The Birth of Christianity in Rome

The Birth of Christianity in Rome - Briefly

To better understand the birth of Christianity in Rome, it is necessary to understand the situation of that time and what was happening in Rome itself.

Built in the West-Central region of Italy, near the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea on the Tiber River. Rome remained virtually untouched for thousands of years. It still exists today as a large center of Italy.

More than two thousand years ago, the capital of the Roman Empire with a population of more 1

million people. All Roman emperors lived and ruled their empire together with a senate from this city.

The wealthy city was home to several economic classes:

Rome - Temple of Peace

Influencing the life of the conquered territories, Rome borrowed a lot from them. This was especially evident in religion. The main gods of the Romans, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, had Etruscan roots. Having conquered the Greek cities of Italy, the Romans identified their gods with the Greek ones. During the war against Hannibal, Rome introduced the cult of the Asia Minor goddess-mother Cybella. At the end of the 1st century. BC. they began to venerate the Egyptian Isis, Osiris, and the Iranian Mithras. The gods of each conquered province were included in the Roman pantheon and could be prayed to in any city of the empire. According to contemporaries, Rome became the “temple of peace.” Often local gods merged in the minds of people with Roman ones.

Inside the Pantheon

Only the imperial cult was obligatory for all inhabitants of the empire. It was based on apotheosis - the proclamation of the emperor as a god. Caesar was first proclaimed divine after his death. His successor Octavian Augustus was already revered during his lifetime as the father of the fatherland and the keeper of the family hearth. Rites in his honor were performed in every Roman house and temple. During the time of Tiberius, anyone who refused to honor the emperor faced serious punishment.

In the first centuries AD, the Romans completed their conquest of the Mediterranean. Having subjugated many peoples and states, Rome destroyed their political independence and statehood, the originality of their social life. The unbridled greed and cruelty of the Roman governors, the grip of heavy state taxes, the Roman legal process, which squeezed out local legal orders - the entire oppression of the state machine of the empire gave rise among the conquered peoples to a feeling of hatred towards the conqueror and at the same time a feeling of powerlessness before him. These sentiments are well conveyed in one of the early Christian works - “Apocalypse” (Revelation of John), written in the 1st century AD. The author of this work calls slave-owning Rome “the great harlot,” who corrupted entire nations and countries and destroyed their foundations of life. In frantic prophecies, he predicts the imminent and shameful death of “eternal” Rome. “The time is near!” - he exclaims, but places his hopes on heavenly powers. Another big issue in public life was the problem of slavery. It was not only that slave labor doomed society to economic stagnation, but the Roman state feared its slaves. “How many slaves - so many enemies,” stated the proverb of that time. Measures to intimidate slaves could not solve the problem, and in the upper strata of society the idea of some softening of the forms of slavery timidly begins to make its way. The Roman philosopher Seneca (1st century AD), a rich man and courtier, advised masters to treat their slaves more gently. “All people,” he said, “are essentially the same, all are the same by birth; Noble is he who is honest by nature. We all have a common parent - the world. Nature tells us to benefit all people, no matter whether they are slaves or freemen, freeborn or freedmen.” At the same time, Seneca recommends that slaves and those who are dependent be patient and calmly endure insults, since resistance would only worsen their situation. These ideas, reworked in their own way, were also put forward by Christianity. Roman society was experiencing a moral and religious crisis. The highest circles of society treated working people with contempt, not only slaves, but also free ones. Fullers, wool beaters, shoemakers, coppersmiths are a constant object of disdain and ridicule. The Greek writer Lucian depicts the lot of a craftsman this way: “You will be narrow-minded, you will act in a simple manner, your friends will not seek your company, your enemies will not be afraid of you... you will live like a hare, who is hunted by everyone, and you will become the prey of the strong.” At the same time, among working people, not only slaves, but also free ones, their own measures of human values were formed. From tombstones, fables, and sayings of that time, we learn that such a measure was hard work, skill, and selflessness. In one inscription, a certain priestess proudly says that her parents were freedmen who were poor but free in spirit. In another - about the deceased - it is said that his simplicity, “simplitude” and kindness opened up for his soul the opportunity to dwell with the gods. The freedman Phaedrus, in his fable about the legal battle between bees and drones over honey in a hive, makes it clear that he is on the side of those who obtained this honey with their labor. The sayings and teachings of working people often contain opposite calls: despise domination and do not make acquaintance with the authorities, respond to the offender in the same way, for by forgiving, you inspire the masters to new insults. One proverb harshly condemns the idea of resistance: “The meek live in safety, but they are slaves.” And along with this: “The cure for resentment is forgiveness.” Here resistance to evil is a way of social self-defense. Many of these ideas were adopted by emerging Christianity. A characteristic feature of the time was a certain cooling of Greco-Roman society towards its old gods. Many doubted their very existence. The famous Roman politician and orator Cicero (106 - 43 BC) in his treatise “On the Nature of the Gods” depicted three philosophers arguing about what “one should think about religion, piety, rituals, sacrifices” and about the immortals themselves gods." One of the disputants, although he recognizes the existence of blessed gods, however, placing them somewhere in unknown “interworlds”, denies their intervention in the affairs of people and, therefore, the real meaning of religion. Another, on the contrary, argues that the structure of the Universe is full of divine reason, and the gods arranged everything for the benefit of man. The third philosopher - his point of view is shared by Cicero himself - says that among the people it is necessary to maintain faith in the gods, but for educated people the question is murky. “You come across a lot of this and it confuses you so much that sometimes it seems that there are no such gods at all.” This religious skepticism coexisted with the darkest superstitions. Many gods, demons, and spirits entangled man’s thinking, keeping him in fear and undermining, in the words of the Roman poet Lucretius, “the very foundations of life.” Along with a skeptical attitude towards their own gods, interest in Eastern cults was spreading in Roman society. In this turbulent era filled with political and social upheavals, they attracted people with their exaltation, frenzied rituals, and sacraments of initiation, creating the illusion of communication with the deity. Some of them contained ideas of otherworldly retribution and retribution, thereby reflecting the thirst for social justice on Earth. Thus, the social and political instability of the era, a sense of hopelessness, pushed the masses towards religious quests. The onset of difficult times was attributed to the evil will or weakness of the old gods. And with the decay of Rome's democratic institutions and the decline of public life, the spiritual energy of people increasingly turned to the sphere of religion. “In all classes,” writes Engels, “there must have been a certain number of people who, despairing of material liberation, sought instead spiritual liberation, consolation in consciousness, which would save them from complete despair.” Omens, fortune telling, oracles, drawing up horoscopes, divination and spells, and the search for magical formulas took a huge place in all levels of society. And in this boiling cauldron of the spiritual life of the empire, a new religion was gradually being prepared - Christianity. There are a large number of sources, religious, literary, philosophical, from which the new religion drew its ideas. The philosopher Philo of Alexandria (21 or 28 BC - 41 or 49 AD), interpreting the Bible allegorically, combined in his teaching the monotheism (belief in one god) of the Jewish religion with elements of Greco-Roman philosophy. The philosophical school of Philo gave Christianity the idea of a god-man, a mediator between heaven and earth. Christianity was also influenced by the school of the Roman philosopher Seneca, who viewed earthly life only as a threshold to a “new birth” in the other world, and by the teachings of the Gnostics, a religious and philosophical movement that considered matter to be a sinful principle and sought ways to save the soul. The doctrine and cult of Christianity were influenced by the ancient Egyptian cult of Osiris and Isis with its ideas of afterlife judgment and resurrection, as well as the cult of the ancient Persian deity Mithras with its symbols and the myth that God voluntarily sacrificed himself. Christianity accepted the teachings of Judaism about one God as the root cause of everything that exists. The predictions of the Jewish prophets about the upcoming coming of the Messiah-savior and the advent of the kingdom of God were also accepted. In 1947, near Jerusalem, in the area of Wadi Qumran, ancient manuscripts belonging to a pre-Christian Jewish sect that broke away from official Judaism were found hidden in caves. Scientists believe that this sect is the Essenes, which is mentioned in the writings of ancient authors. Believing in the nearness of the end of the world and the Last Judgment, the Essenes went into the desert to prepare for these events through a “righteous” hermit life. The study of the Qumran scrolls revealed surprisingly many similarities in the religious views of this sect with the early Christian communities. This idea of universal sinfulness, reward for good and retribution for evil after death. Another characteristic feature is hostility towards the deity and disdain for property. The Qumran scrolls contain references to the “teacher of righteousness,” who to some extent can be considered as a prototype of the gospel Christ. Christianity arose in Palestine in the first half of the 1st century AD. Its formation took a long time. Silent mention of Christian preachers framed by myths and legends has been preserved in historical sources. Christianity was originally a small spontaneous movement. The first Christian communities consisted primarily of slaves, freedmen, artisans, the urban poor, all those who, in the figurative expression of F. Engels, were “thrown overboard by the process of decomposition of the old world.” They all condemned the existing order and dreamed of social and spiritual reconstruction. They all sought solace in the new religion. And Christianity, created by them, willingly promised all this. The new religion argued that suffering in earthly life would bring a person salvation and heavenly bliss in the afterlife, and saw resistance to evil as the path to moral improvement. She promised all the disadvantaged that “the last will be first, and the first will be last,” that the righteous will get theirs, and the lower classes—all of these, in Gospel phraseology, “the poor,” “the simpletons,” “these little ones”—belong to the future. Wealth and acquisitiveness were considered by the new religion as “the snare of the devil.” Christianity discarded not only social, but also national barriers between people. “There is neither Greek nor Jew... neither barbarian nor Scythian, neither slave nor free,” says one of the apostolic letters. Christianity acquired the character of a universal, universal religion. However, Christianity pushed the fulfillment of these dreams into the “otherworldly” world, and considered the very earthly existence of people only as “God’s kingdom.” Over time, Christianity changes its social face. The deepening crisis of Roman slave society prompted an increasing number of people to seek solace and salvation in the new religion. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, wealthy people poured into Christian communities. They brought not only property, but also their socio-political views. The ideals of poverty, non-covetousness, and equality are relegated to the background. Christian communities become rich and gain economic and political weight. Their leadership is concentrated in the hands of a few officials - bishops. A complex church organization is being created. Its highest bodies are congresses of bishops - church councils. Bishops of large regions subsequently receive the title of archbishops. The archbishops of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch began to be called patriarchs, and the first two - popes (from the Greek “papas” - father). Gradually a complex cult was developed, alien to primitive Christianity. Later, icons appeared in houses of worship - images of Jesus Christ, his mother, and the apostles. Magnificent worship was introduced. Thus, by the 4th century, Christianity had penetrated all social strata of Roman society. The powerful organization of public relations, land holdings and wealth accumulated by this time made the Christian Church a force that the authorities could not ignore. Moreover, the church itself was now striving for rapprochement with the state. These trends have been emerging for a long time. Already in the epistles of the apostles (1st-2nd centuries) calls appear: “Slaves, obey your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling... as to Christ,” “Let every soul be submissive to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God.” This readiness of the church to sanctify the weakening imperial power and the entire structure of the empire with the authority of the Christian God could not but be heard. Emperor Constantine at the beginning of the 4th century, trying to strengthen the unity of the empire and his power, stopped the persecution of Christians and gave Christianity the rights of a legal religion. And in the last decade of the 4th century, under the emperors Gratian and Theodosius I, Christianity received the privileges of the only state religion. The remnants of pre-Christian pagan cults were persecuted. The property of the old temples was confiscated or looted, the statues of the gods were overthrown, and sacrifices to them were prohibited. The famous statue of Victoria, the goddess of victory, a symbol of the old Roman spirit and statehood, was removed from the Senate. In 394, Emperor Theodosius I, by a special decree, abolished the famous Olympic festivals, the Olympics, as one of the last strongholds of paganism. Christianity spread throughout all regions of the empire and beyond its borders. The Christian Church became a support and ally of the dying slave state.

Cultural history

Well, we know that the best way to ruin any initiative is to lead it. Eventually the Roman Empire will come to this. A single empire needs a single religion, a single god who sanctifies power. Diocletian did not succeed with his reform. Stoicism, as a unified philosophy of the empire, went bankrupt and did not take place. So something else is needed.

And Christianity itself begins to gradually adapt to the empire. Paul will already say: “All authority is from God.” Christ taught the opposite. Christ said that power comes from the devil, so give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, we don’t need his coins that he mints. And we remember that the devil offered power to Christ, and he is the source of power. And Paul will say: “All authority is from God.” Christ spoke about the equality of women, and Paul will say that women are a vessel of sin, for example. That is, a departure will begin, and the entire subsequent history of Christianity is a departure from the ideals of early Christianity, from the ideas of Christ himself. Many interpreters will appear. Heresy is a word that originally meant dissent. Paul said: “Let there be heresies among you” (differences of opinion, so that the wise may emerge). “Heresy” will become a dirty word, and people will be persecuted for heresy.

A hierarchy of presbyters and bishops will begin to form. The communism of the first communities and the denial of property will be replaced by alms - we must help the poor. But poverty is not abolished in principle. That is, gradual adaptation occurs. Christianity is acquiring dogmas and cults that did not exist at the beginning; sacraments that were not there at first, etc. People arise who begin to interpret and monopolize the right to interpret Christianity. Previously, anyone could declare themselves a charismatic (a person in a state of grace), now it is only a church official, a bishop, or a presbyter.

And gradually Christianity moves closer to the empire, and the empire moves closer to Christianity. What was originally a revolutionary force exploding the ancient world is now gradually becoming an official religion, an official faith. And as a result, the empire accepts religion. The world empire needed a world religion. And the world religion accepts the empire. Although this, of course, changes them, especially religion. But religion will ultimately survive the empire and become the founder of a new world, the medieval world.

Constantine was the first to stop the persecution of Christianity. In 313, he issues the famous Edict of Milan (or Edict of Milan), in which Christianity is proclaimed one of the tolerant faiths. Christians are allowed to have property, have their own churches, their own cemeteries. Before this, all this was taken away from them. Under the auspices of Emperor Constantine, the First Ecumenical Council of Christians took place in the city of Nicaea in 325. The Emperor is present there, overseeing all this. The creed is accepted, that is, what Christians should believe.

It's funny that Konstantin himself was not a Christian until the end of his life. He was baptized only before his death and retained the title of divine, that is, he himself was considered a god, and retained the title of pontiff, that is, the head of pagan cults. It turns out an interesting thing: the church is led by a pagan. And he interferes in her affairs, and proclaims, as his heir will say, “my will is the law for the church.” This kind of transaction takes place. The Church is legalized, it is allowed to have large property, it is under the protection of the empire.

By the way, the system of religious tolerance proclaimed by Constantine’s Edict of Milan will not last long. In 50-60 years, persecution will begin - only not against Christians, but against pagans. The persecuted church will become the persecuting church. Christians will begin to destroy pagan temples, the female philosopher, Neoplatonist, pagan Hypatia will be killed at the instigation of Christian bishops in Alexandria, etc. This stability - the balance between paganism and Christianity - will not last long.

So the deal happens. Christianity is legalized, receives property, and due to this it must support the empire. The emperor resolves issues of dogma and intervenes in issues resolved at councils. Moreover, priests become practically officials. They now receive maintenance and do not have to pay taxes, like all officials in the empire. Such a tandem of Christianity and empire is being created. This will have huge consequences. This is how Christianity is “tamed” and its further spread. But my lecture is not devoted to the history of Christianity, not the history of religion, it is simply important for understanding the history of Rome.

Next - the Roman Empire before its collapse

In 380, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

On February 27, 380, Emperor Theodosius the Great proclaimed Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. “We command the followers of this teaching to be called Orthodox Christians , but we condemn the rest to bear the ignominy of heretical teaching,” says the Edict of the last emperor of the united Roman Empire, Theodosius the Great (ancient Greek: Θεοδόσιος, Θεοδόσιος ὁ Μέγας; 34 7-395 ).

In 379, Emperor Theodosius received power over the eastern part of the Roman Empire as co-ruler of Emperor Gratian, and in 394 he became the sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire.

The Spaniard Theodosius is one of the few emperors who were baptized at the beginning of his reign. It seems that as a result of this circumstance, his policy took on a more openly Christian character. The laws he issued in favor of the Church exceed in number the laws of all his predecessors taken together: there are several of them every year. After reigning in the East, his first concern was to destroy Arianism.

In 380, Emperor Theodosius issued a command that all peoples subject to him, on the issue of the Trinity, should follow “the faith which the Roman Church received from the Apostle Peter,” as professed by “Pope Damasus and Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of the Apostolic holiness." In 381, 382, 384, 388, 389, 394 he issues laws against heretics: Eunomians, Arians, Apollinarians, Macedonians, Manichaeans; churches of heretics are selected in order to transfer them to the Orthodox; meetings of heretics are prohibited; bishops and priests of heretics are expelled; all places where the services of heretics were held are transferred to the treasury; their wills are destroyed and declared to have no power to transfer or receive inheritance. The large number of these laws, many of which are repeated, indicates that they were not implemented everywhere, but testifies to the energetic efforts of the Orthodox sovereign aimed at restoring Orthodox unity in those areas that were devastated by the heresies favored by Constantius and Valens. From the first to the last year of his reign, Theodosius treated heretics as rebels, and this is where the laws come from, which he issues a series of repeating laws without tightening the measures of persecution.

Emperor Theodosius did not give the Christian Church monetary advantages, and did not squander material favors in its favor, but elevated the servants of the Christian Church, showed respect for its teaching and worship, and patronized Christian customs. Emperor Theodosius forbade calling bishops as witnesses in court; prohibited the conduct of all criminal cases during Lent; did not allow corporal punishment “during the holy time of Lent, appointed for the purification of souls”; prohibited trading in the relics of martyrs; placed Easter and Resurrection among the days celebrated by law; prohibited performances in the amphitheater and circus on Sundays; on Easter Day he declared forgiveness to criminals; did not allow marriages between Christians and Jews; the Jews were forbidden to have Christian slaves; prohibited comedians and women of bad behavior from appearing in public dressed as virgins dedicated to God; it is not allowed to include women and children who profess Christianity in the dancer troupes; prohibited private individuals from keeping and showing slave musicians; a Christian is not allowed to become a pagan. Those guilty of leaving the Church for the sake of a pagan temple are, by law, deprived of the right to dispose of their property and receive property under wills. Thus, one of the competing religions is now recognized by law as lower than the other. The laws of Emperor Theodosius persecuted shameful vices in the cities, while at the same time the punishments themselves became more moral.

Emperor Theodosius decided to live up to Christian ideals in both public and personal life. At the request of St. Ambrose, Emperor Theodosius submitted to humble repentance after the brutal suppression of the uprising in Thessalonica . In his legislative creation, as well as in his governmental actions, Theodosius is unable to tolerate the nuances and differences in Christianity itself. With unprecedented precision of language, in which all the power of the Latin spirit is revealed, he demands from his subjects that they be faithful to Orthodoxy in its purest form, instructing them to imitate and obey people who - in the East as well as in the West - seem to him to be the best exponents of Roman Orthodoxy. This commanding tone of the emperor is all the more remarkable because Theodosius is far from striving to dominate the Church, but always and in everything considers himself her most obedient son. He has no desire to take on, as Constantine did, the role of a bishop. The imperial power turns to them to serve the Orthodox faith.

Theodosius feels strong enough to destroy both heresy and paganism at the same time. Having power, he considers it his duty to do so, and moves towards this goal especially directly and firmly.

For four years, before the deposition of Maximus in 383 , the Roman world had three sovereigns: the impostor Maximus in Gaul, Spain and Britain, Valentinian II in Italy, Africa and the Danube provinces, and Theodosius in the East.

However, the pagan religion is not yet prohibited by law, but every day there are fewer and fewer pagans. Emperor Constantine prohibited the secret practice of fortune-telling, but declared freedom of official fortune-telling in the form in which it was performed in temples by the haruspexes. Theodosius prohibits in 381 any sacrifices made day or night in the temple, in order to find out the future from the sacrifice from a fortuneteller-haruspec - this was the most attractive part of the pagan rite. The most persistent sometimes hid the ritual of sacrifice under the guise of a feast. Many replaced sacrifices with burning incense in honor of the gods. The Edict of 391 dealt another blow to paganism by imposing heavy penalties for the worship of the old gods:

“No one is given the right to make sacrifices, no one should circumambulate [pagan] temples, no one should venerate the temple. Everyone should know that Our law prohibits entry into pagan temples, and if anyone tries, despite Our prohibition, to perform certain cult actions in relation to the gods, then let him know that he will not be able to escape punishment, even by taking advantage of special signs of imperial favor. The judge […] shall compel the wicked lawbreaker who enters a defiled place to pay into Our treasury a fine of fifteen pounds in gold.”

The law of 392 dealt the final blow to paganism. The law prohibits making sacrifices in temples, but it is forbidden to make libations, light fires on home altars, and offer flowers to genii, lares, and penates; the law declares that every field, every dwelling where incense is burned will be taken into the treasury. In the fourth century, pagan home sanctuaries were numerous, idolatry took refuge in private homes, as in the last refuge. Chapels to Fortune of the house or family were erected in their own gardens. In the private estates of houses, a cave was dug in honor of Mithras, and this grotto soon became the center of secret pagan worship. Theodosius closed these sanctuaries in the same way as the city's pagan temples. However, a large number of them, under the cover of private life, eluded his searches, and home prayers continued to exist, despite all the prohibitions.

After the laws of 391 and 392, all pagan worship, not only public, but also private, became a criminal act. However, St. John Chrysostom had reason not to equate the behavior of Theodosius with the actions of the ancient persecutors of the Christian Church. Indeed, intolerance towards religion (pagan) was combined during his reign with the greatest tolerance towards pagan individuals. Emperor Theodosius followed the path outlined by his Christian predecessors, starting with Constantine. In the distribution of honors or positions, he never made a distinction between pagans and Christians. In the East, the pagan Themistius was prefect of Constantinople629. In the West, the political leader of the pagan party Symmachus was prefect of Rome in 384, and consul in 391.

In 393, the position of paganism was almost hopeless. Theodosius had already dealt him mortal blows in the East, as had the policies of Gratian and St. Ambrose in the West. The recently proclaimed separation between the state and the pagan religion meant the first step; the destruction of this religion through the close connection between the empire and the Church is step two.

Theodosius' life was cut short on January 17, 395. And the empire was divided between his two sons, the East was given to Arcadius, and the West to Honorius. After the death of Theodosius, the Roman Empire was finally divided into the western part and the eastern part, which in modern historiography received the name Byzantium.

The pagans cleverly took advantage of the disasters of the empire in order to once again turn popular feelings to the gods. They pointed out in the misfortunes of war and invasions the punishing hand of the immortals, irritated at Rome because it turned out to be unfaithful to the ancient religion, during the prosperity of which its power increased, which was inseparable from its destinies and carried away the entire empire in its fall. They say that in 408, when the army of Alaric first appeared before the gates of Rome, the population, distraught from disaster, the prefect of the city and the entire senate made a sacrifice to the old pagan gods.

In the East, imperial power will continue for many centuries, continuing the fight against paganism, but this fight is fading away by itself. In one law of 423, Theodosius II speaks of “the pagans who still exist, although we imagined that they no longer exist.” In another law, 435 , he commands that "all sanctuaries, temples and buildings of idolatry, if any of them remain inviolable," be destroyed or converted into churches.

During the fifth and even sixth centuries in the East we find several laws directed against pagans , although paganism no longer exists here. If paganism survived itself, it was only in the form of popular superstition, or in the form of philosophical reasoning for a small number of people. The empire does not recognize any other religion than Christianity, and society as a whole, in its institutions, laws and morals, is a Christian society.

Based on materials from Paul Allard. "Christianity and the Roman Empire from Nero to Theodosius." Eighth chapter. Christian state - Theodosius.

Zeus genus

Where did the Greeks and Armenians come from?

Constantine the Great. Acceptance of Christianity.

Constantine the Great. Bronze. IV century Rome.

Around 285 AD e. In Naissus, Caesar Flavius Valerius Constantius I Chlorus, the Roman governor in Gaul, and his wife Helen Flavius had a son, Flavius Valerius Constantine. Constantius Chlorus himself was a modest, gentle and courteous man. Religiously, he was a monotheist, worshiping the sun god Sol, who during the Empire was identified with eastern deities, especially with the Persian god of light Mithras - the sun god, the god of treaty and harmony. It was to this deity that he dedicated his family. According to some sources, Elena was a Christian (there were many Christians around Constantius, and he treated them very kindly), according to others, she was a pagan. In 293, Constantius and Helena were forced to divorce for political reasons, but the ex-wife still occupied an honorable place at his court. Constantius had to send his son from a young age to the court of Emperor Diocletian in Nicomedia.

By that time, the Christian Church had already played a very large role in the life of the Empire and millions of people were Christians - from slaves to senior government officials. There were many Christians at the court in Nicomedia. However, in 303, Diocletian, under the influence of his son-in-law Galerius, a rude and superstitious pagan, decided to destroy the Christian Church. The most terrible persecution of the new religion of an all-empire nature began. Thousands and thousands of people were brutally tortured for simply belonging to the Church. It was at this moment that young Constantine found himself in Nicomedia and witnessed a bloody orgy of murder, which caused grief and regret in him. Brought up in an atmosphere of religious tolerance, Constantine did not understand Diocletian's policies. Constantine himself continued to honor Mithra the Sun, and all his thoughts were aimed at strengthening his position in that difficult situation and finding a path to power.

In 305, Emperor Diocletian and his co-ruler Maximian Heruklius renounced power in favor of their successors. In the east of the Empire, power passed to Galerius, and in the west to Constantius Chlorus and Maxentius. Constantius Chlorus was already seriously ill and asked Galerius to release his son Constantine from Nicomedia, but Galerius delayed the decision, fearing his rival. Only a year later, Constantine finally managed to get Galerius’ consent to leave. The terminally ill father blessed his son and gave him command of the troops in Gaul.

In 311, Galerius, suffering from an unknown illness, decided to stop the persecution of Christians. Apparently, he suspected that his illness was “the revenge of the God of Christians.” Therefore, he allowed Christians to “freely gather in their gatherings” and “offer prayers for the safety of the emperor.” A few weeks later Galerius died; under his successors, persecution of Christians resumed, albeit on a smaller scale.

Maxentius and Licinius were two Augusti, and Constantine was proclaimed by the Senate as Chief Augustus. The following year, war broke out in the west of the Empire between Constantine and Maxentius, as Maxentius claimed to become sole ruler. Licinius sided with Constantine. Of the 100,000-strong army stationed in Gaul and at the disposal of Constantine, he was able to allocate only a fourth, while Maxentius had 170,000 infantry and 18,000 cavalry. Constantine's campaign against Rome thus began under unfavorable conditions for him. Sacrifices were made to the pagan gods so that the gods would reveal the future, and their predictions were bad. In the fall of 312, Constantine's small army approached Rome. Constantine seemed to be challenging the eternal city - everything was against him. It was at this time that the religious Caesar began to experience visions that strengthened his spirit. First, he saw in a dream a huge fiery cross in the eastern part of the sky. And soon angels appeared to him, saying: “Constantine, with this you will win.” Inspired by this, Caesar ordered the sign of the name of Christ to be inscribed on the soldiers’ shields. Subsequent events confirmed the emperor's visions.

The ruler of Rome, Maxentius, did not leave the city, having received a prediction from the oracle that he would die if he left the gates of Rome. The troops were successfully commanded by his generals, relying on a huge numerical superiority. The fateful day for Maxentius was the anniversary of his gaining power - October 28. The battle broke out under the walls of the city, and Maxentius’ soldiers had a clear advantage and a better strategic position, but events seemed to confirm the proverb: “Whomever God wants to punish, he deprives of reason.” Suddenly, Maxentius decided to seek advice from the “Sibylline Books” (a collection of sayings and predictions that served for official fortune telling in Ancient Rome) and read in them that the enemy of the Romans would die on that day. Inspired by this prediction, Maxentius left the city and appeared on the battlefield. While crossing the Mulvinsky Bridge near Rome, the bridge collapsed behind the emperor's back; Maxentius's troops panicked and began to flee. Crushed by the crowd, the emperor fell into the Tiber and drowned. Even the pagans saw Constantine's unexpected victory as a miracle. He himself, of course, had no doubt that he owed his victory to Christ.

It was from this moment that Constantine began to consider himself a Christian, but had not yet accepted baptism. The emperor understood that strengthening his power would inevitably be associated with actions contrary to Christian morality, and therefore was in no hurry. The rapid adoption of the Christian faith might not have pleased supporters of the pagan religion, of whom there were especially many in the army. Thus, a strange situation arose when the head of the empire was a Christian who was not formally a member of the Church, because he came to faith not through a search for truth, but as an emperor (Caesar) seeking God to protect and sanctify his power. This ambiguous position later became the source of many problems and contradictions, but for the time being, at the beginning of his reign, Constantine, like the Christians, felt inspired. A reflection of this is the Edict of Milan on Tolerance, drawn up in 313 by the Emperor of the West, Constantine, and the Emperor of the East (Galerius’ successor) Licinius. This law differed significantly from the decree of Galerius of 311, which was also poorly executed.

The Edict of Milan proclaimed religious tolerance: “Freedom in religion should not be restricted; on the contrary, the right to take care of Divine objects must be given to the mind and heart of everyone, according to his own will.” This was a very bold step and had a huge impact. The religious freedom proclaimed by Emperor Constantine remained the dream of mankind for a long time. The emperor himself subsequently betrayed this principle more than once. The Edict gave Christians the right to spread their teachings and convert other people to their faith. Until now, this was forbidden to them as a “Jewish sect” (conversion to Judaism was punishable by death under Roman law). Constantine ordered the return to Christians of all property confiscated during the persecution.

Although during the reign of Constantine the equality of paganism and Christianity proclaimed by him was respected (the emperor allowed the Flavian family cult and even the construction of a temple to “his deity”), all the sympathies of the authorities were on the side of the new religion, and Rome was decorated with a statue of Constantine with his right hand raised for the sign of the cross.

The Emperor carefully ensured that the Christian Church had all the privileges enjoyed by the pagan priests (for example, exemption from government duties). Moreover, soon the bishops were given the right of jurisdiction (conducting court, legal proceedings) in civil matters, the right to set slaves free; Thus, Christians received, as it were, their own judgment. 10 years after the adoption of the Edict of Milan, Christians were allowed not to participate in pagan festivals. Thus, the new significance of the Church in the life of the Empire received legal recognition in almost all areas of life.

Meanwhile, the political life of the Roman Empire went on as usual. In 313, Licinius and Constantine remained the only rulers of Rome. Already in 314, Constantine and Licinius entered into a struggle with each other; The Christian emperor won two battles and achieved the annexation of almost the entire Balkan Peninsula to his possessions, and 10 years later a decisive battle took place between the two rival rulers. Constantine had 120 thousand infantry and cavalry and 200 small ships, and Licinius had 150 thousand infantry, 15 thousand cavalry and 350 large three-oared galleys. Nevertheless, Licinius's army was defeated in a land battle near Adrianople, and Constantine's son Crispus defeated Licinius' fleet in the Hellespont (Dardanelles). After another defeat, Licinius surrendered. The winner promised him life in exchange for renouncing power. However, the drama didn't end there. Licinius was exiled to Thessalonica and executed a year later. In 326, on the orders of Constantine, his ten-year-old son, Licinius the Younger, was also killed, despite the fact that his mother, Constantia, was Constantine's half-sister.

At the same time, the emperor ordered the death of his own son Crispus. The reasons for this are unknown. Some contemporaries believed that the son participated in some kind of conspiracy against his father, others - that he was slandered by the emperor’s second wife, Fausta (Crispus was Constantine’s son from his first marriage), trying to clear the way to power for his children. A few years later, she also died, suspected by the emperor of violating marital fidelity.

Despite the bloody events in the palace, the Romans loved Constantine - he was strong, handsome, polite, sociable, loved humor and had excellent self-control. As a child, Konstantin did not receive a good education, but he respected educated people.

Constantine's internal policy consisted of gradually promoting the transformation of slaves into dependent peasants - colons (simultaneously with the growth of dependence and free peasants), strengthening the state apparatus and increasing taxes, and broadly granting senatorial ranks to rich provincials - all this strengthened his power. The emperor disbanded the Praetorian Guard, rightly considering it a source of domestic conspiracies. Barbarians—Scythians and Germans—were widely recruited to serve in the army. There were a lot of Franks at court, and Constantine was the first to open access to the highest positions for the barbarians. However, the emperor felt uncomfortable in Rome and in 330 he founded the new capital of the state - New Rome - on the site of the Greek trading city of Byzantium, on the European shore of the Bosphorus Strait. After some time, the new capital began to be called Constantinople. Over the years, Constantine gravitated more and more toward luxury, and his court in the new (eastern) capital was very similar to the court of an eastern ruler. The emperor dressed in colorful silk clothes embroidered with gold, wore false hair and wore gold bracelets and necklaces.

In general, the 25-year reign of Constantine I was peaceful, except for the church unrest that began under him. The reason for this turmoil, in addition to religious and theological disputes, was that the relationship between the imperial power (Caesar) and the Church remained unclear. While the emperor was a pagan, Christians resolutely defended their internal freedom from encroachments, but with the victory of a Christian emperor (even if he had not yet been baptized), the situation changed fundamentally. According to the tradition that existed in the Roman Empire, it was the head of state who was the supreme arbiter in all, including religious, disputes.

The first event was a schism in the Christian Church of Africa. Some believers were dissatisfied with the new bishop, since they considered him associated with those who renounced the faith during the period of persecution under Diocletian. They chose another bishop, Donatus (they began to be called pre-Natists), refused to submit to church authorities and turned to the court of Caesar. “What madness to demand judgment from a person who himself awaits the judgment of Christ!” - Konstantin exclaimed. Indeed, he was not even baptized. However, wanting peace for the Church, the emperor agreed to act as a judge. After listening to both sides, he decided that the Donatists were wrong, and immediately showed his power: their leaders were sent into exile, and the property of the Donatist Church was confiscated. This government intervention in the internal church dispute was contrary to the spirit of the Edict of Milan on religious tolerance, but was perceived by everyone as completely natural. Neither the bishops nor the people objected. And the Donatists themselves, victims of persecution, did not doubt that Constantine had the right to resolve this dispute - they only demanded that persecution fall on their opponents. The schism gave rise to mutual bitterness, and persecution gave rise to fanaticism, and real peace did not come to the African Church very soon. Weakened by internal unrest, this province after a few decades became easy prey for vandals.

But the most serious split occurred in the east of the Empire in connection with the dispute with the Arians. Back in 318, a dispute arose in Alexandria between Bishop Alexander and his deacon Arius about the identity of Christ. Very quickly all Eastern Christians were drawn into this dispute. When Constantine annexed the eastern part of the Empire in 324, he was faced with a situation close to schism, which could not but depress him, since both as a Christian and as an emperor he passionately desired church unity. “Give me back peaceful days and good nights, so that I can finally find consolation in the pure light (i.e., the one Church. - Ed.),” he wrote. To resolve this issue, he convened a council of bishops, which took place in Nicaea in 325 (I Ecumenical or Nicene Council of 325).

Constantine received the 318 bishops who arrived solemnly and with great honor in his palace. Many bishops were victims of the persecutions of Diocletian and Galerius, and Constantine looked with tears in his eyes at their injuries and scars. The minutes of the First Ecumenical Council have not survived. What is known is that he condemned Arius as a heretic and solemnly proclaimed that Christ is consubstantial with God the Father. The council was chaired by the emperor and resolved several other issues related to worship. In general, for the entire empire it was, of course, a triumph of Christianity.

In 326, Constantine's mother Helen made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where the cross of Jesus Christ was found. On her initiative, the cross was raised and slowly turned to the four cardinal directions, as if dedicating the whole world to Christ. Christianity won. But peace was still very far away. The court bishops, and above all Eusebius of Caesarea, were friends of Arius. At the Council of Nicaea, they agreed with his condemnation, seeing the mood of the overwhelming majority of the bishops, but then they tried to convince the emperor that Arius had been wrongly condemned. Constantine (still not baptized!), of course, listened to their opinion and therefore returned Arius from exile and ordered, again resorting to his imperial power, to accept him back into the bosom of the Church (this did not happen, since Arius died on the way to Egypt). He sent all the irreconcilable opponents of Arius and supporters of the Council of Nicaea, and above all the new Bishop of Alexandria Athanasius, into exile. This happened in 330-335.

The intervention of Constantine led to the fact that the Arian schism stretched throughout almost the entire 4th century and was eliminated only in 381 at the Second Ecumenical Council (Council of Constantinople 381), but this happened after the death of the emperor. In 337, Constantine felt death approaching. All his life he dreamed of being baptized in the waters of the Jordan, but political affairs prevented this. Now, on his deathbed, it was impossible to put it off any longer, and before his death he was baptized by the same Eusebius of Caesarea. On May 22, 337, Emperor Constantine I died in the Aquirion Palace, near Nicomedia, leaving three heirs. His ashes were buried in the Apostolic Church in Constantinople. Church historians named Constantine the Great and hailed him as a model of a Christian.

The importance of Constantine I the Great is enormous. In fact, it began a new era both in the life of the Christian Church and in the history of mankind, called the “era of Constantine” - a complex and contradictory period. Constantine was the first of the Caesars to realize the greatness and complexity of the combination of Christian faith and political power, the first to try to understand his power as Christian service to people, but at the same time he inevitably acted in the spirit of the political traditions and mores of his time. Constantine gave the Christian Church freedom, releasing it from underground, and for this he was called equal to the apostles, but he too often acted as an arbiter in church disputes, thereby subordinating the Church to the state. It was Constantine who was the first to proclaim the high principles of religious tolerance and humanism, but was unable to put them into practice. The “thousand-year era of Constantine” that begins next will carry all these contradictions of its founder.

Chapter first. Christians and Emperors of the First Century

The religion of ancient Rome was very simple. The Latin deities were nothing more than the forces of nature, personified by the imagination of an agricultural and warlike people. Little by little this primitive pantheon expanded. Conquests brought new gods. The Romans recognized the religions of all nationalities as true. The Roman people readily accepted the deities of the peoples they defeated and thus tried to turn these hostile gods into their patrons. Thus the gods of Latium were joined, one after another, by the gods of the various countries of Italy, and the expansion of the original territory of Rome was at the same time the expansion of its religion. Subsequently, their religion began to enrich itself due to other reasons. Having no idea of one universal religion, the ancients turned, during times of public disaster, to those foreign deities whom they considered capable of averting the heavenly scourge, when their native gods were unable to save the people from disaster. Thus, due to the influence of the Sibyllian oracles, the main Greek deities were introduced into Rome. As Roman rule spread to the east, other religious forms were revealed to the victorious people. The exciting and sensual mysticism of the East awakened new needs in souls. The Egyptian and Asian gods, in turn, had priests in Rome and found admirers in those whose religious aspirations were no longer satisfied by the outlived simplicity of the Italian religions and the too human-like mythology of Hellenism.

These various cults were not immediately accepted on equal terms. Some remained outside Rome for some time; others received citizenship rights in the city itself. Some, rejected at first and even expelled many times, were finally accepted due to the uncontrollable pressure of popular feeling. The recognition of many cults was favored by the accidental similarity of alien deities with the gods of Rome: the difference between both was soon lost. Thus, little by little, a religion was formed, composed of successive layers, assimilations and concessions - the religion that we see at the beginning of the Roman Empire, after the reforms of Augustus. Most of the gods of the state represent (at this time) a heterogeneous mixture, where Latin, Italian, Greek and Asian elements were combined, with Greece almost always introducing the perfection of its plastic forms. The small number of foreign deities who did not submit to this merger were not given a place in the official religion. But, while remaining the subject of private veneration, they continue to enjoy wide tolerance. This toleration, in relation to all forms of worship or superstition, ceases only in two cases: when the state considers it necessary to intervene in the name of public interest or morality, or when one religion lays claim to exclusive dominance over the minds and will of citizens.

It would be a mistake to attribute to the influence of any metaphysical theory the intolerance which the Roman state exhibits in the latter case. There was no dogmatic teaching in his religion. It was, as we have already said, a collection of parts of heterogeneous origin, a rather bizarre mosaic, which was given visible coherence and a harmonious shade - only by time, habit and poetic or folk instinct. But throughout its history, the Roman spirit retained one disposition, which not only did not weaken, but strengthened over the centuries - with an almost uninterrupted series of victories and conquests. The fate and happiness of Rome seemed to him connected with its religion. The most refined and pampered contemporaries of Augustus or Tiberius were no less imbued with this thought than the rude inhabitants of the primitive city of Palatine. Perhaps they had little interest in the essence of this religion, its absolute truth, or its historical origin. Many of them would willingly repeat the indifferent or hopeless words of Pilate: “What is truth?” But state interest and omnipotent superstition, from which the most skeptical minds could not free themselves, made their popular gods sacred to them. Even those deities that were recently adopted from alien tribes were mixed into the age-old beliefs of the state with the help of fictions that were readily believed. It was allowed to pray to foreign gods; but to confess that they alone had the right to veneration, they alone existed and alone were unconditionally true - this was considered an undermining and insult to Roman power. There was a belief that this power would be shaken when the traditional religion of the state fell. This concept is so inherent in Roman paganism that it (the concept) is seen without change among the last adherents of paganism, contemporaries of St. Ambrose or St. Augustine.

Only one of all foreign religions, before the advent of Christianity, seemed at first glance to incur the wrath of the civil authorities on the part of the ruler of the world. In worshiping his chosen deity, the worshiper of Isis or Mithra did not consider it necessary to refuse reverence to the sacred persons who were publicly deified in Rome. Such a person was even less inclined to challenge their divine character. Later, when foreign cults became fashionable, and noble members of the aristocracy began to appear among their adherents, it often happened that these aristocrats belonged at the same time to the official priesthood, and were invested with the most bizarre sacred titles of Eastern worship. It was completely different in Judaism. This religion is, in its very essence, monotheistic, and therefore exceptional. From her point of view, the gods of the pagans do not exist at all, or they are evil demons. She mocks them, or is afraid of them. This trait of the Jews was also noted by ancient historians. This tribe, they say, is famous for its contempt for the gods and considers everything that we consider sacred to be wicked and vile. This character of Judaism was further strengthened by the spirit of proselytism, which belonged to it along with other Eastern religions, but which in Judaism also had something especially offensive, since it separated from any other faith those whom it attracted to its own2.

However, at no time did Rome subject the Jewish religion to persecution. This tolerance is easily explained by the fact that the followers of Judaism (during Roman rule) were the remains of a tribe, the remains of a disgraced and disfigured, although they still retained vitality. The Romans always had respect for national religions. Augustus and his family richly endowed the Jerusalem temple. And when, after the 70th year, the Jewish nationality perished, leaving only religion and tribe, Rome supported with equal tolerance this cult, which, by its very nature, was hostile to the religion of Rome.

He continued to soften laws directed against society in favor of synagogues, and to make exceptions for Jews regarding all those obligations that were contrary to their conscience3. Proselytism alone was more or less forbidden to them4. This tolerance, which was sometimes barely violated by preventive measures that were more cruel than prolonged5, is surprising at first glance, but becomes understandable after some considerations. Since the religion of the Jews was connected with the tribe and seemed to merge with it, then it was precisely such a worldwide empire as the Roman one that should not have been afraid of this religion. This foundation of Judaism was too narrow, and the peoples of all the tribes over which the Roman eagle soared could not stand on it. This monotheism, which was full of petty regulations that formed around it like a hedge of thorns, was too severe, which is why it could not seduce them. Thus, the policy of the empire was careful not to resort to unnecessary strictures, which would excite scarcely extinguished fanaticism and, without bringing any benefit, could threaten public peace.

Meanwhile, Rome was preparing its intolerance for the rebellious - softer, but, in its opinion, more dangerous. Christianity, like the Jewish religion, taught people to worship the true God. But, unlike Judaism, whose demands were too great, and whose national character was too noticeable (which is why it could not attract numerous and permanent disciples), Christianity demanded from its followers only their errors and vices as a sacrifice. His extremely simple rituals, his moral teaching, free from any exclusivity, appealed to everyone, without distinction of nationality or tribe. It was possible to become a Christian without ceasing to be a Roman. This, it seemed, should have attracted the condescension of the rulers to Christianity; however, quite the opposite, this very circumstance was the reason for their severity. By preaching and making possible a universal religion, Christianity seemed to them to directly threaten the religion of the state in the form that was recognized in the empire. The success of Christianity would be the destruction of official paganism. And since, at the same time, they believed that the strength of paganism was inseparable from the strength of Rome itself, they tried with all their might to stop the preaching of the new religion. The best emperors, the most solicitous of Roman interests and the most imbued with Roman prejudices, will consequently turn out to be its most ardent persecutors.

Christianity had already existed for quite a long time before the Roman Empire took notice of it. At first it was little distinguished from Judaism. It (Christianity) grew, as Tertullian put it, in the shadow of this permitted religion6. The persecution to which Christianity was subjected by Judaism was initially revered by Roman statesmen for disputes between Jewish sects of different directions7. In the accusations against Ap. Paul and the first preachers of the Gospel, they saw only disputes about words and reasoning about piety or doctrine, which the civil authorities had nothing to do with. They received informers with barely concealed displeasure. And if the Apostle Paul was sent to Rome to be presented before the court of the emperor, this happened because he himself made it necessary by his appeal to the court of Caesar; and the procurator Festus wanted to release him without trial9. The desire of the Roman authorities was more likely to protect the persecuted minority from the insolence of the Jews10.

However, the Jews tried, with malice and tenacity, not only to find out the signs by which they differed from the nascent Christianity, but also to find reasons that could arm the Roman authorities against Christians. Their hatred renewed towards the Church the same way that was used against Jesus Christ. Just as during the days of the Passion they showed themselves to be more devoted to Caesar than Pilate himself, so now they were much more sensitive to the interests of Rome than its rulers. In Thessalonica they accuse the apostles Paul and Silas of insulting the laws of the empire and recognizing a king other than Caesar11. In Caesarea they add to their complaints some kind of accusation of the same kind, because St. Paul says in defense: “I have committed no crime against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar.”12 And if the facts revealed slander, they, at the same time, confirmed each time the difference (between both religions) that the Jews tried to establish. The preachers of the new religion publicly separated from the synagogues and gathered their followers around them in private homes13. The number of the latter was so great, and the name of Christ henceforth became so famous that they were called simply Christians in Antioch. This name has now become so common in Asia that even princes and rulers pronounced it15. In Europe, the confusion of Jews and Christians probably lasted longer, since in Philippi, in Macedonia, the apostles Paul and Silas are persecuted as Jews16. In the time of Claudius in Rome, it seems that Jews were not precisely distinguished from Christians, although the name of Christ, more or less correctly spelled, is known to the government authorities17. But under Nero the population was already talking about Christians18. Probably at the same time, an unknown hand wrote "Christianos" on one of the walls in Pompeii19.

The circumstances under which Christianity appeared in Rome remain unknown. It is probable that it was brought there after Pentecost by one of the Roman proselytes who heard the apostolic sermon in Jerusalem, which was so fruitful in conversions. It must be assumed that the Jewish element was numerous in the first Christian community in Rome; it is also likely that it initially developed in parts of the city predominantly inhabited by Jews21. However, other parts of the city accepted the Gospel early, since St. Peter, it seems, baptized on the Nomentan road22, in the vicinity of the praetor’s camp, and the ap. Paul preached in the same area. In the year 57, Roman Christians acquired one noble follower, if (as it should be assumed by all likelihood) the change of religion by Pomponius Graecina, told by Tacitus, must be understood as a conversion to Christianity24. Christians named in the greetings with which the letter of St. ap. Paul to the Romans, written about the year 58, belong to a simpler rank, and, apparently, some were even slaves, but for the most part they bear Roman names rather than Hebrew ones. It seems, however, that the original church of the eternal city included both elements (in what respect it is impossible to determine), and was formed from Jews and converted Gentiles.

The Acts of the Holy Apostles tell us that in the year 61, on the day of the arrival of St. Paul the prisoner, the “brothers” came out to meet him several miles from the city of Rome26. This may indicate that the Christian community in this city was still small. Therefore, she did not inspire distrust in the government, which for two years allowed the ap. Paul, who was under the guard of only one soldier, received into his house whomever he wished, and preached the word of God in himself and outside the house27. It is likely that this sermon bore abundant fruit, since Tacitus says that in the year 64 Roman Christians already constituted a “great multitude”28. But along with the public attention that was attracted by the increase in their numbers, suspicions and slander soon arose about them. One opinion, widespread since the first centuries, attributes to the “jealousy” of the Jews those bad rumors that were not slow to spread about Christians29. They soon began to be accused of crimes “of the most cruel and shameful”30. Their secluded life, their secret meetings, the secrecy with which they - for fear of desecration - surrounded their religious exercises; divisions that were often brought into families by conversions (to Christ); the relations of the first believers with slaves, who were easy to acquire for the Church: all this, apparently, confirmed all suspicions. From the Pastoral Epistles of St. Paul and from the first letter of St. Peter, it is clear with what care the apostles advise Christians not to give rise to such accusations by any careless actions - making obedience to representatives of authority, both family and civil, into law for all Christians31; in particular, they instruct slaves to honor their pagan masters32, wives to be submissive to their husbands, “let not the word of God be reproached”33. But the most reasonable behavior, and even impeccable virtue, is not always enough to overcome prejudice: in the opinion of even enlightened people who stood above popular rumor, the diligence with which believers avoided public celebrations, their hatred of spectacles, their voluntary abstinence from holding public offices, too often defiled by idolatry, confirmed accusations that were the more formidable, the more vague they were. In the case of Pomponia Graecina, it seems quite likely that it was her severity, her seemingly sad mood in life, “her gloomy habits” that exposed her conversion and prompted her husband to present her, according to the custom of ancient times, to the family court. Thus, Christians were seen as people of a special kind, and those who did not suspect them of either secret murders or secret debauchery accused them of at least “hating the human race”34.