How were Christians both better off and worse off after Constantine declared Christianity legal and it became the official religion of the empire?

Answer 1

Christians were better off in that persecution ceased and they also had state help in setting up places of worship.

Christians were in many ways worse off in that many now flocked into the Christian church who were such in name only, simply to receive the money offered by Constantine and Christianity thus it lost to a degree its 'pilgrim' status and became to a degree worldly. The true nature of Christianity began to be obscured at this point, especially as it was mingled with state power by a ruler who continued to act wickedly and to hold the highest title of paganism (pontifex maximus). This mixture of paganism and the Christian faith made it undoubtedly difficult for those who were true Christians and who had endured great suffering previously to promulgate the true faith as it had now become 'one among many', even though a favored one.

'Nominal' Christians, especially the Catholic Church were better off because they became the State religion. The rich became richer and the poor were kept poor. True Christians were much worse off, because church leaders had deviated from seeking God's Kingdom that Jesus taught his followers to pray for in what is know as 'The Lord's Prayer' ("thy kingdom come"). Christendom's clergy, out of fear of Constantine was now the kingdom that the Counsel of Trent and the Catholic Church worked for. They then became the "persecutors" of true Christians.