Constantine was a Roman emperor in the between 306 and 337 AD. As an emperor, he was instrumental in many things ranging from politics, military, social and economy.[1] He is credited with leading government restructuring, initiating economy reforms which introduced a standardized form of money and initiating many other religious reforms. He took over when there was runaway inflation, and initiated a new currency that would be useful for over one thousand years. Immediately, he combated inflation, enhanced trade and promoted the economic wellbeing of the Roman Empire. Constantine also became the firm person in the Roman Empire to convert and embrace Christianity. He did that at a time when there was little tolerance for Christianity and urged people to embrace the religion and those who practiced it.
Constantine called the first council of Nicaea, where they declared the Nicene Creed. Nicene Creed was a symbol of Christianity, which would be used by all Christians in the empire. The adoption of the creed happened in 325 AD in the city of Nicaea, under the guidance of Constantine and the members he had appointed to the council. The purpose of the creed was to provide a standard doctrine for the Christian denomination and give what could be used for indefinitely a long time to identify the religion and the people’s faith. His role in advancing Christina, establishing the Nicaea creed and the many roles he played in the church marked some of Nicaea’s success in his reign.
Art of his legacy includes the establishment of a dynastic succession, where he prepared his sons to take over after him. They did, but it took years of preparation during his reign, to ensure they continued to keep his legacy. In the military, Constantine reorganized the military to consist different units, each dedicated to specific roles. In reorganizing the military, he made it possible for them to counter internal aggressions as well as external barbarism. Note that Constantine had come to power when the Roman Empire had established itself and had various enemies with the intent to interfere with its affairs. Constantine sealed every loophole that would have made the empire not just look weak, but also be defeated in case of an assault.
Constantine’s economic, military and political reforms were the epitome of his positive influence in the Roman Empire. However, like it is the case in any other empire, Constantine had his failures. Constantine’s biggest failure was potentially his failure to unite Christians completely. He took over when the Christianity was illegal and legalized it. Even though it featured a major success, the church was hit by sharp divisions which were up to Constantine to try to establish a solution. Having known that he had a role to lay in uniting the church, Constantine established the First Council of Nicaea, which he hoped would deliberate on common Christian issues, and establish a doctrine which would be adopted by everyone. That vision did not succeed. Constantine handed over the reign to his sons when he had not been able to make the church united, and issues surrounding the unity continued to exist for considerably a long time.
Constantine loved material things, and his empire was marked by the excessive construction of buildings and churches. He used state funds, often diverting funds meant for other things to construct churches and buildings. That did not serve to promote the interests of the Roman Empire. Instead, the extravagant use of state resources exhausted resources meant for other social, economic and military activities, leading to the deterioration of the Roman Empire.[2] Constantine ushered in Christianity and was determined to convert the Roman Empire a Christian state. He created an impression that paganism had to be destroyed. This would be a tall order, whose failure would directly be credited to him. One of the consequences of this extreme approach to the issue of paganism led to the establishment of Dark Ages. The Dark Ages was marked by a widespread deterioration in the demographic, cultural and economic lifestyle in the Western Europe. This deterioration was blamed on the collapse of the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine.
Many of the belief of Constantine and those of Christianity in his reign can be demonstrated in the church today. He spearheaded the Nicene Creed which is now widely used as the basis of Christian faith in many churches. However, his great faith in the religion can also be demonstrated by members of the church today. His faith was great, but one lesson that today’s church can draw from his life is one of approaching issues with an extreme mentality. Today’s Christians are very tolerant, and at no time had they declared to forcefully push for the conversion of people from other denominations to the Christian faith. Effective utilization of resources at every level is also an important lesson from Constantine. He had misused the state funds of buildings and churches that weren’t a priority. Today’s Christian leaders may fall victim of such tendencies, and a review of historical perspectives like this serves to remind them to reconsider the rationality of their actions often.