What did Constantine do about persecuting Christians?

Answer 1

Under Constantine, those who belonged to the Catholic-Orthodox branch of Christianity to which he gave state patronage were treated well, as were the Arians, a major splinter group in the fourth century. Initially Constantine persecuted the Donatists, another splinter group, but after a short time lifted the edicts against them. For him, the Gnostic branch of Christianity was not deserving of support and should be suppressed.

Constantine paid bribes to Romans who converted, and provided generous stipends to the clergy, out of state funds. Part of the peace treaties he negotiated with the Germanic tribes he conquered, was that they must become Christians.

Constantine completely controlled the bishops himself and chose every bishop when a vacancy arose. His dominance over them was embodied in the statement "my will must be considered binding".

Answer 2

Constantine supported Christianity. He completed the termination of the Great Persecution of Christians. He introduced laws which favoured the Christians and promoted Christians in the imperial bureaucracy. He convoked church councils to try to arbitrate the disputes between rival Christian doctrines. He also 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.

Answer 3

Theodosius I (or the Great), together with his co-emperor Gratian issued the Edict of Thessalonica (in 3800 which made Mainstream Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. mainstream Christianity (Latin or Western Christianity and Greek or Eastern Christianity) were declared the sole legitimate religion of the Roman Empire. The purpose of the edict was to ban dissident Christian doctrines, which were branded as heretic. Theodosius started persecuting them soon afterwards. His main target was Arian Christianity, which was popular around the empire.

At that time the Latin/Western church and the Greek/Eastern Church, were the churches of the western and eastern part of the Roman Empire respectively. They were two branches of one church which was called Catholic Church and they both subscribed to the Nicene Creed, a particular interpretation of the trinity and were opposed to alternative interpretations of the trinity, particularly that of the Arian Christians. Later these two churches spit and came to be called Catholic and Orthodox respectively.

Theodosius I also persecuted Roman religion and other pagan creeds, particularly Manichaeism which was briefly the main rival to Christianity in the competition to replace classical paganism.

Answer 4

Constantine finalised the termination of Diocletian's persecution of the Christians (which had been decreed by the edict of tolerance by the emperor Galerius in 311) with the Edict of Milan which he issued together with his co-emperor, Licinius in 313. He promoted Christians in the imperial bureaucracy and issued some laws which were favourable to the Christians. He convened synods and ecumenical councils to try to arbitrate disputes between rival Christian doctrines. He built Christian churches, most notably the original St Peter's, St John in Lateran (the first residence of the popes) in Rome, the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Hagia Irene in Constantinople.

Answer 5

He persecuted them. He is the Beast in the Book of Revelation, whose number was 666.

Answer 6

Constantine never persecute the Christians because he was enlightened by this religion and his Mother Saint Helen is always gave a counsel to her son.