Legalization and Growth

Legalization and Growth

The legalization of Christianity and its eventual establishment as the Roman Empire’s state religion are understood in Orthodoxy as acts of divine providence. These developments allowed the Church to emerge from persecution, flourish openly, convene councils, and defend Nicene Orthodoxy. Both Emperor Constantine and Emperor Theodosius are venerated as Saints within the Orthodox Church.

A common misconception is that Constantine both legalized Christianity and made it the official religion of the empire. In reality, these were two distinct historical steps carried out by different emperors.

Constantine the Great (reigned 306–337) issued the Edict of Milan in 313 together with Licinius. This decree granted religious toleration throughout the empire, legalized Christianity, ended official persecutions, and restored confiscated Church property. Constantine openly favored Christians by funding churches and convening the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325, but he did not make Christianity mandatory and continued to permit pagan worship.

Theodosius I (reigned 379–395) took the further step of establishing Nicene Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Through the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, issued with Gratian and Valentinian II, he required all subjects to adhere to the Nicene faith. He later enacted laws banning pagan sacrifices and practices between 391 and 392 and convened the First Council of Constantinople in 381, which solidified the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.

Orthodox tradition honors Constantine for ending persecution and granting the Church freedom, and Theodosius for establishing Orthodoxy’s imperial primacy. Together, their reigns reflect a gradual divine unfolding rather than a single political act, allowing the Church to fulfill its mission openly within history.