Emperor Constantine and Christianity

The purpose of this document is to show, once again, that satan must serve God and that God will never abandon His Elect. No matter the gravity of the errors of the Roman Church Administration, God has ensured that the core of the Catholic Faith reaches the 21st Century to help and nourish us through this very difficult time.

BACKGROUND

In a previous document (1) we showed how Emperor Constantine directly intervened in Church matters such as dogmas and discipline, although his interest was strictly political.

Religious discrepancies in early Christianity became a threat to the unity of the Roman Empire, thus a personal threat to Constantine. His concerns were so great that he went as far, with the tacit approval of the Hierarchy, as to act as is he were the Pope by presiding over the First Ecumenical Council held at Nicaea. Constantine's excessive interference in Ecclesiastical affairs are highlighted by his direct or indirect participation in three Church Councils. The key one being the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea

Constantine's excessive interference in Ecclesiastical affairs is highlighted by his direct or indirect participation in three Church Councils – the key one being the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. Constantine convened this Council, which lasted from May 20th through August 25th, 325. The first Ecumenical Council was attended by 300 Bishops, mostly Greek, in addition to priests, deacons and laity.

The Synod was presided by Osio of Cordoba, but the real director was Constantine. Pope Silvester I limited his involvement by sending two priests as representatives - Victor and Vicentio.

DETAILS

What Constantine intended was to bring unity to the Empire by bringing unity within Christianity. He would accomplish that by dispatching the discordant voices of the Donatists, the Arians, and a multitude of many smaller factions which were tearing apart the infant Church.

As God would have it, the "winning" faction of Christianity was the one that contained the most elements of Divine Truth, even though Emperor Constantine himself hardly endorsed the winning faction.

In spite of condemning Arianism, Constantine was baptized on his deathbed by Eusebio of Nicomedia, a supporter of Arianism, and not by Pope Silvester I as it was invented later on.

This is another example of the early Imperial authority over the Church. In his last years, Constantine did not think it wise to harass the followers of Arianism, since they were a majority in the East. It was Emperor Theodosio and the Council of Constantinople who brought the schism caused by Arianism to an end in the year 381.

The key product of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea can be summed up in the Nicene Creed. As approved in amplified form at the Council of Constantinople (381), it is the profession of the Christian Faith common to the Catholic Church, to all the Eastern Churches separated from Rome, and to most of the Protestant denominations.

The following is a literal translation of the Greek text of the Constantinopolitan form, the brackets ( ) indicate the words altered or added in the Western liturgical form in present use:

The Nicene Creed

We believe (I believe) in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages. (God of God) light of light, true God of true God. Begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnate of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary and was made man; was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried; and the third day rose again according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose Kingdom there shall be no end. And (I believe) in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son), who together with the Father and the Son is to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the Prophets. And one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We confess (I confess) one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for (I look for) the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen." (2)

CONCLUSION

At one time, miguel de Portugal believed this creed and other fundamental teachings as a matter of Faith. That is no longer the case; now he believes them as a matter of Fact.

Noting that the Holy Ghost proceeds only from the Father, just as the Son proceeded from the Father, miguel de Portugal now knows - no longer as a matter of Faith but as a matter of Fact - that the pronouncements of this Creed constitute the Absolute Truth about the core teachings of the Christian Faith (absolute to the extent that a human mind can comprehend an incomprehensible reality).

The post-Nicene problems arose when man - always man! - wanted to be like God and transformed the Christian Church into an Imperial Catholic Church ruled by those who acted, in far too many cases, as absolute tyrants trampling upon the Teachings of Jesus Christ.

Christianity went from being the "Religion of Jesus" to the "Religion about Jesus". Thanks be to God, said tyrants could not destroy the true Faith. (3)

By means of prayers, and by setting every possible record straight (that is, exposing every lie contrived by Ecclesiastic Administrators for a very human agenda), we defend the pristine Catholic Faith. We cannot allow what is left of the Faith (3) to be destroyed by the continuous, unchecked abuses within its Administration (4) - past, present and future - and by the self-seeking, manipulative activities of the sects (5) within it.

For that purpose we exist, until God Wills otherwise.