Constantine the Populist

It has long been acknowledged that although the reign of Constantine (d. 337 c.e.) brought new prosperity to the Christian churches, it was also an age of ever-escalating division. This essay suggests that recent scholarship on populism can help us to understand the role of conflict in Constantinian...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of early Christian studies
Main Author: Cooper, Kate 1960- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press [2019]
In: Journal of early Christian studies
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Konstantin, I., Römisches Reich, Kaiser ca. 280-337 / Christianity / Schism / Rivalry / Populism
RelBib Classification:CG Christianity and Politics
KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity
TB Antiquity
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:It has long been acknowledged that although the reign of Constantine (d. 337 c.e.) brought new prosperity to the Christian churches, it was also an age of ever-escalating division. This essay suggests that recent scholarship on populism can help us to understand the role of conflict in Constantinian Christianity. Structured conflict, we suggest, had a recognized value as a tool for cultivating the loyalty of a following. The creation of factional loyalty, rather than spiritual unity, seems to have been the aim of the fourth-century Christian bishops and clergy. Yet it is less clear whether this goal was shared by the emperor himself.
ISSN:1086-3184
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of early Christian studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1353/earl.2019.0020