Reference
- ConstantineConstantine became a pivotal figure in the historio-graphical tradition beginning shortly after his death. Eusebius of Caesarea composed a panegyrical biography, The Life of Constantine, which elevated him to the level of a prophet or saint. A counterreaction started with his pagan nephew, the emperor Julian (r. 361-363), whose critique was magnified by the late 4th-century pagan historian Eunapius and his early 6th-century epitomizer Zosimus. They criticized, inter alia, Constantine's confiscation of treasuries from pagan shrines and his family murders, in repentance for which, they argued, Constantine chose to convert. Late antique Christian writers joined the debate by attempting to counter these pagan detractions (esp. Sozomen), to supplement them with charges of Constantine's tendency toward Arianism (esp. Jerome), or, in the case of Arianizing historians, to claim the emperor as an ally (esp. Philostorgius).
Legends also appeared quickly, the first relating to Constantine's refashioning of the Holy Land. Although by the 350s Christians believed that the True Cross on which Christ was thought to have been crucified had been discovered, in 395 Ambrose of Milan first reported that Constantine's mother, Helena, was responsible for its excavation (De obitu Theodosii 43-47), and only a few years later Rufinus of Aquileia (Historia eremitica 10.7-8) offers a full narrative of the inventio crucis. These late 4th-century accounts spawned a series of more elaborate legends in Latin, Greek, and Syriac involving the revelation of the cross's whereabouts by a Jew named Judas, who converted and as bishop of Jerusalem took the name Cyriacus.
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Perspectives
Constantine and Rome
Constantine the Great (285-337) played a crucial role in mediating between the pagan, imperial past of the city of Rome, which he conquered in 312, and its future as a Christian capital. In this learned and highly readable book, Ross Holloway examines Constantine's remarkable building programme in Rome. Holloway begins by examining the Christian Church in the period before the Peace of 313, when Constantine and his co-emperor Licinius ended the persecution of the Christians. He then focuses on the structure, style, and significance of important monuments: the Arch of Constantine and the two great Christian basilicas, St. John's in the Lateran and St. Peter's, as well as the imperial mausoleum at Tor Pignatara. In a final chapter Holloway advances a new interpretation of the archaeology of the Tomb of St. Peter beneath the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica. The tomb, he concludes, was not the original resting place of the remains venerated as those of the Apostle but was created only in 251 by Pope Cornelius. Drawing on the most up-to-date archaeological evidence, he describes a cityscape that was at once Christian and pagan, mirroring the personality of its ruler.
Against Marcellus and on Ecclesiastical History
This is the first English translation of the last two theological works of Eusebius of Caesarea, Against Marcellus and On Ecclesiastical Theology. The first text was composed after the deposition of Marcellus of Ancyra in 336 to justify the action of the council fathers in ordering the deposition on the grounds of heresy, contending that Marcellus was "Sabellian" (or modalist) on the Trinity and a follower of Paul of Samosata (hence adoptionist) in Christology. Relying heavily upon extensive quotations from a treatise Marcellus wrote against Asterius the Sophist, this text provides important information about ecclesiastical politics in the period before and just after the Council of Nicea, and endeavors to demonstrate Marcellus's erroneous interpretation of several key biblical passages that had been under discussion since before the council. In doing so, Eusebius criticizes Marcellus's inadequate account of the distinction between the persons of the Trinity, eschatology, and the Church's teaching about the divine and human identities of Christ. On Ecclesiastical Theology, composed circa 338/339 just before Eusebius's death, and perhaps in response to the amnesty for deposed bishops enacted by Constantius after the death of Constantine in 377 and the possibility of Marcellus's return to his see, continues to lay out the criticisms initially put forward in Against Marcellus, again utilizing quotations from Marcellus's book against Asterius. However, we see in this text a much more systematic explanation of Eusebius's objections to the various elements of Marcellus's theology and what he sees as the proper orthodox articulation of those elements. Long overlooked for statements at odds with later orthodoxy, even written off as heretical because allegedly "semi-Arian," recent scholarship has demonstrated the tremendous influence these texts had on the Greek theological tradition in the fourth century, especially on the orthodox understanding of the Trinity. In addition to their influence, they are some of the few complete texts that we have from Greek theologians in the immediate period following the Council of Nicea in 325, thus filling a gap in the materials available for research and teaching in this critical phase of theological development.
The Arian Controversy
Excerpt: ...was a dead limb of the Empire, and the Roman power beyond Mount Taurus fell before the Saracens because the provincials would not lift a hand to fight for the heretics of Chalcedon. The Sirmian manifesto (357). The victory seemed won when the last great enemy was driven into the desert, and the intriguers hasted to the spoil. They forgot that the West was only overawed for the moment, that Egypt was devoted to its patriarch, that there was a strong opposition in the East, and that the conservatives, who had won the battle for them, were not likely to take up Arianism at the bidding of their unworthy leaders. Amongst the few prominent Eusebians of the West were two disciples of Arius who held the neighbouring bishoprics of Mursa and Singidunum, the modern Belgrade. Valens and Ursacius were young men in 335, but old enough to take a part in the infamous Egyptian commission of the council of Tyre. Since that time they had been well to the front in the Eusebian plots. In 347, however, they had found it prudent to make their peace with Julius of Rome by confessing the falsehood of their charges against Athanasius. Of late they had been active on Pg 89 the winning side, and enjoyed much influence with Constantius. Thinking it now safe to declare more openly for Arianism, they called a few bishops to Sirmium in the summer of 357, and issued a manifesto of their belief for the time being, to the following general effect. 'We acknowledge one God the Father, also His only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. But two Gods must not be preached. The Father is without beginning, invisible, and in every respect greater than the Son, who is subject to Him together with the creatures. The Son is born of the Father, God of God, by an inscrutable generation, and took flesh or body, that is, man, through which he suffered. The words essence, of the same essence, of like essence, ought not to be used, because they are not found in Scripture, and because the divine generation is...
A Companion to Second-Century Christian 'Heretics'
The book illuminates “the other side” of early Christianity by examining thinkers and movements that were embraced by many second-century religious seekers as legitimate forms of Christianity, but which are now largely forgotten, or are known only from the characteristics attributed to them in the writings of their main adversaries. The collection deals with the following teachers and movements: Basilides, Sethianism, Valentinus’ school, Marcion, Tatian, Bardaisan, Montanists, Cerinthus, Ebionites, Nazarenes, Jewish-Christianity of the Pseudo-Clementines , and Elchasites. Where appropriate, the authors have included an overview of the life and significant publications of the “heretics,” along with a description of their theologies and movements. Therefore, this volume can serve as a handbook of the second-century “heretics” and their “heresies.” Since all the chapters have been written by specialists who wrestle daily with their research themes, the contributions also offer new perspectives and insights stimulating further discussion on this fascinating—but often neglected—side of early Christianity.
Byzantine Empire
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Constantine's anti-heresy laws protect orthodoxy and persecute heresy, entering into the legal sphere. Constantine invaded the Eastern Empire, founding a new capital, Constantinople, and the Byzantine Empire.
Roman Empire
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AtoZ Maps Online is the world’s largest database of downloadable, royalty-free maps. This database includes more than 100,000 maps in 48 categories: world, regional, country, and state maps as well as environmental, climate, antique, and other maps.
Early Christianity and the Rise of Constantine
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Stability never lasted long in the Roman Empire. At the dawn of the 4th century, Christianity emerged as a major world force - made manifest by Constantine's dramatic and unexpected conversion. Find out how and why Christianity developed and spread, and the role it played in subsequent political events.
Council of Nicea
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowWhen a schism over Christ's divinity threatened the Church and the political system, Constantine summoned a Council at Nicea that resolved the issue of orthodoxy, and ultimately, heresy.