Name _____________________________
Date ___________________
Constantine the Great and Christianity
By Vickie Chao
1
Since the beginning of time, the ancient Romans
worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses. Many of
those deities came from foreign lands that the Romans
had conquered. As different faiths sprang up across the
ever-expanding empire, they were more or less
tolerated. Such open attitude, however, was not the case
for Judaism and Christianity. Both religions pointedly
refused to honor Roman gods and to idolize Roman
emperors. As a result, the Jews and Christians endured
centuries of hardship. One good example would be
Emperor Nero. In 64 A.D., a big fire engulfed Rome
and destroyed much of the city. Emperor Nero pinned
the blame on the Christians. Through relentless
persecution, he also allegedly killed two Christian
apostles -- Saint John and Saint Peter.
2
At the onset of the 4th century, Constantine the
Great (or Constantine I) ascended the throne. He held a
different view toward Christianity and gave the religion
a big break. Seven years after he seized power, in 313
A.D., he and Licinius (his brother-in-law and coemperor in the east) issued the famous Edict of Milan.
They declared that both the Eastern and Western Roman
Empires would keep a neutral position on all faiths.
Constantine the Great even commissioned the
construction of several grand cathedrals. For the first
time in ancient Rome, Christians could openly practice
their religion without fear.
3
No doubt, Constantine the Great was the driving
force behind the spread of Christianity. But who was
Constantine the Great, and what were his other
accomplishments?
4
Constantine the Great was born Flavius Valerius
Constantius around 274 A.D. His father, Constantius,
was an ambitious army officer. His mother, Helena, was
probably the daughter of an innkeeper. When
Constantine the Great was just a teenager, his father left
him and Helena in order to marry Theodora. Theodora
came from a very prominent family. Her stepfather -Emperor Maximian -- was, in fact, the most powerful
man in the entire Western Roman Empire. Through this
new marriage, Constantius was able to make a huge leap
in his career. His father-in-law gave him the title of
Caesar (junior emperor) in 293 A.D.
5
As Constantius worked hard on proving himself in
the Western Roman Empire, Constantine the Great did
the same in the Eastern Roman Empire. The young boy
joined the military and served with distinction.
6
On May 1, 305 A.D., Maximian and Diocletian (the
ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire) both decided to
retire. They each had a junior emperor to whom they
would pass the power. Maximian's successor was
Constantius, and Diocletian's Galerius. After the
transition, Constantius requested his son's presence from
Galerius. Galerius agreed, so Constantine the Great
moved to the Western Roman Empire to join his father
on a military campaign in Britain. Sadly, the reunion
between the father and the son turned out to be shortlived. On July 25, 306 A.D., Constantius got sick and
died at Eboracum (modern day's York). Upon his death,
his loyal soldiers hailed Constantine the Great as their
new emperor, but not everybody in the Western Roman
Empire accepted the decision. For the next six years,
Constantine the Great engaged himself and his troops in
a series of civil wars. At last, he managed to crush all
his opponents to become the sole ruler of the Western
Roman Empire. It was often said that the night before
his deciding battle, the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, he
had a dream. In it, he received the instruction of
painting the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" - Chi (X) and Rho (P) -- on all his soldiers' shields.
When he woke up, he did just that and went on to win
the war. Since then, he had become a committed
Christian and continued to have his armies bearing this
unique symbol of Christ, known as labarum.
7
One year after Constantine the Great finally secured
his power, he and his co-ruler from the Eastern Roman
Empire, Licinius, issued the Edict of Milan together.
Though both men pledged to tolerate all faiths in their
respective kingdom, Licinius later strayed from his
commitment and began the practice of persecuting the
Christians once again. Furious, Constantine the Great
waged wars against Licinius. After several years of
fighting, Constantine the Great finally defeated Licinius.
In 324 A.D., he united both the Eastern and Western
Roman Empires. From that point on to his death, he had
the throne all to himself. He no longer needed to share
his power with somebody else as he had done so
previously.
8
The following year, in 325 A.D., Constantine the
Great organized the first ever council of the Christian
church at Nicaea (today's Iznik, Turkey). The objective
of the council was to resolve the disagreement over
whether Jesus was a divine or a created being. With
about 300 bishops attending the meeting, they
eventually reached the conclusion that Jesus was of the
same or of similar substance as God the Father. They
also agreed on the date for celebrating the Christian
Passover or Easter.
Name _____________________________
9
As Constantine the Great dedicated tremendous
resources to promote Christianity, his personal life was
a mess. He first killed Licinius, then Crispus (his eldest
son and heir apparent), and finally Fausta (his second
wife). All the slaughtering took place over a short
period of two years, from 325 A.D. to 326 A.D. Around
the same time as one family tragedy after another
unfolded, Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great,
embarked on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem or the Holy
Land. Constantine the Great did not join her. He stayed
behind to plan for a new capital. He completely
demolished the city of Byzantium (modern day's
Istanbul, Turkey) and rebuilt a new one on site. The new
capital was unveiled in 330 A.D. It was called
Constantinople after himself.
10
Interestingly, though Constantine the Great did
many things in favor of Christianity, he himself was not
baptized until his final days. Shortly before he died on
May 22, 337 A.D., he finally changed into a white robe
so he could get baptized.
11
To the Christians, Constantine the Great was one of
their staunchest supporters. Through his efforts,
Christianity was able to spread to all corners of the
Roman Empire and eventually become the kingdom's
sole religion in 380 A.D.
1. Which of the following about Constantine the
Great and Christianity is correct?
a. Constantine the Great drafted and issued
the Edict of Milan alone.
b. Constantine made Christianity the sole
religion of the Roman Empire.
c. Constantine the Great commissioned the
construction of several grand cathedrals.
d. Constantine the Great was baptized
shortly after the Battle of the Milvian
Bridge.
2. Which of the following events took place last?
a. Constantine the Great joined his father on
a military campaign in Britain.
b. Constantine the Great organized the
Council of Nicaea.
c. Constantine the Great crushed all
opponents and became the sole ruler of
the Western Roman Empire.
d. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan.
Date ___________________
3. What was the Edict of Milan about?
a. To pick a day for celebrating Easter
b. To determine whether Jesus was a divine
or a created being
c. To tolerate all religions
d. To name Christianity the sole religion of
the Roman Empire
4. For how many years did Constantine the Great
rule the united Roman Empire?
a. 13 years
b. 63 years
c. 49 years
d. 31 years
5. With whom and in what year did Constantine the
Great issue the Edict of Milan?
a. Licinius, 313 A.D.
b. Galerius, 306 A.D.
c. Constantius, 293 A.D.
d. Crispus, 326 A.D.
6. Cause: Christians and Jews refused to honor
Roman gods and to idolize Roman emperors.
Effect: ??????
What is the effect of the above cause?
a. Nero took the blame for a fire that
Christians actually started
b. Jews and Christians endured centuries of
hardship
c. Romans forced all Jews and Christians to
convert
d. All of the above
7. Put the following in events in the correct order
from earliest to most recent.
I.
Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict
of Milan
II.
The new capital of Constantinople of
unveiled
III.
Constantine was baptized
IV.
Constantine was name Emperor of the
Western Roman Empire
a.
b.
c.
d.
I, II, III, IV
IV, III, II, I
IV, I, III, II
IV, I, II, III
8. According to the passage, why do you think
Constantine dedicated his life and its tremendous
resources to the Christian faith when he himself
did not even get baptized until right before he
died? Write two examples from the story to make
your point.