Catholics how do you answer the claim that Constantine started the Catholic Church?

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The “Letter From Constantine to Macarius of Jerusalem”, as presented in Eusebius’ “Life of Constantine”, states:
“Such is our Saviour’s grace, that no power of language seems adequate to describe the wondrous circumstance to which I am about to refer. For, that the monument of his [Christ’s] most holy Passion, so long ago buried beneath the ground, should have remained unknown for so long a series of years, until its reappearance to his servants now set free through the removal of him who was the common enemy of all, is a fact which truly surpasses all admiration. I have no greater care than how I may best adorn with a splendid structure that sacred spot, which, under Divine direction, I have disencumbered as it were of the heavy weight of foul idol worship [the Roman temple]; a spot which has been accounted holy from the beginning in God’s judgment, but which now appears holier still, since it has brought to light a clear assurance of our Saviour’s passion.”[22]

Sozomen and Theodoret claim that Helena also found the nails of the crucifixion. To use their miraculous power to aid her son, Helena allegedly had one placed in Constantine’s helmet, and another in the bridle of his horse.

According to one tradition, Helena acquired the Holy Tunic on her trip to Jerusalem and sent it to Trier.

Churches were also built on other sites detected by Helena.
 
Trouble is, most of these answers won’t work. It’s not just “Constantine founded the Catholic Church.” It’s "And then the true Church was driven underground until [insert denomination here]. I grew up in a church that was convinced the early Church was Baptist and never even heard of the Church Fathers until college.
 
I like to tell them that by the time of Constantine, the Catholic Church already had 32 popes.

St. Peter (32-67)
St. Linus (67-76)
St. Anacletus (Cletus) (76-88)
St. Clement I (88-97)
St. Evaristus (97-105)
St. Alexander I (105-115)
St. Sixtus I (115-125)
– also called Xystus I
St. Telesphorus (125-136)
St. Hyginus (136-140)
St. Pius I (140-155)
St. Anicetus (155-166)
St. Soter (166-175)
St. Eleutherius (175-189)
St. Victor I (189-199)
St. Zephyrinus (199-217)
St. Callistus I (217-22)
St. Urban I (222-30)
St. Pontain (230-35)
St. Anterus (235-36)
St. Fabian (236-50)
St. Cornelius (251-53)
St. Lucius I (253-54)
St. Stephen I (254-257)
St. Sixtus II (257-258)
St. Dionysius (260-268)
St. Felix I (269-274)
St. Eutychian (275-283)
St. Caius (283-296) – also called Gaius
St. Marcellinus (296-304)
St. Marcellus I (308-309)
St. Eusebius (309 or 310)
St. Miltiades (311-14)

Encyclopedia Britannica says: “The Roman Catholic Church traces its history to Jesus Christ and the Apostles.”
 
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Well, it’s absolutely impossible to disprove anything absolutely, so I suppose it’s possible…
 
He only made it the state religion, but did not found the Church…Church was founded at Pentecost, which was several centuries before Constantine.
 
As I said earlier, he did NOT make it the state religion. He allowed it to be practiced along with other faiths. It was Theodosius made it the official state religion later.
He only made it the state religion, but did not found the Church…Church was founded at Pentecost, which was several centuries before Constantine.
 
As I said earlier, he did NOT make it the state religion. He allowed it to be practiced along with other faiths. It was Theodosius made it the official state religion later.
Made it legal probably would have been more precise…and since precision and historical accuracy seems important to you, you might want to add that it was Theodosius I and not Theodosius II who Christianity the official religion of Rome.

And the actually intent of this thread was to answer how to answer the claim that Constantine started the Catholic Church…and as I and several others pointed out, that was an impossibility because Constantine’s confession came centuries after Pentecost…a fact more on point that who made it the state religion of Rome.
 
This all goes back to the bogus “Great Apostasy” theories put out by sects desperate to justify their existence.
 
What answer do you like to give? If you have one that you usually use.
I laugh, then shake my head.

It takes vast levels of historical ignorance to believe such tripe.
 
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What answer do you like to give? If you have one that you usually use.
This was one of the topics discussed in this youtube video…by a guy who did research this…and was surprised by what he found out (i was pleasantly surprised too…😎)…
 
Constantine wasn’t even all that orthodox. For someone who liberated persecuted Christians, he was actually hoodwinked by Eusebius of Nicomedia in parts (who was a personal friend of Arius), and exiled Athanasius, and became wishy washy on Arian support. Things just didn’t change overnight because of Nicaea or because Constantine wanted people to work things out. It took decades!

So that’s why Constantine shouldn’t be a factor. He was a layman, had good intentions, but had a bad teacher himself, and exiled actual defenders of the faith (Athanasius).

edit: Hah… I should also mentioned that Constantine kicked St. Nicholas out of the Council too, because “Santa Claus” (yes, that one!) got annoyed with Arius’ blasphemies and punched him.
 
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