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Constantine began to support Christianity when his life changed. According to Constantine, the Greek letters for the word Christ- chi rho- appeared in the sky above hom. Over these letters were the Latin word- in hoc signo vinces- meaning " In this sign you will conquer."So Constantine ordered his soldiers to paint crosses on their sheilds. The cross was a symbol of Christianity because Jesus had died on the cross for our sins.

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14y ago
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8y ago

Constantine can be credited with beginning the political existence of the Catholic Church. The Church already existed as a united body and already had a set direction, doctrine, hierarchy and mission; its dogged self-confidence and ever-increasing moral influence had been felt for a long time by the Roman governors, however, it was considered an illegal religion due to its impiety to the gods and destablizing of the Pagan social order and so its members were often subject to persecution. Constantine not only legalized Christianity in 313 AD, but he made reparations to the Church, made their clergy tax exempt, aided and funded the construction of Church benefits and gave other benefits.

Constantine had been exposed to Catholicism through his mother and so was no stranger to it as he grew. He credited his victory over his rival, Maxentius, as being given to him from the Christian God - his soldiers went into battle with the chi rho symbol ("P" imposed on a "X") after Constantine had had an apparent vision that with this sign he should conquer. Upon entering Rome he broke tradition by not sacrificing to the gods in the usual Pagan token of Thanksgiving. Constantine politically supported the Church because he believed in it,; he believed that it was the true Faith. Constantine thus adopted the Church's stances and politically aided the suppression of heresies, such as the Donatists, the Gnostics, the Arians and others that the Church had recognized as corruptions. With political force behind It, the Church now accelerated its growth and further establishment throughout the empire.

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8y ago

Constantine did not start Catholicism, although he influenced the direction of the Catholic-Orthodox Church and his support was important to its eventual success. He gave Christianity state patronage and called the Council of Nicaea in order to achieve the changes he needed within the Church. He set out to impose order, create a stable hierarchy under his leadership, and obtain consensus on important issues facing the Church.
Constantine supported the Church because he saw it as a potential unifying force in the Empire, but knew that the Church could not unify the Empire unless it was, itself, united.

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15y ago

He may have become a protector of Christianity because he became a Christian himself. However, he also did it for political reasons.

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Q: Why did Constantine start Catholicism?
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What events led up to the founding of Catholicism?

When Constantine converted Christian, he merged the Christian church with the Roman Empire. Thus, Roman Catholicism.


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No, the official start of Catholicism was Pentecost.


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It would be proper to say that Constantine contributed nothing to Christianity. He was responsible for the finding of Catholicism which has only damaged Christianity.


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Nothing really - Constantine was a 4th century Italian ruler, and King James 1 was a 17th century English ruler. The only thing they had in common was that they were both rulers who allowed greater freedom of worship for Christians by setting up State religions: Constantine approved Christianity as a now-lawful state religion, which in Italy it became known as Roman Catholicism, and James 1 of England discouraged Roman Catholicism and set up what became the Church of England .


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Many sources will state the origins of Catholicism as early as 90-100 AD. Records are more easily found from the era of the Roman Emperor Constantine, however.The Roman Emperor Constantine "legalized" Christianity at the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, where previously Christians were largely persecuted for their beliefs. Constantine felt that Christianity could help to bring together the failing Roman Empire and prevent it's decline. Constantine did not fully embrace Christianity, instead "borrowing" beliefs from other religions (worshipping saints for one), either from his personal beliefs or as an attempt to appease his subjects and help them convert to his "new" religion.So, any denominations that find their origins after the first three to four centuries have followed Catholicism.


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