In the first centuries of our era, Christians suffered great persecution because of their faith. In 311, the Emperor Galerius promulgates, on his deathbed and after having himself condemned them, an edict of tolerance towards this religion. The prohibition of persecutions and the freedom of worship are confirmed by the edict of Milan of the emperors Constantine and Lucinius in 313. From now on legitimate, the Christian religion takes its rise. The Emperor Constantine, who took a growing interest in this religion (he eventually converted), brought together all the bishops of the Empire in Nicaea in 325 to restore religious peace so as not to harm the stability of the Empire. . Apart from Julian the Apostate (Roman Emperor) who tries to restore paganism (religion of the pagans), the successors of Constantine take up the cause of this religion because of the multiplication of conversions.
November 8, 392
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Theodosius I st , said Theodosius the Great
Procedure
Thus, the emperor Theodosius promulgates the edict of Thessalonica in 380, which formalizes the Christian religion as the state religion. To consolidate this decree, he convened the Council of Constantinople in 381, which continued to establish the foundations of Christian doctrine laid by the Council of Nicaea. During this Council Theodosius endeavors, moreover, to define the administration and the hierarchy of the Church. It also specifies that all heretics (who support a religion different from that, Christian, defined by the councils) must be expelled. Also, a few years later, on November 8, 392, Emperor Theodosius banned paganism, polytheism and sacrifices throughout the Empire. The Olympic Games, which were as much a sporting as a religious event, were abandoned after those of 394. The sacred fire of the temple of Vesta in Rome was extinguished and the statue of Victory removed from the Senate. Now an imperial religion, Christianity is the only cult to be authorized. From then on, the temples were closed, destroyed or transformed into churches and it was the turn of the pagans to be persecuted.
Consequences
By prohibiting paganism and all other worship except Christianity, Theodosius reduced the danger of dissension (opposition) fostered by pagans and Arians (those who followed Arius, an excommunicated priest who preached a different word from that of the Church) and cemented a Christian culture in the Empire, which helped to restore its stability. This religious upheaval, which turned away from polytheism and the gods of Antiquity towards monotheism, initiated a turn towards the Middle Ages.