Christian History Home > Issue 57 > The Emperor Strikes Back
The Emperor Strikes Back
How the once illegal religion became the law of the empire.
John O. Gooch | posted 1/01/1998 12:00AM
Let superstition cease; let the folly of sacrifices be abolished. Whoever, after the publication of this law, continues to sacrifice, shall be punished according to his deserts."
That decree of Emperor Constantius in 341 marked the end of paganism and the beginning of the Christian era. Christianity was no longer a persecuted minority; it began its journey to becoming the official religion of the empire.
New persecutors
The story really begins in 313, when Emperor Constantine gave Christians complete freedom of worship and equality with other religions. Confiscated Christian property was returned, and Christians were again recognized as full citizens of the empire. A series of laws favorable to the church made it plain that Constantine was pro-Christian and anti-pagan.
With this, paganism collapsed. It apparently had been practiced only as a civic duty.
By Constantius's reign (337-61), Christians had become a majority in some areas, and they sometimes persecuted the pagans who had once persecuted ...
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