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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page research paper that examines the transition of imperial attitudes towards early Christianity, beginning with the conversion of Constantine. The Edict of Milan is discussed along with the Nicene Creed and the code of Theodosius. No Bibliographical data is provided.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khimpch.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
with the conversion of Constantine, Christianity moved from being a "cult" that was initially persecuted towards its later position as the only state-sanctioned religion. This transition can be followed in
the surviving documents from that era. First of all, Constantines conversion to Christianity is recorded by the Roman historian Lactantius. This event occurred during a Roman civil war,
as Constantine and Maxentius vied for the imperial throne. Constantine had a dream in which he perceived a fiery cross in the sky and heard the words "by this, conquer"
(7). This dream directed Constantine to inscribe a Christian symbol on the shields of his men in order to secure victory. Lactantius records that Constantine was "directed in a
dream to cause the heavenly sign to be delineated on the shields of his soldiers and so to proceed to battle" (Lactantius 7). The figure that was inscribed
was an X, "with a perpendicular line drawn through it and turned round thus at the top, being the cipher of Christ" (Lactantius 7). Just as Constantine dreamed, his men
met the forces of Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD and were victorious. Maxentius, who was in Rome at the time, came to the field of battle,
where "The hand of the Lord prevailed and the forces of Maxentius were routed (Lactantius 8). Maxentius was driven into the Tiber River and perished. Constantine was crowned with the
title of Maximum (8). It is interesting to note, considering the violence that would be done in the name of Christianity throughout the Middle Ages, that Constantine was first drawn
to the Christian faith because of the promise of victory. While Constantines victory was a crucial turning point in the history of early Christianity, tolerance toward the religion actually
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