You are so funny when you say this. Show me where Martin Luther’s teachings echoed Ignatius, Justin Martyr’s, Ireneaus, or Augustin’s.
Oh, and when did Constantine make the Catholic Church the official State Religion?
**Luther was ordained just like those early leaders and they all taught the apostolic teachings. Luther tried to return the church to those principles and to the Scriptures. That’s why he taught as they did. It was much later when Rome got their hands into the church that it began to change. Luther only wanted to return it to its roots. **
You will find the following excerp from the encyclopedia
here
Constantine’s rise to power came in a period of confusing politics. Emperors came ans went in the Roman Empire in the early 300’s, and at one time, the empire had 4 contesting emperors. Constantine spent most of his reign to secure full control of the entire empire.
**With him, Christianity is transformed into the preferred religion of the state. **Whether Constantine himself was a Christian, or if he used the popularity of Christianity to aid his political goals, is a matter of understanding the sources. He is reported to have stated that he was aided by the Christian God, and is believed by many that the story of him being baptized shortly before his death, is a true story.
Yet, Constantine appears to have been closely linked to traditional Roman religions throughout his life, and the story of the above-mentioned baptizim have clear legendary elements, clearly making it questionable.
Also, even after Christianity was made state religion, support for Roman religions continued. It may actually appear that Constantine adhered to some aspects of Christianity without having embraced the full Christian faith, or at least that the full conversion happened only first at the end of his life. Early on, he linked the Christian God with the sun god of Roman religion, yet, letters from him clearly indicate that at least he was not without some form of conviction.
Constantine played an important role in the development of Christian theology and its universal structure when convening the Council of Nicaea in 325.
Constantine regulated the laws to fit Christian interests, fx. was the penalty of crucifixion abolished, Sunday was made the holy day of the week and many privileges were introduced in favour of the clergy. In some cases, Roman sacred sites were turned into churches.
Constantine ordered the building of several churches, of which the original Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and St. Peter in Rome are among the most famous in Christian history.
Constantine imposed numerous regulations on the Jews; among which conversion from Christianity to Judaism was outlawed and Jewish entry to Jerusalem was strictly limited.
All this is in every history book in every public library everywhere. It is just the RCC that doesn’t believe it.