Constantine was and still is a key player in Christendom as we know it today. His influence began well before he became the sole Roman Emperor in AD 324. He had a Christian mother, Helena, and a father, Constantius, who was tolerant of Christian but was not himself a follower of Christ. Constantine seemed to love the pomp and luxary that the world had to offer.[1]Early in his reign (AD 274 – 337), he and Licinius were co-emperors of the empire. Constantine reigned in the west and Licinius in the east. Constantine’s tactics throughout his reign always seemed to be very calculated, tactical and political. Maxentius, his neighboring rival just to the east threatened his control of the western empire. Just before the battle at the Milvian Bridge, Constantine had his infamous vision from God, as he believed. He saw the “chi-rho”, the first two letters of Christ in Greek, positioned together to look like a cross. He heard a voice in this vision telling him, “By this conquer.” He took this to be a sign from God to make an alliance with Christianity in order to bring him victory. Victory came over Maxentius and Constantine decided to make Christianity his “official” religion. (AD 312)[2]
The next year, AD 313, he and Licinius got together and created widespread tolerance of Christianity with the Edict of Milan. This effectively ended the universal persecution of the Roman Empire for the entire Church. All those in the Empire knew at this point that eventually Licinius and Constantine would have to go to war to decide who would be the empire’s sole emperor. This was finally accomplished by Constantine in AD 324. He would move his capitol to Byzantium in this year (officially became the capitol in AD 330), which would be named Constantinople after his death in AD 337, because of its central location in the Roman Empire.[3]
Constantine would make Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire in AD 324. The church was going through the Arian controversy and Constantine did not see this as a unifying force for the Empire. So, in AD 325, he called the Council of Nicea in order to get some sort of solution to the controversy. Issues discussed at the council were the ultimate deity of Christ, or whether He was the same substance or different substance of the Father (Jehovah). The council decided on the homousious of Christ, or that Christ was of the same substance of the Father, but not the same person as the Father. This would not prove to be the end of the controversy and Constantine would waiver on his support of the Arian and Nicean positions in this controversy.
Ultimately, Constantine’s effect on the church is weighty. His moves to “legalize” Christianity were more out of a political position than a religious one. However, no one other than God Himself can tell if he was a true follower of Christ or not. He continued to make pagan sacrifices after his “conversion” and continued to accept Emperor Worship from those that wished to continue to do so. He would classify himself as the “Bishop of Bishops,” indicating a desire to have the state control the affairs of the church. He would exile those that accepted the Arian position at the Council of Nicea, only to change his mind later and invite Arius back, along with his position on Christ, into the Church and exile Alexander and Athanasius, both of the Nicene persuasion.
From that point on, the church seemed to be a type of “puppet” for the Empire during Constantine’s reign. Eusebius of Cesarea, the “father of church history,” continually attempted to paint Constantine in the most positive light as possible while not making mention of his pagan sacrifices or his lust for power. In the church’s defense, however, the persecution of the Roman Empire had ended. These were times to celebrate! God had vindicated the church and released them from physical torture and fear.
This would prove to be the period that the church would change drastically. She would become focused on her power and influence in the political world and allow her leaders to raise to a position of intercessor. This is the position of Christ, not the position of a man. The ordinances that Christ commanded became sacraments that imparted salvation. The Papacy would form from this. Instead of the church being the humble servant of Christ, it would become a political giant of the world for centuries to come. As John Leeland, an 18th century pastor, said, “The darkest day of the church was when Constantine made Christianity the state religion of Rome.” [4]
[1] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 113-114.
[2] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1984), 115.
[3] Wikipedia, Constantine I, available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_(emperor); Internet.
[4] As indicated by Dr. Carl Diemer in the CHHI 520 Church History I DVD Lecture Series. Liberty University, 2005.
