Answered on
Answer: Theodosius the Great, who ruled as emperor from 379 until his death in 395 AD, advanced the legacy of Constantine the Great in several significant ways. Here are some of the key areas in which Theodosius furthered Constantine's work:
1. Christianity as the State Religion: Following Constantine's initial support for Christianity, Theodosius took decisive steps to establish Christianity as the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. In 380 AD, Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica (also known as Cunctos populos), which declared Nicene Christianity the official state religion of the empire. This edict reinforced the religious reforms that Constantine had initiated and effectively marginalized all other religious practices, including traditional Roman paganism.
2. Prohibition of Paganism: While Constantine tolerated paganism to a degree, Theodosius enacted laws that further restricted pagan worship. Theodosius's measures included the closing of pagan temples, the banning of sacrifices and divination, and the abolishment of the Olympic Games in 394 AD due to their pagan connotations.
3. The Codification of Christian Practices: Theodosius called the Second Ecumenical Council, also known as the First Council of Constantinople, in 381 AD. This council further developed and codified Christian doctrine, including the revision of the Nicene Creed, which is still used today in many Christian denominations. This helped to solidify the theological foundations established under Constantine and to clarify certain key aspects of Christian belief.
4. Political Reforms and Division of the Empire: Theodosius made significant political reforms that impacted the administrative structure of the empire. Upon his death, he divided the empire between his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, establishing a precedent for the formal division of the Roman Empire into the Western and Eastern (Byzantine) Empires. Constantine had earlier established the precedent for an East/West division by founding Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) as a "New Rome," but Theodosius's division of the empire amongst his heirs solidified this division for future generations.
By furthering Constantine's support of Christianity and making significant political reforms, Theodosius helped to shape the religious and political landscape of the late Roman Empire, ensuring that Constantine's legacy would have a lasting influence on European and world history.
Extra: Constantine the Great is often celebrated for being the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity and for his role in establishing Christianity within the Roman Empire. His reign saw the enactment of the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, which granted religious tolerance to Christians and allowed them to practice their faith openly without persecution. Constantine also convened the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 AD, which was an attempt to achieve consensus in the Christian community through an assembly representing all of Christendom.
Theodosius's decision to further Constantine's legacy by making Christianity the state religion had far-reaching consequences for the Roman Empire and subsequent history. It essentially ended the religious plurality that had been characteristic of the Roman world and set the stage for medieval Christendom, where the Church would become a central institution in European life.
The division of the empire after Theodosius's death, with the Western Roman Empire eventually falling in 476 AD and the Eastern Empire surviving for another thousand years, marked the end of the Roman Empire as a unified entity. This division led to the development of the Byzantine Empire, where Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Greek culture would dominate, in contrast to the Latin-speaking Western Europe where Roman Catholicism took root.
Theodosius's contributions to the consolidation and institutionalization of Christianity were instrumental in making the religion a cornerstone of Western civilization. His policies, taken together with the earlier steps by Constantine, paved the way for the medieval Christian world.