Constantine Embracing Christianity Essay

While Constantine I ruled the Roman Empire, Christianity became the overriding faith of Rome. 5 While Constantine I had been exposed to Christianity during childhood through his mother, Helena, he was never a true believer. Many Christian sources write that Constantine received a revelation in 312 before the Battle of Milvian Bridge.

The new faith that brought a message and established the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the faith that Constantine adopted as a child from his mother. Christianity during Constantine’s reign established much dominance over other religions and was the main reason for influence of the Christian. Christianity in the Roman world had many perils from gladiatorial battles, to forms of charity which affected the Roman world for good (McGiffert, 34). Charity became with

Besides Constantine’s hunger for power, there was another detrimental flaw in his strategy for the spread of Christianity. According to many historians, Constantine did not actually believe in the Christian religion. Although he made it a priority to spread Christianity through the Roman Empire, He continued to worship the Sun God. According to The Impact of Constantine on Christianity there was,

Constantine the ruler of the Roman Empire had been surrounded by many controversies during his reign (Cameron, 14). He was the son of a great warrior and he defeated Manutius a great ruler at Milia Bridge. He had gained much respect and admiration among the Romans as a fair ruler. He emerged as a ruler who supported Christianity and then became popular as a Christian ruler himself. His reign and victory over the Roman Empire is a significant event in the history of Christian religion. With the Edict of Milan in 313 Christianity was recognized as a religion, and the followers were free to practice Christianity without fear. It has been argued that Constantine failed to treat different religions equally as paganism (Cameron, 57). Constantine also sponsored churches, promoted Christians to high government ranks, exempted taxes for the clergy. In the latter days of his rule Constantine had a stricter approach towards Christianity and professed that there is one God, the Christian God. He rewarded building temples into churches. He played a key role in framing important church policies namely The Council of Arles, A.D. 314 and The Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325.

Constantine is one of the most influential and important leaders known in history. Credited for ushering the spread of Christianity, it is often wondered if Constantine truly had a passion for the religion or if he embellished his positive feelings for the Christian faith to gain power and political advancement. Arguments for both sides are often debated by modern historians. Some believe that Constantine craved power and used religion to gain a following and build an empire. Others believe that Constantine did in fact have a passion for Christianity and simply used it to his advantage.

The first clear instance where Christianity is seen in Constantine's life is during his campaign against Maxentius. In the spring of 311, when Constantine was marching to Rome to battle against Maxentius, he saw a vision in the sky, a bright cross along with the words "by this sign conquer." Later that night, he had a dream in which God told him to use that sign as a safeguard to use in all of his future battles. Constantine awoke and immediately ordered his troops

One of the Most monumental moments for the Christian Church was the conversion of Constantine in 312 AD. This drastically changed christians lives, before they had suffered huge amounts of persecution. In Rome today still stands the Coliseum, to which the christians were fed to the lions as entertainment. Constantine, under the influence of his epiphany, changed this. He believed his victory at the battle of Milvian Bridge was a sign from God and as a result he enforced christianity as the main religion of Rome . Constantine, was inspired by his new found faith, four main aspects made Chrisianity far more attractive to him than other pagan religions. Christianity was a well established church, it had solid roots in its faith and beliefs. In comparison with other churches this was

Having received instructions in a dream one night, he painted a Christian symbol on his troops’ shields to fight in the name of God (National Geographic). He credited his winnings to his support of the Christian God and to his conversion to Christianity. A statue was built in Rome that showed Constantine himself holding aloft a cross and the legend “By this saving sign I have delivered your city from the tyrant and restored liberty to the Senate and people of Rome” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Constantine firmly believed that he was helped by the power of God and often credited in letters that his faith in Christianity helped him to succeed. By promoting Christianity through his political favor and building statues showing his support around Rome, this brought on congregants whom he used to unify Rome and legitimize of his reign as the Christian

Even though Constantine was the first emperor to introduce Rome to Christianity, Rome wasn’t completely Christian. Pagan was still practiced and the Christian church was built outside of Rome that way he didn’t offend his people since a few upper-class man were still pagan. The whole irony of this is that he wasn’t baptized yet and he was still practicing paganizing while claiming to be Christian. While on his journey he noticed he was starting to feel weak and after a time his illness started getting worse and had to halt his campaign against Persia. Constantine died on May 22, 337, in Ancyrona, near Nicomedia, Bithynia at the approximate age of 57. Before dying, he got baptized so he could rest in peace. (Constantine I

The history of religion continues to play an important role in defining why certain aspects of religion are the way they are today. Understanding religion’s history can also help one appreciate the importance, value, and determination that certain individuals went through in order for that particular religion to gain freedom and acceptance in society. Throughout history, Christianity has shown exactly this. By learning about its history, one can gain an understanding of how it emerged into being one of the most popular religions in the world. Furthermore, better understanding of the religion, both historically and contemporarily, can help dispel any negative preconceived notions about Christianity.

Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity. He started his reign in 307 AD. During this time the Roman Empire was still composed mainly of pagans. Although the population of Christians was on the rise, in the beginning of the fourth century, Christians made up only 10 percent of the population in the Roman Empire. There were approximately five million Christians in the Roman Empire meaning that they were still the minority (Waldron). His conversion was an important turning point not only for Christians but also for the Roman Empire as a whole. Although most Romans still believed in Greco-Roman religions, Constantine decided to become a Christian because he knew that it would be beneficial for his role as emperor. His conversion was prompted by his desire to end the tetrarchy structure of the Roman Empire and to become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. The story of Constantine’s conversion was told through Eusebius of Caersera. His recount of the story is skewed by his bias. In order to show a more holistic view of the story I will be comparing his account to the account of another historian named Andreas Alföldi. The comparison will show that Constantine had other motives for converting to Christianity. Constantine’s decision to become a Christian was influenced by numerous external factors. He emulated the monotheistic nature of Christianity and used it as the foundation of his reign and used Christianity to advance his political agenda.

It seems that the moment one persecution was being laid to rest another developed. Such persecution created that Christians do not trusted the government back then. Due to figure out how the persecution against Christian presented to be over, it is important to discuss Constantine conversion and establishment. E.H. Brookes discusses, “the conversion of Constantine and the establishment.” The author explains all the main dates that took place after the conversion of the Emperor Constantine.

The conversion of Constantine played a significant role in a variety of ways within the history church of the Church. As such, some of the more prominent ones will be discussed herein. First, the Church moved from behind the curtain to center stage of culture and history. Prior to Constantine’s conversion, Christianity suffered tremendously at the hands of the Roman Empire often because they were seen as “atheist” and in opposition to the traditional and glorious Roman ways. However, through the conversion of Constantine, Christianity was not longer considered the religion of the outcast and uneducated. Now, during the reign of Constantine it was all but the official religion of the Roman Empire, and even some years later it became the official religion of the empire under the reign of Theodosius. Christians began to be placed in positions of authority and honor. In turn, there was an increasing respect for the once disparaged religion. Second, and closely akin, due to the close relationship of Church and State, Christianity would move from a place of persecuted and poverty to a place of authority and wealth, even, sadly, at times persecuting others. Eventually, this budding

In 312 CE, Roman Emperor Constantine achieved a victory at the Milvian Bridge. The night previous to this battle, Constantine dreamt of a cross inscribed in hoc signo vinces, in this sign you will conquer. As trivial as this dream may seem, it ultimately signified the beginning of the rise of Christianity. With his victory, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and supported and encouraged it throughout the empire. In 313 CE, another milestone occurred as the emperors, both Constantine I of the West and Licinius of the East, signed the Edict of Milan declaring that the Diocletianic Persecution would end, and Christianity would be tolerated in the Roman Empire. This religion began to flourish as people quickly converted from pagan

Christianity’s history is filled with division, controversy, and conflict. One of the most important people who contributed to the lasting success of this diverse religion was Constantine. While legalizing Christianity in Roman society, he founded the capital of the eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople. Because of this and other great accomplishments, Constantine appropriately earned the name Constantine the Great.