Constantine the Great, and his influence on Christianity

One of the most important people in the Roman Empire around 300 C.E. was Constantine the Great. He was born around 270 C.E. to Flavius Constantius and Helena and following his father’s death, he became a ruler. He was a leader from 306 to 337 C.E. and played a key role in Christianity becoming more popular.

Constantine was not the only ruler of the Roman Empire. There were others (for example Maxentius and Galerius) that were all split up to rule a certain part, whether it be to the East or West. A lot of them would be involved in wars having to do with who and where they were ruling. Constantine stayed out it it as long as possible, until the war became inevitable. The night before a big battle, Constantine had a vision of a religious symbol, the Labarum. The Labarum is a symbol with two Greek letters literally meaning "Christ".

With Christ on his side, he won the battle, and converted to Christianity. He did not force his religion upon others, but as time increased more “rewards” were given to those in the faith. First, many churches and buildings were built to worship, in which Constantine provided. He would later continue to help others in that religion by, for example, priests not having to pay taxes. Overall, Constantine was a huge influence on the spread of Christianity, which is extremely important to many people today.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04295c.htm