Who was Constantine?

Constantine isn't just a fictional name for a Keanu Reeves movie (which is very good, by the way). Constantine was emperor of Rome in the 4th century CE. and during his reign, changed the religious landscape of the world forever. Unfortunately, it was not in the favour of Paganism. So who was he and what did he do?

After many years of political maneuvering, Constantine became emperor of the Roman Empire in 306 CE. The beginnings of his Christian conversion came when he was fighting with his brother Maxentius. The night before the battle of the Milvian Bridge (312 CE), Constantine had a vision or a dream of the Chi Ro, the symbol used by Christianity at the time. God also told him, "In this sign you will be victorious". Constantine was inspired and ordered his troops to mark their shields with the symbol. As I'm sure you can guess, Constantine won the battle. Even though he didn't fully understand the beliefs of the Christians, he considered himself to be converted.

Once in power, he legalized Christianity and those who followed it were not longer persecuted and the religion spread further through the empire. He had churches built all through his lands, and gave them tax-exempt status. The church became a more political arena as other leaders used it to gain favour with the emperor.

But it wasn't long before he began to show the classic signs of intolerance that we have seen so often in Christian historical figures. Pagan temples were destroyed, and their wealth used to build churches. Laws were written that reflected the doctrine of the church, such as making Sunday a day of rest. The winter solstice holiday was converted as well, as December 25th was officially designated as a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

It was during the time of Constantine that many aspects of Christianity were still undefined. It was a rather new religion, after all. To settle the matter of Jesus' nature and divinity, there was a conference of bishops in Nicaea. Constantine presided over the council and the Nicean Creed was written, a text that is still used today.

Besides the purely religions actions, Constantine was a harsh ruler. Taxes were heavy, and punishments for law breaking were extreme. The church grew fat with wealth and corruption. It was a political pawn instead of a spiritual haven.

The Christians may consider Constantine a positive force for the spread of the Christian movement, but I see him as more as an oppressor who used force and tyranny to change the thinking of his nation. Acts that we have seen on many more occasions through history since his time.