RLG100Y1 Lecture : 11.1_
Document Summary
social context: for the first couple of centuries, christian community was persecuted by roman authorities. religious status: whether he formally converted to christianity is still a question but his wife and mother were christians. policies towards christianity: in early times, constantine was against christianity. Then, to stabilize the empire, he gradually removed the policy against. In the year 313, he gave christian the liberty to practice their religion and at the same time, he supported them through patronage and state resources. influence on christianity: christian symbol showed on coins; sunday became a public holiday in 321; the churches were dispersed throughout the entire empire. It had a system of regional government supervised by bishops. council of nicene: established in 325 by constantine and was rejected at the council of constantinople in 381. The nicene creed reflects the emergence of the explicit doctrine of the trinity: that god has three manifestations: father, son and holy spirit.
