Why Constantine REALLY Converted to Christianity

In 312, on the eve of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, the Roman Emperor Constantine had a strange vision and made one of the most pivotal decisions in human history. But what led him to abandon paganism and side with the marginal religion of Christianity?

This documentary explores a time before Christianity divided the Roman Empire to look at reasons why Constantine converted and to make a case in support of the authenticity of his conversion against those who claim it was a cynical ploy.

00:00 Constantine's First Vision
02:28 Religion and the Ancient Mind
04:11 Did Constantine Really convert?
06:18 The Reality of Constantine's (Slow) Christian Conversion
12:43 Asking the Right Questions

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#history #rome #spqr #ancienthistory #documentary #roman #ancientrome #religion #christian

[tribunateSPQR]

Do you believe that Constantine's conversion was heartfelt or that his adoption of Christianity was motivated by political considerations?

[bloodywanker]

"When historians attempt to provide what they view as the true story behind the conversion, they really only tell us about themselves."
Never thought about it like that, absolutely brilliant. Subscribed with the bell.

[invariable_outcome]

I recently read a volume on Norse religion; it says that Christian missionaries quickly made inroads into Scandinavia insofar as getting people to accept Christ as a god. Much to their exasperation, however, they'd often continue to worship Norse gods alongside him and didn't see this as a contradiction.

[Masterhistory]

My research into this topic is somewhat limited but I believe Constantine was willing to adopt Chritstianity, but had immense difficulty in deciding whether to adopt the Nicene, Arian, or other theology and saw religion equally as a public policy tool to redefine and unify the fractious Western and Eastern portions of the empire. As for his personal view of Christianity the sources are far too conflicted to make a definitive statement on his personal conversion.

[Mulambdaline]

I’m slowly becoming addicted to your videos. I recently discovered your channel and from the first video, I’ve been in love! Keep it up guys!

[henriklarssonstanaccount]

Hey man I just want to say I really enjoy your videos. I see so much history ‘content’ that really doesn’t interest me (especially regarding Rome as it’s one of the more popular topics online). Your videos especially regarding Caesar and your willingness to try and find a wider scope there that doesn’t follow the more conservative narrative on rails is honestly very unique and definitely reminds me of how my thought process approaching history changed after doing it at university. Keep up everything you’re doing and regardless of what you choose to make I’ll be tuning in. Regards

[Tinil]

This is the type of video that I truly appreciate from you guys and why I cant wait til ya'll finally blow up. You always use nuance and tact when discussing things like this. It's so easy, ESPECIALLY as a youtube channel that wants to attract more viewers, to want to lean into bombast and "answers" but you guys always take real care with your subject matter and never try to "force" an answer for the sake of content. That is commendable.

[philvalz]

"The human mind is a messy beast." I love this channel for sentences like this!

[edwardhoefer]

When reading in detail about Constantine, I get the impression the Roman people were sick of the constant civil wars and wanted a road to peace. The Christian focus on sin and forgiveness probably resonated with Constantine and the people for this reason.

[ldamoff]

The only area of history I've studied with any real depth is Church history. And I find it fascinating how variably Constantine is viewed within that narrow field. In low-church Protestant circles he is sometimes viewed as a cynical opportunist whose centralization of the church hierarchy was ruinous, in high-church Protestant circles he is viewed as a bad Christian who meant well, in Roman Catholicism he is viewed as a great leader and unifier of the Church, and in Eastern Orthodoxy he is venerated as Saint Constantine the Great.

Which I think backs up the point you made, it is easy to see what we want to when viewing historical figures.

[kightsun]

Not getting baptized until your death was the common practice at the time, the fathers even wrote sermons condemning the practice. The idea was to wait and wash away your sins last minute so you die clean

[alexanderwaite]

You have made an excellent channel! Constantine may have been seen as a quasi Christian but almost everyone forgets that his mother Helena was a very committed Christian. She went to Jerusalem and established the Church of the Spectacular and she brought back many relics to Constantinople and Rome. Her faith had to rub off on her son.

[koboldgeorge]

One of the interesting things about constantine that i think doesnt get discussed often: he was the general from britain that finally managed to claim the throne. Of all the Britano-roman generals, a great many would try to claim the imperial title, but constantine alone would defy the british curse and redefine the empire's identity

[NoahSpurrier]

I don’t think he would pick a tiny minority religion practiced by people with little political power if he wasn’t truly converted to Christianity. I don’t see how his decision could be interpreted as a disingenuous political move.

[miketackabery]

Well if you're an Orthodox Christian then of course you believe the conversion was authentic... of St Constantine the Great, who's feast day is May 21st.

[BernasLL]

I really enjoyed how you navigated us through the hazards of bias in this one. Great video very informative.

[jaskrip]

This has been my view for some time aswell. I have no doubt that Constantine did indeed convert to Christianity and died a Christian; but his conversion wasn't as rapid as some might believe; he likely still held to some pagan beliefs before around 324. After all, even if he did have what he saw as a divine vision coming from Christ, it sounds very unlikely he would entirely change his religious beliefs so quickly, that's not really how faith works.

I think it's worth pointing out that the theory of Constantine converting merely for political gain gained quite a bit of popularity after the release of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code book, which practically every historian agrees is filled with psuedo-historical nonsense.

[emZee]

I pretty much agree. His initial conversion was a shrewd political move and was a Pagan one i.e. adopting jesus as one God amongst many, but over time it seems he became more and more influenced by the christian priests around him and became more genuinely christian before he died

[Toolyio]

Second comment ever on YT. Very good content. +1 sub. Please keep going

[blugaming]

This video was quite interesting in presenting the more realistic theory that Constantine needed to be mindful of Roman society and not to change too much at once, even if he was a true believer in Christianity. It definitely caused me to question my own bias regarding Constantine, since I thought of his actions through a more Machiavellian lens beforehand.

An important thing that should certainly be looked at would be how the sentiment of people in Rome toward Christianity was changing on the whole, as that would deliver even greater insight than just the recorded actions of a single person, however influential he was as an emperor.