Did Emperor Constantine I die an Arian?

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BornInMarch

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Emperor Constantine the Great is a significant figure in Christianity. He’s the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, he called the First Council of Nicaea, and he built the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

He was also baptized on his deathbed by Eusebius of Nicomedia - a follower of the Arian Heresy and a close ally of Arius himself.

Does this mean Constantine was an Arian when he died?
 
The late, great Michael Davies wrote about that in his work St. Athanasius: Defender of the Faith:

angeluspress.org

St. Athanasius

fascinating insight into one of the most troubled periods in the history of the Church and the life of one of Her greatest saints. Mr. Davies reminds us that the Faith is not served by explaining away historical facts, but in understanding them in the lig
angeluspress.org angeluspress.org
 
BornInMarch said:
Emperor Constantine the Great is a significant figure in Christianity. He’s the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, he called the First Council of Nicaea, and he built the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

He was also baptized on his deathbed by Eusebius of Nicomedia - a follower of the Arian Heresy and a close ally of Arius himself.

Does this mean Constantine was an Arian when he died?
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It is not definitive proof that Constantine was an Arian, but it is pretty telling. Personally, I do believe that Constantine was either Arian himself, or sympathized throughout his life with Arius. He repeatedly attempted to influence the Orthodox bishops to reconcile with Arius despite Arius continuing to teach a subordinationist view of Christ. He and his successors persecuted Athanasius for his firm stand for Nicene Orthodoxy. My personal opinion is that Constantine was an Arian, but I can understand where some scholars might not agree with that conclusion.

Coincidentally, the fact that Constantine was baptized by an Arian bishop kind of destroys the arguments of many who would argue that somehow Constantine inserted the Trinity into the Bible and invented the divinity of Christ during the Nicene Council.
 
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Since he is a saint in both the East and West (May 21 feast day); we can conclude he was not an Arian.

Deacon Christopher
 
Yes, same feast day in both East and West, May 21.

Deacon Christopher
 
Constantine was Baptized on his death bed by an Arian Bishop

He accepted Baptism as a “just in case the Christians are right,” reason.

Although he called the Council of Nicea, that’s all he did. He never got involved in the theological debates and resolutions

His motivation was purely to stop the conflict between Arians and Rome
 
Wow. +Michael Davies stated otherwise in his work on St. Athanasius (see my post [#1] above).
 
Diaconia said:
Since he is a saint in both the East and West (May 21 feast day); we can conclude he was not an Arian.
Deacon Christopher
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I am curious what the history is of his addition to the western calendar. I suspect that it is a recent addition (perhaps for ecumenical purposes).
 
I know he turned Roman government buildings over to the Church in Rome, which converted them.

It’s why the Church in the West developed rectangle shaped churches with an altar against the far wall, as it was originally a large shelf which held state documents.

Churches in the East were generally round in shape.
 
BornInMarch said:
He also built churches and decriminalized the religion.
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I don’t think Christianity wasn’t illegal per se, but they were persecuted for for various reasons.

From the Edict of Milan:
no man should be denied leave of attaching himself to the rites of the Christians, or to whatever other religion his mind directed him, that thus the supreme Divinity, to whose worship we freely devote ourselves, might continue to vouchsafe His favour and beneficence to us. And accordingly we give you to know that, without regard to any provisos in our former orders to you concerning the Christians, all who choose that religion are to be permitted, freely and absolutely, to remain in it, and not to be disturbed any ways

The Edict of Milan - Lactantius
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Grizzly1 said:
I don’t think Christianity wasn’t illegal per se, but they were persecuted for for various reasons.
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Religious practice in the Roman Empire required official government approval, although this rule was relatively rarely strictly enforced. The Jews actual had special dispensation from the Roman Emperor to practice their religion without having to make sacrifices to Caesar. This is why when Christians were put out of the synagogues and temple it was so devastating to the Church. Christians no longer enjoyed the legal sanction under the umbrella of Judaism, which led to persecutions such as the one under Domitian, Decius, and Diocletian where Christians could be jailed for failing to offer incense to Caesar. It was not until Constantine that Christianity was made a licit religion. Just read many of the second century apologists who argue that Christians should not be penalized simply for bearing the name of Christ.
 
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