Saint Constantine, really?

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Tis_Bearself said:
It’s my understanding that Constantine was baptized on his deathbed, which would have absolved his sins provided he repented. There are also other Catholic saints who committed murders and such during their lives before repenting and receiving absolution.
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The issue there is that Constantine was baptized as an Arian by Eusebius of Nicomedia. His Christianity is somewhat suspect for that reason.
 
Hodos said:
The issue there is that Constantine was baptized as an Arian by Eusebius of Nicomedia. His Christianity is somewhat suspect for that reason
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It’s only in question recently, not now.
 
Hodos said:
The issue there is that Constantine was baptized as an Arian by Eusebius of Nicomedia. His Christianity is somewhat suspect for that reason.
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You say Constantine was “baptized as an Arian,” but what exactly does that mean? At that time, in May 337, Eusebius was a duly ordained bishop in the Church headed by Pope St. Julius I. Julius had inherited from his predecessor a serious unresolved problem, in the form of the long-lasting theological dispute between Arius and Athanasius. However, Constantine was not baptized into a separate, schismatic Arian church. He was baptized by a bishop who was prominent in the Arian party, but they were all bishops in the same Church.
 
BartholomewB said:
He was baptized by a bishop who was prominent in the Arian party, but they were all bishops in the same Church.
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Agree, but Eusebius rejected the Nicene Creed, he rejected that Christ was the pre-existent Son of God, which leads one to a very different understanding of soteriology. I cannot say what faith that Constantine confessed on his deathbed. The only thing I can say is that the circumstances of his baptism are not known. It is particularly troubling that his successors persecuted the orthodox party of the Church aggressively after his death. There are good things to venerate about the life of Constantine for sure. I just think we ought to have a balanced view of him.
 
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I would have to check that one out. It looks like an interesting read for sure.
 
Jbrady said:
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Vico:
Eusebius of Nicomedia signed the Confession of Nicaea, professing belief per the Nicene Creed.
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He went full-on Arian, though, before he baptized Constantine.
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The validity of Baptism is provided by intent of the minister and the formula used, so it can still be valid. In the Byzantine Catholic Liturgy we celebrate on May 21 the Feast with Polyeleos at Matins:
+ The Holy Emperor Constantine (337) and his Mother Helen (327) Equals to the Apostles.
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Also celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

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He is not a universal saint. The Latin Church does not recognise him as a saint.
 
You expect me to show you a negative??? YOU show me where the Church does recognise him as a saint.
 
I don’t pray to him on all saints day.
I repeat the Latin Church does not recognise Constantine as a saint just as it does not recognise Uriel as a saint.
 
The Latin Church does not recognise Constantine as a saint.
The Church does NOT issue documents declaring someone is not a saint. Have some common sense.
 
That’s nonsense. No pope has ever declared that I’m not a saint. Does that make me a saint?
 
No, that’s not the way it works.

If it’s negative evidence you’re looking for, you can start here. In the old Catholic Encyclopedia, the article titled Constantine the Great runs to over 6,000 words. The abbreviation “St.” for “Saint” occurs a few times, referring to St. Helena, St. Peter, St. Ambrose and one or two others, but it is never used to refer to Constantine himself.

https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04295c.htm
 
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True but by the same token can we in the west say he is not a saint when he is declared a saint in the east? There are Catholic churches named after him (St. Constantine).
 
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BartholomewB said:
Do you regard the Council of Nicea as an important and significant event in Church history? If you do, you have Constantine to thank for it. If he hadn’t pressured the bishops into attending, it would never have happened.
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Not only that, but had St. Nicholas not existed and attended, Arias might have gone unpunched . . .

:crazy_face: 🤣 😱
 
I thought I addressed this upthread, but to reiterate:
  1. A Catholic saint is a Catholic saint for the whole Catholic church. Therefore, the Latin Catholic Church accepts that traditional Eastern Catholic saints, such as Constantine, Uriel, and Palamas (he’s still venerated by several EC churches afaik) are indeed saints of the Church.
  2. However, the Latin Catholic Church generally only publicly venerates saints from its own tradition. “Publicly venerate” generally means a church named after them or a Mass or other liturgy in honor of them. So you likely won’t find a Mass in honor of St Constantine, or a Saint Constantine’s Roman Catholic Church.
 
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