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Constantine was Christian himself. Since roman emperors were dictators, they quickly obeyed his new law.

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Q: Who was Contsantine and what caused him to end the persecution of the Christians?
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When did the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire end?

You're thinking of Constantine the Great. However he did not end the persecutions because there were no persecutions going on at the time. All he did was legitimize the religion and this was for political purposes.


What effectively ended Diocletian's persecution of the Christians?

AnswerAt the urging of his junior emperor, Galerius, Diocletian proclaimed the persecution of Christianity, the "Great Persecution", in 303 CE. However, this really had little support in the west and was driven in the east more by the presence there of both Diocletian and Galerius. Diocletian abdicated in 305 CE, and the persecution came to an end in the western half of the empire. It copntinued in the east until 311 CE, when Galerius realised that persecution was having no effect on the Christians and so issued the Edict of Toleration.


What caused Constantine to end Rome's persecution of Christians and make Christianity the legal religion?

The end of the Great Persecution of the Christians was actually decreed by emperor Galerius in the Edict of Toleration by Galerius in 311. Galerius returned to toleration of Christianity and guaranteed the Christians freedom of worship and the right to be safe in order to restore political stability in the empire. The persecution had caused great social unrest around the empire which was threatening its stability.Co-emperors Constantine the Great and Licinus signed the Edict of Milan of 313. It reiterated the toleration of Christianity, extended it to all religions and provided for compensation by the state to those who had bought or received Christian property as a gift which had been confiscated during the persecution and returned it to the Christians. The main aim of the edict seems to have been to act as an order for the governor of Syria to stop persecuting the Christians in his province. This governor continued the persecution, ignoring Galerius' edict.Neither the Edict of Toleration by Galerius nor the Edict of Milan made Christianity legal. Christianity had never been made illegal. There had been alternations of periods of toleration and period of persecution, but no emperor ever made Christianity illegal.More generally Constantine the Great supported Christianity. When he became sole emperor in 327 he and built important churches: the original Basilica of St Peter's in Rome, the St John Lateran's Basilica (the city of Rome's first Cathedral and the original residence of the Popes), the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople and Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem. He promoted Christians to high position in the imperial bureaucracy and he mediated disputes between various Christian doctrines.


Who was the last Roman Emperor to support persecution of Christians?

Diocletian launched the Great Persecution of 303-313. It had a number of phases:303-305 Diocletian and Maximian were Augusti (in charge); Galerius and Constantius Chlorus were Caesars (subordinates). All except Contantius Chlorus fully prosecuted the persecution of Christians; Constantius Chlorus participated in a limited way, with destruction of some churches.305-306 Galerius and Constantius Chlorus were Augusti; Maximinus Daia and Flavius Severus were Caesars. All except Constantius Chlorus fully prosecuted the persecution of Christians.306-307 Galerius and Maxentius were Augusti; Maximinus Daia, Constantine and Maxentius were Caesars. All except Constantine fully prosecuted the persecution of Christians.307-311 Galerius, Constantine and Licinius were Augusti; Maximinus Daia was Caesar (there were other complications as well). All except Constantine fully prosecuted the persecution of Christians. Just before he died, Galerius declared that Christians were permitted to return to their religion. This became the policy of the whole.312-313 Maximinus Daia (Augustus from 310) recommenced the persecution of Christians in his realm (Oriens: from the Taurus mountains to Egypt). It came to an end when he was defeated in a civil war by Licinius.In 313, the Roman Empire came under the joint control of Constantine and Licinius. They confirmed Galerius' policy of toleration to Christians. This was contained within the famous Edict of Milan issued by Licinius.Licinius is believed to have recommenced a limited persecution of Christians. This was not like the former occasion, since this attack on Christians can be attributed to political, rather than religious motives. It arose from the situation where the king of Armenia was now an avowed Christian and Constantine was now an avowed Christian, and Licinius and Constantine were rivals for full control of the Empire, and there were troubles on the Armenian frontier.Therefore, technically, Maximinus Daia was the last Roman Emperor to support persecution of Christians.


Do you see any lessons about religions tolerance today from the history of persecution of the christians in the Roman Empire?

This is for you to decide. Did repression work? Why did Galerius, who was the main instigator of Diocletian's Great Persecution, decreed the end of this persecution seven years later? Why did he do so for peace and security in the empire? Why was it only the Christian religion which was persecuted? What were the benefits of the Romans' policy of tolerance of the religions of the conquered peoples? Note that Christianity was not always persecuted. There were periods of tolerance and periods of persecution.

Related questions

When did the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire end?

You're thinking of Constantine the Great. However he did not end the persecutions because there were no persecutions going on at the time. All he did was legitimize the religion and this was for political purposes.


What effectively ended Diocletian's persecution of the Christians?

AnswerAt the urging of his junior emperor, Galerius, Diocletian proclaimed the persecution of Christianity, the "Great Persecution", in 303 CE. However, this really had little support in the west and was driven in the east more by the presence there of both Diocletian and Galerius. Diocletian abdicated in 305 CE, and the persecution came to an end in the western half of the empire. It copntinued in the east until 311 CE, when Galerius realised that persecution was having no effect on the Christians and so issued the Edict of Toleration.


13 What ended the Roman persecution of the Christians?

Emperor Galerius issued the Edict of Toleration in 311, bring the Great Persecution of 303-311 to an end. However, persecution of some Christians was renewed under the rule of Emperor Constantine, who determined that Gnostic Christians were not covered by the Edict of Toleration or his own Edict of Milan, issued in 313. Constantine also ordered the persecution of Donatist Christians, but later rescinded the order because it was not having the desired effect. Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of empire in 380, but only the Christianity "taught by the bishops of Rome and Alexandria". Persecution of Christians outside the mainstream Church continued for many centuries, so it is not possible to identify a single time or person who ended this persecution.


What caused Constantine to end Rome's persecution of Christians and make Christianity the legal religion?

The end of the Great Persecution of the Christians was actually decreed by emperor Galerius in the Edict of Toleration by Galerius in 311. Galerius returned to toleration of Christianity and guaranteed the Christians freedom of worship and the right to be safe in order to restore political stability in the empire. The persecution had caused great social unrest around the empire which was threatening its stability.Co-emperors Constantine the Great and Licinus signed the Edict of Milan of 313. It reiterated the toleration of Christianity, extended it to all religions and provided for compensation by the state to those who had bought or received Christian property as a gift which had been confiscated during the persecution and returned it to the Christians. The main aim of the edict seems to have been to act as an order for the governor of Syria to stop persecuting the Christians in his province. This governor continued the persecution, ignoring Galerius' edict.Neither the Edict of Toleration by Galerius nor the Edict of Milan made Christianity legal. Christianity had never been made illegal. There had been alternations of periods of toleration and period of persecution, but no emperor ever made Christianity illegal.More generally Constantine the Great supported Christianity. When he became sole emperor in 327 he and built important churches: the original Basilica of St Peter's in Rome, the St John Lateran's Basilica (the city of Rome's first Cathedral and the original residence of the Popes), the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople and Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem. He promoted Christians to high position in the imperial bureaucracy and he mediated disputes between various Christian doctrines.


How were the early Christians received in Rome?

It appears from historical evidence that the early Christians were largely ignored by the pagan Roman Empire, apart from two brief periods of official persecution after 250 CE, and in the Great Persecution early in the fourth century. When disaster struck, local Christians were sometimes accused of angering the gods, resulting in small scale mob attacks on Christian targets, but by and large it appears that Christianity prospered. Edward Gibbon (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) believes the Christian tradition of widespread and savage official persecution began around the end of the fourth century, as justification for the persecution of the pagans by Christian authorities.


How did the Jews persecution end?

The people responsible for the persecution were removed from places of power that enabled them to commint the persecution.


Which Roman Emperor granted religious tolerance to Christians?

History shows that most Roman emperors were tolerant of Christianity. It was Galerius who formalised this by proclaiming the Edict of Toleration, overturning the Great Persecution of Diocletian.Constantine subsequently extended privileges to the Christian Church by the Edict of Milan.AnswerThe Roman emperor Galerius issued the Edict of Toleration that brought an end to the Great Persecution instituted by his predecessor, Diocletian. Strangely, it was Galerius who had pressured Diocletian to undertake the persecution of Christians. Constantine subsequently issued a further edict, the Edict of Milan that gave the Christians positive advantages.


Who was the last Roman Emperor to support persecution of Christians?

Diocletian launched the Great Persecution of 303-313. It had a number of phases:303-305 Diocletian and Maximian were Augusti (in charge); Galerius and Constantius Chlorus were Caesars (subordinates). All except Contantius Chlorus fully prosecuted the persecution of Christians; Constantius Chlorus participated in a limited way, with destruction of some churches.305-306 Galerius and Constantius Chlorus were Augusti; Maximinus Daia and Flavius Severus were Caesars. All except Constantius Chlorus fully prosecuted the persecution of Christians.306-307 Galerius and Maxentius were Augusti; Maximinus Daia, Constantine and Maxentius were Caesars. All except Constantine fully prosecuted the persecution of Christians.307-311 Galerius, Constantine and Licinius were Augusti; Maximinus Daia was Caesar (there were other complications as well). All except Constantine fully prosecuted the persecution of Christians. Just before he died, Galerius declared that Christians were permitted to return to their religion. This became the policy of the whole.312-313 Maximinus Daia (Augustus from 310) recommenced the persecution of Christians in his realm (Oriens: from the Taurus mountains to Egypt). It came to an end when he was defeated in a civil war by Licinius.In 313, the Roman Empire came under the joint control of Constantine and Licinius. They confirmed Galerius' policy of toleration to Christians. This was contained within the famous Edict of Milan issued by Licinius.Licinius is believed to have recommenced a limited persecution of Christians. This was not like the former occasion, since this attack on Christians can be attributed to political, rather than religious motives. It arose from the situation where the king of Armenia was now an avowed Christian and Constantine was now an avowed Christian, and Licinius and Constantine were rivals for full control of the Empire, and there were troubles on the Armenian frontier.Therefore, technically, Maximinus Daia was the last Roman Emperor to support persecution of Christians.


Do you see any lessons about religions tolerance today from the history of persecution of the christians in the Roman Empire?

This is for you to decide. Did repression work? Why did Galerius, who was the main instigator of Diocletian's Great Persecution, decreed the end of this persecution seven years later? Why did he do so for peace and security in the empire? Why was it only the Christian religion which was persecuted? What were the benefits of the Romans' policy of tolerance of the religions of the conquered peoples? Note that Christianity was not always persecuted. There were periods of tolerance and periods of persecution.


What freedom did Romans gain from Emperor Constantine?

The emperors' policy towards Christianity varied between toleration and persecution. There were two recorded and severe persecutions (other references to persecutions are not documented and were mild) the Decian Persecution (250-260) and the Great Persecution, which was started in 303 by the emperor Diocletian. This was ended by the Edict of Toleration by (emperor) Galerius in 311 The end of the latter persecution was decreed by the Edict of Toleration by (emperor) Galerius in 311. Galerius returned to toleration of Christianity and guaranteed the Christians freedom of worship and the right to be safe in order to restore political stability in the empire. The persecution had caused great social unrest among the large Christian population round the empire which was threatening its stability. Co-emperors Constantine the Great and Licinus signed the Edict of Milan of 313. It reiterated the toleration of Christianity, extended it to all religions (even though other religions had not been persecuted) and provided for compensation by the state to those who had bought or received Christian property as a gift which had been confiscated during the persecution and returned it to the Christians. The main aim of the edict seems to have been to act as an order for the Maximinus Dia (a junior emperor who governed Syria and Egypt) to stop persecuting the Christians in his province. Maximinus Dia continued the persecution, ignoring Galerius' edict. It is sometimes said that Constantine legalised Christianity and that he ended the persecution of the Christians. Both statements are inaccurate. Christianity was never banned and was never illegal. It was a matter of toleration or persecution. The Edict of Milan was aimed at ending the remnants of the persecution in Syria. The decree that officially ended to Great Persecution was the one issued by Galerius.


Why did people of Rome have more freedom under Emperor Constantine?

What Constantine reaffirmed the toleration of Christianity (in the Edict of Milan which he signed with his co-emperor Licinius) which had been decreed two earlier by the Edict of Toleration by (emperor Galerius) and completed the end of the great Persecution of Christians. The Edict of Milan also provided for the restitution of Christian property which had been confiscated during the persecution and compensation for those who returned it. Christians were free to worship their god.


How did Constantine end persecution?

Emperor Galerius issued the Edict of Toleration that ended the period known as the Great Persecution of the Christians. Constantine and his fellow emperor at the time, Licinius, jointly issued the Edict of Milan, building on the Edict of Toleration but going a good deal further by granting positive advantages and privileges to the Christian community. By these actions, there was to be no further persecution of Christians other than by other Christians, as sometimes happened. Having helped end one form of persecution, Constantine instituted another, longer lasting and eventually more total persecution of the pagans and Jews. There was a purge of prominent pagan individuals, including Constantine's former friend and mentor, Sopater, on a trumped-up charge. Constantine prohibited functionaries from performing the traditional pagan acts of sacrifice before the commencement of official business, and indeed forbade the performance of sacrifice to pagan gods at all. He plundered the pagan temples so as to enrich his treasury, while constructing magnificent churches and providing lavish stipends to the Christian clergy of the empire.