The Christian Empire
The start of the worshipping of the Christian emperor was marked by the period during which Constantine took power. Emperors believed in their accountability to God due to the religious strength that was manifested by their followers. Thus, they had the responsibility of upholding orthodox. However, the decisions regarding matters of policy were not made by the royal leaders but bishops. The emperor was charged with the duty of policy implementation, eradication of deviation, and maintenance of religious harmony. His duty was to ensure that God was worshipped in his kingdom. The Church on the other hand, was mandated to handle issues of constituents of proper orthodox and policies.
When Diocletian came into power, he found the kingdom in a desperate situation having been weakened by 50 years of war, epidemics and raids. Devastation and suffering caught up with the people. Many peasants had tied themselves to the soil in the name of local masters in order to be safe. Various sections of the empire’s trade and farming sectors were already in ruins. The currency was significantly losing value with each passing day. The empire was under stiff pressure and reforms were urgently needed in the armed forces. Even though the problems and suffering of the people was clearly evident to Diocletian, the way of obtaining solutions had been severely damaged. This led him to concentrate on three major areas; security, formation of a more competent government and the defense of the emperor against insurgency and killings. Diocletian was committed and managed to double the size of the army which he further split into two groups. He assigned each of the groups its own commander general. Through splitting the government into two sub-divisions with a spate administration, he was able to form an efficient government. However, both divisions answered to the Roman Emperor.
Constantine campaigned for the tolerance of Christianity because when he set out for an important battle which appeared to him in a dream, he was told that he would triumph with the help of a particular sign. He never much about Christianity at first but later became a convert. He named Constantinople as the capital of the kingdom, as required of a large Empire like the one he ruled. He assisted the church financially and saw the building of more basilicas. He also introduced tax exemptions on some clergy, appointed Christians to high offices and granted land for the construction of churches and other properties.
Diocletian succeeded in bringing peace and order within the kingdom. In fact, he helped instill hope in many. However, his reign was hit yet again by another disaster when his economic policies refused to flourish. In order to contain the mess, he imposed death sentence on people who opposed his decrees on prices. Despite this, many still went on to violate the decrees until his government halted the imposition. During his time, he successfully managed to become the ruler of the Western and Eastern divisions of the Roman Empire.
Based on the Emperor’s official proclamation of Christianity, the church earned a significant facelift since worshippers were allowed to freely exercise their faith. This resulted into monasticism, a spiritual way of life that entails renouncing earthly commitments for full dedication to religious work. Monastic life holds a significant purpose in several Christian churches especially the Roman Catholic Church.
The four saints referred to as the Latin fathers were Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine and Saint Gregory. They are also known as the Doctors of the Church. As researchers, tutors and interpreters of God’s word, the Fathers primarily signify the Church of Christ on earth.
The early conversion of many people especially from Germany to Christianity was to some extent mainly influenced by the reputation of the Christian Roman Empire amongst Europeans who were non-Christians. Majority of the Germans who had migrated there adopted Christianity and the orthodox beliefs that were strongly outlined by the Catholic Church in their doctrines. The steady conversion of Germans to Christianity was at times voluntary mainly among those who had links to the Roman Empire. However, many including even those who resided outside the kingdom began converting to Christianity. Others held on and only converted when their tribes settled in the empire.
In the fourth century, Christianity was rapidly growing and the entire Bryzantine Empire had become a Christian kingdom. It became one of the first empires in the world to be formed on the doctrines of the church. However, many people were motivated by paganism in the first period of the Empire. When Christianity became well formulated, the Church leadership was mandated to five patriarchs. After the much popularized division, the Eastern Orthodox Church became independent from the Western church, which was the Roman Catholic Church. This led to the relocation of the center of power to Moscow. The church in Byzantine Empire was largely dominated by the state with its leader positioned in East Justinian. When the kingdom began collapsing, the state’s command over the church came to a halt. During the reign of Ottoman sultans, the power was conferred onto the leaders of Constantinople who were also accorded political influence over their church members.