The Rule of Roman Christianity

EMPIRES OF FAITH HIST 1301 | History The Rule of Roman Christianity During Constantine's reign, a significant number of new members of the Christian Church joined. When the Edict of Milan was released in 313 it gave citizens the freedom to worship any deity they chose, but its primary goal was to welcome back to the empire's Christians the property and rights that had been taken from them. Although the decree did not declare Christianity to be the official religion, it did put a halt to any formal state persecution of Christians inside the empire's boundaries. The religion's institutions and their connection with the imperial government underwent significant modifications as a result of its newfound privilege. Emperors, with the exception of religious conviction, often refrained from interfering with the church's self-governance. They primarily used the setting up of ecumenical councils—bishopric gatherings to debate theology—to exert this authority. (The Greek term oikoumene, which means the entire inhabited globe, is where the word "ecumenical" originates.) Bishops from the Roman East and West gathered at ecumenical councils, which produced decrees intended for universal adoption. These served as forums for debating issues pertaining to Christian orthodoxy, discussing the divinity of Jesus, and dismantling heretical tendencies that were beginning to emerge within the church. For example, in order to resolve the issue of Jesus's divinity and connection to God, Constantine called the first ecumenical council, the Council of Nicaea, in 325. The Arians, adherents of the priest Arius, who maintained that Jesus was not formed out of nothing but rather had a beginning, were the bishops' main concern. After much deliberation, the bishops at the council rejected the Arians and adopted the Nicene Creed, a statement of dogma that declared Jesus to be “begotten, not made” and “consubstantial” with God, explicitly embracing his divinity. The bishops were concerned that this way of thinking diminished Jesus’s divinity. Emperors occasionally utilised these kinds of theological discussions to exert control over topics pertaining to the church, and they remained at the core of the various ecumenical councils that followed. However, even though the emperors considered themselves to be priestly rulers, the bishops occasionally challenged this claim, forcing the emperors to contend with them for the right to reign over religion. Power could only be usurped at different levels of government due to the empire's gradual bureaucratization, which hampered its governance. Formally codifying laws was one method that emperors tried to maintain a balance between regional, local, and imperial power. For instance, in 429, Theodosius II, the emperor, formed a commission to create the Theodosian Code, a single document that included all of the empire's laws published after 312 CE. Since the Republic's era, this code was the first attempt to establish a single, unified system of government for the empire. Because it included legislation that upheld Christian doctrine and practice, it strengthened Christianity's position in Roman society. Additionally, it changed societal standards and gave the church the authority to police morality—a conduct unheard of in antiquity. Emperors tried using laws and edicts to handle religious difficulties, as seen by the Theodosian Code. For example, it appears that Constantine outlawed animal sacrifice, which was a central tenet of classical Roman religion even if its practice had already begun to wane. Using pagans and heretics—those who held unorthodox beliefs—as threats to the imperial state, Theodosius I attempted to quell religious controversy outside of the church through a number of imperial edicts, most notably the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 that established Nicene Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Convened in 381 to discuss the Holy Spirit, the First Council of Constantinople reaffirmed the Nicene Creed and hinted that the issue of Arius's supporters had not entirely vanished. During this period, Jews were likewise treated with suspicion, although imperial officials did not give them much thought. Ultimately, in 529, the emperor Justinian suppressed the philosophical schools in Athens in response to a plea from the city's Christian populace. One prevalent trend of authority during this period was the destruction of pagan temples, the removal of sculptures representing pagan deities, and the end of customary practices and priesthoods across the empire. There is little doubt that pagans and Christians did not get along well. Elite pagans, including the renowned thinkers Libanius and Symmachus, were nevertheless able to pursue careers and assume public office. These prominent personalities debated religion together because they believed that Christian theologians like Gregory of Nazianzus shared the same broad philosophical presuppositions. However, there were also violent incidents in the empire's cities, where bishops held both ecclesiastical and political authority. The assassination of the powerful pagan scholar and teacher Hypatia in Alexandria in 415 serves as an example of the extralegal power the bishop might use. Bishop Cyril persuaded the Christian population to assault and kill Hypatia because he saw her as a political threat due to her extensive network of pagan and Christian connections. By doing this, he was able to maintain his status as a significant religious and political figure in the city.