CONSTANTINE'S CONVERSION

The Relationship of the Church and State Following Constantine's Alleged Conversion

The Relationship of the Church and State Following Constantine's Alleged Conversion

Introduction

The period between the fourth and sixth centuries brought a lot of change to the Church and its relationship with the state. Continuous raids by the German barbarian tribes resulted in the Western Roman Empire disappearing from the northern frontier. By the end of the century, Christianity began to spread across the region after Constantine's conversion in 312 AD. Therefore, Christianity became the predominant religion in the following years. This led the bishop of Rome to claim universal and supreme authority over the areas in which Christians lived. This continued for some time and during the period of Pope Gregory I, the Roman bishop became the ruler of most of Italy since the Western Empire ad collapsed by that time. This paper aims to determine the importance of Constantine in building the relationship between the church and the State since this period is considered an important period in the history of Christianity.

Throughout the fourth century, the roman emperors were continuously changing which would result in changes in the religion. Thus, paganism was supreme during the time and people were greatly influenced. Christianity, on the other hand, was facing a downfall because the Romans were not supporting it. Instead, they were against it because it was not in accordance to the religion prescribed by them. However, all this changed when Constantine came to power and converted to Christianity. This period is known as the period of revolution for Christianity since it got the foundation it needed in order to spread.

Thesis Statement

The conversion of Constantine to Christianity was a turning point in the development of the relationship between the state and the church, and without him, Christianity would not have been made the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Discussion

The Conversion of Constantine

Constantine was the first roman emperor who converted to Christianity. This took place during the defeat of Maxentius during the battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD. Constantine feared that he would lose the battle and prayed to God to help him. God came to him in a dream and told him to mark each of his soldier's shields with a sword. This is what he actually did and the result was that he managed to defeat his opponent. This event led his to convert to Christianity since he owned this victory to God for helping him in the battle.

Constantine is considered one of the most important heroes in the tradition of Christianity since he helped it to survive during its difficult times. He was one of the most successful roman generals and also the son of a successful general. Just like other Roman generals, Constantine made great struggles in order to lead his people and troops. The vision that he saw in his dream was not understood by him; however, the presence of a bishop in the area helped him to interpret the meaning of the vision that eventually led ...