Toto

The Christianity of Constantine the Great (or via: amazon.co.uk)

"a critical counterpoint to standard acceptance of Constantine's philosophy and principles"

No Robots

Elliott's distinction is his claim that Constantine was born and raised a Christian. If you would like to read my notes, you will find them here.

mountainman

I would be very interested to learn whether T.G.Elliott cites
any other source for his "proposal" other than
the following:

CHAPTER XII: That like Moses, he was reared in the Palaces of Kings.


ANCIENT history relates that a cruel race of tyrants oppressed the Hebrew nation; and that God, who graciously regarded them in their affliction, provided that the prophet Moses, who was then an infant, should be brought up in the very palaces and bosoms of the oppressors, and instructed in all the wisdom they possessed. And when in the course of time he had arrived at manhood, and the time was come for Divine justice to avenge the wrongs of the afflicted people, then the prophet of God, in obedience to the will of a more powerful Lord, forsook the royal household, and, estranging himself in word and deed from the tyrants by whom he had been brought up, openly acknowledging his true brethren and kinsfolk. Then God, exalting him to be the leader of the whole nation, delivered the Hebrews from the bondage of their enemies, and inflicted Divine vengeance through his means on the tyrant race. This ancient story, though rejected by most as fabulous, has. reached the ears of all. But now the same God has given to us to be eye-witnesses of miracles more wonderful than fables, and, from their recent appearance, more authentic than any report. For the tyrants of our day have ventured to war against the Supreme God, and have sorely afflicted His Church. (1) And in the midst of these, Constantine, who was shortly to become their destroyer, but at that time of tender age, and blooming with the down of early s youth, dwelt, as that other servant of God had done, in the very home of the tyrants, (2) but t young as he was did not share the manner of life of the ungodly: for from that early period his noble nature, under the leading of the Divine Spirit, inclined him to piety and a life acceptable to God. A desire, moreover, to emulate the example of his father had its influence in stimulating the son to a virtuous course of conduct His father was Constantius (3) (and we ought to revive his memory at this time), the most illustrious emperor of our age; of whose life it is necessary briefly to relate a few particulars, which tell to the honor of his son.


CHAPTER XIII: Of Constantius his Father, who refused to imitate Diocletian, Maximian, and Maxentius, (1) in their Persecution of the Christians.


At a time when four emperors (2) shared the administration of the Roman empire, Constantius alone, following a course of conduct different from that pursued by his colleagues, entered into the friendship of the Supreme God.


For while they besieged and wasted the churches of God, leveling them to the ground, and obliterating the very foundations of the houses of prayer, (3) he kept his hands pure from their abominable impiety, and never in any respect resembled them. They polluted their provinces by the indiscriminate slaughter of godly men and women; but he kept his soul free from the stain of this crime. (4)The involved in the mazes of impious idolatry, enthralled first themselves, and then all under their authority, in bondage to the errors of evil demons, while he at the same time originated the profoundest peace throughout his dominions, and secured to his subjects the privilege of celebrating without hindrance the worship of God. In short, while his colleagues oppressed all men by the most grievous exactions, and rendered their lives intolerable, and even worse than death, Constantius alone governed his people with a mild and tranquil sway, and exhibited towards them a truly parental and fostering care. Numberless, indeed, are the other virtues of this man, which are the theme of praise to all; of these I will record one or two instances, as specimens of the quality of those which I must pass by in silence, and then I will proceed to the appointed order of my narrative.


CHAPTER XIV: How Constantius his Father, being reproached with Poverty by Diocletian, filled his Treasury, and afterwards restored the Money to those by whom it had been contributed.


In consequence of the many reports in circulation respecting this prince, describing his kindness and gentleness of character, and the extraordinary elevation of his piety, alleging too, that by reason of his extreme indulgence to his subjects, he had not even a supply of money laid up in his treasury; the emperor who at that time occupied the place of supreme power sent to reprehend his neglect of the public weal, at the same time reproaching him with poverty, and alleging in proof of the charge the empty state of his treasury. On this he desired the messengers of the emperor to remain with him awhile, and, calling together the wealthiest of his subjects of all nations under his dominion, he informed them that he was in want of money, and that this was the time for them all to give a voluntary proof of their affection for their prince.


As soon as they heard this (as though they had long been desirous of an opportunity for showing the sincerity of their good will), with zealous alacrity they filled the treasury with gold and silver and other wealth; each eager to surpass the rest in the amount of his contribution: and this they did with cheerful and joyous countenances. And now Constantius desired the messengers of the great emperor (1) personally to inspect his treasures, and directed them to give a faithful report of what they had seen; adding, that on the present occasion he had taken this money into his own hands, but that it had long been kept for his use in the custody of the owners, as securely as if under the charge of faithful treasurers. The ambassadors were overwhelmed with astonishment at what they had witnessed: and on their departure it is said that the truly generous prince sent for the owners of the property, and, after commending them severally for their obedience and true loyalty, restored it all, and bade them return to their homes.


This one circumstance, then, conveys a proof of the generosity of him whose character we are attempting to illustrate: another will contain the clearest testimony to his piety.


CHAPTER XV: Of the Persecution raised by his Colleagues.


By command of the supreme authorities of the empire, the governors of the several provinces had set on foot a general persecution of the godly. Indeed, it was from the imperial courts themselves that the very first of the pious martyrs proceeded, who passed through those conflicts for the faith, and most readily endured both fire and sword, and the depths of the sea; every form of death, in short, so that in a brief time all the royal palaces were bereft of pious men. (1) The result was, that the authors of this wickedness were entirely deprived of the protecting care of God, since by their persecution of his worshipers they at the same time silenced the prayers that were wont to be made on their own behalf.


CHAPTER XVI: How Constantius, feigning Idolatry, expelled those who consented to offer Sacrifice, but retained in his Palace all who were willing to confess Christ.


On the other hand, Constantius conceived an expedient full of sagacity, and did a thing which sounds paradoxical, but in fact was most admirable.


He made a proposal to all the officers of his court, including even those in the highest stations of authority, offering them the following alternative: either that they should offer sacrifice to demons, and thus be permitted to remain with him, and enjoy their usual honors; or, in case of refusal, that they should be shut out from all access to his person, and entirely disqualified from acquaintance and association with him. Accordingly, when they had individually made their choice, some one way and some the other; and the choice of each had been ascertained, then this admirable prince disclosed the secret meaning of his expedient, and condemned the cowardice and selfishness of the one party, while he highly commended the other for their conscientious devotion to God. He declared, too, that those who had been false to their God must be unworthy of the confidence of their prince; for how was it possible that they should preserve their fidelity to him, who had proved themselves faithless to a higher power? He determined, therefore, that such persons should be removed altogether from the imperial court, while, on the other hand, declaring that those men who, in bearing witness for the truth, had proved themselves to be worthy servants of God, would manifest the same fidelity to their king, he en-trusted them with the guardianship of his person and empire, saying that he was bound to treat such persons with special regard as his nearest and most valued friends, and to esteem them far more highly than the richest treasures.


CHAPTER XVII: Of his Christian Manner of Life.


The father of Constantine, then, is said to have possessed such a character as we have briefly described. And what kind of death was vouchsafed to him in consequence of such devotion to God, and how far he whom he honored made his lot to differ from that of his colleagues in the empire, may be known to any one who will give his attention to the circumstances of the case. For after he had for a long time given many proofs of royal virtue, in acknowledging the Supreme God alone, and condemning the polytheism of the ungodly, and had fortified his household by the prayers of holy men, (1) he passed the remainder of his life in remarkable repose and tranquillity, in the enjoyment of what is counted blessedness, --neither molesting others nor being molested ourselves.


Accordingly, during the whole course of his quiet and peaceful reign, he dedicated his entire household, his children, his wife, and domestic attendants, to the One Supreme God: so that the company assembled within the walls of his palace differed in no respect from a church of God; wherein were also to be found his ministers, who offered continual supplications on behalf of their prince, and this at a time when, with most,(2) it was not allowable to have any dealings with the worshipers of God, even so far as to exchange a word with them.


CHAPTER XVIII: That after the Abdication of Diocletian and Maximian, Constantius became Chief Augustus, and was blessed with a Numerous Offspring.


The immediate consequence of this conduct was a recompense from the hand of God, insomuch that he came into the supreme authority of the empire. For the older emperors, for some unknown reason, resigned their power; and this sudden change took place in the first year after their persecution of the churches. (1)


From that time Constantius alone received the honors of chief Augustus, having been previously, indeed, distinguished by the diadem of the imperial Caesars, (2) among whom he held the first rank; but after his worth had been proved in this capacity, he was invested with the highest dignity of the Roman empire, being named chief Augustus of the four who were afterwards elected to that honor. Moreover, he surpassed most of the emperors in regard to the number of his family, having gathered around him a very large circle of children both male and female. And, lastly, when he had attained to a happy old age, and was about to pay the common debt of nature, and exchange this life for another, God once more manifested His power in a special manner on his behalf, by providing that his eldest son Constantine should be present during his last moments, and ready to receive the imperial power from his hands. (3)

--- Eusebius of Caesarea:
--- Life of the THRICE BLESSED Constantine

Like I stated earlier, you'll find that the majority of historians
have an aversion to this specific text, and its integrity as an
accurate and fair attestation to the life, actions and philosophy
of the supreme imperial mafia thug known as Constantine, about
whom is recorded:

16. He was a mocker rather than a flatterer.
From this he was called after Trachala in the folktale,
for ten years a most excellent man, (307-317)
for the following second ten a brigand, (317-327)
for the last, on account of his unrestrained prodigality,
a ward irresponsible for his own actions. (327-337)

--- history of Sextus Aurelius Victor
--- extract_300to360



Pete Brown

judge

Good point. Mountainmans idea does not account for the different theology apparent in the Parthian Empire either.

Did eusebius or constantine deliberately plany a different theology over there to confuse us?

No Robots

You'll have to wait until I get up to the university. Or else you can sign up for a free trial at questia.com and read it for yourself. "Proposes" is just a word I used in my note.

Toto

MM in particular might be interested in this review of H.A. Drake, Constantine and the Bishops. The Politics of Intolerance (or via: amazon.co.uk).

No Robots

That's great, Toto. My reading is that Constantine got seriously messed up with theological disputes, starting with the Donatists. He learned his lesson in that one, and tried to maintain a more neutral position in the Arian controversy. I think his ultimate loyalty is apparent in his death-bed choice of baptizer: the Arian Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia.

mountainman

According to Jerome:

"the world groaned to find itself Arian."

Our thesis, in case you did not determine this particular issue,
is that the Arian controversy, which arose c.317 with the words
of Arius, was in response to the circulation of Constantine's
"new testament" (aka "the fabrication of the galilaeans) into
the eastern Roman empire in advance of his military insurgence.

That the Arian controversy was the reaction of Arius and the empire
against the implementation of the new and strange Roman church.
We cite Vlasis Rassias, Demolish Them!, Published in Greek, Athens 1994,
as a record of the world groaning after Nicaea, when
the highways were covered with galloping bishops.




Pete

mountainman

Thanks for this reference Toto. I was fortunate to find that last month
and it provided a number of interesting and different perspectives on
the problems that have been faced.

I was especially interested to learn that he commented:

During the past twenty years by far the most influential book on Constantine has been T. D. Barnes' Constantine and Eusebius. Barnes provided a much more overtly religious interpretation of Constantine and his reign, and he claimed that Constantine was consistently true to his Christian beliefs from 312, if not earlier.

The Review of T.D.Barnes' Tertullian by Arnaldo Momigliano is especially interesting in that the reputation of Barnes seems to be be very seriously questioned, if not indeed the reputation of Tertullian.



Pete

rlogan

hi Pete.

Here again is my question:

In this quote you have provided to me, a letter is going out summoning bishops to a Synod.

What are they Bishops of? Mythraism? Sun worship? What?