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 Bust of Constantine, Capitoline Museums, Rome Photo by Merulana From Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great or simply as "Constantine", was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337. He was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, and played an important role in legitimizing the status of Christianity in the Roman Empire by decriminalizing Christian practice and putting an end to Christian persecution.  Battle of Milvian Bridge, 1700th Anniversary Scott 1507 (2012) Constantine was born around the year 272 AD in Naissus (modern-day Niš, Serbia), the son of Constantius I and Helena (later St. Helena). When his father died in 306, Constantine was proclaimed emperor by his troops in York, England. Between 306 and 312 he defeated rivals to the throne of the Empire, including the defeat of Maxentius (his brother-in-law) at Milvian Bridge outside Rome. The souvenir sheet above, issued jointly with Italy to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the battle, is a detail from a fresco by students of Raphael, capturing the moment of Constantine’s victory on 28 October, 312. Prior to the battle, Constantine saw a vision in the sky of a cross and the words “in hoc signo vinces" (in this sign conquer). The cross emblem was displayed during the battle and Constantine was convinced that the Christian God favored his cause.  1700th Anniversary of the Edict of Milan Scott 1533 (2013) In 313, Constantine and co-emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan which granted toleration to all religions in the Empire, including Christianity. The stamp above celebrates the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, part of a set issued in 2013, and shows Constantine with Pope Sylvester I. In 324 he defeated Licinus at the Battle of Adrianople and became sole emperor. That same year he founded the city of Constantinople (formerly Byzantium), which was dedicated in 330 as the new capital of the Roman Empire. Before he left Rome for the east, Constantine encouraged the construction of Old St. Peter’s Basilica over the tomb of St. Peter, and also favored the construction of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Constantine summoned the Council at Nicea in 325, which defined Christianity’s creed. He granted extensive land and property to the Church and supported the spread of the Christian faith. Constantine was baptized on his deathbed and died on May 22, 337. in Nicomedia. He was buried at the Church of Holy Apostles in Constantinople. Unfortunately, the church was destroyed in 1458 by the Ottoman Turks, and Constantine's remains were lost. The Basilica contained thirteen niches for the Apostles, with the thirteenth being designed for Constantine. Although not listed in the martyrology of Latin saints, he is venerated by most Eastern Christian Churches as "Saint Constantine". Constantine’s legacy regarding Christianity is that he set it on a legal foundation which allowed it to spread within the Roman Empire. In 380, Emperor Theodosius I, the Great, declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire, a remarkable development for a religion that was periodically, and often brutally, persecuted from the first century until 313. It is difficult to separate Constantine's role in the rise of Christianity from his mother, Saint Helena. Her pilgrimage to the Holy Land around the years 326–328 AD resulted in the construction of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, as well as the transmission of many Christian relics to Rome. REFERENCES: |
