Justinian

In the fifth century, the Germanic people deposed the last Roman Emperor and divided up the territory of the Western Empire into Germanic kingdoms. The Nicene Church remained behind but was subject to the laws and customs of these Arian nations. As a keen supporter of the Nicene church in Rome, Justinian considered it his divine duty to liberate the church in Rome from Arian domination. Justinian’s conquests commenced a period of about two centuries which is known as the Byzantine Papacy. The Nicene Church, with the protection and status it received from the Byzantine Empire, became a powerful social and political institution in Europe. The Germanic tribes, consequently, during the Byzantine papacy, abandoned Arianism in favor of Catholicism.