Constantine and the Established Church

Lecture 14

I

n the previous lecture, we traced the steps by which the Roman Empire
turned from a persecutor of the Christian religion to its protector and
patron. The personal religious convictions of the imperial patron,
Constantine, were never entirely clear, yet he seemed genuinely devoted to
the cause of Christianity. As head of state, he showed significant patronage
to the Christian religion and referred to himself as the “servant of God,” but
he never exercised the same direct control of Christianity that the Roman
emperors had over worship in the empire. As we will see in this lecture, the
efforts of Constantine’s successors to impose Christianity on the populace
further indicate that the transition was neither natural nor easy.

Constantine’s Sponsorship of Christianity
• Constantine’s personal religious outlook seemed to combine
elements of superstition and syncretism. He was baptized as
a Christian only at the last possible moment, on his deathbed.
Further, the morality of his politics left much to be desired: He was
as ruthless, indeed murderous, in pursuit of his ambitions as any
other despot. Yet he seemed genuinely devoted to the cause of the
Christian religion.

•    More significant, though, than his personal dispositions are

the political actions Constantine took to secure the social

and political peace of the empire through sponsorship of the

once-despised “superstition.”

o According to Eusebius, his biographer, Constantine wanted all

to forsake “the temples of deceit” and enter “the radiant house

of truth,” but he continued a policy of religious freedom for

all, including freedom of public observance. He maintained the

title of Pontifex Maximus and continued to issue some coins

with polytheistic images.