The Development of Christianity & the Rise of Constantine 1, The Birth of Byzantium

Early Christianity: Roman Empire

• Very large, dominating Mediterranean

• Struggling in 300s

Early Christianity: Spread

• Slow

• Started in East → went west

• Cults: Isis, Cybele, Mithras

• Usually only certain parts of population

• Restrictions

• Later was for everyone: “all children of God”

• Accept Christ → Christ accepts you

  • Women’s rights at first

• Abrahamic, monotheistic

Isis

Cult with a goddess, female following

Cybele

Asia Minor cult, farmer following

Mithras

Asia Minor cult, god like Apollo, men and soldier following

Early Christianity: Roman Contrast

• Worshipped emperor

• Prosecuted Christians under law

  • They went underground and seemed more suspicious

• Concerned about the poor and thoughts of equality

• Christians seemed more concerning than Jews (ancient religion)

Early Christianity: Promises

• Life has meaning

• Suffering → positive afterlife

• Community weren’t fearful of death, died for their religion

Early Christianity: In the 200s

• More persecutions post-Nero

• German incursion, crop failures, and lack of power were leading to empire instability

• → Blamed Christians

• Decius persecuted as a result

• German “goths’ defeated Decius

• Empire was going to collapse, less organization in persecution

Early Christianity: Diocletian

• Reforms (SPICES) to save empire

• More authority, including outfits

  • Purple boots

• Trying to stabilize population (ended up more temporary) and frontiers

• Tetrarchy, created districts

• Diocletian and Maximiun stepped down, Ceasars became augusti and appointed new ceasars

Early Christianity: Galerius and Constantius

• Continued to persecute

• Constantius was less harsh on Christians

• His son was Constantine, born in the 270s

Constantine 1: Role with Father

• Sent as hostage while Constantius was ceasar → with Diocletian

• Went on tour with Diocletian

• Was seen as emperor after his father died

Constantine 1: As Emperor/Ceasar

• Married Maximian’s daughter

• Galerius was controlling west, failing health

• Maximian and Diocletian competed out of retirement

• Maximian: against him, died

• Galerius tried everything to cure his disease and eventually decided to pray to the Christian God

  • Tolerated Christians praying for him, then died in 311 → more succession

• Constantine continued not to persecute

• Maxentius vs Constantine, civil war in East

Constantine 1: Battle of Milvian Bridge

• Constantine becomes Christian?

• Officers and soldiers marched down to Rome with him

• Maxentius had more powerful military seemingly, trapping Constantine

• Constantine had a lot of lives he was responsible for

  • Story 1: He dreamt of Christian Chi Rho to help his troops win (Lactantius)

  • Story 2: Troops saw cross in the sky and dreamt of it, fought with that (Eucinius)

• Thus Christianizing Rome

• Labarum with cross and Chi Rho as they marched

• Constantine used cavalry and bridge, won

• Belief in gods speaking in dreams

Constantine 1: Christianity

• Was his mother Helena a Christian before or after him?

• Already looking towards monotheism before Milvian Bridge

• Did he fully embrace it?

• Led in a non-Christian area → was his religion for political reasons>

• Did he like the idea of one god and emperor for unity?

Constantine 1: With Licinius

• Licinius gave Christians property back and tolerated

• He may have also had a conversion moment

• Constantine started fighting due to Licinius persecuting Christians

  • Constantine then ruled one empire by 323

Constantine 1: Full Control and Helena

• Helena (mother) became empress → she was a classic Byzantine Christian female leader, and the public face

• Pilgrimage to Jerusalem to get original cross?

• She is now a saint and female symbol

• Mother-son representation, with Christianity

• Funded church building all over

• Christian symbols (not pagan) on coins

• Christians were prioritized in power roles (instead of pagans)

• Trying to create new Rome / capitol

Constantine 1: New Capital

• Byzantium → Constantinople

• Made like Rome with structure and politics

• More Christian architecture

• Still greek/Athena presence at the beginning

• Completed in 330

• Multi-ethnic and linguistic

• Center for SPICES

Constantine 1: Dealing with Issues

• Those who had renounced faith and wanted to come back

• Arius: Trinity people as similar, not same (homoiousios vs homoousios)

• Alexander: vs Arius → riots in Alexandria

• Constantine called the first Christian council

Constantine 1: Council of Nicaea (325)

• Who’s right?

• Bishops voted against Arius

• Nicean Creed: God and Jesus are the same → Christians now believe that

• Constantine was still open to arian Christians

  • Was this political? Was he questioning himself?

• Set the precedent that only emperors could call councils

• Later the pope could after 500s, emperor couldn’t anymore

Constantine 1: Power

• Might have wanted to be representation of God on Earth

• Not with Bishop issues

• Debate with rape and Helena in Rome

  • Executed some family members

  • Did he then look for forgiveness in religion?

Constantine 1: Death

• Fell ill and thought he must be baptized before death

• Bishop Eucedius (arian) baptized him

  • Was Constantine actually pro-arian?

• Waiting to get baptized could have been political to avoid alienating groups

• Could have been trying to model Christ with baptism before death

• Buried with apostles in the middle

• Was he seeing himself as in Jesus’ spot?

• Idea of God’s one empire

Constantine 1: Succession

• 3 sons, ended up in each area

• 2 died, then 1 had control

• Julian (cousin) then got power and weakened Christianity

• Fought with Persians

Constantine 1: Legacy and Early Church

• Foundation of Christianity

• Catholic Church, Orthodox Church

• Hierarchy of leadership and patriarchs like Rome

• Authority of Bishops traced back to Peter (1st)

• Pope power in Rome, superiority → patriarchs didn’t like that

• Rome declined, Constantinople patriarch got more influence

• Emperor still had true power

Power Structure

God

Emperor

Empire & Church