Constantine I
Constantine the Great with his right hand raised, found in the Basilica named after him in Rome.
Constantine I (280 at Niš, Illyria - 337 AD), also known as Constantine the Great and Flavius Valerius Constantinus, was the first Roman Emperor (324-337) to be baptised a Christian, starting the process that made Christianity into the state religion of the Roman Empire.
He "controlled, guided and personified The Church at Constantinople; no-one can read Eusebius's description of the Council of Nicaea without understanding that - amongst all who were then assembled none occupied the same pre-eminence." This Council bestowed upon Constantine his semi-Holy status as "Divine Head of the Church" or "God's Viceroy on Earth".[1]
He renamed the city of Byzantium to Constantinople, greatly expanded it, and made it his capital.
External links
Encyclopedias
- Ancient History Encyclopedia: Constantine I
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Constantine I
- Encyclopedia Britannica 1911 Edition: Constantine I
- Encyclopedia.com: Constantine I
Sources
- ↑ Stanley, D.D., Professor Arthur Penrhyn, The Eastern Church, London, 1861.
- Perowne, Stewart, Caesars and Saints - The Evolution of the Christian State 180-313 A.D., Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1962.
