Chapter 10

A Spiritual Blender

After becoming Emperor, Constantine issued the "Edict of Milan" ñ a mandate of
toleration allowing for more religious freedom throughout the empire. 1 This Edict
opened the door for the rituals and practices of Pagan Rome to mix with the
beliefs of Christianity.

One of the primary goals of the new Emperor was unity! He was obsessed with
the idea. He desired unity in politics, religion and territory. A state religion that
promoted this concept of togetherness was highly desired. The cult of Sol Invictus
was the perfect compromise. Similar to one of the basic tenets of Christianity,
those that followed ìthe Invincible Sunî were monotheistic, claiming that there is
only one god. But any similarities with true Christianity stopped there. The god of
the cult of Sol Invictus was the sun, and could be easily identified with Apollo,
Kronos, etc. By choosing the sun cult as his religion, Constantine was able to
show dedication to all religions, claiming that the gods were all the same under
different names.

Although it has been claimed that Constantine made Christianity the state
religion, this is a falsehood. The state religion that Constantine instituted was that
of Sol Invictus.

ìIn the interests of unity Constantine deliberately chose the

blur the distinctions among Christianity, Mithraism and Sol

Invictus ñ deliberately chose not to see any contradictions

among them. Thus, he tolerated a deified Jesus as an earthly

manifestation of Sol Invictus. Thus he would build a

ìChristianî church and at the same time, [erect] statues of the

mother goddess Cybele and of Sol Invictus, the sun god ó the

latter being an image of himself, bearing his features.î 2

(emphasis mine)

Those Christians not willing to risk all for the sake of Christ or those that were
looking for some relief from the persecution welcomed this move by the Emperor.
In the "spirit of unity", they began fellowshipping with those whose core beliefs
were opposed to true Christianity.

This could very well be called the first step towards ecumenism* and the mix of
paganism with Christianity was felt almost immediately.

ìWith the promulgation of the Edict of Milan in 313Öpagan

cultural features of sun-symbolism were no longer

threatening. They could be freely absorbed by the church.î 3

*ìThe beliefs, principles, or practices of those who desire and work for world-wide unity and cooperation
among all Christian churchesî Funk and Wagnallís New International Dictionary of the English Language