{"id":2914,"date":"2023-04-24T02:01:19","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T02:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elbespurling.com\/salvation\/?page_id=2914"},"modified":"2025-11-11T02:04:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T02:04:24","slug":"chapter-26-christianity-entrenched","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/elbespurling.com\/salvation\/?page_id=2914","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 26: Christianity Entrenched"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Chapter 26<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Christianity Entrenched<\/mark><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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A Fractured Empire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Map of the Gallic, Roman, and Palmyrene empires in 271 CE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Already weakened by invaders, plague, assassinations, and infighting, the Roman Empire faced another blow in 260 CE, when, in a tremendous defeat at Edessa in Syria, the Sassanid Persian Empire captured the Roman Emperor Valerian in battle, keeping him prisoner until his death. It was the first time Rome had faced this particular humiliation, and it was devastating to public morale. In the wake of this crisis, the empire faltered and fractured.1<\/a><\/sup>Brill\u2019s Companion to Military Defeat in Ancient Mediterranean Society. (2018). Brill.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Queen Zenobia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the west, the provinces of Gaul, Britain, and Hispania broke away to form the Gallic Empire under the rule of a German tribesman who had joined the Roman legions. Meanwhile in the east, Queen Zenobia of Palmyra in Syria revolted against Rome, and in a series of swift military victories established her own empire encompassing the provinces of Syria, Egypt, Palestine, and half of Asia Minor. The Roman Empire proper was consequently reduced to Italy, Greece, north Africa, and half of Asia Minor.2<\/a><\/sup>“Rome’s Imperial Crisis of the Third Century”. Brewminate: A Bold Blend of News and Ideas. https:\/\/brewminate.com\/romes-imperial-crisis-of-the-third-century\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Map of the Roman Empire governed in four parts in 293 CE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From 270 to 275 CE, however, the talented military tactician and new Roman emperor Aurelian secured the northern border of Italy from tribal invaders, then quickly set about reconquering the lands of the Palmyrene and Gallic upstarts, restoring the empire to its former size, and keeping the Sassanid Persians at bay in the east.3<\/a><\/sup>Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2024, February 14). Aurelian. Encyclopedia Britannica. https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Aurelian<\/a><\/span> But with the same pressures facing Aurelian\u2019s successors, the unity did not last. In 286 CE, emperor Diocletian considered the sprawling Roman realm too unwieldy for a single ruler, and appointed his friend Maximian to govern the western half of the empire while he retained rule in the east. This scheme was further modified in 293 CE, with each half of the empire divided again into north-south regions so that four co-rulers governed.4<\/a><\/sup>Rees, R. (2004). Diocletian and the Tetrarchy. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Constantine’s Birth and Early Career<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artist depiction of Constantius and Helena<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At this time there was a Roman military leader from Dacia (in the Balkan region of what is today Bulgaria) named Constantius5<\/a><\/sup>From Roman to Merovingian Gaul: A Reader. (1999). University of Toronto Press.<\/span> who had been a leader in Aurelian\u2019s successful campaign against the Empress Zenobia.6<\/a><\/sup>Potter, D. S. (2004). The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180-395. Routledge.<\/span> During his time in the east, he began a relationship with a woman of humble background named Helena from the region of Bithynia in northern Asia Minor.7<\/a><\/sup>Drijvers, J. W. (1992). Helena Augusta : the mother of Constantine the Great and the legend of her finding of the true cross. E.J. Brill.<\/span> This is one of the few areas of the empire that may have, by this point, had a majority Christian population, though it is unlikely that Helena herself was a convert at this time. When Helena gave birth to a son, he was given the name Constantine in his father\u2019s honor. But 17 years later when Constantius was elevated to the position of co-emperor of the west in 293 CE, he found it politically expedient to marry the daughter of the emperor in Rome, and so had Helena dismissed from his court and sent away.8<\/a><\/sup>Potter, D. S. (2004). The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180-395. Routledge.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Christians forced to make offerings on behalf of the emperor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 303 CE, in another attempt to promote Roman religious unity, the four emperors agreed to enact a second\u2014and what would become the final\u2014empire-wide persecution of all aberrant religions, falling hardest on the growing Christian minority population.9<\/a><\/sup>Lane Fox, R. (2006). Pagans and Christians: In the Mediterranean World from the Second Century AD to the Conversion of Constantine. Penguin Adult.<\/span> And so for the second time in 50 years, the devotees of Jesus were forced on pain of imprisonment or execution to sacrifice to the Roman gods. In some areas, churches were burned and Christians removed from political offices.10<\/a><\/sup>Barnes, T. D. (1981). Constantine and Eusebius. United Kingdom: Harvard University Press.<\/span> But enforcement of the new laws varied widely in the four quarters of the realm, with Emperor Constantius in Rome notably lax in his punishments, having formed political alliances with local bishops.11<\/a><\/sup>Potter, D. S. (2004). The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180-395. Routledge.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of a Pict\u2014an ancient Celtic people living in what is today Scotland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Four-way shared governance of the far-flung empire lasted only through the first decade of the 300s CE. At that time, Constantius in the west, having subdued the various Germanic tribes as far as the Rhine river, was in the midst of a military campaign to the north of Britain, attacking the Picts who lived beyond Hadrian\u2019s Wall in what is today Scotland, and was joined in this venture by his now 33-year-old son Constantine. While wintering with his army in the city of York in 306 CE, however, Constantius took ill and, just before his death, named his son as his successor.12<\/a><\/sup>Potter, D. S. (2004). The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180-395. Routledge.<\/span> Constantine remained in Britain to complete the campaign, and grew stronger and more popular as he moved back to the continent to continue attacking the Germanic tribes his father had fought before him.13<\/a><\/sup>Farr, E. (1873). The national history of England. United Kingdom.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Constantine and Fausta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Constantine’s succession was not universally recognized among the tetrarchy, and the balance of power between the four co-rulers became destabilized. Hoping to keep peaceful relations with Constantine, Emperor Maximian successfully arranged to have his daughter Fausta marry the new ruler.14<\/a><\/sup>Barnes, T. D. (1981). Constantine and Eusebius. United Kingdom: Harvard University Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Constantine leading his army across the Alps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, relations between the two co-rulers swiftly soured, forcing the 60-year-old Maximian to flee to Massilia (Marseille, France) where he was then captured in 310 CE, and forced by Constantine to commit suicide. A quarter of Constantine\u2019s army then crossed the Alps into northern Italy in 312 CE, directly threatening to seize control of the city of Rome. Seeking justice against his father\u2019s killer, Maximian\u2019s son Maxentius declared war on Constantine, and brought an army loyal to his father to meet the invader at the Tiber River where the two factions fought the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge.15<\/a><\/sup>Barnes, T. D. (1981). Constantine and Eusebius. Harvard University Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Eusebius of Caesarea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two early accounts written by Christian authors make no mention of Constantine having experienced a religious vision on the eve of battle. But a later account by Eusebius, the Roman Catholic bishop of Caesarea in Palestine during these years\u2014whose reliability as a historian has been questioned in modern times16<\/a><\/sup>Eisenman, R. H. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. United Kingdom: Penguin Publishing Group.<\/span>\u2014claims to have heard directly from the emperor on the matter.17<\/a><\/sup>Bardill, J. (2012). Constantine, Divine Emperor of the Christian Golden Age. Cambridge University Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Constantine\u2019s vision of the Chi Rho symbol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In this later account, it is said that while marching with his army, Constantine looked at the sun in the sky and saw the words in hoc signo vinces<\/em> (\u201cwith this sign, you shall conquer\u201d). The following night, the emperor is said to have had a dream in which Jesus showed him a symbol of the first two letters of the word \u201cChrist\u201d in Greek (a P and an X) transposed into what has become known as the Chi-Rho. Another Christian author of the time named Lactantius makes the additional claim that, having seen this Chi-Rho symbol in a dream the night before the battle, Constantine ordered his army to paint it on their shields.18<\/a><\/sup>Barnes, T. D. (1981). Constantine and Eusebius. Harvard University Press.<\/span> (The standard cross that is now by far the most ubiquitous symbol of the Christian faith was not yet in use as a popular Christian symbol up to this time period.)19<\/a><\/sup>Stranger, J. (2007). “Archeological evidence of Jewish believers?”. In Skarsaune, O. (ed.). Jewish Believers in Jesus The Early Centuries. Baker Academic.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Constantine\u2019s and Maxentius\u2019s forces in battle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The battle itself was brief and decisive. Maxentius and his soldiers were forced into a retreat across the damaged bridge where he and many of his men were driven into the river and drowned.20<\/a><\/sup>Nixon, C. E. V., Rodgers, B. S. (1994). In Praise of Later Roman Emperors: The Panegyrici Latini. United Kingdom: University of California Press.<\/span> His corpse was then fished out of the water, and Constantine ordered Maxentius\u2019s head to be cut off and paraded through Rome.21<\/a><\/sup>Odahl, C. (2003). Constantine and the Christian Empire. Taylor & Francis.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Constantine’s victory parade in Rome<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If the accounts of Constantine\u2019s vision of Jesus before the battle has any validity (and was not mere retrospective embellishment of history), it was still apparently not enough to actually convert him to the faith. But something had certainly shifted in Rome\u2019s attitude toward the growing religion. In 313 CE, Constantine met with Licinius, the emperor in the east, and agreed to issue what was known as the Edict of Milan, granting full tolerance and full legal status to adherents of all faiths, including Christianity. This put an official end to any and all religious persecutions being carried out in any part of the empire.22<\/a><\/sup>Pohlsander, H. A. (2004). The Emperor Constantine. Routledge.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Constantine\u2019s Reunification<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artist depiction of the Basilica of Maxentius in Constantine\u2019s day and how it appears in modern times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ruling from Rome, Constantine established himself as a builder, making grand improvements to the Circus Maximus chariot racing stadium, allowing it to hold up to 150,000 spectators, possibly even 300,000 at most (historians’ estimates vary wildly)23<\/a><\/sup>Circus Maximus. UNRV Roman History. Pagan City and Christian Capital: Rome in the Fourth Century. (2002). OUP Oxford.<\/a><\/span>\u2014a number not remotely equaled until modern times. He completed two projects begun by his predecessor Maxentius: a Temple dedicated to Romulus, and a massive structure largely still standing near the Colosseum, known as the Basilica of Maxentius, in front of which was placed a great stone statue of Constantine holding the Chi-Rho symbol.24<\/a><\/sup>Pagan City and Christian Capital: Rome in the Fourth Century. (2002). OUP Oxford.<\/span> The head, hand, and a single foot from this grand statue can be seen in Rome to this day.25<\/a><\/sup>Chandler, K. A. (2019). Constantine and the Divine Mind: The Imperial Quest for Primitive Monotheism. Wipf & Stock.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relations between Constantine and the eastern emperor Lucinius deteriorated during the 310s CE. And when, in 320 CE, Lucinius sought to remove some Christians from political office and confiscate their property, Constantine accused him of reneging on the Edict of Milan, serving as an excuse to launch a civil war in 324 CE from which Constantine emerged the victor, and the first sole emperor of all the Roman provinces in 38 years.26<\/a><\/sup>Pohlsander, H. A. (2004). The Emperor Constantine. Routledge.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Sol Invictus with his characteristic radiant crown, riding his sky chariot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By this point, though he was supportive of Christians, Constantine\u2019s primary focus of religious veneration seems to have been Sol Invictus,27<\/a><\/sup>Kee, A. (2016). Constantine Versus Christ. Wipf & Stock Publishers.<\/span> the god first imported to Rome by the Empress Elagabalus and subsequently favored by Aurelian as well.28<\/a><\/sup>Halsberghe, G. (2015). The Cult of Sol Invictus. Brill.<\/span> The still-today standing Arch of Constantine, built to commemorate his victories in reunifying the empire was conspicuously placed nearby the colossal statue of the sun god outside the Colosseum29<\/a><\/sup>Marlowe, E. (2006). Framing the Sun: The Arch of Constantine and the Roman Cityscape. The Art Bulletin, 223\u2013242. http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/25067243<\/a><\/span>\u2014the one originally built as a depiction of Nero, but altered by Vespasian to depict Sol. Coins minted during Constantine\u2019s reign up through 326 CE depict Sol Invictus,30<\/a><\/sup>Kee, A. (2016). Constantine Versus Christ. Wipf & Stock Publishers.<\/span> and in 321 CE, the emperor decreed that the day named in the deity\u2019s honor, Sunday, would henceforth be a day of rest. Whether this was enacted to benefit Christians, who had by this time chosen that day as their day of worship, is unclear.31<\/a><\/sup>Duffy, K. (2022). Christian Solar Symbolism and Jesus the Sun of Justice. Bloomsbury Publishing.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coin from the reign of Constantine depicting the emperor on one side and Sol Invictus on the reverse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Moder photo of the Arch of Constantine with the Colosseum in the background<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Modern photo of the only intact part of the once grand statue of Constantine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Late in his reign, there is evidence that Constantine may have attempted to merge the two faiths. In what is today Vatican City, the emperor financed the construction of the Basilica of Saint Peter in honor of the traditional founder of the Church of Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ancient mosaic of Jesus Christ as Sol Invictus with chariot and radiant crown, in Vatican City<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Excavations of the basilica in the 1940s CE unearthed a fascinating mosaic that depicts Jesus in the guise of Sol Invictus. The latter god\u2019s characteristic radiated crown worn here by Jesus would go on to be widely adopted by later Christian artists depicting the savior. And it is the December 25 festival of the sun god that was adopted as the anniversary celebration of Jesus\u2019s birth32<\/a><\/sup>Brinkhof, T. (2023). Sol Invictus: The pagan Sun god that helped Christianity conquer the Roman Empire. Big Think. https:\/\/bigthink.com\/the-past\/sol-invictus\/<\/span> beginning in 336 CE\u2014though for another 50 years, churches in the eastern empire would favor a January 6 date for the holiday.33<\/a><\/sup>Bradshaw, Paul (2020). “The Dating of Christmas”. In Larsen, Timothy (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Christmas. Oxford University Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Map showing location relative location of Constantinople<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over the course of the previous century, the cities of the eastern half of the Roman Empire had gained ascendancy over the west in terms of population and wealth.34<\/a><\/sup>Norwich, J.J. (1988). Byzantium: The Early Centuries. Penguin Books.<\/span> Recognizing this, Constantine began considering several locations where he might construct a magnificent new capital for the empire, closer to its center of influence.35<\/a><\/sup>MacMullen, R. (2014). Constantine (Routledge Revivals). Taylor & Francis.<\/span> He settled on the city of Byzantium, located at the strategically crucial and well-defensible site at the gateway from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, at the point where the continents of Europe and Asia are separated by a strait of water only 2,000 feet wide, and through which passed many of the most lucrative trade routes in the empire.36<\/a><\/sup>The Oxford History of Byzantium. (2002). OUP Oxford.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When work on the new capital began, it was being referred to as New Rome, but upon its dedication was renamed after its founder as Constantinople (\u201cCity of Constantine\u201d).37<\/a><\/sup>The Oxford History of Byzantium. (2002). OUP Oxford.<\/span> There, among many great construction projects, was built the Church of the Holy Apostles on the site of a former Temple of Aphrodite.38<\/a><\/sup>Outhwaite, R. (2015). The Christian Temple: Aspects and Development. Xlibris UK.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Fausta and Crispa, having been murdered by Constantine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 326 CE, Constantine had his son Crispus and his wife Fausta murdered. The reasons for this have been obscured by the emperor\u2019s subsequent attempt to utterly erase both of them from any historical records.39<\/a><\/sup>Odahl, C. (2010). Constantine and the Christian Empire. Taylor & Francis.<\/span> Constantine\u2019s mother Helena, however, was welcomed back to his imperial court and given a position of highest honor. Helena seems to have become a full convert to Christianity significantly earlier than her son, and her devotion to the religion was likely of great influence on his policies.40<\/a><\/sup>Mitchell, M.M., et al. (2006). Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume 1, Origins to Constantine. Cambridge University Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depictions of the cross and nails used to crucify Jesus being unearthed and held by Helena<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Soon after having his wife and son murdered, Constantine gave his mother unlimited access to the imperial treasury to fund her pilgrimage to Palestine. There she inaugurated the building of the Church of the Nativity at the supposed birthplace of Jesus, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher\u2014built on the site claimed to be Golgotha where the savior was crucified.41<\/a><\/sup>Norwich, J. J. (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.<\/span> As Christian enthusiasm for holy relics developed in the coming centuries, Helena was retrospectively credited with having discovered such items as wood from the cross on which Jesus was executed, the nails that were put through his hands and feet, the ropes used to bind him to the cross, and the tunic he wore at the time of his death.42<\/a><\/sup>Dando-Collins, S. Constantine at the Bridge. United Kingdom: Turner Publishing Company.<\/span> After her own death, Helena was sainted by the Catholic Church, and became a relic herself, with a skull said to be hers kept on display in the Trier Cathedral in Germany.43<\/a><\/sup>Larson, F. (2014). Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found. United Kingdom: Granta Publications.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From Persecuted to Persecutors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artist depiction of theologians with strong feelings about the exact nature of the Holy Trinity<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While everyday Christian adherents seldom concerned themselves with such matters, the fractious disagreements between Roman Catholic theologians and bishops over minutiae concerning the nature of the godhead was reaching new levels of heated contention during the reign of Constantine. In Alexandria in Egypt, a man named Arian put forth a popular theology which held that God the Father and Jesus Christ could not be considered one and the same, and that Jesus the Son did not always exist but was begotten by God, putting Jesus in a clearly subordinate position. Meanwhile in Rome and other cities, there was a strong and growing trend to consider the Father and Son as co-eternal, both having always existed as co-equals\u2014neither in a position of subordination to the other.44<\/a><\/sup>Berndt, G. M. (2016). Arianism: Roman Heresy and Barbarian Creed. Taylor & Francis.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Constantine convening the Council of Nicea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Largely prompted by Constantine\u2019s annoyance at these squabbling church patriarchs and his desire for uniformity in doctrine,45<\/a><\/sup>Reese, T. S. (1998). Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church. Harvard University Press.<\/span> in 325 CE, the emperor convened a council which took place in the city of Nicaea in Bithynia in Asia Minor.46<\/a><\/sup>Forsyth-Vail, G. Arius the Heretic. Unitarian Universalist Association. https:\/\/www.uua.org\/re\/tapestry\/adults\/river\/workshop2\/arius<\/a><\/span> This would establish a pattern for resolving future controversies within the Church, and later Christian emperors would adopt a similar behind-the-scenes but influential overseeing role played by Constantine. In this first convention, about 250 bishops from across the empire from Spain to Palestine attended,47<\/a><\/sup>Eusebius. Vita Constantini, iii.<\/span> as well as bishops from churches in the Sassanid Persian empire, and a bishop representing the Goths in Germany as well.48<\/a><\/sup>Wegner, P. D. (2006). A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible: Its History, Methods and Results. InterVarsity Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Nicholas of Myra slapping Arian in the face at the Council of Nicea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A month of fraught deliberations ensued. One perhaps legendary report included an incident in which Nicholas of Myra\u2014around whom the legend of Santa Claus later developed\u2014smacked the theologian Arian in the face.49<\/a><\/sup>Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia. (2014). Orthodox Church in America. https:\/\/www.oca.org\/saints\/lives\/2014\/12\/06\/103484-saint-nicholas-the-wonderworker-archbishop-of-myra-in-lycia<\/a><\/span> In the end, rather than work out an official statement of Church theology acceptable to all, the council ruled strongly against \u201cArianism\u201d.50<\/a><\/sup>Ehrman, B. D. (2005). Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Constantine and bishops of Nicea burning books espousing Arian theology<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They promulgated their newly agreed upon anti-Arian doctrine in what has become known as the Nicene Creed, still recited in many churches to this day.51<\/a><\/sup>Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion. (2010). Taylor & Francis.<\/span> Its phrase describing Jesus Christ the Son of God being \u201cof one substance\u201d with God the Father was insisted upon by Constantine himself.52<\/a><\/sup>Hanson, R. P. C.. (2005). The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy. T & T Clark.<\/span> All those who refused to profess the creed were immediately excommunicated from the church, and Arianism became a persecuted \u201cheresy\u201d. Any and all writings by Arian were to be burned, and Arianism\u2019s adherents were to be considered \u201cenemies of Christianity\u201d.53<\/a><\/sup>Lacelles, C. (2017). Pontifex Maximus: A Short History of the Popes. Crux Publishing Ltd.<\/span> Other matters decided on by the council included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n