For its first 300 years, Christianity was viewed with great suspicion. Christian communities grew, but people joined them at great personal peril. Believers worshiped in secret. Christians were harassed and persecuted throughout the Roman Empire; they had no political power. The empire itself was under stress from without and within. Roman territories were under barbarian attack, while at home the Roman aristocracy was growing weak and corrupt. Under siege and without great leaders, Rome was falling apart.

The First Christian Emperor

In 312, the Roman army stationed in Britain elected Constantine the next Roman emperor. He returned to Rome, knowing that he would have to fight for his position when he got there. As Constantine rode through France with his army, he had a vision of a cross. He took this as a sign and ordered his soldiers to paint the Greek letters for the word Christ on their shields. Constantine defeated his rival and entered Rome victorious, as the new emperor. Although he did not convert to Christianity until shortly before his death many years later, both he and Rome officially supported Christianity.

Constantine was the author of the Edict of Milan, which allowed Christians the freedom to worship openly and freely. His actions in support of the Church didn't stop there. He moved the capital of the Roman Empire east to Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul), renaming it Constantinople. This new Rome gave Christianity a fresh new start. Moreover, Constantine summoned the Council of Nicaea, a congregation of 300 bishops who formalized the doctrines of Christian faith. From that point, the Roman state became formally involved in Church affairs.

Eradication of Pagan Practices

The second Roman emperor to exert great influence over Christian affairs was Theodosius the Great, a military leader who lived from 346 to 395. Theodosius was baptized in 380 after he became sick and nearly died.

Theodosius, the last emperor to rule both the eastern and western Roman empires, tolerated pagan practices early in his reign. Toward the end of his life, he became much stricter, slowly eroding pagan power and rights to worship, until he passed an edict that outlawed pagan practices altogether.

As part of this edict, Theodosius banned the Olympic games and forbade the practice of pagan holidays, which he converted into workdays. He also allowed the destruction of the beautiful and impressive Egyptian temple of Serapeum at Alexandria.

Theodosius also streamlined the unity of the Church by suppressing the Arian and Manichean heresies in Constantinople. He is also known for calling the second General Council of Constantinople, in 381, to provide for a Catholic succession in the patriarchal see of Constantinople.