The Edict of Milan (theo)
A basilica was:
a large, rectangular building where court hearings and other civic gatherings took place in the Roman Empire. After the Edict of Milan, this became the model for Christian church buildings.
Julian the Apostate:
became emperor in 361 and sought to put paganism back on an equal footing with Christianity.
In 391, Theodosius the Great:
declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire and outlawed pagan sacrifice, as well other forms of paganism.
Some of the legal privileges that Constantine provided for Christians include:
exempting priests and churches from taxation; permitting churches to receive donations, forbidding work on Sundays and ending crucifixion as a means of execution.
The central parts of the Mass - the prayers and the consecrations -
have Jewish origins.
The "trappings," or non-essential elements of the Mass -
have Roman origins.
Constantine became emperor:
in AD 307 and ruled in the Western part of the Empire.
During the persecution, Christians sometimes worshiped:
in catacombs, since congregations were often too large for house liturgies, and they couldn't worship openly in public.
The model for the earliest Christian liturgies, which were celebrated in people's homes:
is the Jewish seder meal, or Passover meal, like the Last Supper, where Jesus instituted the Eucharist.
Prior to his battle against Maxentius in 312, Constantine:
looked above the sun and saw the symbol of the cross in the sky, with the inscription "in hoc signo vinces", meaning, "in this sign you will conquer."
The edicts of 311 and 313:
provided Christians with legal protection to practice their faith for the first time in the Church's history, and gave it legitimacy in the public sphere.
After the Edict of Milan, the Christian liturgy:
shifted from being small, meal-oriented services to having a more sacrificial focus, and adapted many Roman practices that were originally meant to honor the king in order to honor Christ instead.
The Milvian Bridge is:
the location outside of Rome where Constantine and Maxentius met in battle in AD 312, with Constantine emerging victoriously.
The catacombs are:
underground galleries cut out of volcanic rock where corpses were sealed off in shelves carved into the walls.
The Edict of Milan:
was issued by Constantine in AD 313 and (1) restored all Church property that had been taken during the persecution, and (2) granted the freedom to practice Christianity and other religions within the Empire.
Over the course of his life, Constantine:
withdrew from participation in pagan ceremonies that emperors were typically associated with, prayed daily, received instruction in the Faith, and was formally received into the Church on his deathbed through Baptism.
