Edict of Milan
The Edict of Milan, issued in 313 CE, was a significant milestone in the history of Christianity within the Roman Empire. This agreement, initiated by Emperor Constantine the Great and his co-emperor Licinius, marked the transition of Christianity from a persecuted faith to an officially recognized religion. It granted Christians, along with all other religious groups, the freedom to practice their beliefs without interference from the state. The edict also mandated the return of confiscated properties to Christian communities, reflecting a broader commitment to religious tolerance and civic harmony.
The context of the edict is rooted in a period of religious persecution, where Christians were often targeted for their beliefs. Constantine’s conversion to Christianity and subsequent military successes framed his support for this new policy as both a personal and political decision aimed at stabilizing the empire. The Edict of Milan not only legitimized Christianity but also established it as a protected faith within Roman law, altering the religious landscape of the empire and paving the way for its eventual dominance. This landmark document is considered a foundational moment in the history of religious freedom and the eventual rise of Christianity as a leading religion in Europe.
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Edict of Milan
Related civilization:Imperial Rome.
Date: 313 c.e.
Locale: Milan in northern Italy
Authorship: Constantine the Great (c. 272/285-337 c.e.) and Valerius Licinianus Licinius (d. 325 c.e.)
Edict of Milan
From early in its existence, Christianity had been regarded as a religio illicita (an illicit cult) in the Roman Empire, and the Church had often been persecuted by the authorities. However, in 306 c.e., the Christians gained a champion in Constantine the Great (the new ruler in Britain, Gaul, and Spain) when he converted to Christianity. At the beginning of his reign, he ended the persecution and gave Christians the right to renew their worship in his domains. As Constantine broke away from the other emperors and the religious policies of the Second Tetrarchy (306-311 c.e.), he evolved from Olympian polytheism to Solar syncretism in his own beliefs. During his military campaign to conquer Italy from Maxentius in 312 c.e., he prayed to the Deus Summus (“highest god”) for help and felt that his answer came in the form of divine revelations from the Christian god and divine power from Christian symbols.
Following his religious conversion and Italian victory, he wished to extend imperial patronage and legal protection to Christians in other parts of the Roman world. Valerius Licinianus Licinius (r. 308-324 c.e.) was then ruling the Eastern European imperial provinces and Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus (r. 305-315 c.e.) those in western Asia. Licinius had ceased persecuting Christians in 311 c.e., but Galerius was still persecuting them in late 312 c.e. Therefore, in February of 313 c.e., Constantine summoned Licinius to a conference at Milan in northern Italy. He persuaded his co-emperor to adopt a religious accord that is known as the Edict of Milan. This agreement “granted both to the Christians and to all people the uninhibited right of following the religion which each desires” in order that the Deus Summus in the heavenly seat would be benevolent to the emperors and their subjects. It ordered that the Christians be allowed to hold their religious rites without hindrance and that the Church be given back its communal property without delay. It ended with the hope that this new policy would restore civic tranquillity and divine favor to the Roman Empire. After the meeting, Licinius marched east and overthrew Galerius. In June of 313 c.e., he announced the Milan agreement in the form of imperial letters sent to the governors of the Eastern provinces (Christian writers Lucius Caelius Firmianus Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea preserved copies). The Edict of Milan established the Christian cult as a religio licita in the Roman Empire, Catholic churches as corporate entities within Roman law, and the Christian faithful as a protected group in Roman society.
Bibliography
Anastos, M. V. “The Edict of Milan (313): A Defense of Its Traditional Authorship and Designation.” Revue des Études Byzantines 25 (1967): 13-41.
Odahl, Charles M. Constantine and the Christian Empire. London: Routledge, 2001.