This article attempts to answer the not-particularly-new question of the extent to which the emergence of an imperial Church in the 4th century actually reshaped the course of Church history. In doing so, it enters into dialogue primarily with those views that draw a sharp distinction between the period before and after its establishment. In our opinion, it should be noted that the change mainly affected the secular sphere, while most Christian communities had from the very beginning sought a harmonious relationship with the rulers. The more challenging part of the answer about the far-reaching nature of the changes concerns the extent of the intervention of the Christianised or at least Church-affiliated Roman rulers in its internal life. Due to the nature of this article, we are limiting ourselves here to Constantine’s ‘fingerprint’ on the Council of Nicaea in 325 and the period immediately before and after it. Of course, the growing social power of the Church also had a strong influence on the content of its preaching and the behaviour of its leaders, although examples of very self-confident and obviously influential bishops can be found as early as the second half of the 3rd century. However, these changes, which may outwardly give the impression that the former Church of the Apostles had changed beyond recognition, do not allow us to draw a clear line between the period before Constantine and the period after him. The main components of the establishment of relations at the Council of Nicaea already existed in the previous development of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
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