...remains uncertain about Constantine's reasons for favoring the Christian religion, historians have argued about which form Christianity he was faithful to. There is no agreement to whether he adopted his mother Helena's Christianity at a young age, or encouraged her to convert to the faith himself. Constantine's decision to stop the killing of Christians in the Roman Empire was a turning point for Christianity, sometimes referred to as the Triumph of the Church, the Peace of the Church or the Constantinian shift. In 313, Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan making Christian worship not illegal. The emperor became a big financial supporter of the Church and set a precedent for the position of the Christian emperor within the Church and the notion of orthodoxy, Christendom, ecumenical councils and the state church of the Roman Empire declared by edict in 380. He was highly respected as a saint and isapostolos in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodox Church for his example as a Christian monarch. Writing to Christians, Constantine made clear that he believed that he owed his successes to the protection of that High God alone....
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...History May 6, 2013 Dr. Kletter Eusebius : Life of Constantine The Life of Constantine, written by Eusebius of Caesarea (260-339 C.E) is a story written in the memory of Constantine the Great. The tone somewhat seems to be giving high praise to Constantine commenting on the deeds of Constantine. Kevin Reilly states, “The emperor’s historian Eusebius recognized both the importance of the emperor and the role of the empire in the success of Christianity in the winning the Roman Empire”(246). Eusebius who is also called Eusebius of Caesarea and Eusebius Pamphili was a Roman Historian and Christian Polemicist. He later became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. He wrote other things besides the Life of Constantine. He wrote other biographical details including the Life of Constantine, The Library of Nicene and Post Nicene, Father of Church History, Oration and Phase of Constantine. The view point is of the Author, Eusebius who is a Christian and a Bishop. The events in the Life of Constantine seems to have taken place in the Roman Empire. Reilly says, “Part of the answer lies in the location of these Christians. They were more concentrated in urban than rural areas and managed to gain significant advocates among the powerful elite” (246). The purpose of this is educate us about Constantine the Great from the point of view of the author Eusebius. The audience that Eusebius is targeting are Christians, Roman, Non-Christians, students and pagans. The introduction of Life of...
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...Christian history details around many various topics such as the role of women as well as the duty to care for the poor. Christians are commanded to help one another, primarily those with less means. As revealed throughout the New Testament, it is in a believers best interest to provide to the needy as those who give will lack nothing but those who ignore the poor will suffer (Proverbs 28:27). Throughout the Bible, it is also evident that men were predominantly the heads of families and crucial leaders in past time. With primary figures such as Abraham, Moses, and David in the Old Testament, history proves that the Bible is primarily patriarchal. Women, however, have played an integral part to the work of the early church. As the last disciples...
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...young age. Constantine didn’t declare his Christianity until he was over 42 and did not get baptized until shortly before his death. Writing to Christians, Constantine made clear that he believed his successes were owed to the protection of that High God alone. In 306 A.D, when Constantine came into power and for the next thirty years of his reign Constantine elevated Christianity and the Church within the Roman Empire. By the time of his death in 337 A.D. he had changed the landscape of both the Church and Roman society. Constantine had increased the Church leaders duties and responsibilities. Before the end of century, Constantine outlawed traditional sacrifices and the state cults were forbidden. The Impact of the Fall of the Western Empire on the Church A better question is: How big was the impact of the fall of the Western Empire of Rome on the Church? Constantine’s edict legitimized Christianity and additionally the duties and responsibilities given to Church leaders. As the Western Empire began to deteriorate the people began to look towards the Church and the Bishop of Rome. The Church began to grow, collecting money, land, and power; these resources and authority of the Bishop offered the people of Rome security that the Empire of Rome could no longer provide. As the Empire lost it’s ability to protect and defend the Western Empire from bandits, marauders, and foreign invaders the people of the Empire began to flee causing an even greater impact on the financial state...
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...Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code -Bible did not arrive from heaven: or not divinely inspired, God-breathed; product of man -Man created it as a historical record and has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definite version of the book -Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence -Over 80 gospels were considered for NT, but Constantine the Great chose the 4 of Matt, Mark, Luke, John -Was Constantine a Christian? Hardly – He was a lifelong pagan who was baptized on his deathbed, too weak to protest -In Constantine’s day, Rome’s official religion was sun worship – the cult of Sol Invictus, or Invincible Sun – and Constantine was its head priest -After crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Christ’s followers had multiplied exponentially and Constantine changed religion to Christianity because he was a good businessman, because he could see that Christianity was on the rise and he simply backed the winning one -Historians still marvel at the brilliance with which Constantine converted the sun-worshipping pagans to Christianity -Fused pagan symbols, dates, and rituals into growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties -transmogrification the vestiges of pagan religion into Christian symbology are undeniable -Egyptian sun disks became the halos of Catholic saints; Pictograms of Isis nursing her miraculously conceived son Horus became the blueprint...
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...literature, sculpture and architecture. Two structures where religion plays heavy influence, in differing time periods are the Arch of Constantine in Rome, Italy, and the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris, France. The two exhibit the different views of Christianity in their respective time periods. While, the Arch of Constantine was constructed during the rise of Christianity and the Notre Dame de Paris was originally constructed during a time when the norm was to build extravagant pieces as a tribute to God. The political, cultural, religious and economic climates all had a hand in creating the similarities and differences between the two structures. This analysis will show that regardless of temporal period religion plays a significant role in architecture during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. The construction of churches and religious-themed buildings was common in the newly emerging city-states and the already well-established areas. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate in the fourth century A.D., in the Italian city of Rome situated between the Coliseum and the Palatine Hill. The beginnings of Christianity, or the Flowering of Christianity as Sayre describes it, saw the construction of the Arch of Constantine in Rome. The triple arch is dedicated to the Roman Emperor Constantine, who is notable for being the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity (Sayre, 255). Though the triple arch is dedicated to Constantine, many aspects of the triple arch are...
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...Byzantine Empire is the eastern Greek portion of the Roman Empire, sometimes termed the Later or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine Greeks presented themselves as Romans and their Empire as the Roman Empire. They perceived themselves as the prolongation of the Roman Empire and on no account utilized the term "Byzantine" to present themselves (Frucht, 2004). For the reason of administration, Diocletian (who ruled about 284-305) segmented the dominion of the empire among four emperors. He administered the eastern part of the empire (McMeans & Teacher Created Resources, 2010). The Empire was reunified in 324 when, conquered all his foes, and became the dominant authority of the entire empire. The Byzantine Empire may then be dated to Constantine's development of a second capital; that he modelled on Rome, at Byzantium (Frucht, 2004). So from the establishment of this city as a second Rome, the division of east from west was developed, and the east soon came out as the prevailing half. In 330, Constantine the Great relocated the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople. There were a few reasons for that; one was that the city was a splendid defensive position. Secondly it approached the wealthy Eastern cities of the Empire and was close to the Military outposts edge with the Empire's principal rival, Persia (Frucht, 2004). Constantine also endorsed the initiation of Christianity from Constantinople. The eastern section of the Empire talked Greek as its functioning language...
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...Saint-Petersburg State University Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science Khitova Anna Midterm Paper on the Course of Comparative History of Europe Topic: «The Byzantium Gynarchy of the Late VIII: Irene The Athenian» Professors: Vladimir Ryzhkov Elif Demirtiken Saint-Petersburg 2015 The Byzantium Gynarchy of the Late VIII: Irene The Athenian There is no doubt that the Byzantine Empire was one of the greatest civilizations in the world’s history. It lasted approximately 1120 years more than any other empire. Of course, the central figure of the Byzantine statehood was an emperor. However, it would be wrong to claim that they ruled without any external help and support. Here I mean not only the civil servants but also - and especially - emperors’ wives. Empresses, whose status had not been as different from the emperors’ as it might seem, had a significant impact on the empire’s existence. Even though it was an era of androcracy, they influenced the emperors’ decisions and sometimes even replaced them. Was it possible for women to rule the Byzantine Empire solely? Was it legitimate? The exercise of full imperial power by women was of course not common, like in the Western Europe where queens seldom attain power, as power should always be reinforced by army and, consequently, military success1. That does not mean that Byzantine women were somehow different; it is just that men themselves sometimes hired other people to deal with all the military problems...
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...Roman Empire The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Population: 56.8 million (25 BC) Capitals: Rome, Constantinople, Ravenna Area: 1.062 million sq miles Founded: 27 BC Continent: Europe Government: Autocracy, Stratocracy The Founding of Rome The Founding of Rome is very much embroiled in myth. Traces found by archaeologists of early settlements of the Palatine Hill date back to ca 750 BC. This ties in very closely to the established legend that Rome was founded on 21 April 753 BC, which was traditionally celebrated in Rome with the festival of Parilia. Two founding legends exist - Romulus and Remus and Aeneas. Rather than contradict each other, the tale of Aeneas adds to that of Romulus and Remus. King Numitor of Alba Longa was ejected by his younger brother Amulius. To do away with any further possible pretenders to his usurped throne, Amulius murdered Numitor's sons and forced Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, to become a vestal virgin. However Mars, the god of war became enchanted by her beauty and had his way with Rhea Silvia while she slept. As a result of this Rhea Silvia bore twins, Romulus and Remus. An enraged Amulius had Rhea Silvia thrown into the river Tiber where she was caught beneath the waves by the river god who married her. The twins were set adrift...
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...the 1960’s for African Americans. This chance was taken away from them because of racial prejudice. Slavery still did exist in a sense. Blacks had been discriminated against for generations and separated from whites by law. Segregation had oppressed blacks for so many years. Kathryn Stockett, the author of The Help, shows how racism and discrimination destroyed the chance for African Americans to achieve the American Dream. In her book, The Help, Kathryn Stockett writes a realistic fiction story about the life and roles of black maids in the 1960’s in Jackson Mississippi. Skeeter Phelan, Minny Jackson and Aiblieen narrate the story. Skeeter is a 23-year-old educated white woman who is coming home from college. She lives at home on her family's cotton plantation. She is different from most women in her town mainly because of the maid that raised her, Constantine. “All my life I'd been told what to believe about politics, coloreds, being a girl. But with Constantine's thumb pressed in my hand, I realized I actually had a choice in what I could believe.” She slowly realizes she does not to be a part of the racism her town holds. She loves to write, so she soon devotes herself, at a high risk, to write a book featuring the real stories of the black women who work for the white families in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. The book will be published if she meets a deadline. So she soon breaks all the rules, slowly starts to lose all her friends and crosses dangerous lines to get...
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...Ethiopia's dramatic topography has in some measure influenced one of Africa's distinctive longstanding cultural traditions. It is dominated by a volcanically formed mountainous plateau known as the Ethiopian Highlands that reaches up to 4,600 meters above sea level. This formation is bisected by the Great Rift Valley, which extends from the Red Sea to the Danakil Depression, where humanity evolved and the earliest evidence of our ancestors has been discovered. In antiquity, an important civilization arose in northern Ethiopia that extended beyond the shores of the Red Sea. Ranked as one of the great empires of its day, during the first half of the first millennium, Aksum was based inland but developed a vital connection to the outside world through the port of Adulis. In the second century A.D., Ptolemy refers to "Aksum where the palace of the king is located." In addition to its overland contacts with Meroë, the Nile Valley, and Egypt, its access to the Red Sea allowed it to become an active participant in trade with the Roman provinces, the Mediterranean, southern Arabia, Sri Lanka, and China. Among its exports were ivory, gold, aromatics such as frankincense and myrrh, slaves, and salt. By the third century, the demand for its goods warranted a monetary system of coinage whose weights, standards, and designs corresponded to that of Rome and later Byzantium. At the height of its power and prosperity, Aksum expanded to incorporate the region of Saba, in modern-day Yemen, within...
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...Movie Critique of Constantine HUM/150 Movie Critique of Constantine Constantine is a horror movie that rest on supernatural concepts. The film is about a chain smoking psychic, John Constantine, who exorcises demons and has a disdain for life. He teams up with another psychic, Angela, who has lost her twin sister, Isabel, to suicide. Together they find out her motives of suicide tie into a large sinister plot to get Satan’s son to rule the earth. They decide to try and thwart these plans but end up getting mixed up in them, particularly Angela. Constantine makes an effort to save her, and temporarily succeeds, but faces an unlikely foe (the archangel Gabriel) and his plans are derailed. Finally, he attempts to sacrifice his life for Angela and the world and, because of this, is redeemed. This movie is chock full of scary and creepy looking demons and cold half demons (“half breeds”). It is a horror movie in every sense, but is also a supernatural film. The editing in this film was appropriate to the story that was being told. The types of editing techniques used were specific to the horror genre. There are a few examples that show what type of editing was used. Match cuts, eye-line match cut, and fast cutting are just a few editing techniques that were used in this film. They contribute to the overall feeling of the film. For example, eye-line match cut was used a few times which increase the suspense of the movie. Eye line match cut was used at the beginning...
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...SEMINARY LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE A NEEDED REFORM PROPOSED BY THE ANABAPTISTS SUBMITTED TO DR. TIMOTHY McALHANEY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR CHHI 525 – HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY 2 SECTION B13 BY DEAN GREGORY STUDENT ID # XXXXXXXXXX SUBMITTED ON TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2013 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 CHURCH AND STATE RELATIONS 2 THE BEGINNING 3 PRE-REFORMATION ABUSE 3 REFORMATION 4 POST-REFORMATION 8 CHURCH AND STATE SEPARATION 8 CONSLUSION 10 BIBLOGRAPHY 11 INTRODUCTION Constantine changed the relationship between the church and the state from seeing the church as a threat to seeing the church as a way to bind a nation together. Over time, the church and the state blended to the point of them becoming seen as one institution instead of two distinct institutions. As the church became more and more politically powerful, it was able to control state affairs to the point of being proclaimed the official religion of the state. This intertwining of the church and state eventually was seen by some radical groups, like the Anabaptist, in need of change during the Reformation period. It has been shown during the reformation that a state sanctioned religion has typically caused corruption in the religion, bloodshed in the name of God, and shows the Anabaptist desire to separate the church and state to be a superior model. This paper will argue the need of the church to be separate from the state for God’s...
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...Christianity, a very wide practiced religion, originated about 2000 years ago in Judea, which is now commonly known as Israel. Jesus Christ and his trusting disciples first practiced and introduced the religion to the population. “Jesus first began preaching in Israel during the time of Augustus, trying hard to purify the Jewish religion to establish the kingdom of God on Earth” (Stark, 1996). During the emergence of Christianity, the emperor of Rome was ruler of Judea. The Jewish population was not happy being under Roman rule because they felt as though it represented a historical oppression. During the beginning stages of Christianity, “the religion focused on cleansing the Jewish religion of stiff rituals and arrogant leaders and had little to do with the Roman culture” (Stark, 1996). Due to this, Jesus aroused suspicion among the upper classes and leaders of the Jewish religion. Roman governors were persuaded that Jesus was a dangerous activist and as a result, Jesus was put to death. On the third day of Jesus’ death, his followers believed that resurrected which led them to further believe he was the Son of God. With the resurrection of Jesus, the religion was spreading amongst Jewish communities within the Roman Empire and further beyond. Paul, whose real name Saul, converted into a Christian in A.D 35. It was through Paul that Christian missionaries began to migrate from the strict Jewish law. He proposed that the new standards of faith be universal and open to all...
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...ularism Modern Myths, Locked Minds by T. N. Madan Introduction: Scope, methods and Concepts 1. Secularization, secularism, Christian tradition and the Enlightenment: a brief history T. N. Madan differentiates between secularism, secularization and secularity. 1) Secularization refers to socio cultural processes in which the role of the sacred is progressively limited; 2) Secularism is the ideology that argues for the historical inevitability and progressive nature of secularization everywhere and 3) Secularity is the resultant state of society. The term "secularism" was first used by the British writer Holyoake in 1851 to describe his views of promoting a social order separate from religion. The English word ‘secular’ comes from the Latin ‘saeculum’, which means ‘an age’ or ‘the spirit of an age’ and has the same meaning as the Greek ‘aeon’. In general terms, secularism means “belonging to this age, or worldly” along with a denial of other worldly realities (i.e. religious). The Bible introduces the idea of divine creation in the book of Genesis. God speaks directly to Man in Genesis: “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it”. As Peter Berger, a social theorist notes that in this the idea of a secular world is sown as a God who stands outside of the Cosmos which is his creation. This opens the way for self making activity which Berger calls ‘historization’. Caesar was the emperor of Rome. In a famous passage Jesus said, "Render to Caesar the things...
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