1 Tom Coop July 10, 2016 Romans13:1-7 First the Quiz Constantine Quiz 1. Nero blamed the Christians for the BIG fire that destroyed much of Rome in what year? a. 33 B.C. b. 64 A.D. c. 124 A.D. d. 311 A.D. 2. Diocletian was best known for a. The Great Persecution b. Tearing down of pagan temples c. Constantine’s father and first emperor to outlaw gladiatorial contests d. A new diet – “Christians on Toast” 3. The Edict of Milan a. Declared Christianity to be THE religion of the Roman Empire b. Declared Christianity to be a legal religion c. Forbad Christians from owning property d. Forbad Christians from owning a business 4. The Battle of Milvian Bridge a. Where Constantine defeated Maxentius and became the Western Emperor of the Roman empire b. Where Constantine defeated Maxentius and became the Emperor of the ENTIRE Roman empire c. Where Constantine lost to Maxentius, turned to the one true God, and defeated Maxentius at the Battle of Rome d. Where Constantine lost to Maxentius and was banished from the Empire for a period of 20 years. 5. Eusebius was a. Constantine’s general who helped him win the Roman Empire b. A pagan prophet who incorrectly predicted Constantine’s demise c. Constantine’s father d. The first historian of the Christian Church 6. The Council of Nicea a. Was the first ecumenical council b. Travel expenses for all attending Bishops was paid for by Constantine 2 c. Where for the first time the word “homoousios” was inserted in the baptismal creed d. Affirmed the divinity of Christ 7. Byzantium a. Is what we now call Istanbul b. Was the summer home of Constantine c. Was the winter home of Constantine d. Was the first theme park in the Roman Empire 8. Constantine was baptized on his deathbed because a. He struggled with his faith b. As Emperor, he thought it would be bad form for an Emperor to select one faith over another – but still wanted to go to heaven c. He wanted as many sins as possible to be washed away at baptism and not leave time for any more to occur d. It seemed like a good thing to do 9. Thing Constantine DIDN’T abolish a. Gladiatorial Games b. Crucifixions c. Sunday work d. Burning at the Stake 10. Eastern Orthodox view Constantine as a. Equal to the apostles b. A traitor to their faith c. A Bishop of Rome d. A Pagan who pretended to be Christian for political purposes Constantine: Pious Convert or Political Sage (or both)? Someone once said, “Tell me the history of Christianity and I can tell you your theology.” This is especially true with a controversial figure like Constantine. 3 Where Roman Catholics present him as laying the foundation for the Papacy… … Protestants see him as the one responsible for leading the early Church away from the simplicity of the pure gospel and turning it into an institutional Church. Today, the Orthodox Church sees Constantine as the emperor who assisted the early Church in evangelizing the Roman Empire. For this reason, it honors him as Saint Constantine Equal-to- the-Apostles. To understand why, we need to go back a bit in history. Throughout its first three centuries, the church went through unimaginable persecution from the Roman Empire, though all the time growing and spreading. Christians were first targeted for persecution as a group by the emperor Nero in 64 AD. A colossal fire had broken out in Rome, and had destroyed much of the city. Rumors abounded that Nero himself was responsible. He certainly took advantage of the resulting devastation of the city, building a lavish private palace on part of the site of the fire. Perhaps to divert attention from the rumors, Nero blamed Christians and ordered that they should be rounded up and killed. Some were torn apart by dogs, others burnt alive as human torches. According to Church tradition, it was during the reign of Nero that Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome. 4 Christians continued to suffer from sporadic and localized persecutions over a period of almost the next three centuries. Their refusal to participate in Imperial cult of Rome was considered an act of treason and was thus punishable by execution. The most widespread official persecution was carried out by Diocletian. During what was called, The Great Persecution (303–311), the emperor ordered Christian buildings and the homes of Christians torn down and their sacred books collected and burned. Christians were arrested, tortured, mutilated, burned, starved, and condemned to gladiatorial contests to amuse spectators. Then in 313, the situation reversed itself. Constantine (with his co-emperor Licinius) issued the famous Edict of Milan, declaring Christianity to be a legal religion. Christianity wasn’t yet the official religion of the Empire—this wouldn’t happen until almost seventy years later under Emperor Theodosius. And, actually, even Constantine’s edict of toleration was not the first—Galerius issued a similar edict in 311. But Constantine’s is recognized as the one that marked a major turning point for the Roman government. With the Edict of Milan, the three-centuries-long era of persecution came to an end. 5 So, who was this man who, according to some, almost singlehandedly stopped the persecution of the Christian church? Of Constantine’s early years, we know only that he was born in Illyria, a region in the Balkans. His father, Constantius Chlorus, was already a Roman official on the rise. Helena, the daughter of an innkeeper and Constantius’s wife, gave birth to Constantine around 280 A.D. in Naissus, just south of the Danube. By the time Constantine was 31, he was in line to become emperor of the western empire—and more. Eusebius of Caesarea and other Christian sources record that Constantine experienced a dramatic conversion experience in 312 A.D. at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. According to these sources, Constantine looked up to the sun before the battle and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek words “Ἐν Τούτῳ Νίκα”, meaning “in this sign, you will conquer.” Constantine commanded his troops to adorn their shields with a Christian symbol, and thereafter were victorious. Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, is known as the first church historian and apparently had a very close relationship with Constantine. So close, that he wrote a book about him. 6 Here is how Eusebius described Constantine’s first encounter with the God of the Christians: “Because of the wicked magical enchantments so diligently practiced by the tyrant Maxentius, who was in control of Rome, Constantine was convinced that he needed more powerful aid than his military forces could give him, so he sought the help of God. “He believed arms and soldiery less important than the help of the power of an invincible and unshakeable God. So he considered which god he could rely on for protection and help. “It occurred to him that, of the many emperors who had preceded him, those who had put their hope in a multitude of gods and served them with sacrifices and offerings had been deceived by flattering predictions and oracles promising prosperity, and then come to a bad end, without one of their gods warning them of the impending wrath of heaven. “On the other hand, the one who alone had condemned their error, honoring the one Supreme God throughout his whole life [i.e. his father], had found him to be the Savior and Protector of his empire. “Reflecting on this, Constantine decided it would be great folly to join in the idle worship of those who were no gods, and to err from the truth after such convincing evidence. “For this reason, he felt bound to honor his father’s God alone.” 7 (Most historians doubt Eusebius’ accounting of this fact as there is no evidence that Constantine’s father ever believed in only one god.) Whatever … what we do know is that in the spring of 311, with 40,000 soldiers behind him, Constantine rode toward Rome to confront an enemy whose numbers were four times his own. Maxentius, vying for supremacy in the West, had waited in Rome with his Italian troops and the elite Praetorian Guard, confident no one could successfully invade the city. But Constantine’s army was already overwhelming his foes in Italy as he marched toward the capital. Maxentius turned to pagan oracles, finding a prophecy that the “enemy of the Romans” would perish. Constantine was still miles away. So, bolstered by the prophecy, Maxentius left the city to meet his foe. Meanwhile, Constantine saw his vision in the afternoon sky: the bright cross with the words “By this sign, you will conquer.” As the story goes, Christ himself told Constantine in a dream to take the sign into battle as his standard. Though accounts vary, Constantine apparently believed the omen to be a word from God. When he awoke early the next morning, the young commander obeyed the message and ordered his soldiers to mark their shields with the now famous Chi (kee)-Rho. Chi-Rho are actually the first two letters of Christ in Greek and was a common way to identify Christians. 8 With this added motivation, Constantine’s troops attacked with a vengeance. Maxentius’ troops fled in disarray back toward the surging river Tiber. Maxentius attempted to escape over the wooden bridge erected to span the stream, but his own army-turned-mob, pressing through the narrow passage, forced him into the river, where he drowned by the weight of his armor.