Emperor Theodosius Archives » From Daniel to Revelation

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Emperor Theodosius made Nicene theology the State Religion.

Overview

In the traditional account of the Arian Controversy, after more than 50 years of controversy, at the Second Ecumenical Council (the Council of Constantinople of 381), the Church finally accepted Nicene theology and rejected Arianism.

In reality, already in the year before that council, in February 380, the Roman Emperor Theodosius, through Roman Law – the Edict of Thessalonica – made Nicene Christianity the State Religion of the Roman Empire and outlawed and criminalized Arianism. Consequently, the subsequent council in 381 was a mere formality. Since Theodosius had already outlawed Arianism, no Arian was allowed to attend. As an indication of Theodosius’ control, he made an unbaptized government official both chair of the Council and the bishop of Constantinople.

Theodosius not only defined the official faith of the Empire, he required all Christian factions to submit their theologies in writing to him and he himself decided which complied.

Through severe persecution, both before and after the Council, Theodosius eliminated Arianism from among the ruling class and elite of the Eastern Empire. He forbade Arian worship meetings, confiscated Arian churches, and exiled and even killed their leaders.

Since bishops in the Roman system received roles in the judicial system equivalent to and even exceeding that of judges, civil and ecclesiastical authority were blended. Consequently, the organization of Nicene bishops functioned as part of the Roman system of government.

These events were consistent with the events of the preceding 60 years and support the main thesis of this article series, namely, that the emperors – not the Church – decided what the church must believe. The emperors decided that the Church must adopt Nicene theology, which later evolved into the Trinity doctrine. The Arian Controversy began soon after Roman persecution was suspended and ended when Roman persecution was resumed, but now it was the persecution of only Arian Christians. [Show More]

Theodosius

Both Theodosius and his father were military commanders. [Show More]

In 378, in the war on the Eastern Front, the previous Eastern Emperor (Valens) was killed and a large part of the Roman Army was destroyed. The young Western Emperor Gratian then made Theodosius, aged 32 or 33, the Eastern Emperor in January 379. [Show More]

Theodosius later became emperor of the entire Empire and ruled until he died in 395. He was the last emperor to rule the entire Roman Empire. At his death, the empire became permanently divided between west and east.

Theodosius’ Edicts

Applied to all People

In 380, the year after he became emperor, and the year before the Council, Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica with the support of the Western Emperor Gratian. It was not a Church Creed and was not addressed to Christians. It was an official Roman law, issued jointly by the emperors, applicable to all the peoples and nations of the Roman Empire. There was no division of Church and State. [Show More]

Applied to the Entire Empire

It is sometimes stated that this edict applied only to Constantinople because it was specifically addressed to “the people of Constantinople.” However, his subsequent edicts, which expanded and implemented the first, applied to all cities. These edicts prohibited Arians from settling in and from meeting for worship in towns or cities. [Show More]

These further decrees confirm that the first edict also applied to the entire Empire; at least to the whole Eastern Empire. The specific mention of Constantinople in the first edict may be explained as follows:

Nicene ‘one Person’ theology already dominated in the West but the previous eastern emperor Valens continued the Homoian policy established by Emperor Constantius in the late 350s. The Edict of Thessalonica was probably addressed to Constantinople specifically as the governing center of the Eastern Empire.

State Religion

The Roman Emperors viewed religious disagreements as a menace because disunity in the Church also threatened the unity of the Empire. On the other hand, a unified Church helps to unify the Empire. It was for that reason that the emperors attempted to resolve disagreements; not to protect some doctrine. [Show More]

Believing that the church must contribute to the social and moral strength of the empire, the emperors gave bishops a powerful place in the judicial system, equal to and even exceeding that of civil judges. In this way, State and the Church authority became blended. [Show More]

Theodosius did not unite Church and State. It was already united. Rather, since there was division in the Church, Theodosius selected one faction of Christianity, made it the only legal religion, and outlawed all other factions. Since Church and State authority were blended, the Nicene Church, with its hierarchy of bishops, became part of the Empire; the religious arm of the Empire. [Show More]

Outlawed Arianism

The Edict of Thessalonica determined that only Nicene Christians could call themselves “catholic” and their places of worship “churches.” It described all other people as heretics, “foolish madmen,” and “out of their minds and insane”. [Show More]

That edict also authorized imperial punishment for ‘heretics’. [Show More]

Over the subsequent years, Theodosius implemented the Edict of Thessalonica through further decrees. These decrees outlawed and criminalized non-Nicene religions. In January 381, still before the 381 Council, Theodosius prohibited ‘heretics’ from settling in cities, from owning or using churches, and from meeting for worship. [Show More]

Theodosius’ third decree, issued in 382 (the year after the Council of Constantinople) confiscated non-Nicene churches and gave the buildings to Nicene bishops. This caused great disturbances and riots. [Show More]

Theodosius ended Arianism and the Controversy within the Roman Empire with brute force. That resulted in the killing of Christians. [Show More]

The Arian Controversy began soon after Christianity was legalized and the persecution of the Church ended. But the Controversy ended when non-Nicene Christianity was outlawed and Roman persecution was resumed persecution resumed, but now it was Christian-on-Christian persecution.

The ‘one God’ is the Trinity.

While the Nicene Creed of 325 and the Creed of Constantinople of 381 identify the ‘one God’ as the Father alone, the Edict of Thessalonica of 380 identifies the Trinity as the ‘one deity’. In other words, Theodosius’ decree was much closer to the full Trinity doctrine than the Creed itself. [Show More]

Western ‘One Person’ Theology

Theodosius prescribed Nicene theology. [Show More]

However, in the period leading up to Theodosius, in what is known as the Meletian Schism, there were two types of Nicene theology:

The Western pro-Nicenes, led by Athanasius (died 373), Damasus of Rome, and Peter of Alexandria, believed that Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Person (hypostasis). (Read Athanasius)

The Eastern pro-Nicenes (the Cappadocians) maintained that the Father, Son, and Spirit are three distinct Persons (three equal hypostases). (Read Basil)

It is called the Meletian schism because it manifested particularly in a dispute over the rightful bishop of Antioch; Meletius, who believed the Son is a distinct Person, or Paulinus, who believed the Father and Son are a single Person. Therefore, the main issue was the number of divine hypostases. [Show More]

Note that the notion that God is both one and three (one Being but three Persons) did not yet exist. During the controversy, some claimed that the Father, Son, and Spirit are three Persons (three hypostases) while others claimed that they are one Person (one hypostasis). The concept that God is both one and three resulted from later theological theorizing. [Show More]

Theodosius’ edicts show that he adopted the Western ‘one hypostasis’ view:

Firstly, while the Cappadocians believed in three hypostases, the Edict describes the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as “the single deity.” (Ayres, 251) [Show More]

Secondly, the Edict identifies “Damasus, bishop of Rome, and Peter, Athanasius’ successor in Alexandria” (Ayres, p. 251) as norms of his theology. By then, Athanasius was already dead and Damasus and Peter were the leaders of Western ‘one Person’ theology. [Show More]

Thirdly, the Nicene term homoousios (same substance) can mean ‘one substance’, which is how the Westerners understood it, or it can mean two distinct substances of the same type, which is how the Cappadocians understood it. Theodosius’ second decree a year later in January 381 explicitly describes the Father, Son, and Spirit as a single undivided substance, which was the Western understanding. [Show More]

However, Ayres thinks that Theodosius’ later decrees were more in tune with Cappadocian theology. [Show More]

Other Actions

Theodosius decided who complied.

Theodosius’ edict set criteria for the ‘true faith’ but the emperor himself decided who complied and who did not. [Show More]

Appointed & Deposed Bishops

Having announced the State Religion of the Roman Empire, Theodosius assumed full and unilateral control of who the leading bishops would be.

At the time, the incumbent bishop of Constantinople was an Arian (a Homoian – Demophilus). In the same year that the Edict was issued, two days after Theodosius had arrived in Constantinople, on 24 November 380, and still before the 381 council, he expelled Demophilus and also chased Lucius, who was at that time bishop of Alexandria, out of that city. [Show More]

Theodosius appointed Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the Cappadocian Fathers and the leader of the rather small Nicene community in the city, as bishop of Constantinople.

The Second Ecumenical Council

Only after Theodosius had issued the Edict and replaced the leading bishops, did he, not the church, summon the so-called ‘ecumenical’ Council of Constantinople of the year 381. ‘Ecumenical’ means it represents all Christian Churches and perspectives, but this meeting was certainly not ecumenical. Since Theodosius had already made Nicene Christianity the State Religion of the Empire, banished the previous Homoian bishop of the capital, and outlawed all non-Nicene views, with the threats of punishment, only Nicene Christians were allowed to attend. Not even Homoiousians, the Arian faction most similar to the Nicenes, were allowed. [Show More]

Gregory resigned during the council. To ensure full control of the Council, Theodosius then took the unprecedented step of appointing an unbaptized government official (Nectarius) as chairperson and as bishop of Constantinople, the capital of the Empire. (Hanson, p. 322) [Show More]

Conclusions

All or most emperors sought unity in the church because division would threaten the unity of the Empire as well. But all previous emperors failed to achieve lasting unity. We may ask why Theodosius succeeded where others failed. All emperors manipulated councils and exiled bishops, but only Theodosius:

- - Made a law to define the only legal theology.
  - Outlawed other views with threats of punishment.
  - Appointed bishops unilaterally.“

In the traditional account, the Arian Emperor Constantius was a cruel tyrant. In reality, Theodosius’ conversion was far worse. [Show More]

The Council of Constantinople in AD 381 was not ecumenical.

Authors quoted

Due to discoveries of ancient documents and research during the 20th century, the scholarship of the past fifty years has concluded that the traditional account of the fourth-century Arian Controversy is history written by the winner and a complete travesty. This article quotes from books that present the revised account of that Controversy. Although almost all quotes are hidden in ‘read more’ sections, they are crucial to this article. [Show More]

Not Ecumenical

“The Council of Constantinople met during May, June and July 381.” (Hanson, p805) It is known as the Second Ecumenical Council. ‘Ecumenical’ means that it represents all churches and perspectives. However, that council was far from ecumenical. It was a regional council of Antioch, attended only by pro-Nicenes. The Western church did not attend at all. Furthermore, already in the preceding year (380), the Eastern emperor Theodosius, with the support of the other two emperors at the time, had made Western Nicene theology the State Religion of the Roman Empire, exiled the Homoian (Arian) bishop of the Capital (Constantinople), appointed a pro-Nicene bishop, and outlawed all non-Nicene Christianity, with threats of punishment. For that reason, only pro-Nicenes were allowed to attend. [Show More]

The emperor controlled the Council.

The church did not call the meeting. The emperor summoned, welcomed, monitored, and controlled it carefully. The first act of the Council was to accept the person whom the emperor had already appointed as bishop of Constantinople. [Show More]

The emperor also controlled the meeting through the chairperson, who acted as the emperor’s agent. The first chairperson was Meletius, but he died soon and was replaced as chairperson by Gregory Nazianzen, whom the emperor had appointed as bishop of Constantinople. But Gregory shortly resigned and the emperor replaced him with Nectarius, who was equivalent to the mayor of the city (“praetor urbanus in Constantinople” (Hanson, p811), but who was still receiving instruction in preparation for baptism. He was baptized immediately after he was elected bishop. These events reveal the emperor’s control of the Council. The election of a civil servant as both chairperson and bishop of the Capital also shows the unity of Church and State. [Show More]

Due to the lack of division between Church and State, this was not the first time that a civil servant was appointed as bishop. In the West, Ambrose, who became a trusted advisor to the emperor in the West, was a civil servant. [Show More]

The Council concluded the Meletian Schism.

The Meletian Schism was a dispute between the ‘one hypostasis’ and ‘three hypostases’ pro-Nicenes, particularly over the election of the bishop of Antioch, and is named after Meletius:

The Western pro-Nicenes, including the bishop of Rome (Damasus) and the bishop of Alexandria (Athanasius, and later his successor Peter), supported Paulinus as bishop of Antioch. They, like Paulinus, believed that the Father and Son are a single Person (one hypostasis).

As was traditional in the East, the Eastern Cappadocians maintained that the Son is a distinct Person (a distinct hypostases). They believed the Father, Son, and Spirit are ‘three hypostases’ (three distinct Persons). Basil of Caesarea, the first Cappadocian, supported Meletius as bishop of Antioch.

As discussed in the article on this schism, the emotions ran high on both sides. Since the Council of Constantinople was a meeting of pro-Nicenes, these emotions continued into the Council. [Show More]

As stated, Meletius, the bishop of Antioch, who was also the first chairperson of the council, suddenly died. The meeting then discussed a replacement for him as bishop of Antioch. The new chairperson (Gregory) proposed Paulinus but the meeting elected Flavian, “a prominent presbyter of the party of Paulinus.” (Hanson, p810). [Show More]

Flavian was So, he was on the same side as Paulinus.

Nectarius, the praetor urbanus in Constantinople, who was now elected as bishop of Constantinople, supported “the Eustathian cause in Antioch.” (Hanson, p811) Eustathius was the leading Sabellian when the Arian Controversy began. Like the bishops of Rome and Alexandria, the Sabellians taught that the Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Person (hypostasis). Nectarius, therefore, was also in the ‘one-hypostasis camp’. This was not surprising because the emperor had already made ‘one hypostasis’ the state religion of the Roman Empire. (See article)

It is surprising that Gregory proposed Paulinus because Gregory, since he was one of the Cappadocians, presumably supported the ‘three hypostasis’ side. Perhaps the emperor had instructed Gregory to propose Paulinus and Gregory resigned because he was unwilling to be the emperor’s agent.

In conclusion, the delegates “have been carefully chosen from areas which would be friendly to Meletius.” (Hanson, p806) But the meeting ends with Meletius dead and, consistent with the declared state Religion of the Empire, people who believed that the Father and Son are a single Person (one hypostasis) as bishops of Antioch and Constantinople and as chairperson of the council.

Other Decisions

“The council re-affirmed N but also produced the creed C. … All this lasted three months from May to July 381.” (Hanson, p807) See the article on that Creed

The council agreed that “the bishop of Constantinople is to enjoy precedence in honour next after the bishop of Rome because it is the New Rome’. It is very likely that this was intended to reduce the pretensions of the archbishop of Alexandria.” (Hanson, p808) But this also made a newly baptized civil servant the second-most powerful man in the Church.

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