Eusebius in his Church History recorded the Christian jubilation: "The whole human race was freed from the oppression of the tyrants. We especially, who had fixed our hopes upon the Christ of God, had gladness unspeakable. Constantine's faith was still imprecise, but few questioned its authenticity. In Constantine sent a message to the assembled bishops at the Council of Arles. He wrote about how God does not allow people "to wander in the shadows" but reveals to them salvation: "I have experienced this in others and in myself, for I walked not in the way of righteousness.
For a decade, though, he wavered. For example, on the Arch of Constantine, which celebrates his Milvian Bridge victory, pagan sacrifices usually depicted on Roman monuments are absent. Then again, there are still no Christian symbols, and Victory and the Sun God are honored.
He had no desire to impose his newfound faith as a state religion. Only through the years did his Christian convictions grow. In Constantine triumphed over Licinius and became the sole ruler of the Roman world. The victory enabled Constantine to move the seat of government permanently to the East, to the ancient Greek city of Byzantium now Istanbul.
He enlarged and enriched the city at enormous expense and built magnificent churches throughout the East. The new capital was dedicated as New Rome, but everyone soon called the city Constantinople. Christians were more populous and vocal in the East than they were in Rome, so during the last 14 years of his reign, "Bullneck" could openly proclaim himself a Christian.
He proceeded to create the conditions we call "state-church" and bequeathed the ideal to Christians for over a thousand years. In the Arian controversy threatened to split the newly united empire.
To settle the matter, Constantine called together a council of the bishops at Nicea, a city near the capital. He ran the meeting himself. Presiding at the council, Constantine was magnificent: arranging elaborate ceremony, dramatic entrances and processions, and splendid services. He was also a gifted mediator, now bringing his skill in public relations to the management of church affairs. Unfortunately he could not follow abstract arguments or subtle issues and often found himself at a great disadvantage at these councils.
Constantine waited until death drew near to be baptized as a Christian. And by establishing a capital at Byzantium, which became Constantinople and then Istanbul, he set into motion events that would break the empire, split the Christian church, and influence European history for a millennium.
Constantine's mother, Helena, was a barmaid and his father a military officer named Constantius. His father would rise to become the Emperor Constantius I and Constantine's mother would be canonized as St.
Helena, who was thought to have found a portion of Jesus' cross. By the time Constantius became governor of Dalmatia, he required a wife of pedigree and found one in Theodora, a daughter of Emperor Maximian.
Constantine and Helena were shuffled off to the eastern emperor, Diocletian, in Nicomedia. Upon his father's death on July 25, A.
Constantine wasn't the only claimant. In , Emperor Diocletian had established the Tetrarchy , which gave four men rule over a quadrant each of the Roman Empire, with two senior emperors and two non-hereditary juniors. Constantius had been one of the senior emperors.
Constantine's most powerful rivals for his father's position were Maximian and his son, Maxentius, who had assumed power in Italy, controlling Africa, Sardinia, and Corsica as well. Constantine raised an army from Britain that included Germans and Celts, which the Byzantine historian Zosimus said included 90, foot soldiers and 8, cavalry. Maxentius raised an army of , foot soldiers and 18, horsemen.
The story goes that Constantine had a vision of the words in hoc signo vinces "in this sign you will conquer" upon a cross, and he swore that, should he triumph against great odds, he would pledge himself to Christianity. Constantine actually resisted baptism until he was on his deathbed.
Wearing a sign of a cross, Constantine won, and the following year he made Christianity legal throughout the Empire with the Edict of Milan. After Maxentius' defeat, Constantine and his brother-in-law, Licinius, split the empire between them. Constantine ruled the West, Licinius the East. The two remained rivals over a decade of uneasy truces before their animosity culminated in the Battle of Chrysopolis, in Licinius was routed and Constantine became sole Emperor of Rome.
To celebrate his victory, Constantine created Constantinople on the site of Byzantium, which had been Licinius' stronghold. He enlarged the city, adding fortifications, a vast hippodrome for chariot racing, and a number of temples. Who is Constantine in the Bible?
Why did Constantine change the Sabbath to Sunday? What caused Christianity to spread? Where is Christianity found today? Is a patriarch a bishop? Who were the 4 patriarchs?
Who was the first patriarch of Judaism? What religion was Abraham? What are the first five books of the Bible called?
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