Constantine and the Early Church
Early Christian writings present Constantine as a ruler who favored and restored Christians, not as the head of the church. Lactantius says he restored Christians to worship and later issued an edict for the Church’s restoration. Other early writers teach prayer for rulers and honor toward emperors, but they still place Christ and the bishops at the center of the church.
120 early-church witnesses · 249 source quotations · compared with Scripture
What did early Christians believe about constantine and the Church?
Early Christian writers did not treat Constantine as the head of the church; they spoke of Christ as the church’s head and the church as governed by bishops and apostolic order. Lactantius, writing near Constantine’s rise, says Constantine restored the Christians and issued an edict for the restoration of the Church, so the clearest early witness is that Constantine helped the church after persecution.
Later fathers also give broad support for honoring rulers and praying for kings, but that is general Christian teaching, not a special doctrine about Constantine. The evidence is thin for any early claim that Constantine was seen as the church’s spiritual ruler, and the stronger witnesses point instead to state favor toward the church, not control of it. Many more early Christian quotations, Bible passages, and source links are gathered below so you can study the evidence for yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Lactantius says Constantine "made it his first care to restore the Christians."
- Early Christian teaching supports praying for rulers, but not treating the emperor as the church’s spiritual head.
- The strongest early evidence is about protection and restoration of Christians, not church rule by Constantine.
Questions Answered by the Sources
Did early Christians think Constantine helped restore the church?
Yes. Lactantius says Constantine "made it his first care to restore the Christians to the exercise of their worship," and he also links Constantine with an edict "for the restoration of the Church." That makes him the clearest early witness for Constantine as a protector and restorer of Christians after persecution.
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Direct teaching
Constantine Augustus, having assumed the government, made it his first care to restore the Christians to the exercise of their worship and to their God;
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Direct teaching
and on the ides of June, while he and Constantine were consuls for the third time, he commanded the following edict for the restoration of the Church, directed to the president of the province, to be promulgated:—
More related quotations from this section 7 shown
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Supporting witness
After this destructive war ended, Constantine was recognized as emperor by the senate and people of Rome, with great celebration. Then he came to know Daia's treachery, for he found the letters written to Maxentius and saw the statues and portraits of the two allies that had been set up together. As a reward for Constantine's bravery, the senate gave him the title Maximus, meaning "the Greatest." This was a title that Daia had always claimed for himself. When Daia heard that Constantine had won and that Rome had been freed, he showed as much sorrow as if he himself had been defeated. But afterward, when he heard about the decree of the senate, he became furious, declared himself an enemy of Constantine, and turned Constantine's title, "the Greatest," into a subject of insult and mockery.
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Supporting witness
...d done twice before, and returned to Gaul. His heart was full of wickedness, and he meant to outwit Constantine by treacherous schemes. Constantine was not only his own son-in-law, but also the child of his son-in-law. So that he might deceive him more successfully, he laid aside the imperial purple. The Franks had taken up arms. Maximian advised the unsuspecting Constantine not to lead all his troops against them. He said that a few soldiers would be enough to subdue those barbarians. He gave this advice so that an army might be left behind for him to win over to himself, and so that Constantine, because of his small force, might be overpowered. The young prince believed the advice was sound, because it was given by an aged and experienced commander. He also followed it because it was given by a father-in-law. He marched out, leaving the greater part of his forces behind. Maximian waited a few days. Then, as soon as he judged that Constantine had entered the territory of the barbarians, he suddenly took up the imperial purple again, seized the public treasures, gave generous gifts to the soldiers as he usually did, and pretended that disasters had happened to Constantine such a
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Supporting witness
...e that it was so near. Constantius had become very ill. He wrote to Galerius and asked that his son Constantine might be sent to see him. He had made the same request long before, but without success, because Galerius had no intention of granting it. On the contrary, he repeatedly set traps for that young man’s life. He did this because he did not dare to use open force, for fear that he might stir up civil wars against himself and bring on what he feared most, the hatred and anger of the army. Under the excuse of manly exercise and recreation, he made Constantine fight wild beasts. But this plan failed, because the power of God protected Constantine and rescued him from the hands of Galerius at the very moment of danger. At last, when Galerius could no longer avoid granting the request of Constantius, he gave Constantine a permit to leave one evening and commanded him to set out the next morning with the imperial dispatches. Galerius intended either to find some excuse for keeping Constantine back, or to send orders ahead to Severus to arrest him on the road. Constantine understood his purpose. Therefore, after supper, when the emperor had gone to bed, he hurried away, took fro
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Supporting witness
...tian and Galerius went in procession to announce the appointment of the Caesars. Everyone looked at Constantine, because there was no doubt that he would be chosen. The troops who were there, and the leading soldiers from the other legions who had been called to the ceremony, fixed their eyes on Constantine. They were joyful in the hope that he would soon be elected, and they prayed for his success. About three miles from Nicomedia there is a hill. On its summit, Galerius had formerly received the purple robe, and a pillar with a statue of Jupiter had been set there. The procession went there. An assembly of the soldiers was called together. Diocletian, in tears, addressed them. He said that he had become weak, that he needed rest after his labors, and that he would give up the empire into stronger and more capable hands, while also appointing new Caesars. The crowd waited very eagerly for the announcement. Suddenly he declared that the Caesars were Severus and Maximin. Everyone was amazed. Constantine stood nearby, in full public view, and men began asking one another whether his name also had been changed to Maximin. Then, before everyone’s eyes, Galerius reached back with his
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Supporting witness
A few days later, Constantine’s portrait, decorated with laurel wreaths, was brought to the deadly wild beast, so that by accepting that symbol he might acknowledge Constantine as emperor. He hesitated for a long time over whether to accept it or not. He was about to throw both the portrait and the man who brought it into the flames, but his close advisers talked him out of such a mad decision. They warned him of the danger. They pointed out that, if Constantine came with an armed force, all the soldiers—who had been made to accept obscure or unknown Caesars against their will—would recognize him and eagerly gather under his banner. So Galerius, although very unwilling, accepted the portrait and sent the imperial purple to Constantine, so that it might appear that he had willingly received that prince as a partner in power with himself. By this time his plans were thrown into disorder, and he could not, as he had intended earlier, bring in Licinius without going beyond the fixed number of emperors. But he came up with this plan: Severus, who was older, should be called emperor; and Constantine, instead of the title of emperor, to which he had been appointed, should receive the titl
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Supporting witness
Some few days after, the portrait of Constantine, adorned with laurels, was brought to the pernicious wild beast, that, by receiving that symbol, he might acknowledge Constantine in the quality of emperor .
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Lactantius, Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died Background
Constantine having settled all things at Rome, went to Milan about the beginning of winter.
Common Questions
Did early Christians think Constantine was the head of the church?
No clear early witness here says that. The stronger early teaching puts Christ as the head of the church and bishops in church oversight.
Did early Christians see Constantine as helping the church?
Yes. Lactantius says Constantine’s first care was to restore Christians to worship, and he links him with an edict for the restoration of the Church.
Did early Christians teach respect for emperors and rulers?
Yes. Writers such as Tertullian, Cyprian, and the Bible call Christians to honor rulers and pray for kings.
Source Index for Constantine and the Church
The guided sections above show the strongest quotations. This compact index highlights 160 ranked source links from 249 compiled sources for deeper study.
Source index 160 ranked links shown
Early Christian Writings 80 shown of 120
Primary-source quotations from early Christian writers and church documents.
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Clement of Rome, Connection to Colossians 1:18
Bible Passages 80 shown of 129
Related Bible passages saved for comparison with the early Christian quotations.
Related Resources
Course Lesson
Lecture 3: Early Church Problems and Constantine
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