Imperial Intervention II: Reshaping Christianity
Constantine (the Great) was the eldest son of the tetrarch Constantius. Excluded from
legitimate succession by the tetrarchic system, he seized the throne after his father’s
death in 306. After long debates he was accepted as a Caesarwithin the tetrarchy,
but he did not comply with its regulations. Instead, he went further, extending his
power. His main opponent in the west was Maxentius, another tetrarch’s son who had
usurped power on his part. Constantine defeated him decisively near Rome in 312.
Constantine’s personal religious convictions have often been discussed, which is a
fruitless effort. There is no serious way to discern what he “really” thought, because
all the sources we have are reflecting his representation or his image. Possibly he had
known Christianity since his youth, but he cannot have been a confessed Christian
from the beginning. It is plain from a panegyric, an oration in praise of the emperor
(Panegyrici latini6[7] 21.3–7), that he had special reverence for Apollo. His coins
show that for a certain time he made public his special relationship with Sol, who
was closely connected to Apollo.
Nevertheless, the year 312 was soon regarded as a decisive date in the develop-
ment of Constantine’s religious policy: Constantine’s Christian supporters claimed
that, inspired by a sign from God, he had made his soldiers place the chi-rho, the
symbol of Christ, on their shields, before he defeated Maxentius; the accounts by
Lact. DMP44 and Eus. V. Const.1.26 –32, 37, which is much later, again differ in
several details. Thus, his victory was ascribed to the Christian God. Henceforth
Constantine showed his support for Christianity in many regards. Even so, it is difficult
to say that he had become a Christian in 312. First of all, his main interest in the
Christian God seems to have been in his power to grant victory, which is a funda-
mentally pagan concept and not specifically Christian. Moreover, the emperor’s
politics were by no means unambiguous.
Several measures facilitated Christian life. Constantine and Licinius, who reigned
in the east, convened in Milan and agreed to release the so-called Edict of Milan in
- This granted all inhabitants of the Roman empire, specifically the Christians,
the right to worship the gods they preferred, and restored the property which had
been lost during the persecution to Christians as individuals and to the churches.
(Two letters by Licinius, which published this agreement if not in a completely iden-
tical form, have been preserved; Lact. DMP48; Eus. HE10.5.1–14.) By contrast
to the Edict of Galerius, the whole text displayed sympathy to Christianity.
In the years that followed Constantine backed Christianity in many regards, at the
same time beginning to use Christianity as a political instrument, namely against his
rival Licinius, who was soon depicted as a new persecutor. After his final victory over
Licinius in 324, Constantine was to reign as sole emperor for 13 years. The situ-
ation at the frontiers was not precarious, except for the menace of a Persian invasion
in his last years, thus giving Constantine the time to pursue his political goals within
the empire.
The emperor sustained his support for the new religion, issuing several edicts which
must have been sympathetic to Christians, such as the ban on disfiguring human
104 Hartmut Leppin