CUPRINS

FOREWORD ...... 7 † Dr. IRINEU TEACHING ABOUT THE HOLY CROSS FROM THE HOLY PRIESTS ...... 15 † Dr. Nicodim NICOLĂESCU MAN BETWEEN FREEDOM AND LOVE AS THE GIFTS OF GOD ...... 35 † Dr. Emilian LOVIŞTEANUL THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY EMPERORS CONSTANTINE AND HELENA MIRRORED IN THE WORK OF OF FOUR ROMANIAN HIERARCH SAINTS . 54 Acad. Dr. Mircea PĂCURARIU THE TRAIL OF THE EDICT OF MILAN IN MODERN BULGARIA ...... 73 Dr. Klara TONEVA POST-CONSTANTINE PREACHING: THE THREE HOLY HIERARHS ...... 85 Dr. Andrian ALEKSANDROV THE PATH TO CHRISTIANITY OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT’S FAMILY ACCORDING TO ANCIENT SOURCES AND MODERN HISTORIOGRAPHY...... 105 Dr. Constantin PĂTULEANU THE KINGDOM OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT - THE BEGINNING OF THE GEOPOLITICAL PREDOMINANCE OF THE ORIENTAL ROMANITY IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE ...... 137 Dr. Dinică CIOBOTEA CONSTANTINE THE GREAT AND HIS CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE ...... 145 Dr. Dimitris APOSTOLIDIS CONSTANTINE THE GREAT, THE APOLOGIST OF CHRISTIANITY ...... 174 Dr. Gabriel-Viorel GÂRDAN FROM TRAJAN AND DECEBALUS, TO CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. THE ROMANIANS, BETWEEN THE DACIAN HERITAGE AND LATIN IDENTITY...... 184 Dr. Sergiu POPESCU

5 SAINT EMPEROR CONSTANTINE THE GREAT AND THE CHRISTIANITY BETWEEN THE CARPATHIANS AND THE DANUBE ...... 199 Dr. Radu TASCOVICI CHURCH AND STATE IN THE SYNERGY OF THE PAIDEIC ACT ...... 210 Dr. Adrian IVAN CONSTANTINE THE GREAT AND THE UNITY OF FAITH ...... 231 Dr. Gabriel BASA THE RELATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND PAGANISM IN THE REIGN OF SAINT EMPEROR CONSTANTINE THE GREAT ...... 241 Dr. Adrian BOLDIŞOR DAS PARTHENON DER HL. THEKLA IN SELEUKIA (ISAURIEN) IN DER (POST)KONSTANTINISCHEN ZEIT UND SEINE ROLLE IN DER GESCHICHTE DER MÖNCHISCHEN SPIRITUALITÄT ...... 260 Dr. Picu OCOLEANU UNITY CHRISTIAN FAITH, A FACTOR OF STABILITY AND PROGRESS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE REIGN OF SAINT EMPEROR CONSTANTINE THE GREAT ...... 273 Dr. Nicuşor Viorel POPESCU THE IMPORTANCE OF HONORING THE SAINTS APOSTLES BY EMPEROR CONSTANTINE AND HIS MOTHER, HELEN ...... 285 Dr. Ion Sorin BORA BRIEF OUTLINE ON THE SYRIAN THEOLOGY BETWEEN NICAEA AND CHALCEDON ...... 304 Dr. Ioniţă APOSTOLACHE THE RELATIONS OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT WITH THE NORTH AND SOUTH DANUBIAN LANDS ...... 324 Dr. Ciprian CATANĂ CANONICAL NORMS AND PRESCRIPTIONS ISSUED UNDER CONSTANTINE THE GREAT ...... 343 Dr. Pavel GOREANU

6 THE RELATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND PAGANISM IN THE REIGN OF SAINT EMPEROR CONSTANTINE THE GREAT

Dr. Adrian BOLDIŞOR University of Craiova, Faculty of Theology

Introduction The relation between Christianity and paganism represented, especially in the early Christian centuries, the main concern of both the Fathers and Writers of the Church and the pagan Greco-Latin authors. The way that the new religion was understood and interpreted was for a long time, one of the major concerns in the Roman Empire, regardless of the social position of those involved in the dispute. This situation lasted until the time of the emperor Constantine the Great (272-337), and even after his reign (306-337), its analysis being of great interest in knowing how Christianity defeated Greco-Roman paganism and spread throughout the empire and even beyond its borders. St. Constantine the Great remained a controversial figure in the history of the Church of all confessions. „He is one of those people who seem by their personality, their acumen, and their ability both to take the opportunities offered and to leave the world markedly changed by their presence in it. He bequeaths a series of paradoxes: an autocrat who never ruled alone; a firm legislator for the Roman family, yet who slew his wife and eldest son and was himself, illegitimate; a dynastic puppet-master, who left no clear successor; a soldier whose legacy was far more spiritual

241 than temporal”1. Constantine the Great is considered „holy” in the Orthodox Church, in the Roman Catholic Church „great”, while the Protestant world and a large number of modern scholars consider him a political opportunist who was driven by personal and state interests to achieve his goals. „Many scholars ascribe sincere religious motives to him, while others see him as an opportunist currying favor with a vocal minority. We do know that Constantine's contemporaries and successors viewed his patronage of Christianity as a watershed: for pagans, such as Zosimus, it was the beginning of the end of a proud empire; for Christians, such as Eusebius, it was the dawning of a bright new day of Christian triumph. Constantine put a great deal of financial and political support behind Christianity, beyond the simple legalization of the movement in 313 C.E.”2. According to some researchers, the king helped the Christian Church in order to use it: he kept the title of pontifex maximus, he tolerated paganism, he was baptized only on his deathbed by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, he oscillated between Christianity and paganism and between Orthodoxy and Arianism. His policy was unfavorable to Christianity frequently. To understand the transition of St. Constantine the Great from paganism to Christianity it is necessary to see both his whole life and the religious, social, economic, political and military realities in the time when he lived and reigned as king. Only trying to be inclusive of all realities in the 4th century and the society that was preparing for the greatest transformation in history one can understand the decisions taken

1 Bill Leadbetter, Constantine, in: The Early Christian World, Volume I-II, Edited by Philip F. Esler, Routledge, London and New York, 2002, p. 1069. For a pertinent analysis of the opinions regarding the controversial personality of Saint Constantine the Great read: Prof. N. Bănescu, Din istoria Imperiului bizantin. Perioada protobizantină, in the magazine „Mitropolia Olteniei”, Year XXI, Nr. 5-6/1969, p. 355-386. 2 Bart D. Ehrman, Andrew S. Jacobs, Christianity in Late Antiquity – 300-450 C.E. A Reader, Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, 2004, p. 24. 242 by the Roman emperor and some „slippage” from the ideal that he followed in life. The imperial religious policy promoted by St. Constantine should not be interpreted separately from his personal evolution from paganism to Christianity, becoming in time a rule of life for him. „The question of the conversion of Constantine has continued to excite controversy. Its authenticity has been questioned and asserted with equal ferocity. The degree of vigour with which the partisans of either side (…) have approached this question is enduring testimony to the historical significance of the religious policies embarked upon by Constantine. Despite attempts to demonstrate otherwise, the nature of Constantine’s personal religious beliefs will always be a mystery precisely because they remained private. What does matter, however, is the way in which Constantine came to frame a religious policy which did more than merely tolerate Christianity”3. Politics and religion in the Roman Empire in the 3rd and 4th centuries In the 3rd century AD the Roman Empire was going through a deep crisis that is observed both in a rapid succession of the Roman emperors to the throne, and in the barbarian invasions that tended to approach Rome. „Also, religiously and morally, Latin paganism no longer met the requirements of the age. People aspired to a religion entirely detached from this disappointed world, a religion that would transfer into another world the goal and finality of the earthly existence”4. In 284, Diocletian was proclaimed emperor in the East, and starting from 285, after the death of Carinus, became sole emperor of the

3 Bill Leadbetter, cited work, p. 1074. 4 Ion Bica, Istoria Bizanţului (324-1453), University of Pitesti Printing Press, 2002, p. 11. 243 Roman Empire. He chose Nicomedia as residence city and he considered himself, at the same time that he was king, the representative on earth of the supreme god Jupiter, thus having supreme power in all areas of the Roman life. This was a thinking heavily influenced by the East, where the leader was considered the son of the god. By doing so, Diocletian managed to maintain the unity of the Empire and restored order in the chaos that existed for several generations, thus proving a worthy successor of his predecessors, especially of Caesar, Augustus and Hadrian. On the other hand, Diocletian is known in Church history as one of the greatest persecutors, the promoter of what will endure over time as the „great persecution”. The king chose Maximian as associate (augustus), in 286, who administered the western part of the Empire, thus the East remaining subordinated to himself. In 293, Diocletian created tetrarchy, the two augustus having two Caesars, Constantius Chlorus and Galerius, which would take place of the two augustus when they retired from the leadership or when they died. In November of 303, Diocletian persuaded Maximian to abdicate together on May 1st, 305. In these circumstances, Galeriu took the place of Diocletian, and Constantius Chlorus took Maximian place. In their place came Caesars Maximian Daia (305-313) and Flavius Severus (305-307). St. Constantine the Great (Flavius Valerius Constantinus) was born in the year 280 (285 according to other sources) at Naissus (Niş), in the province Mediterranean Dacia. His father, Constantius Chlorus was Caesar between 293 and 305 and Emperor in the West between 305 and 306. St. Constantine’s mother, St. Helena (Flavia Iulia Helena), the first wife of Constantius Chlorus lived from 257 to 337. It seems that both his father and mother were inclined to accept the new faith, Christianity,

244 showing tolerance for it, even if not baptized immediately (his father was never baptized). „It is certain that Constantine has acquired from his father no doubtful inclination toward the new faith. Still his religious position was as yet obscure”5 while his father was still alive. The king’s conversion to Christianity was a continuous process, starting even before the battle with Maxentiu (312) and continuing until his death (337). „What is the degree of accession of Constantine to Christianity? It is impossible to penetrate into the depths of consciences. He was baptized at the end of life, as was the custom then. Instead, it is sure that he practiced a policy of benevolence towards Christians and began to discourage certain practices of pagan worship”6. In early life he believed in the pagan worship. „Like most of his predecessors, Constantine sought divine support for his rule and ultimately came to base his power on a special connection with the Christian God”7. But, as Eusebius and Lactantius relate, before the battle of Pons Milvius of October 28th, 312, St. Constantine saw in the sky, at noon, a brilliant cross above the sun, around which stood wrote: In hoc signo vinces8. Jesus Christ with the cross appeared to him in a dream at night, a sign that St. Constantine put on all battle flags as a protecting sign. The Emperor himself wore in battle a flag with the monogram of Christ

5 Victor Schultze, Constantine the Great and His Sons, in: The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Editor-in-Chief Samuel Macauley Jackson, D.D., LL.D., Volume III, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1953, p. 250. 6 Pierre Maraval, Către Imperiul creştin, in: Originile creştinismului, Introduction by Pierre Geoltrain, Translation by Gabriela Ciubuc, Polirom Printing Press, Iaşi, 2002, p. 347. 7 Timothey E. Gregory, Anthony Cutler, Constantine I the Great in: The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Alexander P. Kazhdan, (Editor in chief), Volume 1, Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, 1991, p. 499. 8 Eusebiu de Cezareea, Viaţa lui Constantin, I, 28-30 in: Eusebiu de Cezareea, Scrieri, Partea a II-a, (în col. PSB, vol. 14), Introductive study By Prof. PhD. Emilian Popescu, Translation and footnotes by Radu Alexandrescu, IBMBOR Printing Press, Bucureşti, 1991, p. 76-77. 245 (labarum), managing with an army of only 20,000 soldiers to defeat Maxentius that was leading an army of more than 130,000 soldiers. On the Arch of Triumph of St. Constantine in Rome it is written that the king won the battle with Maxentius by divine inspiration (instinctu divinitas). Eusebius relates that king said under oath that the signs they saw convinced him that only by the power of Jesus Christ he could win. In addition, in Rome a statue was erected in honor of the king bearing the sign of the cross9. However, on the Arch of Triumph erected in the year 315 Constantine appears with a crown of rays on the head, as earthly representative of Sol Invictus, not specifying either God, or any other pagan god, but only the word divinatas (divinity). He tried in this way to preserve the unity of the Empire and to prepare it for the radical change that would accomplish later, taking into account that its predecessors were enemies of Christianity or, at best, their religious policy proved to be duplicitous. Also in this respect should be interpreted one of the most important episodes in the life of the king, that of January 313, when St. Constantine gave at Mediolanum (Milan), together with Licinius, the edict of liberty of Christians. Christianity becomes from prohibited religion (religio ilicita) permited religion (religio licita). If until now we can speak of a passive observation of the Christian religion from behalf of St. Constantine, henceforth he was directly involved in the recognition of the new religion. „The conversion of Constantine may have been influenced by family, (Constantius Chlorus was tolerant of Christians and Elena was supposedly Christian), by the end of Galerius and, in general, the end of the persecuting emperors, and by what happened right in front

9 Idem, Istoria bisericească, IX, 9, 10, 11, in: Eusebiu de Cezareea, Scrieri, Partea I, (în col. PSB, vol. 13), Translation, study, footnotes and comments by Fr. Prof. T. Bodogae, IBMBOR Printing Press, Bucureşti, 1987, p. 353-360. 246 of him, concluding that persecutions would not destroy the Christian religion, but the crucial moment of the transition of Constantine to the Christians ‘side was in 312, on the eve of the battle with Maxentius. His conversion was genuine and beneficial to Christianity”10. It was a gradual conversion, which occurred especially after the year 320, taking into account the fact that the religious situation in the Empire had changed radically. „The Romans, despite the fact that they had the joy of seeing „fallen”, apostasies of Christians, found out that where one was injured one hundred were born and where one hundred [were injured] a thousand [were born]. But the most unpleasant thing for them was that the number of Christians among those belonging to the ruling class multiplied. You should, therefore, if it were to continue persecution, to self-persecute, to self-destruct! And because this was impossible, the Roman world was bound to show clear mercy to the Church that St. Constantine the Great, especially since the year 324 when he became king, assumed as a member, though he was not yet. The emergence from the catacombs was achieved”11. St. Constantine the Great was baptized on his deathbed, in the palace of Ancyrona, near Nicomidia, by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomidia. It was a few days before Pentecost Sunday in May, 337. St. Constantine died on May 22nd, 337, on Pentecost Sunday, was buried in the „Saint Apostles” Church of Constantinople, founded by himself, the only church in the new capital completed during the life of the king. He is celebrated in the Orthodox world every year on May 21st, together with his mother, St. Helena, being called „equal to the Apostles”. Through

10 Fr. Nicolae Chifăr, Istoria creştinismului, I, Trinitas Printing Press of Mitropolia Moldovei şi Bucovinei, Iaşi, 1999, p. 71. 11 Prof. PhD. Stylianos G. Papadopoulos, Patrologie, vol. II/1 Secolul IV (Răsărit şi Apus), Translation by Lecturer PhD. Adrian Marinescu, Byzantine Printing Press, Bucureşti, 2009, p. 23. 247 what he has done for the Christian faith, St. Constantine remained a model for all the kings that succeeded him at the head of the Byzantine Empire. „Ever since, the king was regarded as the representative of God on earth (ΰπαρχος), called to assist to the fulfillment of His plan of salvation. The Empire and the Church are two images of the celestial empire and they merge virtually into Christian Imperium Romanum. This created an equivalence between Pax Romana and Pax Christiana, between the interests of the Empire and the progress of faith. Church became the most important institution, and the collaboration with the state was designed to be conducted in complete agreement (in symphonia). The head of this Empire is the Christian king, who, in a sense, becomes the head of the Church, not only a protector, but also „universal bishop”12. After the death of St. Constantine the Great, the Empire was ruled by his sons, Constantine the 2nd (337-340) in charge of Gaul, Britain and Spain (resident in Treveri), Constantius (337-361), which ruled Egypt, the East, the Asia and Pontus (resident in Constantinople) and Constans (337-350) that reigned Italy, Africa, Pannonia, Illirycum and Thrace (with residence in Sirmium). They fought against paganism with the belief that only the Christian religion must be the only religion of the Empire. The law of Constantius in the year 341 against those who offered pagan sacrifices was also adopted immediately by Constans. At the suggestions of the christened Neoplatonist Julius Firmicus Maternus, the kings ordered the destruction of pagan temples in cities. Some temples continued to exist, however, and from the ancient philosophical centers

12 Prof. PhD. Emilian Popescu, Biserica şi naţionalitatea în Orientul ortodox (bizantin) în secolele IV-XV, in the magazine „Studii teologice”, Year XLII, Nr. 5-6/1990, p. 69. 248 persisted, especially, those run by sophists and Neoplatonists. The Emperor Constantius, who remained for some time the only ruler of the Empire, favored Arianism against Orthodoxy and did not rise to the level of leader of his father. After his reign, Julian became Emperor (361-363), also known as the „Apostate” for having renounced at Christianity in favor of Greco- Roman paganism. He canceled all the privileges given to Christians in recent years and restored the confiscated property to the pagan temples. In 362 he passed a law that in markets all products had to be sprinkled with water from the pagan sacrifices. The eunuch Mardonius had an important role in Julian’s conversion from Christianity to paganism, while the philosopher Maxim of Efes initiated him in the mysteries of Mithra. The decisions of the Emperor against Christians, which included their exclusion from the schools where they taught, have been contested even by the pagans. He also pursued a policy favoring the Jews, allowing them to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Though the emperor Julian reigned for a short period of time, the consequences of his actions proved to be lengthy, so each emperor who succeeded to the throne had to prove his loyalty to the Christian faith. After Julian the Apostate, Jovian was elected Emperor (363-364), a promoter of Nicene Orthodoxy. He canceled the privileges awarded to paganism by Julian and the state subsidies that he had given to the ancient Greco-Roman religion, though showing some tolerance for paganism. After Jovian succeeded Valentinian (364-375) and Valens (364-378) who, although Christians, were tolerant of paganism. Gratian (375-383) and Valentinian II (375-392) followed. After Valens, in the East, Teodosius was elected Emperor (379-394, until 395 the only emperor of the Empire). On February 28, 380, Theodosius issued an

249 Edict at Tesalonic for Nicene Orthodoxy, resumed on January 10, 381, in Constantinople. It was a new beginning of what was to be called then the Eastern Christian Roman Empire. Theodosius renounced at the title of pontifex maximus and the blue cloak with stars, symbol of paganism. Gratian also did the same in 382, the one that removed the statue of Victory from Rome. On May 2, 381, Theodosius gave a law that all those who have renounced Christianity in favor of paganism had to be deprived of the right of inheritance. In 386, the Emperor ordered the closure of pagan temples in Asia and Egypt, and in February 391 and November 392 he forbade the visit to the temples and sacrifices. During his reign, Orthodoxy was declared the state religion. Theodosius the Great was succeeded by his two sons, Arcadius (395-408 in the East and Honorius (395-423) in the West. Advised by some bishops and some Christians who had personal interests, St. Constantine the Great and some of his followers have oscillated between a direct support of the Church and a tendency towards certain practices that led frequently to „slippage” and especially to Caesar - papism. „Thus, in a century of utmost importance for the formulation and support of its faith, the Church experienced the following dramatic and contradictory phenomenon: the first Christian emperor, Constantine, helped decisively the Church in 324 and 325 (the Council of Niceea) in formulating and imposing Orthodox faith against Arianism. But immediately after that the king himself, gently, and his sons who have succeeded, severely, sought, until 378, to overthrow, by any means, Orthodoxy and impose Arianism. This gave rise to a crisis so great that it cannot be considered lower in intensity than that caused by persecution, although undoubtedly, presented a greater danger than that;

250 so dangerous that the pro-Orthodox attitude of Theodosius the Great, in 379-380, [had] to be welcome as equal in assiduity as the one of Constantine the Great (324). Therefore, the 4th century began with Diocletian's terrible persecution, rapidly progressed with the protection granted to the Church by Constantine the Great, was developed by the pro-Arianism of Constantine, of Constantius and Valens (378) and ended with the pro-Orthodox attitude of Theodosius, who gave power of law to the Christian faith, which, however, without any constraints on its part, most bishops had adopted synodically and presynodically”13. Paganism and Christianity in the life of Constantine the Great At the end of the 3rd century and the beginning of the next, Christianity had spread throughout the Roman Empire, although it was not a very large number of Christians, who were more in the East than in the West. The situation changed radically in the 4th century, with the cessation of persecutions, and the Edict of Mediolanum in 313. „Turning Christianity in state religion resulted in a profound interweaving between the Catholic Church and the political power, which inaugurated an era that was usually called Constantine era. It is characterized by the formation of a Christian state: its civil laws get the fundamental moral norms of Christianity and it protects through the coercive force of the penal sanction, the religious and ecclesiastical rules; at the same time, the hierarchy guarantees the subordination to the government by the religious legitimation of the political behavior provide consent to those”14. In the first century AD several oriental deities had gained a certain place in the Roman Pantheon. It is the Iranian god Mithra, Baal,

13 Prof. PhD. Stylianos G. Papadopoulos, cited work, p. 26. 14 Giovanni Filoramo, Creştinismul, in: Giovanni Filoramo, Marcello Massenzia, Massimo Raveri, Paolo Scarpi, Manual de istorie a religiilor, Translation from Italian by Mihai Elen, Humanitas Printing Press, Bucureşti, 2004, p. 181-182. 251 the god Baalbek, the Phrygian goddess Cybele, and, also, the Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris. The Sibylline books and the deities that were found earlier in the Roman cult should not be overlooked: Apollo, Asclepios, the Phrygian Great Mother etc. „How is it that a people so fiercely tied to its traditions, as populus Romanus had been, loved so many foreign deities? It is, primarily, an outcome of conquest, which brought together nations from three continents into a single empire. This multiethnic and multicultural space favored exchanges, contacts and syncretisms, especially in large urban centers, from Rome itself, of which Titus Livius writes (History of Rome 39, 3, 6) that, from the day after the second Punic war, „a lot of foreigners tangled the city”. Urbs will change rapidly in the cosmopolitan city, the image of the world that it rules. Its inclusive vocation, that will make his subjects Roman citizens, was applied to the gods just like it was applied to men”15. If the power from Rome was based, in military terms, on the western part of the Empire, a different perception is developed regarding the scientific, artistic and, especially, religious life: the East occupied a privileged place through its many gods which entered the Roman pantheon leading to an irreparable rift between the different social strata of the population of the Empire. „When in the fourth century the weakened empire was split into two parts, like an overloaded balance whose rod is breaking, this political divorce did nothing else than to establish a moral separation accomplished a long time ago. The opposition between the Greco-Oriental world and the Latin world manifests itself in particular in their religions and in the action in this

15 Robert Turcan, La Roma, culte venite din Orient, in: Originile creştinismului, Introduction by Pierre Geoltrain, Translation by Gabriela Ciubuc, Polirom Printing Press, Iaşi, 2002 p. 322. 252 regard of the central government both the one and the other”.16 The attraction that the Eastern religions had for the general Roman population has many reasons starting from the distance that the official religion showed to the general population until the mysteries that it proposed to the people interested more and more by these religious phenomena. „Eastern religions that do not impose with the known authority of an official religion must, in order to proselytize, to impress the feeling of the individual. They seduce him, at first, through the disturbing attraction of the mysteries where, succesively, they cause fear and hope; it charms him with languorous songs and intoxicating music, but mostly they reveal the means to achieve this blissful state where the soul, free from the bondage of body and out of pain, is lost in beatitude. They cause ecstasy or by nervous tension resulting from prolonged penance and fervent contemplation or by means that are material, as at Gauls, the worshipers of the Great Mother by vertiginous dances and intoxicating music, or even after a long abstinence absorption of fermented liquors. In mysticism, one slips easily from the sublime to depravity”17. For a long time, the official religion of Rome was dedicated to the cult of the god of sun, Mithra. This cult was introduced by Emperor Aurelian and the tetrarchy proclaimed to Carnutum in the year 307, the Sol Invictus Mithras protector of the Empire, „the highest expression of public religion in a tragic moment of conflict, foreshadowing the very collapse of political and cultural identity of pagan Rome”18. Through his cult and way to address to the Roman adrift world emphasized oriental

16 Franz Cumont, Religiile orientale şi păgânismul roman, Translation from French: George Scrima, Herald Printing Press, Bucureşti, 2008, p. 31. 17 Ibidem, p. 39. 18 Giulia Sfameni Gasparro, Religiile lumii elenistice, in: Giovanni Filoramo (coordonator), Istoria religiilor. I. Religiile antice, Translated by Smaranda Scriitoru şi Cornelia Dumitru, Publishing House Polirom, Iaşi, 2008, p. 404. 253 mystery, the god Mithras was much closer to Roman citizens than other local deities. „From this point of view, the Mithraism had major advantage in front of religions which can spread and multiply their communities or „links” without losing any of the power of seduction. Mithra, the Persian god, had the advantage of sacred certain specific Roman values such as fides (his word) and military discipline”19. The Great Mother of Phrygia, Cybele, is the first Oriental goddess accepted in the Roman pantheon, given the name Magna Mater Deum Idea; its name may come from Mount Ida where it was adored. Apparently it came to Rome after the battle with Hannibal in 204-205 BC, when the Sibylline books have conditioned the finish of war by bringing its statue in the capital. In the year 191 BC its temple was built on the Palatine, and several festivities were established for it. The goddess ‘cult had been spread in the Hellenistic world long before the to be brought to Rome. At the same time was introduced in Rome the cult of the god Attis, and with the god cult was introduced the bull cult. „In the fourth century AD, the cult of Cybele and Attis formed a rallying point for conspicuous That part of the Roman aristocracy That had not been converted to Christianity, in the midfourth century it attracted the emperor Julian, who wrote year oration in honor of the Magna Mater. Public Sacrifices to the goddess Disappeared at the end of the fourth century, although in the fifth century the philosopher Proclus wrote a book, now lost, on Cybele”20. Attis received in cours of time the name „menotiranus” (the lord of months) and the „Most High”. He came first in Greece along with Cybele and together became in the Roman Empire omnipotent gods. „There is no oriental religion whose gradual evolution

19 Robert Turcan, cited work, p. 323. 20 Lynn E. Roller, Cybele, în: Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, Volume 1, Editor in Chief Lindsay Jones, Macmillan Reference USA, Thomson. Gale, 2005, p. 2110. 254 can be traced at Rome as accurate as that of the cult of Cybele and Attis, where we can see clearly one of the causes that led to their decay and disappearance”21. With the Edict of Mediolanum given by St. Constantine as Augustus of the West, along with Licinius as Augustus of the East, Christianity became free religion of the Roman Empire. More than just tolerated, Christianity became in course of time a protected religion. „Thanks to the profound political insight that was his by nature and his sensible course of action, he directed his religious policy to the end of consummating the transition from the old to the new era without shattering the empire”22. What St. Constantine wanted to accomplish was to keep intact the unity of Empire and turn it slowly but surely into a Christian one. In this sense, he spared the Christian clergy obligations of municipal functions, and Christians were granted subsidies to be able to handle only with the life of the Church. Clerics were given immunity in 313 and even bishops had jurisdiction over the laws. He tidied up the family and was given laws condemning concubinage and the selling of children. Thus, even if the laws have remained in the earlier ancient patterns, it gained a strong Christian note. With the time, the main positions in the state began to be occupied by Christians. Punishments contravened to the Christian spirit have been removed, as were crucifixion, crushing feet, the stigma. Several laws that improved the status of slaves were given, the church having the right to make free some people in this state. With time, the gladiatorial battles were removed.

21 Franz Cumont, cited work, p. 78. 22 Victor Schultze, cited work, p. 251. 255 St. Constantine the Great gave a new coin of gold (Solidus) instead of silver. The simple monogram, called „monogram of Constantine”, appears on coins from the period 312-313, immediately after the battle with Maxentius. However, figures of pagan gods continued to exist on Roman coins, as was the case with Hercules, Mars, Jupiter and, especially, with Sol Invictus, who is represented on his triumphal arch. After the removal of Licinius the Greco-Roman coins symbols began to be disposed. Pagan sacrifices were forbidden by law in the year 318, although it continued to be practiced, but at an increasingly smaller level. Pagan cult was not entirely removed, but was restricted to a few major acts. Since 321, Sunday was generalized as the day of celebration throughout the Empire; the soldiers were forced to attend services. The emperor cult still remained, but kept only the political side, ensuring the unity of the Empire. The temples who received the statues of the king became public places, without entailing sacrifices. As with other decisions that St. Constantine took, keeping the title of Pontifex Maximus was just a strategy to preserve the unity of the Empire. The title of Pontifex Maximus went for the first time, from priests to the Roman emperors in the time of Julius Caesar, especially as a result of influences from the Orient after many conquests. But Emperor Augustus took this dignity with which he already owned the other in 12 BC. „There after it remained attached to the imperial function”23. Given these data, „we must not forget that the king was not considered an exclusively secular authority, but from the time of Constantine the Great, the function of which was invested have deep religious meanings. From the throne , the emperor was consecrate, becoming a new person, breaking ties with the

23 Robert Schilling, Pontifex, în: Encyclopedia of Religion, Volume 10, p. 7319. 256 reality in which previously lived, dying old man and the new born. The first Christian emperor was initially a supporter of solar monotheism and after entering in Rome (after the defeat of Maxentius in 312), was declared Augustus and continued throughout his reign to identify the Supreme Divinity in which he still believed with Jesus Christ of Christians. Certainly the Pontifex Maximus of Roman official paganism and a skillful politician has combined his duty of leader with the personal moral Christian requirements, postponing full conversion time, namely that of baptism until death in 337”24. King, along with his family, contributed mostly to the building of Christian churches in the roman cities: Rome, Jerusalem, Tyr, Nicomedia, etc. Moreover, in places where Christians were predominantly, the king ceded them many pagan temples and buildings. If before the reign of St. Constantine were known 25 Christian places of worship in Rome, locations that were confiscated during the persecution of Diocletian, St. Constantine was the one who gave unconditionally all Christians properties from the entry into Rome after the fight with Maxentius. In this regard, he donated to the Church an imperial villa on the outskirts of Rome, which was, in fact, a simple house, but a whole building and gardens, a place known today as imperial Lateran palace which is the Church of St. John Lateran. We should not overlook the fact that the work of the First Ecumenical Council was attended and by the pagan philosophers, „some to make closer acquaintance of Christian doctrine, some of enmity against Jesus, hoping that by subtle reasoning to hinder interpretation of

24 Ovidiu Matiu, Imperium sine patriarcha non staret. De la pontifex maximus la basileus isapostolos, in the Magazine „Revista teologică”, Year XX (92), No. 1/2010, p. 118. 257 bishops and deny the doctrine defended by them”25. They contradicted Christian teaching either totally or proved, for reasons of personal interest defenders of Arianism in order to break the unity of the Church and to divide the participants bishops. Like Rome, the city of Constantinople was built on seven hills and was divided into 14 regions. There were a Capitol, a Senate, a Praetorium, a Via Sacra, a main forum and several secondary, and an Imperial Palace and a Hippodrome, copies of those from Rome. In the new capital a monetary workshop and a university were opened. In Constantinople, the emperor did not build pagan temple, a sign that he slowly abandoned traditional worship. However, many pagan statues were brought, from wars that St. Constantine fought to adorn and beautify the city: in the Forum was the great statue of Apollo and the Victoria and in the Hippodrome is a huge building which stands the famous golden tripod dedicated to the temple of Delphi. After the testimony of time, the city was worshiped to the goddess Tihe who had a statue at Constantinople, the city received the name „Antusa” as Rome it was on the „Flora”. The same goddess was represented on some coins of St. Constantine. Antu’s statues were destroyed in the iconoclast’s era, Panagia has been since that moment the only protector of the Byzantine fortress26. Conclusions The mistakes that St. Constantine the Great had made regarding the Church's life is largely due to the bishops that advised him, among which has a special place Eusebius of Caesarea, who enjoyed great appreciation from the king. „It seems that all decisions of Constantine directed against

25 Pr. Ştefan Fetyko, În jurul Sinodului I ecumenic, in Magazine „Altarul Banatului”, Years I (40), September-October, 1990, p. 32. 26 Prof. N. Bănescu, Întemeierea Constantinopolului, in Magazine „Mitropolia Olteniei”, Years XV, Nr. 7-8/1963, p. 510. 258 Orthodoxy were inspired by Eusebius”27. In the same vein register is also the receiving of baptism on his deathbed from the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia. On the other hand, certain actions that he took, which he did not complete the abolition of pagan cults have seen in a much broader record that takes into account the political and religious situation in the first half of the fourth century AD. „Even such impassioned Christian year Constantine must have acknowledged as a barrier against compulsory procedure. Though the goal of his religious policy was the free of the world from heathenism and transfer it to the utmost Christianity by the State That Could do, nevertheless both conscientiousness and prudence dictated the one method of procedure - to go slowly in attacking religious sensibilities and to be content with small things and details, tedious to be sure, But less dangerous, and more Certain in results”28. This is the true interpretation of St. Constantine's religious policy regarding the relationship between paganism and Christianity and the gradual steps that he had to do to receive the true religion. Freedom of religion which he gave allowed the masses of Roman citizens to move to a new religion consciously and without fear. Given these realities „Constantine’s actions make his preference for Christianity perfectly clear. This is most clearly seen in the nature of some of his legislation; his patronage of the church, which was on a vast scale; and his involvement in its internal disputes, particularly the Donatist and Arian schisms. Christians in turn made their own preference for Constantine clear. A new theology of empire emerged which exalted the Christian emperor, a development with which Constantine was pleased to cooperate”29.

27 Preot Prof. Dr. Ioan G. Coman, Patrologia, Vol. III, Publishing House. IBMBOR, Bucureşti, 1998, p. 484. 28 Victor Schultze, cited work, p. 251. 29 Bill Leadbetter, cited work, p. 1076. 259