There were signs in the sky, but I did not know

[sovay]

If one more student tries to tell me that Constantine was responsible for making Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire, I'm going to stab them with a Chi-Ro.

(I agreed to help grade papers for a friend with a classful of undergraduates. I despair of humanity.)

Comments

[sovay]

Could you share the brief statement you would make to correct this misprision? Who WAS responsible for making Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire?

I make a distinction between personally adopting, decriminalizing, and popularizing a religion (Constantine I, 313 CE) and making it the only option on the menu (Theodosius I, 380). One could still be a practicing pagan under Constantine—the temples were open, the imperial cult was still on the books. After Theodosius, observance of pagan religion was not only illegal, but systematically proscribed. He put out the sacred fire in the Temple of Vesta.

And belated congratulations on all the good things happening in your life -- may your success continue and grow.

Thank you!

And none of us will ever see any of them ever again, so we may as well treasure each one under foot, in our hearts, before our eyes, beyond the skies.

That's a good blessing.