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Originally Posted by Freddy
Constantine the Great did not make Christianity the state religion of Rome during his lifetime, he only put it on an equal footing. In fact, he only converted on his deathbed in 338. He followed his original faith, the pagan, Sol Inviticus cult, throughout his life while financing Christian churches and missions throughout the Empire. Talk about a conflicted ruler. Actually, he used Christianity as a means to better organize the empire. He also murdered one son and that son's mother. Some Christian he was. It was the emperor Theodosious in 392 who made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire.
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You are correct. Constantine wasn't in Rome, but in what became Constantinople, so of course, he couldn't say anything about Rome's policies. However, what I meant was that he chose Christianity as the ("a") official religion for Asia Minor (Turkey). Its spread to Rome occurred later as you said.
If I had a point (?) it was that this history is totally unknown to most Christians today. They have their own "tradition" of what happened, that smooths over all the rough spots. Now that new evidence is coming to light, the pressure to either suppress or accept the history of early Christianity may get "turbulent".
