When studying a subject, one should become familiar with some background information on the subject. In this case, the background is that of Constantine's life. Constantine was born Flavius Valerius Constantinus on February 27 of an unknown year in the late 280's AD, of Helena, a Christian woman of lowly birth from Bithynia, and Constantius, a officer of the Roman military, in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. Constantius had to leave Helena and Constantine and to marry a step-daughter of Maximian in order to become a caesar (deputy emperor). Nevertheless, he did not abandon Constantine completely, but kept an eye on him. Constantine spent much time in the imperial court, where he undoubtedly learned a bit about Christianity, which had become a major issue in the empire. Constantius became co-emperor in 305, and brought his son to him in the western part of the empire, where they took an army into Britain. Constantius was killed in battle in 306, and his army then proclaimed Constantine emperor. The empire was mired in a series of civil wars. Finally, in the summer of 324, Constantine became sole emperor. He was baptized on his deathbed, as was the custom back then, since Reconcilation hadn't emerged as a separate sacrament, and he wanted to have a clean soul when he died. He died May 22, 337.
It was in one of these civil war battles that Constantine had an encounter with God that would change his life forever. The year was 312, at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, in his campaign against Maxentius. Constantine was given a sign by God, which Constantine carried into battle and won. There are, however, differing versions of how the sign was given to Constantine. One version went like this:
"In our earliest authority (...written in 314, probably by the tutor of Crispus [Constantine's son]), Constantine was warned [by Jesus] in a dream on the night before the battle to draw the monogram of Christ upon the shields of his soldiers." (2)Another version, told by Constantine to his friend, Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea (a historian in the early Church) says that the sign of Christ appeared in the sky in front of the sun, surrounded by the words 'In hoc signo vinces' - In this sign, you shall conquer. This sign was plainly visible to both Constantine and to his troops. As the author(s) of the passage on Constantine point out, this version was written down many years after the event, and Constantine could have been exaggerating. A third version combines the previous two, with God showing the sign in the sky during the day, then during the night Jesus coming to Constantine in a dream, instructing him to put the sign on his soldiers shields before the battle. Whichever version may turn out to be true, it is known that Constantine's army did go into the battle the next day bearing the sign of Christ on their shields and that they emerged victors, scoring a victory for Christianity.
As Constantine began his ascension to being sole emperor of Rome, he became more deeply involved in the workings of the Church. In the year 313, Constantine met at Milan with Licinius, who at that time controlled the eastern half of the empire. Out of this meeting came the Edict of Milan (or the Edict of Toler- ation). By this decree, Christianity became an officially accepted religion in the empire: not the state religion, but no longer illegal. Some believe "that Constantine had already granted religious freedom and that...[the Edict] was intended only for the eastern portions of the empire where Licinius was in control." (2) The detail, however, are not of great consequence; after that day, Christianity was accepted throughout the Roman empire.
As emperor, Constantine felt it was his personal duty to see that affairs of the Church went well. Thus Constantine felt he had to do something when in the 310's a group of Donatists in North Africa came close to separating themselves from the Church on the grounds that they believed that priests or bishops who "fell away" from the faith could not be allowed back into the Church. What he did was write a series of letters, from about 313 to 320, to the Donatists, telling them they might find eternal damnation when the Last Judgement came, and also to the faithful of the Church, telling them to be patient with the Donatists, and that their suffering would be rewarded. It was Constantine's belief "that a divided Church would offend the Christian God and so bring divine vengeance upon the Roman Empire and Constantine himself," (3) and so he did everything in his power to reunite the Church.
The Donatist schism was not the only controversy facing the Church in the time of Constantine, nor was it the greatest. The Arian heresy, named after its leader Arius of Alexandria, maintained that Jesus, the Son of God, was created by God the Father, while mainstream Christian theologians believed that the Son was just as much God as the Father, and that both had always existed. The basic argument came down to this: was the Son homoousion (of the same substance) with the Father, or was He homoiousion (of similar substance) with the Father? Constantine first sent letters to Arius and his main opponent, Alexander (of Alexandria) and told them to resolve their insignificant arguments among themselves and let it go no further. However, the situation got out of hand, and the only remedy Constantine could see was to call a council of the bishops of the Church. There at in 325 AD Nicea, 300 bishops, many priests, and an abundance of lay people gathered, and Constantine himself presided over. The outcome was the adoption by the Church of a new creed, the Nicene Creed, which reaffirmed the belief in the Trinity, emphasizing that the Son was always, is, and will be God, with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Constantine had a major impact on the Church in the 4th Century AD, more important than many people might realize. He was the first Roman emperor to embrace Christianity. Not only did he himself become Christian, but he did many things to further the spread of the Church. He converted himself to Christianity, setting an example for others. He issued the Edict of Milan, the toleration of Christianity in the Roman Empire. He helped to root out controversies in the Church such as the Donatist schism and the Arian heresy. Constantine did all these wonderful things for the Church, and even though he is not recognized as a saint, he is known as a very great man who was a great help to the early Church.
2. A History of Christianity. Kenneth Scott Latourette. Harper Brothers, 1953.
3. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Philip W. Goetz, Editor in Chief. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1987.
Empires Besieged: Timeframe AD 200-600. George Constable, Editor. Time Life Books, Inc., 1988.