How Did Constantine Encourage The Legalization Of Christianity

Constantine was a 4th century emperor of Rome. His reign followed Diocletian who enacted harsh laws preventing Christians from worshipping freely. Christianity were perceived as a threat to the Roman empire for several reasons. Roman’s saw Christians monotheistic view and loyalty to Christ as opposing the Roman Empire because it did not acknowledge the official gods and did not place the emperor as its most important leader. Additionally, the Romans were trivialized by the claim of turning bread into a divine substance which further discriminated the Christians from the general population. In 313, Constantine ended the Diocletian persecution of Christians and legalized the practice of the religion after receiving a vision at the Battle of Milvian Bridge which said “In hoc signo vinces” meaning by this sign you will

Constantine’s legalization of Christianity accelerated the growth of the religion because of the empires vast network of roads and the emperor’s involvement in the Church. This allowed Christianity to become the major religion of Europe. Rome’s network of roads allowed for a wide spread of ideas which allowed Christianity to bigger than a local movement. Constantine also helped Christianity by organizing the first ecumenical council, the Council of Nicea, which allowed the Church to define Christian doctrine. During the Council of Nicea, Arians were excommunicated, the date of Easter was determined, and Trinitarian doctrine was developed. Without the council, the Church may have split into two sects: Arian (the belief that Jesus is below the Father) and Traditional Christianity (the belief that the Jesus is equal to the Father). Because the Christian church was able to grow under Constantine, Christianity eventually became the official religion of Rome and eventually the religion of Medieval Europe. This gave the Franks a