THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD IN LATE ANTIQUITYThe rise of bishopsAs Constantine had realized, the network of bishoprics gave the Christian
church a huge advantage over its rivals. Many of the new churches were the
preserve of local bishops, and provided the setting for the moral, social and
religious teaching which was a central part of their role.^26 We know of many
powerful bishops during this period. Their influence extended well beyond
what in modern terms would be purely church matters: Constantine had set
a precedent in giving them secular jurisdiction and guaranteeing the mainte-
nance of bishops and clergy, as well as releasing them from tax obligations.
This was an exciting development at the time for bishops such as Eusebius
of Caesarea, but soon put them in a complex position vis-à-vis the emperor,
in that only the orthodox (that is, those officially approved at any one time)
benefited.^27 In many individual areas they took on a leadership role which
increased in scope in proportion to the difficulties experienced in keeping up
the civil administration. In Ambrose of Milan we see an ambitious churchman
keen to consolidate his own position, and who was able at times to exercise
great influence over the Emperor Theodosius I.^28 Another ‘political’ bishop
was John Chrysostom at Constantinople (Chapter 1); however, Gregory of
Nazianzus, his predecessor as bishop of Constantinople, chose to retire under
pressure of complaints about his election, and John himself was forced into
Figure 3.3 The huge site of Palmyra, a distinctive Nabataean and Roman city built in an oasis
of the Syrian desert between Damascus and the Euphates