The Edict of Milan was a letter signed by emperors Constantine and Licinius, that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine For other Romans of this name see Licinius (gens. Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c Religious toleration is the condition of accepting or permitting others' religious beliefs and practices which disagree with one's own The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The letter was issued in 313, shortly after the conclusion of the Diocletian Persecution. The Diocletianic Persecution was the last and most severe episode of Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.
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Discussion
While it is true that Constantine and Licinius must have discussed religious policy when they met at Milan in February 313, the text usually called the Edict of Milan is in fact a letter to the Governor of Bithynia of June 313, one of a series of letters issued by Licinius in the territory he conquered from Maximinus in 313. Description Several major cities sat on the fertile shores of the Propontis (which is now known as Sea of Marmara) Nicomedia, Chalcedon, Cius This article deals with 4th century Roman Emperor For other uses of the name see Maximin. Both toleration and restitution had already been granted by Constantine in Gaul, Spain and Britain (in 306), and by Maxentius in Italy and Africa (in 306 [toleration] and 310 [restitution]). Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c 278 - 28 October 312) was Western Roman Emperor from 306 to 312 Galerius and Licinius had enacted toleration in the Balkans in 311, and Licinius probably extended restitution there in early 313. Galerius Maximianus ( ca. 260&ndashlate April or early May 311 formally Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311 Thus the letters which Licinius issued in the names of himself and Constantine (as was routine for imperial documents, which were formally issued in the names of all legitimate co-rulers) were designed solely to enact toleration and restitution in Anatolia and Oriens, which had been under the rule of Maximinus.
The Edict, in the form of a joint letter to be circulated among the governors of the East,[1] declared that the Empire would be neutral with regard to religious worship, officially removing all obstacles to the practice of Christianity and other religions. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings [2] It "declared unequivocally that the co-authors of the regulations wanted no action taken against the non-Christian cults. "[3]
Christianity had previously been decriminalized in April 311 by Galerius, who was the first emperor to issue an edict of toleration for all religious creeds, including Christianity. Galerius Maximianus ( ca. 260&ndashlate April or early May 311 formally Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311 [4] The Christian historian Philip Schaff noted that the second edict went beyond the first edict of 311: "it was a decisive step from hostile neutrality to friendly neutrality and protection, and prepared the way for the legal recognition of Christianity, as the religion of the empire. Philip Schaff ( January 1, 1819 – October 20, 1893) was a Swiss -born German -educated Protestant "[5] The wording of the Edict reveals that such developments, however, remained in the future. The letter gives detailed instructions to the governor for the restitution of sequestered Christian property.
The Edict of Milan transformed the status of Christianity, as it initiated the period known by Christian historians as the Peace of the Church, and it has been interpreted by Christians as officially giving imperial favor to Christianity, as Constantine became the first emperor to actually promote and grant favors to the Church and its members. Peace of the Church is a designation usually applied to the condition of the Church after the publication of the Edict of Milan in 313 by the two Augusti, Western [6] The document itself does not survive.
History
The Edict of Milan was issued in 313, in the names of the Roman Emperors Constantine I, who ruled the eastern parts of the Empire, and Licinius, who ruled the west. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine For other Romans of this name see Licinius (gens. Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c The two augusti were in Milan to celebrate the wedding of Constantine's sister with Licinius. Augustus (plural augusti) Latin for "majestic" "the increaser" or "venerable" was an Ancient Roman
A previous edict of toleration had been recently issued by the emperor Galerius from Serdica and posted up at Nicomedia on 30 April, 311. Galerius Maximianus ( ca. 260&ndashlate April or early May 311 formally Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311 The history of Sofia, Bulgaria 's capital and largest city spans thousands of years from Antiquity to modern times in which the city has always been a Nicomedia ( Greek: Νικομήδεια modern İzmit) was founded by Nicomedes I of Bithynia at the head of the Gulf of Astacus which opens By its provisions, the Christians, who had "followed such a caprice and had fallen into such a folly that they would not obey the institutes of antiquity", were granted an indulgence.
Wherefore, for this our indulgence, they ought to pray to their God for our safety, for that of the republic, and for their own, that the commonwealth may continue uninjured on every side, and that they may be able to live securely in their homes.
By the Edict of Milan the meeting places and other properties which had been confiscated from the Christians and sold or granted out of the government treasury were to be returned:
. . . the same shall be restored to the Christians without payment or any claim of recompense and without any kind of fraud or deception. . .
It directed the provincial magistrates to execute this order at once with all energy, so that public order may be restored and the continuance of the Divine favor may "preserve and prosper our successes together with the good of the state. "
The actual edicts have not been retrieved inscribed upon stone. However, they are quoted at length in a historical work with a theme of divine retribution, Lactantius' De mortibus persecutorum ("Deaths of the persecutors"), who gives the Latin text of both Galerius's Edict of Toleration as posted up at Nicomedia on 30 April 311, and of Licinius's letter of toleration and restitution addressed to the governor of Bithynia, posted up also at Nicomedia on 13 June 313. Lucius Caelius (or Caecilius? Firmianus Lactantius was an Early Christian author (ca Eusebius of Caesarea translated both into Greek in his History of the Church (Historia Ecclesiastica). His version of the letter of Licinius must derive from a copy as posted up in Palestine (probably at Caesarea) in the late summer or early autumn of 313, but the origin of his copy of Galerius's edit of 311 is unknown, since that does not seem to have been promulgated in Palestine.
See also
References
- ^ It brought the governance of the Eastern Empire into line with the tolerance now operating in Constantine's dominions in the West. Persecutions See also Persecution of Christians The first recorded significant persecution of Christians at the hands of the authorities of the Roman Empire Constantinian shift is a term used by Anabaptist and Post-Christendom theologians to describe the political and theological aspects of the 4th century This list of treaties contains historic agreements pacts peaces and major contracts between states armies governments and tribal groups The Edict's context in Constantine's career is explored in John Curran, "Constantine and the Ancient Cults of Rome: The Legal Evidence" Greece & Rome 2nd Series 43. 1 (April 1996, pp 68-80): Edict of Milan, p. 68f.
- ^ ". . . we have also conceded to other religions the right of open and free observance of their worship for the sake of the peace of our times, that each one may have the free opportunity to worship as he pleases; this regulation is made we that we may not seem to detract from any dignity or any religion. " (Edict of Milan as quoted by Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum ["On the Deaths of the Persecutors"] chapters 34, 35. Lucius Caelius (or Caecilius? Firmianus Lactantius was an Early Christian author (ca ).
- ^ Curran 1996:69, quoting the Edict: "This we have done to ensure that no cult or religion may seem to have been impaired by us. "
- ^ Lactantius, op. cit. . The theme of Lactantius' work is the divine retribution that befell the perpetrators of the persecution ended by the decree of Galerius.
- ^ History of the Christian Church, chapter II, section 25 on-line text "The Edicts of Toleration. a. d. 311–313".
- ^ "In the Ecclesiastical History, the Panegyric on Constantine and the life of Constantine. . . the guiding idea of Eusebius is the establishment of a Christian empire, of which Constantine was the chosen instrument" (J. B. Bury, editor, Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. II, Appendix, p. 359).
External links
- Medieval Sourcebook - Galerius and Constantine: Edicts of Toleration 311 and 313
- The Roman Law Library, incl. Constitutiones Principis
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