Short history of the early church . e of the legal religions ofthe empire. But in the year 323 heenlarged the scope of his favor, andmade Cliristianity the established faithof all his dominions. 3. The good and the bad in the impe-rial support. It was a happy day whenthe Christians could walk abroad with-out fear of persecution. But there weregrounds for concern. Constantine left but little forthe Church to do for its own government. He claimedthe right to supervise religion, as the emperor had al-ways done in the case of paganism. He accounted him-self still the great high-priest, or Pontifex
Short history of the early church . e of the legal religions ofthe empire. But in the year 323 heenlarged the scope of his favor, andmade Cliristianity the established faithof all his dominions. 3. The good and the bad in the impe-rial support. It was a happy day whenthe Christians could walk abroad with-out fear of persecution. But there weregrounds for concern. Constantine left but little forthe Church to do for its own government. He claimedthe right to supervise religion, as the emperor had al-ways done in the case of paganism. He accounted him-self still the great high-priest, or Pontifex Maximus,and claimed the prerogative to compose differences,decide questions of religious policy, call ecclesiasticalcouncils, and appoint the leading officers. Then, again,he retained many pagan institutions. The heathentemples were supported out of the state treasury, cer-tain respect was paid to the national divinities, andeven soothsayers were still used for help in was a mixed character, not willing; to lose. THE LABARUM. 48 SHORT HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. the sympathy of the pagan citizens, and yet clear-headed enough to see that further hostility to Chris-tianity would be fatal to his rule. He had no faith inpaganism, but would not suppress it. His line of con-duct was, to allow it to go on as he found it, and yetto help the Christians to conquer it. He was, of allsuccessful rulers, the most successful trimmer. 4. The Danger to the Church. The course of Constan-tme was attended with serious danger to the did not arise from the assumption of guardianshipover its affairs, but from making the whole Christianbody a part of the machinery of the state, and employ-ing the state as the supreme judge of its inner andoutward life. Hitherto the Church had been a grandmoral unity, held together by ties of love and now it was absorbed by the state. Its frameworkwas lost in the body politic. Freeman says: TheChurch conquered the state. Th
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