Diocletian's persecution, which continued for several
years after his abdication, came to an end in 311 A.D. In that year Galerius,
the ruler in the East, published an edict which permitted the Christians to
rebuild their churches and worship undisturbed. It remained for the emperor
Constantine to take the next significant step. In 313 A.D. Constantine and his
colleague, Licinius, issued the Edict of Milan, which proclaimed for the first
time in history the noble principle of religious toleration. It gave absolute
freedom to every man to choose and follow the religion which he deemed best
suited to his needs. This edict placed the Christian faith on an equality with
paganism.
CONSTANTINE'S CONVERSION
The conversion of Constantine is one of the most important
events in ancient history. A Roman emperor, himself a god to the subjects of
Rome, became the worshiper of a crucified provincial of his empire. Constantine
favored the Christians throughput his reign. He surrounded himself with
Christian bishops, freed the clergy from taxation, and spent large sums in
building churches. One of his laws abolished the use of the cross as an
instrument of punishment. Another enactment required that magistrates, city
people, and artisans were to rest on Sunday. This was the first "Sunday
law." [23]
[23] It is highly doubtful, however, whether this
legislation had any reference to Christianity. More probably, Constantine was
only adding the day of the Sun, the worship of which was then firmly
established in the empire (see page 229, note 1) to the other holy days of the
Roman calendar.
