Berkley Center

The world of Christianity erroneously heralds the Edict of Milan as the beginning of the greater Christian movement within the Roman Empire here in modern day Italy. As any Late Antiquity scholar will enlighten, the 313 CE decree by the converted, yet un-baptized, Emperor Constantine was an edict of tolerance, not of empire-wide call to conversion to Christianity.

It would be absurd to think that Constantine, a wary and cunning emperor, given his killing of Maxentius on October 28, 312 CE at the Milvian Bridge in order to win the imperial throne, would attempt to create a mass Christian movement. Christianity in the early fourth century was a mere blip on the road map of the Roman Empire. Comprising only an estimated 5 percent of the Roman population, Christians were seen as a growing but insignificant cult. Although feared due to the aspect of being a mystery cult and allegations of cannibalism (due to the Eucharist) and incest (due to calling one another “brothers and sisters”), Christians were not seen as a major ideological threat to the empire.

Nor were they a popular subject in the empire. Only 10 years prior to the Edict of Milan, the Emperor Diocletian in 303 CE enacted empire-wide persecution of Christians, which resulted in many of the martyrs seen buried today in the Christian catacombs outside of Rome along the ancient Appian Road. Why would an emperor publicly convert to Christianity and then try and completely sway his empire to Christianity in that sort of political environment? Based on the taboo nature of Christianity it would be political suicide in an atmosphere where Constantine had to establish his imperial legitimacy. And Constantine did go to great lengths to establish legitimacy given his parading into the city of Rome and his extensive building programs which exuded his power.

Constantine was a savvy emperor and political guru. He understood how to maintain the balance of power required of a Roman emperor. It is a stretch to say that Constantine would publicly create an outright Christian movement within the Roman Empire. Instead, as the sources and logic seem to suggest, Constantine appears to have had merely his own personal conviction towards Christianity. Apparently, he took that personal conviction seriously, using his status as emperor to insert Christianity into an already existing system of power in the Roman Empire. This move would forever define the status of Christianity in Rome. The effects of Christianity being “secularized” and inserted into public life are still readily apparent at some levels today, particularly with regards to architecture, within the secularized nature of the religiously heralded “Eternal City.”

Modern day Rome is a land of over 900 churches. From the massive St. Peter’'s Basilica to the small parishes attended by everyday Italian citizens, the city of Rome is directly affiliated with the Catholic religion in contemporary rhetoric and appearance. Just the mere presence of the graves of great fathers of the Christian Church and relics that harken back to the history of Christianity in this place and the greater Mediterranean world identify Rome with the religion Constantine converted to back in 312 CE.

Yet around the history and churches there exists real, modern life here in Rome. People go to work, take siesta, eat pizza and gelato from street vendors, tend to tourists, and go out late into the night, sometimes even congregating into the wee hours of the morning on church steps and in front of the landmark structures of organized religion. There is an unmistakably secular nature to the way people go about their lives in the midst of these utterly unique religious relics.

In fact, in many ways religious relics are simply a backdrop to a secular life—a framing of ancient design that provides a romantic setting for common doings. In effect, that was truly what many of these ancient buildings were meant to embody originally. For example, Constantine’s building efforts aimed at perpetuating his power base in Rome incorporated Christian churches and structures into designs. Constantine strategically built up Rome, improving the pagan structures at the city center and meanwhile formulated Christian structures into the city mix. The Christian structures were part of the overall ambiance of the building projects of Rome. Strategically placing Christian relics on the outside of the city, such as St. Peter’'s Basilica, and formatting them after pagan Roman buildings (basilica being Latin for "a king'’s hall"…—which Constantine redefined into "the king's hall," meaning God), Constantine used Christian structures as both a way of increasing his power and as a way to acclimate people to Christian structures in Rome. He deftly made it acceptable to the Roman people to have Christian buildings in Rome because of the way his Christian buildings looked no different from the pagan buildings.

In a way, this phenomenon of Christian architecture being viewed through the same lens as pagan or non-Christian architecture has been sustained or kept constant through the ages. For in modern times, when a student such as myself visits Rome...the Christian sites become run together in classes or tours with the Roman Forum and Coliseum. They are primarily, to the general public’'s eye, within the same landscape as the ancient Roman ruins or pagan temples. Rome retains a focus on itself as Rome, a city of men, not a city of God, through its architecture. For that this the same focus Constantine, the “Christian emperor,” maintained for Rome. It is the focus he had to maintain for Rome in order to legitimize his rule.

All this said, what makes Rome important on a Christian front is the contingent of people who do treat the Christian relics as instruments of furthering their faith. For these places have the capacity to facilitate individualized faith relationships with God based on their history and splendor. These personal relationships with God were the reason behind Constantine, later emperors, and Christian figures building these monuments and relics in the first place. It is not these grandiose, external “religious” structures that make Rome a religious city. In fact, Rome may not even be most accurately described as a religious city. Rome is a city where people can see great architecture, amazing ruins, and gorgeous works of man. It is a city where the predominant trends of tourism and everyday life are humanist and secular. But the undercurrent of people, like Constantine, who live in this humanist world yet have a different Christian worldview, who come to Rome and treat the Christian architecture as significant are what is important from a Christian perspective. The faith of these pilgrims provides the architecture with constant meaning and this is what makes Rome constantly a city that can instrument and perpetuate faith.