Constantine, Christ and the Sun Considerations on The Emperor’s “Inclusive” Religious Policy

Abstract

This article examines the use of religious symbols by the emperor Constantine (early 4th cent. AD). While imperial refer-ences to Christ are attested early on, the Sun god remains the more prominent image throughout the whole of Constantine’s reign and till his death in 337. This holds true for contemporary interpretations of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312), as well as for the planning and founding of the new capital on the Bosphorus and for the choreogra-phy of the emperor’s burial. But this should not be seen as an alterna-tive to Constantine’s interest in the Christian faith. Despite the sun’s not having played an important role as messianic metaphor in the Bi-ble, Christianity long before Constantine developed an interest in Je-sus as the “sun of righteousness” or “true sun,” as attested in writers such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen (3rd cent.). It was therefore in a positive light that Christians could see the sanctioning of the “Sun-Day” as a day of rest. A similar case may be the introduction of a feast at the winter solstice (the 25th of December), which was the birth of both the “new sun” and the Son of God. Constantine’s reli-gious policy made deliberate use of polysemous and inclusive reli-gious symbols; the ideal was not “conversion” from one belief to an-other but the integration of a diverse world of beliefs.