I have been reading about Gnosticism and Christianity appears a lot more free-form than what was established at the Council of Nicaea. Was its spread a political antagonism to Roman rule or was there a sincere religious "enlightenment"? What was so appealing about it compared to other contemporary religions around the Mediterranean?
Really curious about the dynamics of religion from this time and place, so any and all info is much appreciated.
Well before Christianity became the state religion in the Roman Empire, the Romans always had the believe that the gods were on their side. Succes after succes, they were the rulers of the world, the best, the strongest. The gods that they also copied from the Greeks by the way, only gave them different names (Zeus – Jupiter, Aphrodite – Venus, Hades – Pluto). In the 3rd century, it was thought that the gods no longer were on their side, they had been offended, and that needed an explanation. There was a long debate whether the rise of Christianity was responsible for some sort of weakening of classic Roman virtues, with its turn the other cheek emphasis, was so different from martial virtues that had organized the Roman empire. Occasionally some Christians were persecuted, but it tended to be local, sporadic There was not a longstanding consistent coherent uniformly applied Roman policy with respect to Christianity.
The Roman historian Tacitus reports about violence against the Christian community in the city of Rome in the time of the emperor Nero (37 – 68 AD), and also other Roman emperors, such as Decius and Valerian did so, until the last prosecutions of Christians by Diocletian, because the Diocletianic, or Great Persecution was the only real attempt, and last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire to systematically extirpate (uitroeien) the Christian faith from the empire, which lasted some 12 years from 299 AD to 311 AD. Why were there persecutions? Well, the Romans were trying to restore the ‘Pax Deorum’, the peace of the gods, return Rome’s loyalty to the pagan, traditional gods, and thus favour those gods in order for those gods to favour the Romans again. Well, Christians for instance refused to make sacrifices to the Roman gods. These emperors didn’t set out to persecute Christianity, their aim wasn’t to extirpate any religion, rather to restore religious peace in the Roman world, in the hope to bring back the favour of Rome’s gods to benefit, to support, to advance the Roman cause.
But even before the persecution of Christians, Diocletian found also much to be offended by in Manichean religion: its novelty, its alien origins, the way it corrupted the morals of the Roman race, and its inherent opposition to long-standing religious traditions. Following some public disputes with Manicheans, Diocletian ordered that the leading followers of Mani be burnt alive along with their scriptures. In a 31 March 302 rescript from Alexandria, he declared that low-status Manicheans must be executed by the blade, and high-status Manicheans must be sent to work in the quarries of Proconnesus (Marmara Island, Turkey) or the mines of Phaeno in southern Palestine. All Manichean property was to be seized. he reasons he disliked Manichaeanism was at least equally applicable to his next target, Christianity.
The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the only attempt, and last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire to systematically extirpate (uitroeien) the Christian faith from the empire, which lasted some 12 years from 299 AD to 311 AD.
Edict of Serdica (311 AD) Galerius issued an edict of toleration, which granted Christians the right to practice their religion,
Edict of Milan (312 AD) gave Christianity legal status and a reprieve from persecution, and returned confiscated Church property.
Edict of Thessalonica (380 AD) made Nicene Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.
The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the emperor as having great influence and ultimate regulatory authority within the religious discussions involving the early Christian councils of that time (most notably, the dispute over Arianism, and the nature of God). Constantine himself disliked the risks to societal stability that religious disputes and controversies brought with them, preferring where possible to establish an orthodoxy. One way in which Constantine used his influence over the early Church councils was to seek to establish a consensus over the oft debated and argued issue over the nature of God. In 325, he summoned the Council of Nicaea, effectively the first Ecumenical Council. The Council of Nicaea is most known for its dealing with Arianism and for instituting the Nicene Creed, which is still used today by Christians.