Jesus, Prophet of Islam - The Islamic Bulletin

Early Unitarians in Christianity 87

What more can be done by me, in accord with my con­

stant practice and with the very office of a prince, than

after expelling error and destroying rash opinion, to

cause all men to argue together to follow true religion

and simplicity of life, and to render to Almighty God

the worship which is His due. 7

It is clear that once the exarnple of Jesus was forgotten or ignored,
then 'true religion' becarne a matter of opinion -and there was no
opinion that Constantine favoured more than his own.Jt was only
by approaching Christianity in this manner that Constantine could
take such a keen interest in the internal affairs of a religion which
he did not yet follow. Constantine regarded himself as a man who
spoke with greater authority than the leaders of the Churches, and
seems to have regarded himself more as God's own vicar than as
an ordinary mortal. The Pauline bishops who had sat on the tribu­
nal at Arles appear to have been of the sarne opinion as Constan­
tine. They claimed that their 'devising' was recorded 'in the pres­
ence of the Holy Ghost and His angels.' 8 Yetwhen their ruling was
ignored, it was to the Emperor that they tumed for help.
As it happened, Constantine did not make the joumey to Africa
that he had planned. The Donatists had become so strong, he was
toId, that it was inadvisable to take part personally in the dispute
between Donatus and Cacealian. For should his personal interven­
tion meet with failure, it would be a great blow to his prestige.
Instead, he issued a decree condernning Donatus and drawing his
attention to 'the advantage of worshipping the 5upreme Deity in
the proper manner.' 9 When this was ignored, 'a most severe law'
was dispatched to Africa: the churches held by the Donatists were
to be confiscated, and their leaders were to be sent into exile.
Cacealian at first tried to bribe the leaders of the Donatist Church,
but without success. They defied the imperial command, ignored
his bribes and made ms offers of money publicly known. Cacealian
thenresorted to force, and was soonbranded as'amanmore cruel
than a butcher and more brutal than a tyrant.' 10
The Church of Rome, which had by now adopted the epithet
'Catholic' to indicate the universality of its approach in the wor­
ship of God, appealed to the Donatists to unite. The appeal had no
effect, and Donatus refused to hand over his churches to Cacealian.
Finally, the Roman army carne into action: