RELIGION HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE INVESTIGATION OF THE CHANGE OF CONSTANTINE
RELIGION HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE INVESTIGATION OF THE CHANGE OF CONSTANTINE
Author(s): Tibor TonhaizerSubject(s): Theology and Religion, History of Religion
Published by: Centar za empirijska istraživanja religije (CEIR)
Keywords: Syncretism; sun-worship; genius; solar monotheism; political stability; Romanism; Byzantinism
Summary/Abstract: By the middle of the 3rd century the once glorious Roman Empire was past its prime; weakened considerably from the perspective of economy and society. Emperor Constantine the Great expected the solution of the severe, seemingly to be hopeless situation from the intensification of monotheistic religiousness. He hardly was adept at matters of theology but was quite sure that he can also achieve the stability of his own power by combining the strongest religions of the empire ideologically. In the spirit of this policy Christianity and sun-worship got close to each other and the emperor supported both. The interest of the indicated process is that the Christians of the 4th century did not object this tendency; moreover, they saw the evidence of Providence in it.
Journal: Religija i tolerancija
- Issue Year: 13/2015
- Issue No: 24
- Page Range: 233-244
- Page Count: 12
- Language: English