Editing Religion in ancient Rome (section)

==== Emperor Constantine and Christianity ====
[[File:Trier - Aula Palatina.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Aula Palatina]] of [[Trier]], [[Germany]] (then part of the [[Roman province]] of [[Gallia Belgica]]), built during the reign of [[Constantine I]] (r. 306-337 AD)]]
The conversion of [[Constantine I]] ended the Christian persecutions. Constantine successfully balanced his own role as an instrument of the ''[[pax deorum]]'' with the power of the Christian priesthoods in determining what was (in traditional Roman terms) auspicious – or in Christian terms, what was orthodox. The edict of Milan (313) redefined Imperial ideology as one of mutual toleration. Constantine had triumphed under the ''signum'' (sign) of the Christ: Christianity was therefore officially embraced along with traditional religions and from his new [[Constantinople|Eastern capital]], Constantine could be seen to embody both Christian and Hellenic religious interests. He passed laws to protect Christians from persecution;<ref>{{cite book
| last      = Kelly
| first     = Christopher
| title     = The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction
| year      = 2006
| publisher = Oxford UP
| location  = New York
}}</ref> he also funded the building of churches, including [[Old St. Peter's Basilica|Saint Peter's basilica]].  He may have officially ended – or attempted to end – blood sacrifices to the ''genius'' of living emperors, though his Imperial iconography and court ceremonial outstripped Diocletian's in their elevation of the emperor as somehow more than human.<ref>Constantine's permission for a new cult temple to himself and his family in Umbria is extant: the terms are vague – cult "should not be polluted by the deception of any contagious superstition". See Momigliano, 104.</ref>

Constantine promoted orthodoxy in Christian doctrine, so that Christianity might become a unitary force, rather than divisive. He summoned Christian bishops to a meeting, later known as the [[First Council of Nicaea]], at which some 318 bishops (mostly easterners) debated and decided what was orthodox, and what was [[heresy in Christianity|heresy]]. The meeting reached consensus on the [[Nicene Creed]].<ref>{{cite book
| last     = Morgan
| first    = Julian
| title    = Constantine Ruler of Christian Rome
| url     = https://archive.org/details/constantineruler00morg
| url-access = registration
| year     = 2003
| location = New York: Rosen Central
| isbn = 978-0-8239-3592-5
}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia
| title      = Roman Emperor Constantine I
| url        = http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/39053452
| encyclopedia       = Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
| access-date = 3 February 2013
}}</ref> At Constantine's death, he was honored as a Christian and as an Imperial "[[divus]]".<ref>{{cite book
| last      = Bunson
| first     = Matthew
| title     = Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire
| url      = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816045624
| url-access = registration
| year      = 2002
| publisher = Facts on File
| isbn = 978-0-8160-4562-4
| edition   = revised
}}</ref> Later, [[Philostorgius]] would criticize those Christians who offered sacrifice at statues of the ''divus'' Constantine.<ref>Momigliano, 104.</ref>