Talk:Constantine the Great and Christianity

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by LawrenceTrevallion (talk | contribs) at 21:40, 7 August 2006 (→Before Milan). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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Sunday & Milan?

The Edict of Milan (if it even existed) did not make Sunday a special day of observance, that happened 8 years later (321)in Contantine's Sunday Law. MnJWalker 01:50, 24 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

This is correct. The Sunday Law is CJ 3.12.2, passed in 321.

Constantine as an Eastern Orthodox Saint

I'll add information about Constantine being a Saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church (feast on May 21st). Does anyone know if there are other Churches that give him this particular status? Dahn 19:32, 30 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The Eastern Catholic Church. In addition, some Catholic sources: [1]. Probably the Acta_Sanctorum.

merge?

shouldn't this be merged with Constantinian shift? What is the difference in scope? dab (ᛏ) 16:26, 26 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Constantinian shift is its own unique term. Roughly, this article is about Constantine and Christiantiy, Constantinian shift is about the changes in Christianity in response to the empire.
Great article! Merge will make it too long. --MeBee 06:17, 12 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Constantine's Conversion

I have altered the section on Constantine's conversion which was POV and more appropriate for the Constantinian Shift article. The quotation given later in this article makes it quite clear that Constantine was following Christianity, not merely allowing others to do so. The doubts as to the authenticity of his conversion are a much later scholarly debate and those claims do not include proposing that he did not appear to convert until his deathbed, that was his baptism. The link between baptism and becoming a Christian was not strong at this time, but within a hundred years had become so, as the most popular time for baptism switched from just before death to just after birth. MnJWalker 23:36, 17 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Before Milan

I removed the following paragraph:

In the end, many Christians kept their religion to themselves even during times of peace, because it was all too likely that the peace would soon be replaced by violence, and that those who had revealed themselves as Christians might be remembered as such during later trials.

While I have not made a great study of evangelism in the early church, I do know that Christian literature contains references to outspoken members of the faith (Eusebius, HE 5.1.10; The Book of Martyrs, preserved in HE, Chp. 2; Justin Martyr was also known for debating a pagan philosopher). W.H.C. Frend said Christians preached on streets and in marketplaces (Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church, Anchor Books: 1967, 204). Frend also noted that in 232/233 there is evidence of a church, the existence of which was not hidden (p. 229). Also, Christians frequently visited others in prison (see the letters of Ignatius of Antioch), all sure signs of demonstrating one's faith.

While I realize that the deleted graph says "many Christians," I think it needs to be cited since there is primary, and secondary, source evidence which could cast some doubt on it. If the view of the deleted graph is from a source, I would like to see it cited and placed with the appropriate counter-arguments. --LawrenceTrevallion 06:10, 7 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Novak Quote

The quote from Novak on Constantine's conversion is a little odd to me. Is there some evidence that Constantine believed the government had the power to condemn one to hell? The quote makes it sound as if he did believe that. --LawrenceTrevallion 06:16, 7 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

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