Constantine and Christianity through the Writings of Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea

Abstract

Heralded as the first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great is recognised as the ruler who ended Christian persecutions, changed an entire empire’s religion, and founded a new capital city to the east of the once all-powerful Rome. It is not surprising that, due to these achievements, modern-day historians consider this fourth century emperor to be “one of the outstanding men of Rome’s declining years. One of the first areas of debate concerning Constantine is the events that led to his conversion to Christianity. Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea underlined that the cruciform symbol seen in the sky and in Constantine’s dream was the basis for being Constantine Christian. Through their writings, we will try to show that Constantine believed in Christ and became Christian, because he believed that Christ was the real God.