History of Christianity to the Reformation - Research Paper Example

Not until in the year 312 A.D when the emperor and his soldiers were in the quest to overthrow Maxentius, a man who was allegedly believed to want to take over the Roman Empire. According to Anonymous (45- 46), the soldiers of Maxentius were thrice more than those of Constantine. David (1-2) adds that Emperor Constantine was born in a place called Naissus, in recent times renamed Nish. He was the eldest son of Constantius Chlorus and Helena. Emperor Constantine’s father was promoted to serve as the Augustus after he married a Caesar’s daughter and when he died Constantine took over the Augustus.

This led to his fame and popularity among the Roman people. This gave him more power and probability to get the chair of Roman Emperor. The sudden change came when Emperor Constantine said a small prayer shortly before the battle was underway. Even though he was not sure of what was going on, it is legendary that after saying the prayer he looked up above and saw a cross that shone greatly and was located higher than the sun. He thought that his gods were not as powerful as the Christian God otherwise the cross should have been located at the same level to the sun.

If the sun that he served had appeared higher than the shinning cross, maybe he would not get that conviction. Since the sun was going to set, the shinning cross was vividly seen and had the words “by this sign conquer”. Therefore, he believed that it was the God of Christians who caused this sign to appear at such a moment after prayer. The sign he saw was proceeded by a dream in which Anonymous (45- 46) notes he still saw more of these signs. Then came the day when the battle was set. Maxentius troupe, the army that looked so big, was defeated surprisingly.

Maxentius in pursuit to escape and save his life died after drowning in a river called Tiber. Emperor Constantine at this juncture was fully convinced that the help came from the God of Christians. Ever since he honoured Christianity and worked to the best of his abilities to honour the God of Christians and became the first Christian emperor. He is the reason for the Christian faith and history to date (Anonymous 45- 46). According to David (1-2), Constantine became the undisputed emperor after his soldiers defeated the soldiers of Maxentius.

This led to the rise of Christians who were at first despised, persecuted and deemed superstitious. Christianity hence forth prevailed in Rome and affected not only the Roman Empire but also the Christian church. Historians have not disputed the reason as to why Constantine transformed to Christianity. He adds that the God that Constantine honoured so much helped him in the beginning till the end of his reign. Again, this writer likens Constantine to Moses because the two were brought up in hostile homes and the religions that they held at this time are those that had overthrown their enemies; Christianity.

Moses fought for Christianity when he was sent to release the Israelites. The leaders of the enemies of these two men died by drowning in water and this mark another similarity between Moses and Constantine. David (1-2) describes Emperor Constantine as a one great and eminent person. Attributing these characters to the fact that he was brave hence the name Great. Before his reign, Christianity’s doctrines and teachings in Rome had lost value and integrity. After he sat on the great seat, Emperor Constanti