and the council of Nicea, as two of the most important things to ever happen to the Christian church. Constantine's sons banned pagan State religious sacrifices in 341 but did not close the temples. Although all State temples in all cities were ordered shut in 356, there is evidence that traditional sacrifices continued. When Gratian declined the position and title of Pontifex Maximus , his act effectively brought an end to
14964-534: The cost of their universality and catholicity, the eastern and western parts of the Church remained loyal to the faith and authority of the seven ecumenical councils. They were united, by virtue of their common faith and tradition, in one Church. The Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and the ecclesiastics of the Orthodox church are based in the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre constructed in 335 AD. Disunion in
15136-482: The course of his life. Constantine possibly retained the title of pontifex maximus which emperors bore as heads of the ancient Roman religion until Gratian renounced the title. According to Christian writers, Constantine was over 40 when he finally declared himself a Christian, making it clear that he owed his successes to the protection of the Christian High God alone. Despite these declarations of being
15308-560: The current form of the Nicene Creed as it is still used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodox churches. The creed, originally written in Greek, was subsequently translated in other languages. The form used by the Armenian Apostolic Church , which is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, has several additions to the original text. This fuller creed may have existed before the council and probably originated from
15480-430: The demotion and continued to style himself as augustus on his coinage, even as other members of the Tetrarchy referred to him as a caesar on theirs. Maximinus was frustrated that he had been passed over for promotion while the newcomer Licinius had been raised to the office of augustus and demanded that Galerius promote him. Galerius offered to call both Maximinus and Constantine "sons of the augusti", but neither accepted
15652-487: The earlier rupture in their relations, Maxentius was eager to present himself as his father's devoted son after his death. He began minting coins with his father's deified image, proclaiming his desire to avenge Maximian's death. Constantine initially presented the suicide as an unfortunate family tragedy. By 311, however, he was spreading another version. According to this, after Constantine had pardoned him, Maximian planned to murder Constantine in his sleep. Fausta learned of
15824-408: The eastern front by the spring of 303, in time to witness the beginnings of Diocletian's " Great Persecution ", the most severe persecution of Christians in Roman history. In late 302, Diocletian and Galerius sent a messenger to the oracle of Apollo at Didyma with an inquiry about Christians. Constantine could recall his presence at the palace when the messenger returned and Diocletian accepted
15996-501: The eastern provinces (against the Persians ) before being recalled in the west (in AD ;305) to fight alongside his father in the province of Britannia . After his father's death in 306, Constantine was proclaimed as augustus (emperor) by his army at Eboracum ( York , England). He eventually emerged victorious in the civil wars against emperors Maxentius and Licinius to become
16168-468: The ecclesiastic disputes of Constantine's later reign. Written during the reign of Theodosius II (r. 402–450), a century after Constantine's reign, these ecclesiastical historians obscure the events and theologies of the Constantinian period through misdirection, misrepresentation, and deliberate obscurity. The contemporary writings of the orthodox Christian Athanasius and the ecclesiastical history of
16340-400: The economy and the arts. His refusal to participate in the war increased his popularity among his people and strengthened his power base in the West. Maximian returned to Rome in the winter of 307–308 but soon fell out with his son. In early 308, after a failed attempt to usurp Maxentius' title, Maximian returned to Constantine's court. On 11 November 308, Galerius called a general council at
16512-565: The elder Emperor Maximian and needed a new source of legitimacy. In a speech delivered in Gaul on 25 July 310, the anonymous orator reveals a previously unknown dynastic connection to Claudius II , a 3rd-century emperor famed for defeating the Goths and restoring order to the empire. Breaking away from tetrarchic models, the speech emphasizes Constantine's ancestral prerogative to rule, rather than principles of imperial equality. The new ideology expressed in
16684-452: The emperor's traditional purple robes . Constantine accepted the decision, knowing that it would remove doubts as to his legitimacy. Constantine's share of the empire consisted of Britain, Gaul, and Spain, and he commanded one of the largest Roman armies which was stationed along the important Rhine frontier. He remained in Britain after his promotion to emperor, driving back the tribes of
16856-442: The empire. The document had special benefits for Christians, legalizing their religion and granting them restoration for all property seized during Diocletian's persecution. It repudiates past methods of religious coercion and used only general terms to refer to the divine sphere—"Divinity" and "Supreme Divinity", summa divinitas . The conference was cut short, however, when news reached Licinius that his rival Maximinus had crossed
17028-497: The episcopal structure and public charity (hitherto unknown in Roman paganism). Julian eliminated most of the privileges and prestige previously afforded to the Christian Church. His reforms attempted to create a form of religious heterogeneity by, among other things, reopening pagan temples, accepting Christian bishops previously exiled as heretics, promoting Judaism , and returning Church lands to their original owners. However, Julian's short reign ended when he died while campaigning in
17200-616: The event. The new city was protected by the relics of the True Cross , the Rod of Moses and other holy relics, though a cameo now at the Hermitage Museum also represented Constantine crowned by the tyche of the new city. The figures of old gods were either replaced or assimilated into a framework of Christian symbolism . Constantine built the new Church of the Holy Apostles on the site of
17372-402: The field bearing unfamiliar symbols on their standards and their shields. According to Lactantius "Constantine was directed in a dream to cause the heavenly sign to be delineated on the shields of his soldiers, and so to proceed to battle. He did as he had been commanded, and he marked on their shields the letter Χ, with a perpendicular line drawn through it and turned round thus at the top, being
17544-530: The first capital punishment of a heretic was carried out on Priscillian of Ávila . The First Council of Nicaea (325) and the First Council of Constantinople (381) were a part of what would later be called the first seven Ecumenical Councils, which span 400 years of church history. The First Council of Nicaea , held in Nicaea in Bithynia (in present-day Turkey), convoked by Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325,
17716-420: The first charge. His horse guards and praetorians initially held their position, but they broke under the force of a Constantinian cavalry charge; they also broke ranks and fled to the river. Maxentius rode with them and attempted to cross the bridge of boats ( Ponte Milvio ), but he was pushed into the Tiber and drowned by the mass of his fleeing soldiers. Constantine entered Rome on 29 October 312 and staged
17888-414: The great civil war of 324. Constantine's Christian eulogists present the war as a battle between Christianity and paganism; Licinius, aided by Gothic mercenaries, represented the past and ancient paganism, while Constantine and his Franks marched under the standard of the labarum . Outnumbered but fired by their zeal, Constantine's army emerged victorious in the Battle of Adrianople . Licinius fled across
18060-537: The honours that he had granted to leaders of the Senate were also invalidated. Constantine also attempted to remove Maxentius' influence on Rome's urban landscape. All structures built by him were rededicated to Constantine, including the Temple of Romulus and the Basilica of Maxentius . At the focal point of the basilica, a stone statue was erected of Constantine holding the Christian labarum in its hand. Its inscription bore
18232-404: The imperial court's demands for universal persecution. On 23 February 303, Diocletian ordered the destruction of Nicomedia' s new church, condemned its scriptures to the flames, and had its treasures seized. In the months that followed, churches and scriptures were destroyed, Christians were deprived of official ranks, and priests were imprisoned. It is unlikely that Constantine played any role in
18404-402: The isolated life of hermits, which he considered the highest form of monasticism, yet the monasteries he founded were all organized monastic communities. About 410 he established two monasteries near Marseilles , one for men, one for women. In time these attracted a total of 5,000 monks and nuns. Most significant for the future development of monasticism were Cassian's Institutes , which provided
18576-403: The last moment, that Diocletian would choose Constantine and Maxentius (Maximian's son) as his successors. It was not to be: Constantius and Galerius were promoted to augusti , while Severus and Maximinus , Galerius' nephew, were appointed their caesars respectively. Constantine and Maxentius were ignored. Some of the ancient sources detail plots that Galerius made on Constantine's life in
18748-497: The leading figures in the persecutions, issued an edict permitting the practice of the Christian religion under his rule. From 313 to 380, Christianity enjoyed the status of being a legal religion within the Roman Empire. It had not become the sole authorized state religion, although it gradually gained prominence and stature within Roman society. After halting the persecutions of the Christians, Galerius reigned for another 2 years. He
18920-518: The message which the statue illustrated: "By this sign, Constantine had freed Rome from the yoke of the tyrant." Constantine also sought to upstage Maxentius' achievements. For example, the Circus Maximus was redeveloped so that its seating capacity was 25 times larger than that of Maxentius' racing complex on the Via Appia . Maxentius' strongest military supporters were neutralised when he disbanded
19092-519: The middle of 310, Galerius had become too ill to involve himself in imperial politics. His final act survives: a letter to provincials posted in Nicomedia on 30 April 311, proclaiming an end to the persecutions, and the resumption of religious toleration. Eusebius maintains "divine providence [...] took action against the perpetrator of these crimes" and gives a graphic account of Galerius' demise: "Without warning suppurative inflammation broke out round
19264-408: The middle of his genitals, then a deep-seated fistula ulcer; these ate their way incurably into his innermost bowels. From them came a teeming indescribable mass of worms, and a sickening smell was given off, for the whole of his hulking body, thanks to over eating, had been transformed even before his illness into a huge lump of flabby fat, which then decomposed and presented those who came near it with
19436-455: The military city of Carnuntum ( Petronell-Carnuntum , Austria) to resolve the instability in the western provinces. In attendance were Diocletian, briefly returned from retirement, Galerius, and Maximian. Maximian was forced to abdicate again and Constantine was again demoted to caesar. Licinius , one of Galerius' old military companions, was appointed augustus in the western regions. The new system did not last long: Constantine refused to accept
19608-419: The miraculous or the supernatural when justifying or describing their warfare. Constantine deployed his own forces along the whole length of Maxentius' line. He ordered his cavalry to charge, and they broke Maxentius' cavalry. He then sent his infantry against Maxentius' infantry, pushing many into the Tiber where they were slaughtered and drowned. The battle was brief, and Maxentius' troops were broken before
19780-420: The months following Diocletian's abdication. They assert that Galerius assigned Constantine to lead an advance unit in a cavalry charge through a swamp on the middle Danube, made him enter into single combat with a lion, and attempted to kill him in hunts and wars. Constantine always emerged victorious: the lion emerged from the contest in a poorer condition than Constantine; Constantine returned to Nicomedia from
19952-555: The most important feast of the ecclesiastical calendar. The council decided in favour of celebrating the resurrection on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox , independently of the Bible 's Hebrew calendar , and authorized the Bishop of Alexandria (presumably using the Alexandrian calendar ) to announce annually the exact date to his fellow bishops. The council
20124-482: The name Constantinople after himself, where it was located in modern Istanbul . It subsequently became the capital of the empire for more than a thousand years, the later Eastern Roman Empire often being referred to in English as the Byzantine Empire , a term never used by the Empire, invented by German historian Hieronymus Wolf . His more immediate political legacy was that he replaced Diocletian's Tetrarchy with
20296-554: The new capital of the Roman Empire. The city would gradually come to be seen as the center of the Christian world . Sociologist Joseph Bryant asserts that, by the time of Constantine, Christianity had already changed from its first century instantiation as a "marginal, persecuted, and popularly despised Christian sect" to become the fully institutionalized church "capable of embracing the entire Roman empire" that Constantine adopted. Without this transformation that Peter Brown has called "
20468-431: The new title. By the spring of 310, Galerius was referring to both men as augusti. In 310, a dispossessed Maximian rebelled against Constantine while Constantine was away campaigning against the Franks. Maximian had been sent south to Arles with a contingent of Constantine's army, in preparation for any attacks by Maxentius in southern Gaul. He announced that Constantine was dead and took up the imperial purple. In spite of
20640-591: The next generation this number increased to 7,000. From there monasticism quickly spread out first to Palestine and the Judean Desert , Syria , North Africa and eventually the rest of the Roman Empire . Orthodox monasticism does not have religious orders as in the West, so there are no formal monastic rules; rather, each monk and nun is encouraged to read all of the Holy Fathers and emulate their virtues. There
20812-426: The north Italian plain sent Constantine embassies of congratulation for his victory. He moved on to Milan, where he was met with open gates and jubilant rejoicing. Constantine rested his army in Milan until mid-summer 312, when he moved on to Brixia ( Brescia ). Brescia's army was easily dispersed, and Constantine quickly advanced to Verona where a large Maxentian force was camped. Ruricius Pompeianus , general of
20984-591: The north without achieving great success. Constantius had become severely sick over the course of his reign and died on 25 July 306 in Eboracum . Before dying, he declared his support for raising Constantine to the rank of full Augustus. The Alamannic king Chrocus , a barbarian taken into service under Constantius, then proclaimed Constantine as augustus. The troops loyal to Constantius' memory followed him in acclamation. Gaul and Britain quickly accepted his rule; Hispania , which had been in his father's domain for less than
21156-548: The official state religion , specifically the faith established by the Council of Nicaea in 325: Theodosius called the Council of Constantinople in 381 to further refine the definition of orthodoxy. In 391 Theodosius closed all of the pagan (non-Christian and non-Jewish) temples and formally forbade pagan worship. These adhering state churches can be seen as effectively a department of the Roman state. All other Christian sects were explicitly declared heretical and illegal. In 385, came
21328-522: The official propaganda of the period and are often one-sided; no contemporaneous histories or biographies dealing with his life and rule have survived. The nearest replacement is Eusebius 's Vita Constantini —a mixture of eulogy and hagiography written between 335 and circa 339 —that extols Constantine's moral and religious virtues. The Vita creates a contentiously positive image of Constantine, and modern historians have frequently challenged its reliability. The fullest secular life of Constantine
21500-562: The old family alliance between Maximian and Constantius and offer support to Maxentius' cause in Italy. Constantine accepted and married Fausta in Trier in summer 307. Constantine gave Maxentius his meagre support, offering Maxentius political recognition. Constantine remained aloof from the Italian conflict, however. Over the spring and summer of 307, he had left Gaul for Britain to avoid any involvement in
21672-485: The orator proclaims that Constantine experienced a divine vision of Apollo and Victory granting him laurel wreaths of health and a long reign. In the likeness of Apollo, Constantine recognised himself as the saving figure to whom would be granted "rule of the whole world", as the poet Virgil had once foretold. The oration's religious shift is paralleled by a similar shift in Constantine's coinage. In his early reign,
21844-540: The panegyrist the opportunity to comment favourably on the similarities between father and son, and Eusebius remarked that Constantine was a "renewal, as it were, in his own person, of his father's life and reign". Constantinian coinage, sculpture, and oratory also show a tendency for disdain towards the "barbarians" beyond the frontiers. He minted a coin issue after his victory over the Alemanni which depicts weeping and begging Alemannic tribesmen, "the Alemanni conquered" beneath
22016-525: The parent body, 'the holy and the pure' typically find themselves compelled – either by conviction or coercion – to withdraw and establish their own counter-church, consisting of the 'gathered remnant' of God's elect". According to Bryant, this describes all the schisms of Christianity's first 300 years including the Montanists , the schism created by Hippolytus in 218 under Callistus , the Melitian schism, and
22188-412: The persecution. In his later writings, he attempted to present himself as an opponent of Diocletian's "sanguinary edicts" against the "Worshippers of God", but nothing indicates that he opposed it effectively at the time. Although no contemporary Christian challenged Constantine for his inaction during the persecutions, it remained a political liability throughout his life. On 1 May 305, Diocletian, as
22360-440: The phrase "Romans' rejoicing". There was little sympathy for these enemies; as his panegyrist declared, "It is a stupid clemency that spares the conquered foe." Following Galerius' recognition of Constantine as caesar, Constantine's portrait was brought to Rome, as was customary. Maxentius mocked the portrait's subject as the son of a harlot and lamented his own powerlessness. Maxentius, envious of Constantine's authority, seized
22532-475: The plot and warned Constantine, who put a eunuch in his own place in bed. Maximian was apprehended when he killed the eunuch and was offered suicide, which he accepted. Along with using propaganda, Constantine instituted a damnatio memoriae on Maximian, destroying all inscriptions referring to him and eliminating any public work bearing his image. The death of Maximian required a shift in Constantine's public image. He could no longer rely on his connection to
22704-407: The position of the Christian emperor in the Church. These emperors considered themselves responsible to God for the spiritual health of their subjects, and thus they had a duty to maintain orthodoxy. The emperor did not decide doctrine – that was the responsibility of the bishops – rather his role was to enforce doctrine, root out heresy, and uphold ecclesiastical unity. The emperor ensured that God
22876-488: The quicker waters of the Rhone . He disembarked at Lugdunum ( Lyon ). Maximian fled to Massilia ( Marseille ), a town better able to withstand a long siege than Arles. It made little difference, however, as loyal citizens opened the rear gates to Constantine. Maximian was captured and reproved for his crimes. Constantine granted some clemency but strongly encouraged his suicide. In July 310, Maximian hanged himself . In spite of
23048-512: The rebels Carausius and Allectus . In spite of meritocratic overtones, the Tetrarchy retained vestiges of hereditary privilege, and Constantine became the prime candidate for future appointment as Caesar as soon as his father took the position. Constantine went to the court of Diocletian, where he lived as his father's heir presumptive . Constantine received a formal education at Diocletian's court, where he learned Latin literature, Greek, and philosophy. The cultural environment in Nicomedia
23220-479: The reign of Diocletian. Constantine utilized Christian symbols early in his reign but still encouraged traditional Roman religious practices including sun worship . Between 324 and 330, he built a new imperial capital at Byzantium on the Bosphorus (it came to be named for him: Constantinople )–the city employed overtly Christian architecture , contained churches within the city walls (unlike "old" Rome), and had no pagan temples. In 330 he established Constantinople as
23392-451: The same heavenly sign and told him to make an army standard in the form of the labarum . Eusebius is vague about when and where these events took place, but it enters his narrative before the war begins against Maxentius. He describes the sign as Chi (Χ) traversed by Rho (Ρ) to form ☧, representing the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos). A medallion was issued at Ticinum in 315 which shows Constantine wearing
23564-615: The same twenty-seven New Testament books as found in the Canon of Trent . The first council that accepted the present canon of the New Testament may have been the Synod of Hippo Regius in North Africa in 393; the acts of this council, however, are lost. A brief summary of the acts was read at and accepted by the Council of Carthage (397) and Council of Carthage (419) . After legalisation in 313,
23736-550: The same type of war he had waged against Severus and Galerius: he occupied Rome and prepared for a siege. He still controlled Rome's Praetorian Guard , was well-stocked with African grain, and was surrounded on all sides by the seemingly impregnable Aurelian Walls . He ordered all bridges across the Tiber cut, reportedly on the counsel of the gods, and left the rest of central Italy undefended; Constantine secured that region's support without challenge. Constantine progressed slowly along
23908-533: The sixth anniversary of his reign, he approached the keepers of the Sibylline Books for guidance. The keepers prophesied that, on that very day, "the enemy of the Romans" would die. Maxentius advanced north to meet Constantine in battle. Maxentius' forces were still twice the size of Constantine's, and he organised them in long lines facing the battle plain with their backs to the river. Constantine's army arrived on
24080-422: The slip and returned with a larger force to oppose Constantine. Constantine refused to let up on the siege and sent only a small force to oppose him. In the desperately fought encounter that followed, Ruricius was killed and his army destroyed. Verona surrendered soon afterwards, followed by Aquileia , Mutina ( Modena ), and Ravenna . The road to Rome was now wide open to Constantine. Maxentius prepared for
24252-471: The sole ruler of the Roman Empire by 324. Upon his ascension, Constantine enacted numerous reforms to strengthen the empire. He restructured the government, separating civil and military authorities. To combat inflation, he introduced the solidus , a new gold coin that became the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years. The Roman army was reorganised to consist of mobile units ( comitatenses ), often around
24424-434: The speech made Galerius and Maximian irrelevant to Constantine's right to rule. Indeed, the orator emphasizes ancestry to the exclusion of all other factors: "No chance agreement of men, nor some unexpected consequence of favour, made you emperor," the orator declares to Constantine. The oration also moves away from the religious ideology of the Tetrarchy, with its focus on twin dynasties of Jupiter and Hercules . Instead,
24596-450: The state religion because of the position's authority and ties within the administration. This ended state official practices but not the private religious practices, and consequently the temples remained open. There was not a total unity of Christianity however, and Constantius II was an Arian who kept Arian bishops at his court and installed them in various sees, expelling the orthodox bishops. Constantius's successor, Julian , known in
24768-568: The summer of 305. From Bononia, they crossed the English Channel to Britain and made their way to Eboracum ( York ), capital of the province of Britannia Secunda and home to a large military base. Constantine was able to spend a year in northern Britain at his father's side, campaigning against the Picts beyond Hadrian's Wall in the summer and autumn. Constantius' campaign, like that of Septimius Severus before it, probably advanced far into
24940-628: The summer of 311, Maxentius mobilised against Constantine while Licinius was occupied with affairs in the East. He declared war on Constantine, vowing to avenge his father's "murder". To prevent Maxentius from forming an alliance against him with Licinius, Constantine forged his own alliance with Licinius over the winter of 311–312 and offered him his sister Constantia in marriage. Maximinus considered Constantine's arrangement with Licinius an affront to his authority. In response, he sent ambassadors to Rome, offering political recognition to Maxentius in exchange for
25112-574: The tide on the growth of the religion, and because of the rapid growth, Christians accounted for 56.5% of the Roman population by 350. Christians had already organized to the point of establishing hierarchies of bishops . In 301 the Kingdom of Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity , followed by the Georgians in 324 and the Romans in 380. In April 311, Galerius , who had previously been one of
25284-576: The title of emperor on 28 October 306. Galerius refused to recognize him but failed to unseat him. Severus was sent against Maxentius in April 307, but during the campaign, Severus' armies, previously under command of Maxentius' father Maximian, defected, and Severus was seized and imprisoned. Maximian, brought out of retirement by his son's rebellion, left for Gaul to confer with Constantine. He offered to marry his daughter Fausta to Constantine and elevate him to augustan rank. In return, Constantine would reaffirm
25456-667: The town quickly. Constantine ordered his troops not to loot the town and advanced into northern Italy. At the approach to the west of the important city of Augusta Taurinorum ( Turin , Italy), Constantine met a large force of heavily armed Maxentian cavalry. In the ensuing Battle of Turin Constantine's army encircled Maxentius' cavalry, flanked them with his own cavalry, and dismounted them with blows from his soldiers' iron-tipped clubs. Constantine's armies emerged victorious. Turin refused to give refuge to Maxentius' retreating forces, opening its gates to Constantine instead. Other cities of
25628-445: The two augusti fought against one another at the Battle of Cibalae , with Constantine being victorious. They clashed again at the Battle of Mardia in 317 and agreed to a settlement in which Constantine's sons Crispus and Constantine II , and Licinius' son Licinius Junior were made caesars . After this arrangement, Constantine ruled the dioceses of Pannonia and Macedonia and took residence at Sirmium , whence he could wage war on
25800-401: The winter of 306–307. He drove them back beyond the Rhine and captured kings Ascaric and Merogais ; the kings and their soldiers were fed to the beasts of Trier Amphitheater in the adventus (arrival) celebrations which followed. Constantine began a major expansion of Trier. He strengthened the circuit wall around the city with military towers and fortified gates, and he began building
25972-487: Was Latin , and during his public speeches he needed Greek translators. In April 286, Diocletian declared Maximian , another colleague from Illyricum, his co-emperor. Each emperor would have his own court, his own military and administrative faculties, and each would rule with a separate praetorian prefect as chief lieutenant. Maximian ruled in the West, from his capitals at Mediolanum ( Milan , Italy) or Augusta Treverorum ( Trier , Germany), while Diocletian ruled in
26144-568: Was He of like or similar nature to God ( homoiousian ), as maintained by the semi-Arians. The word anomoean comes from Greek ἀ(ν)- ( an- ) 'not' and ὅμοιος ( omoios ) 'similar', thus 'different; dissimilar'. In the 4th century, during the reign of Constantius II , this was the name by which the followers of Aëtius and Eunomius were described. The term heterousian derives from Greek ἑτεροούσιος , heterooúsios 'differing in substance' from ἕτερος , héteros 'another' and οὐσία , ousía 'substance, being'. The semi-Arians condemned
26316-565: Was accepted as ecumenical in the West. The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church , particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. The term is used of writers and teachers of the Church, not necessarily saints . Teachers particularly are also known as doctors of the Church , although Athanasius called them men of little intellect . Late Antique Christianity produced
26488-445: Was an Incarnation of God that had taken human form. The most persistent debate was that between the homoousian view (the Father and the Son are one and the same, eternal) and the Arian view (the Father and the Son are separate, but both divine). This controversy led to Constantine's calling a council meeting at Nicaea in 325. Christological debates raged throughout the 4th century with emperors becoming ever more involved with
26660-564: Was born on 27 February, c. AD 272 in the city of Naissus , a time where the unity of the Empire was threatened by the breakaway wars of the Palmyrene Empire . The city—which is modern day Niš in Serbia —was located in Dardania within Moesia Superior . His father was Flavius Constantius an Illyrian who was born in the same region, and a native of the province of Moesia. His original full name, as well as that of his father,
26832-536: Was called to become Bishop of Tours in 372, where he established a monastery at Marmoutiers on the opposite bank of the Loire River , a few miles upstream from the city. His monastery was laid out as a colony of hermits rather than as a single integrated community. John Cassian began his monastic career at a monastery in Palestine and Egypt around 385 to study monastic practice there. In Egypt he had been attracted to
27004-417: Was expressed in the description of Lérins by Rutilius Namatianus , who served as prefect of Rome in 414: Lérins became, in time, a center of monastic culture and learning, and many later monks and bishops would pass through Lérins in the early stages of their career. Honoratus was called to be Bishop of Arles and was succeeded in that post by another monk from Lérins. Lérins was aristocratic in character, as
27176-419: Was historically significant because it was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. With the creation of the Nicene Creed , a precedent was established for subsequent general councils to create a statement of belief and canons which were intended to become guidelines for doctrinal orthodoxy and a source of unity for the whole of Christendom –
27348-511: Was its founder, and was closely tied to urban bishoprics. In 331, Constantine I commissioned Eusebius to deliver fifty Christian Bibles for the Church of Constantinople . Athanasius ( Apol. Const. 4 ) recorded Alexandrian scribes around 340 preparing Bibles. Little else is known, though there is plenty of speculation. For example, it is speculated that this may have provided motivation for canon lists , and that Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus are examples of these Bibles. Together with
27520-404: Was killed in 326. Thus Constantine became the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. Diocletian had chosen Nicomedia in the East as his capital during the Tetrarchy —not far from Byzantium, well situated to defend Thrace, Asia, and Egypt, all of which had required his military attention. Constantine had recognised the shift of the empire from the remote and depopulated West to the richer cities of
27692-439: Was lost under Maxentius, recalling political exiles, and releasing Maxentius' imprisoned opponents. An extensive propaganda campaign followed, during which Maxentius' image was purged from all public places. He was written up as a "tyrant" and set against an idealised image of Constantine the "liberator". Eusebius is the best representative of this strand of Constantinian propaganda. Maxentius' rescripts were declared invalid, and
27864-685: Was nonetheless a prominent member of the court: he fought for Diocletian and Galerius in Asia and served in a variety of tribunates ; he campaigned against barbarians on the Danube in 296 and fought the Persians under Diocletian in Syria in 297, as well as under Galerius in Mesopotamia in 298–299. By late 305, he had become a tribune of the first order, a tribunus ordinis primi . Constantine had returned to Nicomedia from
28036-528: Was not yet a Christian. He probably judged it a more sensible policy than open persecution and a way to distinguish himself from the "great persecutor" Galerius. He decreed a formal end to persecution and returned to Christians all that they had lost during them. Constantine was largely untried and had a hint of illegitimacy about him; he relied on his father's reputation in his early propaganda, which gave as much coverage to his father's deeds as to his. His military skill and building projects, however, soon gave
28208-469: Was open, fluid, and socially mobile; in it, Constantine could mix with intellectuals both pagan and Christian. He may have attended the lectures of Lactantius, a Christian scholar of Latin in the city. Because Diocletian did not completely trust Constantius—none of the Tetrarchs fully trusted their colleagues—Constantine was held as something of a hostage, a tool to ensure Constantius' best behavior. Constantine
28380-505: Was properly worshiped in his empire; what proper worship consisted of was the responsibility of the church. Constantine had commissioned more than one investigation into the Donatist issues and they all ruled in support of the Catholic cause, yet the Donatists refused to submit to either imperial or ecclesiastical authority. For a Roman emperor, that was sufficient cause to act. Brown says Roman authorities had shown no hesitation in "taking out"
28552-476: Was proposed that a new Eastern capital should represent the integration of the East into the Roman Empire as a whole, as a centre of learning, prosperity, and cultural preservation for the whole of the Eastern Roman Empire. Among the various locations proposed for this alternative capital, Constantine appears to have toyed earlier with Serdica (present-day Sofia ), as he was reported saying that " Serdica
28724-445: Was put into a fury by the message; he almost set the portrait and messenger on fire. His advisers calmed him and argued that outright denial of Constantine's claims would mean certain war. Galerius was compelled to compromise: he granted Constantine the title "caesar" rather than "augustus" (the latter office went to Severus instead). Wishing to make it clear that he alone gave Constantine legitimacy, Galerius personally sent Constantine
28896-422: Was the first ecumenical conference of bishops of the Catholic Church (Catholic as in 'universal', not just Roman) and most significantly resulted in the first declaration of a uniform Christian doctrine . The purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements in the Church of Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in relationship to the Father; in particular, whether Jesus was of the same substance as God
29068-532: Was the first to fall. Constantine the Great Constantine I ( Latin : Flavius Valerius Constantinus ; 27 February c. 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great , was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity . He played a pivotal role in elevating the status of Christianity in Rome, decriminalizing Christian practice and ceasing Christian persecution in
29240-524: Was the last emperor to rule over a united Roman Empire; following his death, the division into western and eastern halves, each under its own emperor, became permanent. By the end of the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire had been overrun by the Germanic tribes, while the Eastern Roman Empire (known also as the Byzantine Empire ) continued to thrive. Thus, the political unity of the Roman Empire
29412-459: Was the son of Flavius Constantius , a Roman army officer of Illyrian origin who had been one of the four rulers of the Tetrarchy . His mother, Helena , was a Greek woman of low birth, probably from Asia Minor in modern Turkey . Later canonised as a saint , she is traditionally credited for the conversion of her son. Constantine served with distinction under the Roman emperors Diocletian and Galerius . He began his career by campaigning in
29584-404: Was then succeeded by an emperor with distinctively pro Christian leanings, Constantine the Great . Christian sources record that Constantine experienced a dramatic event in 312 at the Battle of Milvian Bridge , after which Constantine claimed the emperorship in the West. According to these sources, Constantine looked up to the sun before the battle and saw a cross of light above it, and with it
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