Page:The Greek and Eastern churches.djvu/65

Rh and leaving them only to worship in the open air, excluding them from the civil service, banishing some, and perhaps even proceeding to inflict the death penalty in a few cases. But before he could go far in this direction his defeat by Constantine, followed by his death, put an end to the pagan reaction ( 324).

As sole emperor, Constantine now had a free hand. For the second time, flushed with victory over a champion of paganism, he proceeded to a much more emphatic patronage of Christianity; he even issued a rescript urging his subjects to become Christians. There was no direct violation of the edict of toleration in this decree. Everybody was still left free to follow his own choice. The decree was but an exhortation. Still it meant much. Next we see Constantine interfering in matters of Church government. In the first instance this was on the invitation of the Christians for the settlement of the schism, a schism mainly turning on a question of discipline. Constantine was reluctant to interfere, and when he did so, he wisely appointed bishops as assessors. Still, the fatal step was taken. Before long emperors will be seen tampering with ecclesiastical affairs on their own initiative, without any appeal from the Church, and that even in questions of doctrine.

Nevertheless, Constantine was careful not to completely alienate the pagan party. He retained the office of Pontifex Maximus and thus secured his influence at Rome. He had the image of the sun-god impressed on one side of his coins, while the monogram of Christ was stamped on the other side. He ordered the Government offices and law courts to be closed on the Christian day of worship, but he referred to this day by its pagan title as "the venerable day of the sun." He went so far in the direction of syncretism as to order a prayer of pure theism for use in his army. His conception of Christianity was never very profound. At heart he seems to have been an eclectic theist with a distinct preference for Christianity and a measure of real belief in