05-03-2009, 07:09 AM
I have seen different figures, although I do not remember where, that Christianity was a really tiny minority. The point is of some importance, because if Christianity was not big, it makes Constantine's conversion illogical, which in turns leads us to reconsider his motive: did Constantine indeed convert to the new faith out of a deep personal conviction, or was his conversion caused by other, political considerations?
Which in turn leads us to the question what happened in 312. We know for certain that Constantine had a vision of Apollo in late 309, mentioned in the Panegyrici Latini 7 (6) 21.4-5, which is almost contemporary with the events; it was written just a few weeks after this vision and delivered in Trier, with the emperor present. There is no online edition, unfortunately. That Constantine venerated Apollo is also proved by his coins (photo).
Writing at the end of the 330s, Eusebius tells that Constantine had a second vision in October 312, in which he saw the cross and the words "in this sign you will conquer" (Life of Constantine, 1.26-32). In this version, Constantine becomes a Christian. Under normal circumstances, we would have discarded Eusebius' story and would have explained it as a mistaken version of the first vision. After all, in his earlier account of Constantine's victory (Ecclesiastical History, 9.9), Eusebius does not refer to a vision. We would also have said that Eusebius' version was influenced by Constantine's measures after 324, when he had gained control of the eastern provinces, where Christianity had become deeply rooted.
The complicating factor is Lactantius, Death of the Persecutors 44-46, written in 313 or 314, in which we read that Constantine and Licinius both had dreams. Constantine now ordered his soldiers to paint XP-signs on the shields: a sign that was common in the cult of Apollo, but may have been taken as evidence for Constantine's presumed Christianity by Lactantius after the Edict of Milan, which compensated Christianity for the losses it had suffered during the persecutions. This measure must have been more important to Licinius than Constantine.
As far as I can tell, there is no conclusive evidence for Constantine's Christianity before 324. On the contrary, we have very strong proof that before his Italian campaign, he preferred Apollo. I think this complex, ambiguous situation does not reflect problems in our sources, but the ambiguity of Constantine's own beliefs in the years between 309 and 324. He had experienced something marvellous in 309, but it was only at the end of his career, after many people had already offered Christian interpretations, that he accepted that he had been a tool of Christ for some thirty years.
Which in turn leads us to the question what happened in 312. We know for certain that Constantine had a vision of Apollo in late 309, mentioned in the Panegyrici Latini 7 (6) 21.4-5, which is almost contemporary with the events; it was written just a few weeks after this vision and delivered in Trier, with the emperor present. There is no online edition, unfortunately. That Constantine venerated Apollo is also proved by his coins (photo).
Writing at the end of the 330s, Eusebius tells that Constantine had a second vision in October 312, in which he saw the cross and the words "in this sign you will conquer" (Life of Constantine, 1.26-32). In this version, Constantine becomes a Christian. Under normal circumstances, we would have discarded Eusebius' story and would have explained it as a mistaken version of the first vision. After all, in his earlier account of Constantine's victory (Ecclesiastical History, 9.9), Eusebius does not refer to a vision. We would also have said that Eusebius' version was influenced by Constantine's measures after 324, when he had gained control of the eastern provinces, where Christianity had become deeply rooted.
The complicating factor is Lactantius, Death of the Persecutors 44-46, written in 313 or 314, in which we read that Constantine and Licinius both had dreams. Constantine now ordered his soldiers to paint XP-signs on the shields: a sign that was common in the cult of Apollo, but may have been taken as evidence for Constantine's presumed Christianity by Lactantius after the Edict of Milan, which compensated Christianity for the losses it had suffered during the persecutions. This measure must have been more important to Licinius than Constantine.
As far as I can tell, there is no conclusive evidence for Constantine's Christianity before 324. On the contrary, we have very strong proof that before his Italian campaign, he preferred Apollo. I think this complex, ambiguous situation does not reflect problems in our sources, but the ambiguity of Constantine's own beliefs in the years between 309 and 324. He had experienced something marvellous in 309, but it was only at the end of his career, after many people had already offered Christian interpretations, that he accepted that he had been a tool of Christ for some thirty years.
