Constantine the Great – His Life and Legacy

Introduction

Constantine I was a Roman emperor in the years 324 to 337. The Catholics call him, Constantine The Great. His real name is Caesar Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus. He made numerous contributions to Christianity, and even if the Catholics do not recognize him as a saint, his contribution has been rewarded by the name ‘The Great’ which is equally prestigious¹. He was in empire leadership from 306 and he is remembered as the only holder of the office of the emperor until the day he passed away. This paper looks into his life and will focus on his early life, his education, background, his contributions, his purpose and mission in life and his legacy. It will alongside touch on those people who have shaped him in one way or another.

His early life

He was born in the Moesian. This was a military city of Naissa (modern-day Niš, Serbia). His year of birth is not certain but many writers have the feeling that he was born in 272. The date of his birth is certain as 27th of February.

His father who was working in the army at that time was Flavius Constantius, and the mother was Helena. She was a Bithynian Greek. His mother was a Christian and some scholars have argued that there is a possibility that the mother was the one who influenced him to Christianity. The parents were initially staying together but not much information is available on if they were legally married or not. Constantius left the mother and remarried again to Theodora, this was about 288 or 289. Constantine did not spend a lot of time with the father, at the tender age, because of the busy schedule of the father and the separation with the mother².

His Education

He got a chance to get formal education from Diocletian’s court, where he learnt philosophy, Latin literature, and Greek. This was a school that did not discriminate and this gave him the chance to interact with Christians and the pagans. It is thought that he used to attend to lactantius lectures; lactantius was a philosopher and also a Christian. His early contact with the religion is thought as that of the influence by the mum and the lectures that he attended.

His Growth to an Influential Person

The father, still in army, started getting promotions and he even acted as a governor, this was in the year 272. Then the empire was later divided into two and he was appointed as one of the Caesars (junior emperor), this position was hereditary and Constantine I was the heir of the position. The first task that the father was given to act was to the eastern side of the empire where he was supposed to fight for the Carausius and Allectus, Constantine had to go with him as the prospective heir. In this land he got a lot of experience. He attended court cases and protected the Diocletia. The most remarkable cases that he defended successively were in 305 where he became a tribune of the first order, a tribunus ordinis primi [43]

In 303, during summer Constantine returned from the East at the time that there was the Great Persecution in the Christian domains, he returned to Nicodemia and had an experience to see for himself the prosecution that was done against the church. He was there in 23 February 303 when the Diocletian ordered the destruction of the church. What followed in the next one month were mass destructions of the church, the valuables attributed to the church, scriptures, and the prosecution/ imprisonment of the priests³.

In the 305 or early 306, Constantine requested for leave to go to the west to assist his father to campaign, after a request by the father to do so. This was to take place at Gaul, at Bononia⁴. At that time Constantine was working in the courts at Galerius. The campaigns did not bear fruits even after the much devoted efforts. The father fell ill in various instances and succumbed on July 26, 306 (at Eboracum). He had made recommendation that Constatine be offered the full Augustus rank. After the death, he sought to claim his right as the rightful heir of the father and was granted the rank though Galerius granted him the title Caesar” rather than “Augustus” he though accepted to act at the rank.

Early Rule

This was the first chance that he had to act in the military as a ruler and he made numerous decisions in the army. His area of jurisdiction was Britain, Gaul, and Spain. This was the largest empire. He later was promoted to an emperor and stayed in Britain where he completed the military base that had been commissioned by his father. He also ordered the repair of all the roadways that were out of order at the time. When he was in the office he engaged in various victorious wars, and made numerous expansions of the military camp. The most remarkable expansion was the one that was done to the walls and the gates of his empire to strengthen its security. He is also remembered for sponsoring Augustodunum as well as the Arelate buildings. His ruling and judgments was more like the fathers though they were regarded as following a Christianity backing and ruling.

Religious Life

He is the best known as the first Roman emperor who was a Christian. In 313, he announced the toleration of Christianity in the empire a step that was a turning point to the Christian church. This decision was to be implemented with immediate effect. The first things that he ordered done were the removal of penalties to the already prosecuted Christians and the returning of all church property that had been confiscated. In his duties, he declared his position as a Christian and wrote to the Christians that he believed that his success was a result of the blessing that their God had given him.

Support to the Church

After all this, he continued to fully support the Christians who had all along been sidelined. He gave it the moral support and also financial support. He was involved in building basilicas and granted privileges to the clergy not to pay taxes. He also promoted the Christians to the higher office, made sure that all those properties that belonged to the church (and had been confiscated by the previous Diocletian prosecution) were returned to the Christians. The most remarkable project was the building of Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Old Saint Peter’s Basilica⁵.

During all this time, he was not recognizing the Christians only but was also recognizing the other non Christians. After a victorious war, he would cerebrate with all of them in their capacity, but notably, and probably to show his support to the Christians wore Christian symbols all along. He aimed at making orthodoxy as a remedy to the numerous religious battles that the society had at the time. On a personal capacity, he has been described as one who saw as if the responsibility to ensure that God is well worshiped in the emperor lay with him and he invited the church to assist him in the important mission.

He was determined to shape the worship of the empire. One of the battles that he fought with the Christian was the one that involved the North African disputes against the validity of Donatism. He ruled the case against the Donations. He made new rule to the Jews. For example they were not to own Christian slaves. During his time he had prepared his resting place in accordance to the doctrines of the church where he would be buried when he died.

Soon after the Easter festivals in 337, he fell seriously ill and called upon all the bishops requesting to be baptized in the river Jordan. It is in this river that Jesus Christ got baptized. His wish was honored. He promised that if he stayed through his illness he would have continued to serve in the Christian faith. He died on 22 May 337, at a suburban villa called Achyron. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople⁶.

The Major Contribution

Analyzing the above work that Constantine was involve in, we find that he ruled in the era that Christianity was seen as a cult and was highly condemned. He was the one who made efforts to give the Christians a voice as well as reinforcing their existence. He built churches and even supported the Christians financially. To ensure that the Christianity continued to have full support he promoted the Christians to the higher office.

Through his self thought that his mission/ purpose in the empire were to ensure that God was prayed in the correct way, he made ways for the Christians. In an indirect way, his mother who had all along remained a Christian used him for support to preach the gospel to many parts. In Jerusalem, she visited and claimed that she had found the Holy Sepuchre and built a church called the church of holy sepuchre. She made various trips in the empire supporting Christianity with the support of the son⁷.

When he was a full emperor, it is the time that he had the courage to declare that he was indeed a Christian. Analyzing this decision and the support that he gave the Christians, it is true that he had the will of being one and most probably he had been influenced by his mum. Some writers have recognized the mum as a saint. During his school life, it is evident the he interacted with other Christians and maybe got influenced by their way of life, or he got a chance to grow what his parents had planted in him in his early years. In the school, it has been mentioned by a number of writers that he used to attend to the lectures of Lactantius, who was by himself a Christians.

The father though was not a proclaimed Christians is said to have favored the Christians especially the east and even if he failed in his campaigns, he had been referred to as a great leader, his son followed the same footsteps and built the base of Christianity in the Roman empire. It is thought that the decisions that he made was to a large extent influenced by the Christians that he had promoted to the higher office. On the other hand, he proclaimed to be a Christian and noted that he considered his success as the blessings of the Christian God. This shows that he had the Christianity in him since he was a child and credit goes to the mother.

The way he fought for the Christians also talked his heart as one. He prepared his death according to the church and made a confession that if he had lived he would have continued to be a Christian this talks of his commitment in the faith. It was in his will that he be buried in the church grounds.

His Legacy

Other than the effort that he made in ensuring that the Christians were heard and treated with dignity, he also left some legacy that is remembered even today and continues to influence the life of people more so the Christians. They include; he was the one who made sure that the doctrine of Christianity had been respected by the empire as a whole. The numerous interventions that he made strengthened the Christian faith at the time that it was considered as a cult⁸.

Even if the church was the one that coined the name Constantine The Great, the name is seen as symbolic to the major wars that he fought successfully alongside this one of the Christians. He is remembered as the one who reunited the empire under one emperor and also changed the administrative strategy of the empire. He had extended his empire to occupy the long lost province of Dacia that had been abandoned by the Aurelian in 271.

He fought and won many battles. For example he won the battle against the Franks and Alamanni in 306–8⁹. He won a battle against the same Franks again in 313–14. In the year 332 and 334 he won against the Visigoths and the Sarmatians respectively¹⁰. He is also remembered as the emperor who made the most development in terms of building and military houses. He also made roads and financed the building of a perimeter wall and a gate to protect the empire. He never lost any battle during his reign¹¹.

His Obstacles toward Christianity

The fight to Christianity was not as smooth as the story may tell but was faced with numerous problems. The most dominant one was to change the minds of the people, those who had crucified Jesus Christ to believe that he can be their king. They considered this as a failure of the emperor and repelled his ruling.

There were various battles among the community, those who believed in the new doctrine of Christianity and those who did not believe. The emperor as the sole determiner of cases had to strike a middle ground in all these cases and maintain peace. Conflict can be seen when he failed to put Christian symbols on the general thing of the emperor but he wore Christian ornaments himself. He was double dealing his actions in the battle for support from all the side. He did overcome all this by remaining focused and holding unto his proclaimed calling.

The Influence of Constantine on the Civilization of the Romans

When the emperor took office the Romans were still in the old ruling that power was centered on the emperor alone and he made all the decision without consultation. He was the judge, the law maker, and the battle leader.

In his term he changes this and ensured that there was a division in the empire that gave the rise to different levels of power. Although this division was looked down by some people as they saw as if it was in his effort to create chances in the higher office for the Christians, he was successful in this mission¹². He introduced the levels of senator who had to be elected. In the monetary system, traditionally there was the use of silver and bullion coins as the mode of paying public expenses. He was the one who introduced the use of gold as a standard of exchange in the entire empire. The effort that he had initiated was continued by his three sons who took over and furthered these agendas that the father started. He led the Romans to civilization.

His Mission/ Purpose and the Contribution to the Modern Life

He was the one who fought for the rights of the Christians and he was in the right position to do that. He is considered to be the father of the religion in the Romans. The Roman Catholic has become what it is out of the sacrifice and determination of the emperor. Today, as Christians learn about the life of such kind of people and the life of Jesus, they are able to peddle on in the life. He is a role model and a teacher to the Christians. He was the one who started the way to civilization of the Romans.

Conclusion

There were a fight to the success of Christianity, the Christians were the targets of prosecution they were jailed and denied their properties in the effort to stop the growth of the religion. The pagans were determined to win the game but it took the intervention of great people with a vision to win the battle against the pagans.

Constantine “The Great” is seen as the sacrificial lamb that fought the battle and won. It was out of the determination that he portrayed all along that leads to the success. Right from his child hood he was determined to make a positive impact on the life’s of the people. He used the position and opportunity that he had to the best. His legacy will remain in the minds of the Christians forever.

Bibliography

Baker, P. George. Constantine the Great and the Christian Revolution. New York, NY: Cooper Square Press, 2001.

Brown, Peter. Authority and the Sacred: Aspects of the Christianization of the Roman World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Brown, Peter. Power and Persuasion in Late Antiquity: Towards a Christian Empire. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1992.

Eusebius. The Life of Constantine (Kindle 2 edition). New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Fox, Robin. Pagans and Christians in the Mediterranean World from the Second Century AD to the Conversion of Constantine. London: Macmillan, 1986.

Frend, William. Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church: a Study of a Conflict from the Maccabees to Donatus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965.

Odahl, M. Charles. Constantine and the Christian Empire. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Pohlsander, A. Hans. The Emperor Constantine (Kindle 2 edition). New York: Routledge, 1996.

Southern, Pat. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. New York: Routledge, 2001.

Walford, Edward. Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius. London: Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 2002.

Footnotes

1. Southern, Pat. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. New York: Routledge, 2001 (P. 56).
2. Southern, Pat. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. New York: Routledge, 2001 (P.19).
3. Baker, P. George. Constantine the Great and the Christian Revolution. New York, NY: Cooper Square Press, 2001. (P. 44).
4. Brown, Peter. Power and Persuasion in Late Antiquity: Towards a Christian Empire. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1992 (P.11).
5. Pohlsander, A. Hans. The Emperor Constantine (Kindle 2 edition). New York: Routledge, 1996 (P.12).
6. Fox, Robin. Pagans and Christians in the Mediterranean World from the Second Century AD to the Conversion of Constantine. London: Macmillan, 1986 (P 34).
7. Eusebius. The Life of Constantine (Kindle 2 edition). New York: Oxford University Press, 1999 (P. 3).
8. Walford, Edward. Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius. London: Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 2002. Web.
9. Walford, Edward. Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius. London: Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 2002. Web.
10. Brown, Peter. Authority and the Sacred: Aspects of the Christianization of the Roman World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995 (P 23).
11. Southern, Pat. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. New York: Routledge, 2001, (P.11).
12. Pohlsander, A. Hans. The Emperor Constantine (Kindle 2 edition). New York: Routledge, 1996. p.1-3.