By the time of Constantine, Christianity had spread widely
throughout the eastern half of the Roman Empire. Asia Minor was then largely
Christian. Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, and Greece were all ecclesiastical
provinces with their own metropolitans. Many Christians were found in Syria and
Egypt. Churches also existed in Mesopotamia and Arabia, and even beyond the
boundaries of the empire in Armenia and Persia. Between the time of Constantine
and that of Justinian, Christianity continued to expand in the East, until the
gospel had been carried to such distant regions as Abyssinia and India.
UNION OF CHURCH AND STATE
Most of the Christian communities in the Orient owed
allegiance to the patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and
Alexandria. The Roman emperor, however, was the supreme religious authority in
the East. He felt it as much his duty to maintain the doctrines and
organization of Christianity as to preserve the imperial dominions against
foreign foes. Since he presided over the Church, there could be no real
independence for its officers. Bishops, metropolitans, and patriarchs were in
every respect subordinate to his will. This union of Church and State formed
one of the most characteristic features of Christianity in the East.
