Galerius issued the Edict of Toleration in 311 CE, thus bringing to an end the Great Persecution that he himself had urged on his predecessor, Diocletian. This brought to an end a period of three centuries during which Christianity was theoretically illegal, although usually ignored, often tolerated and rarely persecuted. In practice, the Great Persecution, which began in 303 CE, had already come to an end in the west, following the abdication of Diocletian in 305, and the immediate effect of the Edict of Toleration was to end the persecution of Christians in the east.
Theoretically, the Edict of Toleration ought to have provided permanent freedom of religion for the entire Roman Empire, and thus ensure that Christianity would never again be persecuted. In practice, a succession of Christian emperors meant that Christianity no longer needed this safeguard, but that the pagans began to suffer persecution, regardless of the Edict of Toleration.
This analysis shows that the practical effect of the Edict of Toleration on the spread of Christianity was quite limited. On the one hand, the Christian emperors did not require a law in order for them to encourage the new religion. On the other hand, the Edict of Toleration did nothing to assist the pagan temples or to slow the advance of Christianity.
Constantine I and Licinius agreed to the Edict of Milan. Which was for the toleration of Christians.
Constantine the Great did not legalise Christianity. Christianity was persecuted, but it was not made illegal. Constantine finalised the end of the Great Persecution which had been decreed by the Edict of Toleration by (emperor) Galerius in 311. The Edict of Milan on 313 which Constantine signed together with Licinius, his co-emperor, reiterated the toleration of Christianity and provided for compensation by the state for those who returned Christian property which had been confiscated and sold during the Great Persecution. This edict was aimed at the governors of the provinces in the eastern part of the empire because a junior emperor in charge of Turkey Syria and Egypt ignored Galerius' edict and continued the persecution.
1598
Edict of Nantes, 1598; revoked 1685.
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.
The Edict of Toleration is actually the Edict of Milan which was to declare toleration of Christians in Milan. Licinius and Constantine were the ones who agreed on it.
Constantine I and Licinius agreed to the Edict of Milan. Which was for the toleration of Christians.
Constantine the Great did not legalise Christianity. Christianity was persecuted, but it was not made illegal. Constantine finalised the end of the Great Persecution which had been decreed by the Edict of Toleration by (emperor) Galerius in 311. The Edict of Milan on 313 which Constantine signed together with Licinius, his co-emperor, reiterated the toleration of Christianity and provided for compensation by the state for those who returned Christian property which had been confiscated and sold during the Great Persecution. This edict was aimed at the governors of the provinces in the eastern part of the empire because a junior emperor in charge of Turkey Syria and Egypt ignored Galerius' edict and continued the persecution.
The Edict of Milan helped spread Christianity by allowing all religions in Rome.
1598
The Edict of Milan helped spread Christianity by allowing all religions in Rome.
AnswerNo. The Edict of Milan in 312 proclaimed universal religious freedom in the Roman empire. After this point, both Christianity and Manichaeism spread rapidly through the empire. However, state patronage for Christianity made the flowering of Manichaeism shortlived.
In 313AD, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan legalizing Christian worship.
Which one are you talking about? The Edict of Toleration?
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.
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.
Galerius issued the Edict of Toleration, permitting freedom of religion throughout the Roman Empire. His co-emperors Constantine and Licinius jointly issued the Edict of Milan, which went a good deal further by granting positive advantages and privileges to the Christian community.