Roman Empire and Christianity in the IV century

 

Map of the Roman empire in the 3rd and 4th centuries.

After the apostolic age and the martyrdoms, the 4th century is the age of the Christianity. The century characterized by the conflict with the dying paganism meant for Europe uncertainty, fears and economical recession. The new religion offered a great way-out from anguish. In this century Christianity started spreading, although paganism survived taking advantages from the disagrements between Christians.


This is the bust of Marcus Aurelius, the roman emperor between 161 and 180. It's situated here because Marcus was the most appreciated of all the Roman emperors. Above: Constantin the Great and his triumph Arch in Rome.

The 4th Century started with the Edict of Constantine (313), that allowed Christianity in the Empire and instituted the volume of funds in its favour.busto di Costantino
Ambrose became the bishop of Milan in 374. In 356 pagan temples were closed by Costanzo II.
In 380 Theodosius declared Christianity the official religion of the Empire and in 391 forbade paganism.
Under the emperor
Julian, the ancient world saw its last flourishing. Julian's attempt to recover and give new life to the most mystical and philosophical pagan tradition, contrasted with a moral world that was between hedonism and superstition.


The Thermae of Caracalla well represent the richness and fortune of Rome, its decay and the winner Christian faith, if compared with the Christian icon.

 

The Misapogon of Julian expresses in a sarcastic and bitter way the consciousness of his own failure, that represents the defeat of the classic model of anthropology and ethic.
Ambrose contributed significatively to the triumph of the new faith by resisting in every way to Prefect
Simmachus's attempts to save the Victory Altar (384): he appealed to the tolerance and to the plurality of faiths of the Roman tradition: "suus enim cuique mos, suus ritus est ... uno itinere non potest perveniri ad tam grande secretum" (Relatio III, 8-10). But such an invitation was not considered in a time when a Christian bishop guided those who wanted to destroy the Library of Alessandria (392), when the Olimpic games were stopped (393) and the Eleusinian mysteries suppressed (396).
In the IV century the Christian faith became definitive and lasting, putting aside Arianism and the other heresies. A refined and completed creed was created in the councils of Nicea (325) and Constantinople (381): bishops became the real land administrators while people were more and more abandoned to themselves.
To the noise of the philosophical disputes Christians
Augustinopposed the higher knowledge of the lovers of God.
In front of the weakness of " all the human powers, instable in the changes of time", in front of the limits of every thing, condition and purpose- always so certainless and ended that "if we put away every vanities, all men are only men" -the Christian faith pointed out with strength the human limit and frailty of those who are doomed to die.
Augustin, the most talented of Ambrose's followers, to protect the Christians from the accuses moved towards them after the sack of Rome (410), wrote: <<You pagan, whoever you are, have a right reason to cry: you have lost your human tresoures and you haven't already found the eternal ones. But the Christian has got this thought to meditate on: "Brothers, think of the different troubles that hit you as the source of every delight".>>.
This is the beginning of the Middle Ages.

 

 

Interesting links

http://atlantic.evsc.virginia.edu/julia/AncientWorld.html http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/wola.html :
Two beautiful sites on Western Late Antiquity

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/confbibl.html : Augustin's Confessiones online
 
http://dgprod2.vill.edu/~augustin/index.htm : magazine Augustinian Studies by father Allan D. Fitzgerald
http://cedar.evansville.edu/~ecoleweb/ : Encyclopedia of early Church

http://ccel.wheaton.edu/fathers/ : everything on Church's Fathers

http://www.unipissing.ca/department/history/orb/lt-atest.htm : Mediterranean in late Antiquity
http://www.unipissing.ca/department/history/orb/arjava.htm : venerable Fathers were a little bit anti-feminist, not we; in this site you will find a bibliography on women at Empire fall


Main pageAmbrose main page

Toptop

By Alberto Biuso (transl.:M.Pozzi & Elisa Vallinotto)