A History of the Church (Week 4)
Brent continued to teach us about Constantine, the ruler who legitimized Christianity in the Roman empire.
Constantine, after taking control of the western empire, formed a bond with Licinius who controlled the east, but it wasn't long before he set his sights on the entire empire. And when a relative of Licinius got involved in a plot to assassinate Constantine, Constantine saw his opportunity to increase power and took Byzantine, encroaching on Licinius's territory. The two rulers forged another short-lived pact until 322AD when Constantine again attacked Licinius. Licinius surrendered in 324 AD and ruled the entire empire until his death in 337 AD.
Constantine moved the capital of the empire from Rome to Byzantium and changed its name to Constantinople. He attempted to restore the greatness of Rome under the banner of Christianity.
So what was Constantine's experience with Christianity? We discussed a couple of possibilities. The first is that he was a true believer, used by God to establish the church. The opposing view is that he was a political opportunistic using religion to his own ends.
As a class we had a discussion on what marks a true Christian conversion. We discussed confession, baptism, growth and discipleship.
With these in mind, was Constantine a true Christian? The church at the time was divided, and some of the church leaders didn't know how to deal with him. He did not have the typical Christian conversion experience and was not baptized until just before his death. Then again he had little political reason to try to gain the favor of Christians. They certainly didn't have any political power.
Constantine did believe God was on his side, but he was still a very shrewd politician. He knew he couldn't throw out the pagan religions suddenly without revolt so he worked at it slowly. He was at odds with the senate. (Who ironically declared him a god after his death. )
Constantine did do many thing for the church.
- Halted the persecution of Christians.
- Made Christianity the official religion of the empire.
- Abolished slavery, concubines, and gladiator fighting as a result of Christian values.
- He had a huge impact on church worship. Meeting on the first day of the week. Use of incense. Separation of the clergy and laity. Rituals. Signs of respect like kneeling and crossing. Building of church buildings. Introduction of choirs. Systematizing theology. Constantine was responsible for council of Nicea. Generally unifying of the church.
He had some negative impact on the church as well. Many Christians despised Constantine for the direction he took the church, making it the official religion, taking it in a secular direction. In response, some Christians withdrew from society, creating monastic movements. Some broke from the official state church. Others focused on doctrine creating councils and systematizing the faith.
The question of whether Constantine's impact on Christianity was positive or negative is an interesting one. Did he strengthen or weaken Christianity as a whole. He certainly helped it expand which many would see as good. Others might argue that he weakened the message of Christ. What do you think? Feel free to discuss below. Please keep it civil.
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