THE CONSTANTINIAN ERA IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
Abstract
The phrase ‘the Constantinian Era’ is used to refer to the situation of the Christian Church inaugurated by the emperor Constantine and continuing into recent times, where Christianity was the established religion, or at least promoted and protected by the State. If this gave the Church great influence, it also tied her in alliance to the secular power. It is common for churchmen today to rejoice in their independence from the State, even if this has been at the price of a reduced role in society. The aim of this paper is to survey the role of the secular rulers, principally the Late Roman emperors, in the government of the Church. It is argued that this cannot be reduced to an historical ‘accident’, since without it the Church as a unified body would have been unable to function. Moreover, it had a theological basis in the Christian appropriation of the role of the kings of Israel and Judah in the Old Testament. Even in the Catholic Church in the time of the Council of Trent it was recognized that secular rulers have a part to play in debates over doctrine. Justice must be done to the positive results of the long alliance between Church and State, and to the active role of secular rulers in church affairs.
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