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Constantinian shift is a term used by Anabaptist and Post-Christendom theologians to describe the political and theological aspects of the 4th century process of Constantine's legitimization of Christianity.
Historical context
This shift began in 312 when Constantine I adopted Christianity as his imperial cult after the Battle of Milvian Bridge. His legions, who were victorious, fought under the "labarum", a standard with the first two Greek letters of Christ's name.
In 313 the Edict of Milan legitimized Christianity alongside other religions practiced in the Roman Empire. In 325, the First Council of Nicaea signalled consolidation of Christianity under an orthodoxy endorsed by Constantine. In 392 it became the Empire's sole official religion when Emperor Theodosius I passed legislation prohibiting all pagan worship in the Empire, Christianity having been declared the state religion in 380.
During the 4th century, there was no such unity between church and state, though: In the course of the Arian controversy, leading trinitarian bishops such as Athanasius, Hilary of Poitiers, and Gregory of Nyssa were banned by Arian emperors.
Towards the end of the century, bishop Ambrose of Milan made the powerful emperor Theodosius do penance for several months after the massacre of Thessalonica before admitting him again to the eucharist. On the other hand, only a few years later, Chrysostom who, as bishop of Constantinople was notorious for criticizing the excesses of the royal court, was eventually banished and died while traveling to his place of exile.
Theological implications of shift
Critics of the merger of church and state point to this shift of the beginning of the era when Christianity and the will of God gradually came to be identified with the state. This phenomenon is known as Caesaropapism. In its extreme form, such critics say, Christianity became little more than a religious justification for the exercise of power and a tool in the expansion and maintenance of empire, a Christian empire, also known as Christendom.
Augustine of Hippo described in his writings, such as the City of God, a coexistence of state and church and many of his writings have later been used to justify the association of Christianity with empire.
Augustine also justified theologically the use of violence against heretics within the church, specifically Donatists. This concept was not original with Augustine, but may have begun with Athanasius who believed that violence was justified in weeding out heresies that could damn all future Christians. This continued a line of thought started by Athanasius who felt that any means was justified in repressing the Arian heresy. In 385, Priscillian, a bishop in Spain, was the first Christian to be killed by other Christians using this justification.
Theologians critical of the Constantinian shift also see it as the point at which membership in the Christian church became associated with citizenship rather than a personal decision. American theologian Stanley Hauerwas names the shift as the foundation for the expression of Christianity in the United States today that is closely associated with patriotism and civil religion.
Constantine was also a source of antisemitism.
Criticisms
Vladimir Lossky in his discourse on theology in the Mystical theology of the Eastern Church, addressed that the Western Christian church has changed it's understanding of the Christian religion theologically. This understanding stems from a disconnect with the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Christian traditions (see Eastern Orthodox.) Since the East-West Schism of 1054 AD between the Roman Patriarch and Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Patriarches of the seven ecumenical councils and most of the Middle East falling under the control of Islamic countries. Little of the historical events addressed in the "Constantinian shift" have been addressed in the West by Eastern Christian scholars or Eastern Christian theologians. There are a marked few but small exceptions (see Kallistos Ware).
From the Eastern Christian traditions this part of their history does not contain any modern address of refutation. This disconnect also comes from historical distortions. Constantine continued to engage in imperial pagan religious pratices. He also engaged in astrology even though possibly being addressed as a catechumen. It was only on his death bed that Constantine himself was baptized a Christian, though this was a common practice at the time. Constantine, after the council, eventually sided with Arius and reinstated him, at the expense of deposing St. Athanasius. Constantine also exiled Athanasius to Trier. There is little coverage of these differences noted in the West. This also seems to stem from Greece and other Middle Eastern or Mediterranean Christian traditions having had a succession of calamites and wars, with Greece only winning its independence from the Muslim Ottoman Empire in 1831, and also Russia having its own conflicts and only since 1989 being open again to the West.
Within an historical context these two factions of Christianity (Arianism and Trinitarianism) did not resolve this conflict at the Council of Nicea. It was resolved only through a series of wars within the Roman Empire. Christianity as a religion was not, however, instituted in Europe until much later (see Emperor Charlemagne,) and even not all of Europe was converted to Christianity under Charlemagne (see Church of Sweden).
In the West a very important contextual component of this conflict seems to lack recognition. Of the two main characters at the Nicene council both Athanasius and Arius where from the Egyptian church in Alexandria. As the teachings of Arius are the basis for the council of Nicea, so too can it be said that the teachings of St Athanasius, St Cyril of Alexandria where the basis of the Council of Chalcedon through Eutyches. So to give to the idea that a shift or change in Christianity's validitity or sincerety should be attributed to Constantine would be to take the incidents out of historical context and give far to much weight to Emperor Constantine's legalization of Christianity. This would be to deny an active movement within the Christian communities of the time and their historical significance to the clarification of what it meant to be specifically be a christian (see Kallistos Ware and Communion and Intercommunion (Light & Life, 1980, ISBN 0937032204).
It should also be noted that none of the major world historical religious traditions have ever functioned within the famework of not being a state religion at some point in their history. With pre-Christian pagan empires being run by the emperor as a designated pagan god. This can be seen in India even in its "Republic of India" referring to itself as Hindustan which reflects in the name of the nation through the religion to which its people adher though at times not it's leaders. Also with the Buddhist traditions such as the theocracy of Tibet that was only brought to an end by the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959. In the Hebrew tradition this practice can be seen in starting in the Tora with Abraham and then followed by the Levite continuing through to the Sadducees. The case with Islam and its relationship to the state would be exemplified by the monarchy of Saudi Arabia and it's governing power coming from the monarchy and the Quran and Shari'a being literally Saudi Arabia's constitution.
After the Reformation, many European state churches themselves were and remain Protestant (see Church of Denmark, Church of Norway, Church of Iceland (Protestant churches being outside the Roman catholic and Eastern orthodox communion,) and also the Anglican state churches of the Church of England and the Anglican Church of Canada.
Bibliography
- James Bulloch, From Pilate to Constantine, 1981
- Alistair Kee, Constantine Versus Christ, 1982
- Ramsay MacMullan, Christianising the Roman Empire, 1984
See also
External links
- The Powers and God's Providential Rule: Church and State - article discusses the effect of the Constantinian shift on the church from an Anabaptist perspective
- Social Constantinianism - an Evangelical perspective on the Constantinian shift
- The First Missionary War - a non-Christian historical perspective on the Constantinian shift
Constantinian dynasty | Ancient Roman Christianity
Konstantinische Wende | Svolta costantiniana | Reviravolta de Constantino
"Constantinian shift"