7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7could not be readmitted to the church, an opinion not
held by the rest of the church. Despite Constantine’s
interventions into the matter from 313 to the early 320s,
the schism did not end in his lifetime.
Constantine also became involved in the Arian heresy,
another ecclesiastical issue. Arius, a priest of Alexandria,
maintained that Christ was not the equal of the Father
but was created by Him. Athanasius, leader of the bish-
ops in the West, claimed that the Father and Son, though
distinct, were equal, and of the same substance. The quar-
rel threatened to divide the Christian church. To settle
the matter, Constantine called together a worldwide
council of bishops at Nicaea in 325. However, the conclu-
sions reached at the Council of Nicaea did not resolve
the dispute.
Constantine was an earnest student of his religion. In
later years he commissioned new copies of the Bible for
the growing congregations at Constantinople. He com-
posed a special prayer for his troops and went on campaigns
with a mobile chapel in a tent. He issued numerous laws
relating to Christian practice and susceptibilities. For
instance, he abolished the penalty of crucifixion and the
practice of branding certain criminals; enjoined the obser-
vance of Sunday and saints’ days; and extended privileges
to the clergy while suppressing at least some offensive
pagan practices. Many churches throughout the empire
owed their development, directly or indirectly, to
Constantine’s interest or sponsorship.
The greatest political crisis of Constantine’s reign
occurred while he was visiting Rome in 326. In his absence
from the East, and for reasons that remain obscure,
Constantine had his eldest son, the deputy emperor
Crispus, and his own wife Fausta, Crispus’s stepmother,
slain. The visit to Rome was also not a success. Constantine’s
refusal to take part in a pagan procession offended the