Founding of Christendom : Constantine (part 1) post 26

 Chi Rho is one of the earliest Christian symbols.

 

 

 

We have finally reached the part of Christendom history that the fog begins to lift and history becomes more clear.

Pagan Rome will now be defeated by Constantine, and in my opinion with the help of his mother Helena. Helena was a woman of low birth and she was probably born around 248 AD. Living through three great persecutions of Christians by emperors: Decius (249 AD–251 AD) Gallus (251 AD–253 AD) Valerian (253 AD–260 AD).

HELENA MOTHER OF CONSTANTINE
St. Ambrose said she was a daughter of an innkeeper, and a Greek speaker in Turkey; she was probably a "stable-maid."  Her husband, Constantine’s father, Constantius Chlorus, was Serbian by birth. They met  while  Chlorus was still a soldier with no political rank. Helena and  Chlorus may have been married (about 270 AD), but it isn’t clear. Some refer to her as a concubine, with no legal marriage but also his wife. If Hellena were a secret Christian, they could have been married secretly by a Catholic priest, and never ratified by a pagan ceremony. This would clear up her being both.   Chlorus divorced her in 294, as a political move, most saying her humble origins were a liability, but more likely for political reasons.. They were married for more than 20 years. Constantine was born in 272 AD. Helena was banished, as a “concubine,” after the divorce and left to live alone near the court of Diocletian. She suffered like that for many years, but she was close to her son who also lived at the court.

Whether Helena was born to a Christian family and kept it secret, or whether she converted later in life, we don’t know. Church Historian Eusibius says she was converted by her son Constantine, after he became Emperor.

The Anti-Catholic Roots of Halloween

 

Plymouth, Massachusetts, is thought to be the site of America’s first Thanksgiving meal. 

Plymouth, where the Mayflower Pilgrims landed and founded the first colony in 1620 also  became the first town to hold “Pope Night,” (Nov.5)  three years later. It was far from a celebration of the Bishop of Rome, it was to mock the Pope and Catholics.

Pope Night was a vehicle for expressing anti-Catholic sentiment even more than Guy Fawkes Day, which was its inspiration. Guy Fawkes Day was commemorated every 5th of November in England, recalling the supposed failed attempt of Catholic plotters, including Guy Fawkes, to blow up the House of Lords in London.

By the 1770s, just before the American Revolution, Pope Night had taken on so many traditions that it was difficult for participants, especially in Boston, to give it up. Eventually, this  tradition changed  into a more benign celebration on Oct. 31st that we now know as Halloween.

Guy Fawkes Day-- Myth?

Did members of a government faction set up the plot themselves? So they could crack down on Catholics?

The Gunpowder Plot (Nov. 5, 1605) was supposedly a conspiracy by a number of Catholics. The best known of these was Guy Fawkes, but Robert Catesby was allegedly the mastermind, second only to the Jesuit superior named Henry Garnet. The gunpowder laid  in a cellar under Parliament for about 6 months, before it was even discovered.

The real history of the plot may never be known. But the evidence lies heavily that Lord Cecil and his minions were the real plotters.

It was an elaborate misadventure. The conspirators were supposed to have rented a house and from within this house they dug a tunnel to Parliament. But before completing the tunnel and just reaching the foundations of Parliament-- they stopped. They discovered a cellar under parliament. Thus instead of tunneling, they snuck huge barrels of gunpowder into the cellar, where the barrels remained waiting for 6 months, until Parliament's first day of opening.

The government claimed to have discovered the plot 10 days before Parliament was to meet.

Lord Monteagle, a Catholic, got an anonymous letter delivered by an unknown man. The letter, couched in incoherent language, warned him that it would be wise to be absent for the opening ceremony of Parliament.

Monteagle took the letter at once to Lord Cecil, the king being out of town on a hunt, and Cecil figured out its meaning and gave it to the king five days later.

Apologetics: Did the Church Ever Support Slavery?

The myth persists of Catholics approving slavery, because there were individual Catholics who supported slavery or owned slaves or some nations, even Catholic Portugal promoted it.

If you ever see the movie "The Mission" the controversy of ownership of the land of the Mission was whether it was Spanish or Portuguese rule. Although it isn't the main part of the story, it involved slavery, which was illegal under Spanish law but not under Portuguese. Slavery was similar to today's issue of abortion, some Catholic countries outlaw abortion, while some so called Catholic countries allow it. Both slavery and abortion are human rights issues.  

Scholars, with an axe to grind, use bad Catholics or wayward Catholic countries as  “proof” that the Church accepted slavery, without drawing the necessary distinction that what individual Catholics, or "Catholic" countries may do, does not necessarily reflect the official teaching of the Catholic Church.

Founding of Christendom: Diocletian-- the Begining of the End -- post 25

After the death of Emperor Carus (282 - 283 AD), who was struck by lightning on a campaign in Persia, Diocletian became the new Roman emperor from 284 AD to 305 AD.  Like many Emperors before him, he left Christians alone in the beginning of his rule. He mainly wanted Rome to return to stability. For over a hundred years there had been a constant stream of emperors, usually tragically overthrown. This led to economic hardships and weakened borders with barbarians and Persians constantly hammering at the  outlining territories.

He reformed the taxation and economy, as well as restructured the Empire. Although not fully successful, his reforms slowed down the decline of the Empire. He feared the civil wars of the past returning. His insight was that the succession of power was unstable, The senate’s power had been diminished and the Emperor’s power increased. He was the sole ruler of Rome. But he wanted help ruling. He arranged for the Empire to be divided into the Western Empire and the Eastern Empire. Diocletian would still be the ultimate ruler, but he appointed men to rule different districts.

Diocletian ruled the Eastern Empire, and set up  co-emperors, called “Augustus,” one of the West– Maximian and one of the East himself. Maximian was a good friend of Diocletian in the army, a man he could trust. Both were soldiers. Maximian was more a man of action, and military commander, while Diocletian was more political. It seems that Diocletian wanted an able man to be his head of the army.

Each Augustus (eastern and western emperors) had a subordinate, called a Caesar, to share in the rule, and theoretically to succeed the Augustus, if he should die, or resign. The rule of four was called a “tetrarchy''. Two generals, Galerius and Constantius, became Caesars– Galerius under Diocletian in the east, and Constantius (father of Constantine – liberator of Christianity) under Maximian in the west.

Apologetics: Protestant Theology

 Here is an excellent discussion on history and theology from a Protestant convert Dr. David Anders with one of the few orthodox Jesuits, Fr. Mitch Pacwa.

Christian Courage: Actor Shia LaBeouf Converts to Catholicism

 Actor Shia LaBeouf converted to Catholicism. I hope he is sincere.

In a sit down interview with “Bishop Barron Presents” (below). Bishop Barron talks to the actor about his upcoming acting role in “Padre Pio,” which put him on the path to conversion.

I feel I need to say that I have a problem with Bishop Barron's practical Universalist views. Many consider him orthodox, but he is very wrong on his ideas about salvation.