CONSTANTINE'S BEQUEST

Boon, or Damnosa Hereditas?

INTRODUCTION
Historians, theologians and commentators alike all agree that the inception of
the Imperial Church in the 4th Century under the Emperor Constantine (272-337)
was of singular importance to the subsequent development of Christianity. What
they differ on is whether it was a boon, or a damnosa hereditas.1

It must be acknowledged that any accounting; determining which column of

the ledger features of Constantine's bequest ought to be assigned, and then
weighing the benefits against the liabilities, is as much a theological undertaking as
it is historical. For instance, Constantine's extraordinary patronage of Christian
architecture is considered by some a glorious heritage2 whose continued expression
throughout the ages is becoming of the majesty of Christ, whilst others see the same
as a tool of Empire,3 displaying gross opulence and hubris4 inconsistent with the
humble and suffering Messiah.

For this reason, I must acknowledge that I am attempting a personal

theological appraisal of interpreted historical fact. My method will be to limit
particular attention to the two main features of Constantine's bequest which present
most obviously as benefits to the Church of his day, and attempt to examine them in
the light of their subsequent historical development, before turning to a more
general discussion of the liabilities which are commonly understood to have
attended them.

Specifically, I will be approaching the question from a Post-Christendom

hermeneutic which leads me to understand that the benefits which Constantine
brought to the Church, both in his day and throughout history, were grossly
outweighed by the liabilities.
1 An accursed inheritence.
2 H. Dorries, Constantine the Great (Harper & Row, 1972), 210.
3 Justo González, The story of Christianity, Prince Press ed. (Peabody MA: Prince Press, 1999), 134.
4 Gregory T. Armstrong, “Imperial Church Building and Church-State Relations, A.D. 313-363,” Church History 36
(1967): 12.
BENEFITS
The least ambiguous of those benefits which Constantine bequethed to the
Church; an end to persecution and the cultivation of conditions favouring the
promulgation of the Gospel, are precisely those yearned for in Paul's prayer to the
Thessalonians. A circumstance which may go some way toward explaining the
(mostly) credulous reception by the 4th c. Church.

Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread
rapidly and be glorified everywhere, just as it is among you, and that we may be rescued
from wicked and evil people; for not all have faith.5

I. AN END TO PERSECUTION

That Constantine's patronage of Christianity secured the Church against the

threat of persecution to which had long been subject (Nero, Domitian, Aurelius,
Severus, Decius, Valerian)6 cannot be denied; the edict of Milan (313) granting to
Christianity the same legal rights as enjoyed by the cultic religions and reversing the
deprevations and confiscations7 of 'the great' Diocletian persecution (303-313). In
the sandals of a 4th c. Christian it would be hard to see the end of persecution as
anything other than a great boon;

From the point of view of the church it must have seemed to many, as it did to
Eusebius, that the kingdom had arrived, and there were few, if any second thoughts until

Constantine’s last years or the reign of his sons. Certainly the change in status from a
persecuted community to the most favored cult was one not easily spurned.8

5 2Thessalonians 3:1,2, New Revised Standard Version, With Apocrypha (Harper Collins, 2007).
6 González, The story of Christianity, 31-109.
7 Edward A. Johnson, “Constantine The Great: Imperial Benefactor of the Early Christian Church,” Journal of the
Evangelical Theological Society 22, no. 2 (June 1979): 163, 164.
8 Armstrong, “Imperial Church Building and Church-State Relations, A.D. 313-363,” 12.
 And yet, if those who looked upon the end of persecutions as a "snare of
Satan",9 were few, they were certainly resolved; and their resolve became a
predominant part of the impetus for the Monastic Movement.10 11 How largely
persecution and martyrdom, "the ultimate witness"12, informed the very identity of
the Church in this period is not now easily appreciated, but can be seen for example
in the circumstances of the Novatian Schism.13 The well known words of Tertullian
are on this point instructive;

... A taint on our purity is considered among us something more terrible than any
punishment and any death. Nor does your cruelty, however exquisite, avail you; it is rather a
temptation to us. The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the
blood of Christians is seed.14

It can be seen then that the end of persecution under Constantine was not
universally seen as a benefit in his day; to a small but theologically significant party
it was seen as much more than a liability, it was seen as an existential threat to the
very life and identity of the Church. Did not the Scriptures overwhelmingly speak of
faithful discipleship being attended by persecution?15

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all
kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is
great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you".16

9 González, The story of Christianity, 136.

10 Nigel Wright, Disavowing Constantine : mission, church and the social order in the theologies of John Howard
̈
Yoder and Jurgen Moltmann (Carlisle Cumbria U.K.: Paternoster Press, 2000), 18.
11 González, The story of Christianity, chap. 15.
12 Ibid., 136.
13 Ibid., 88-90.
14 Tertullian, Apologeticus Philip Schaff, “ANF03. Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian | Christian Classics
Ethereal Library,” Christian Classics Etherial Library, 1885, chap. L,
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.iv.iii.l.html, (accessed April 17, 2011).
15 Matthew 10:34, 13:21, Mark 10:30, John 15:20 etc.
16 Holy Bible New Revised Standard Version, With Apocrypha. (Harperone, 2007), bk. Matthew 5:10-12.
 Moreover, this aspect of Constantine's bequest being seen as a benefit is
further compromised by subsequent historical developments. The betrothal and
wedding of Christianity to Empire under Constantine (later consummated by
Theodocius I in 380) inextricably cast the Church as a tool for the management and
extension of Empire. Imperial unity being a requirement of the state cultus,17
dissenters within the Church soon became subject to much the same persecutions18
as Constantine has been hailed as rescuing the Church from.19 And while it may
well have been a commitment to a policy of inclusive diversity20 which led to "a
string of clashes with Donatist rigorists, unyielding Arian theologians, and purist
Nicene fathers",21 the state enforcement of 'orthodoxy' was in subsequent history
turned on Christian dissenters with unconscionable fury.22

In summary, though the end of persecution was (with significant objection)

deemed a benefit by the greater part of 4th c. Christianity, Constantine's bequest
could only be seen subsequently, for example to an early Reformer burning at the
stake, as the most diabolical liability.

17 "In the ancient world, religion was not just one compartmentalized part of life alongside and seperable from other
parts of life like family, business, civic life and diplomacy. Rather, religion enveloped and embraced all other
aspects of life. Traditional Greek and Roman religion sought the preservation of the status quo in the family, city
and state, or if the situation was unstable, a return to stability. Participation in the rituals that surrounded family
meals, social gatherings, civic festivals and agricultural rites showed a persons solidarity with the larger society,
symbolizing willingness to do his or her part to secure social and civic harmony, agricultural productivity, and
political stability. These were cultic expressions of loyalty and commitment to ever-widening social unit: family,
city, province, empire. It was therefore impossible to be religiously deviant without this having political and social
ramifications." - David DeSilva, An introduction to the New Testament : contexts, methods & ministry formation
(Downers Grove Ill. ;Leicester England: InterVarsity Press ;;Apollos, 2004), 90, 91.
18 As evidenced early on with Constantines response to the Donatist schism.
19 "The harmonious hopes of this combination (of Church and Empire) were clouded by division in the Church with
the outbreak of the Donatist Schism in Africa in 313.... (Constantine's) involvment in the dispute was the first
indication that the personal religion of the Emperor would soon be considered the official religion of the state.... (he)
was compelled, by furious opposition, to reinforce his judgement by oppression at the hands of imperial
commissioners, variously described as servants of God and wild beasts, and by armed intervention." - Charles
Tompkins, “Constantine, Secular Christian (c. A.D. 280-337),” Expository Times 80, no. March (1969): 180.
20 Here is a possible example of a benefit which bore so little subsequent fruit as to disallow it from further
consideration in this argument. The voluntary involvement of pluralism could have been developed by an
empowered Church casting itself in the role of servant, working out a political expression of the Gospel ethos' of
emancipation and neighbourly love. It is bitterly ironic that this was so willingly abandoned by a Church drunk on
power and waited to be rediscovered from a different direction in modernity.
21 H. A. Drake, “Constantine and Consensus,” Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture 64, no. 1 (1995): 5,
(accessed April 15, 2011).
22 "Here he (Constantine) set Christianity on the track of persecution that has cast a shadow on it's history ever since.
Christians had themselves experienced fearsome persecution at times, but even that did not equal the pain they
inflicted on non-Christians and even on other Christians as they gave sanction to the state's coercive powers" - E.
Glenn Hinson, The church triumphant: a history of Christianity up to 1300 (Mercer University Press, 1995), 157.
II. PROMULGATION OF THE GOSPEL

The second aspect of Constantine's bequest which presents most obviously as

a benefit is that it cultivated conditions highly favourable to the promulgation of the
gospel.23 24 It has been seen already how the legal impediments to evangelisation
and conversion which had characterised the previous political climate had been
removed, but Constantine, accorded the title of "thirteenth apostle" by the council
of Nicaea,25 issued later edicts26 banning the practice of sacrifice generally,27 as well
as forbidding the celebration of pagan rites by officials: a measure which had the
effect of making the imperial beuracracy nominally Christian.28 Social reform then
took on a distinctly Christian hue,29 and became a vehicle for supressing
paganism30. Pagan temples were looted,31 reconsecrated or even destroyed,32 while
Christian places of worship, many of which truly impressive, were constructed
across the Empire with public funds.33 The Church and its ministers also recieved
important tax concessions34 and were gifted with endowments.35 In short
"Constantine's contribution to the evangelization of the Roman Empire and even
beyond was an immense but not an unmixed blessing".36

What in great part made this element of Constantine's bequest such a mixed
blessing to the Church is that there were many even in his day37 who were
concerned that the gospel which was now so easily promulgated was no longer the
Gospel. To them, this phase of the Church's rapid growth was considered "a great
apostasy".38 39

23 Ibid., 156.
24 John Eadie, The conversion of Constantine (New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1971), 8.
25 Wright, Disavowing Constantine, 15.
26 Disputed by some sources.
27 Drake, “Constantine and Consensus,” 7.
28 Tompkins, “Constantine, Secular Christian (c. A.D. 280-337),” 180.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Hinson, The church triumphant, 154.
32 Tompkins, “Constantine, Secular Christian (c. A.D. 280-337),” 180.
33 Armstrong, “Imperial Church Building and Church-State Relations, A.D. 313-363,” 6-9.
34 Johnson, “Constantine The Great: Imperial Benefactor of the Early Christian Church,” 164, 165.
35 Tompkins, “Constantine, Secular Christian (c. A.D. 280-337),” 181.
36 Hinson, The church triumphant, 156.
37 González, The story of Christianity, 124, 125.
38 Ibid., 124.
39 Hans Pohlsander, The Emperor Constantine (London ;;New York: Routledge, 1996), 222.
 The narrow gate of which Jesus had spoken had become so wide that countless
multitudes were hurrying past it ... The rich and powerful seemed to dominate the life of the
church. The tares were growing so rapidly that they threatened to choke out the wheat....
How was one to be a true Christian in such circumstances? When the church joins the
powers of the world ... How is one to witness to the Crucified Lord?40

More important to posterity than the declining spirituality and increasing

worldliness of the Church41 was the much greater question which it posed, that of
the compatibility of the union of Christianity and Empire.

LIABILITIES

It may be seen from a critique of those elements of Constantine's bequest

which present most clearly as benefits (the end of persecution and the promulgation
of the gospel), that a number of obvious liabilities which Constantine brought to the
Church, such as state influence or control over ecclesial and doctrinal matters,42
conflation of social and religious sectarianism43 and religious justification for
political evils44 may be passed over in deference to a single consideration. viz; that
the Imperial Church as inaugerated by Constantine constituted a profound
discontinuity from authentic Christianity.45 In becoming the Imperial Church, the
Church of Constantine's day eschewed Kingdom for Christendom, emancipation for
proselytising, and free decision for coercion; thus prompting in part both the
Monastic movement and later the Reformation (among others) which both
recognised that the Church must be fashioned after Christ,46 rather than
Constantine, to perform it's mission faithfully.

40 González, The story of Christianity, 136.

41 Pohlsander, The Emperor Constantine, 222.
42 Dorries, Constantine the Great, 211, 212.
43 Ibid., 214.
44 Ibid., 221, 222.
45 Alistair Kee, Constantine versus Christ : the triumph of ideology (London: SCM Press, 1982), 4.
46 Karl Barth, Church dogmatics (Peabody Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2010), vols. IV.1, 724,5.
CONCLUSION

Constantine is remarkable for his role in lifting Christianity out of vulnerable

obscurity and transforming the Pagan world into Christendom. Yet from the
accounting I have undertaken I think it may be seen that in doing so the Church
bargained away it's distinctive witness in the world, and therefore it's missiological
foundation, for the baubles and trinkets of privilege and power which Constantine
dangled before it. It would seem to me then that the benefits which he brought to
the Church were the very same which Jesus refused in the wilderness;47

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the
world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it
has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please".48

I believe then that the Church has recieved an accursed inheritence, and may
yet come to thank Modernity for relieving it of Constantines bequest.

47 "Certainly the story means that secular power is not to be acquired at the price of the worship of Satan; but do we
grasp the import of the story fully if we think the only thing wrong with the offer is that it came from Satan...? The
offer is not rejected because Satan is unable to deliver what he promises; it is rejected because secular power is
altogether inept for the mission of Jesus, indeed because the use of secular power is hostile to his mission" - John L.
McKenzie, Authority in the Church (Sheed and Ward, 1966), 28-29; cited by John Yoder, The politics of Jesus : vicit
Agnus noster, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids Mich. ;Carlisle UK: Eerdmans ;;Paternoster Press, 1994), 26.
48 Holy Bible New Revised Standard Version, With Apocrypha., bk. Luke 4:5.
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