Discuss how Constantine influenced the history of Christianity.
Constantine (272-337 AD) made an edict called the ‘Edict of Milan’ in 313 AD where Christianity was said to be tolerated within the Roman Empire and under his reign, Romans and Christians lived in harmony. He became interested in the Christian doctrines, favoring the Christian religion and its preaching.
Constantine influenced the history of Christianity by the following:
1. Constantine was a liberal emperor and he favored the Christian religion, its teachings and moral values. Thus, Christian beliefs and writings gained prominence and were slowly accepted by a large section of the Roman society.
2. During Constantine’s time, there were several versions of Christianity even in the basic aspects such as the status of Jesus Christ.
3. For solving the matter, Constantine called a convention in 325 AD at Nicaea. The convention was attended by bishops throughout the Roman Empire and it was decided after debating that God and Jesus (father and son) had equal status.
4. During Constantine’s time, there was no universally accepted Christian Gospel and different Christian communities had different set of scriptures. This was unacceptable to Constantine and he commanded the Bishops to prepare a single set of Christian rules which were to be followed by all Christians throughout the Empire.
A single “Constantine Bible” was prepared and followed thereafter. However, it has been lost and its contents are unknown, but it could be understood that Constantine’s pledge to arrive at a single set of Christian scriptures nevertheless unified and brought the Christian communities together.