[Antoninus]

The fact that Constantine was reputed to have seen a vision of Apollo earlier in his reign was mentioned on this thread and it's a fascinating point worthy of further exploration.

We know a good bit about Constantine from the ancient sources -- much more than you'll find in the capsule summaries of his life by those who wish to use him to uphold their own personal views of Christianity, or tear down Christians more generally. To say the least, he was a deep, visionary and very complex individual.

[aspasia]

His love is chemical!

Cuz when you lose the battle, even with the cross, then what--abandon the cross?

[wbarmy]

Many, no doubt, look for political reasons behind Constantine’s shift from pagan piety to Christian devotion. But frankly, the political explanations make very little sense. Why would an emperor motivated purely by power, abandon the religious practices favored by an estimated 80-90% of Roman citizens in AD 312 to take up the banner of a small and despised sect which, as recently as six years before was subject to the harshest penalties of Roman law?

I think that in fact, the 80-90% of Roman citizens being pagan was manifestly incorrect. There are good studies which show that as much as 50% of the population had become Christian and that this was having an effect on the military. Think 40 martyrs of Sevaste.

[teppe]

Question, since Constantine accepted the semi-arian baptism by Eusibius of Nicodemia and also had Athenasius expelled .....

....should Constantine be excommunicated as a Heretic?