The Edict of Toleration (AD 311)
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The Edict of Toleration (AD 311) was issued by Emperor Galerius and officially ended the Great Persecution, allowing Christians to exist legally and worship, while still treating them as mistaken and socially problematic.
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It did not restore confiscated church property and did not grant full religious freedom, which was only completed later by the Edict of Milan (AD 313).
The Edict of Milan (AD 313)
- Imperial agreement (AD 313) that ended state-sponsored persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire
- Issued after meeting in Milan between Constantine (West) and Licinius (East)
- Built on Galerius’ Edict of Toleration (AD 311) but went much further
- Granted Christianity full legal status and protection under Roman law
- Did not make Christianity the state religion (that occurred in AD 380 with the Edict of Thessalonica)
What the Edict Actually Was
- Not a single preserved formal document
- Survives in Lactantius’ On the Deaths of the Persecutors and Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History
- Best understood as a letter of policy sent by Licinius to eastern governors (Nicomedia, June AD 313)
- Modern scholars agree the policy was real and binding
- “Edict of Milan” is a later historical label
What the Edict Declared
- Christians granted freedom to worship openly, assemble, and organise the Church
- Confiscated property (churches, meeting places, lands) to be returned immediately without compensation
- Religious freedom extended to all religions, not only Christians
- Purpose: secure peace, gain divine favour, restore justice
- Explicitly states everyone may worship as they choose so that “whatever divinity exists in heaven may be favourable to us”
What the Edict Did Not Do
- Did not make Christianity the official religion
- Did not abolish pagan worship
- Did not force conversion
- Established universal toleration, not Christian dominance
Constantine, Faith, and Motive
- Scholars debate whether it was pragmatic politics or genuine faith
- Majority view: Constantine’s conversion was sincere
- The edict is seen as his first major Christian public act
- Evidence: continued favour to Christianity, church building, support for bishops, and calling the Council of Nicaea (AD 325)
Impact on the Church (“The Peace of the Church”)
- Christians could worship publicly, build churches, and organise doctrine and councils
- Ended legal martyrdom by the Roman state
- Martyr memory preserved, especially in Egypt (Era of the Martyrs, AD 284, remained the calendar)
- Fulfilled God’s pattern of suffering followed by deliverance
- “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10, NIV)
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