Constantine the Great and Christianity

Constantine I ended state persecution of Christians, supported Christian institutions, and shaped church affairs while ruling the Roman Empire from 306 to 337.

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Edict of Milan: A 313 agreement by Constantine and Licinius that established religious toleration and ordered confiscated Christian property restored. It gave legal protection and property restitution to Christians under Constantine’s rule.
Basilica: A large rectangular public building whose architectural form became a standard design for Christian churches. Constantine sponsored basilicas that made Christian worship visible in major cities.
Diocletianic Persecution: The Roman Empire’s last major state persecution of Christians, begun under Diocletian in 303. Constantine’s later protections reversed the policies imposed during this persecution.
Licinius: Roman emperor who shared power with Constantine and later fought him for control of the empire. Their joint toleration policy gave way to conflict, complicating the story of a unified imperial turn.
Constantinian shift: The transformation of Christianity from a persecuted minority faith into a religion supported by Roman imperial power. It names the broader political and social change associated with Constantine’s policies.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre: A Jerusalem church built over sites traditionally identified with Jesus’s crucifixion and burial. Constantine commissioned its construction after his mother Helena’s visit to Jerusalem.
Battle of the Milvian Bridge: A 312 battle in which Constantine defeated Maxentius and secured control of the western Roman Empire. Constantine’s reported vision before the battle became central to accounts of his Christian turn.
Julian: Roman emperor from 361 to 363 who sought to restore traditional Roman religious practices and limit Christianity’s influence. His reign demonstrates that Constantine’s Christian policies did not make the empire’s religious direction irreversible.
Constantinople: The city founded by Constantine on the site of Byzantium in 330 as a new imperial capital. Its foundation gave the emperor’s Christian patronage a lasting urban center.
Council of Nicaea: A council of Christian bishops convened in 325 to address the Arian controversy and other church matters. Constantine convened it to resolve a dispute threatening unity in the empire’s churches.