Mondays are for Church History
2/5/24
Schaff, Philip. (2014). "Chapter I. Downfall of Heathenism and Victory of Christianity in the Roman Empire." In History of the Christian Church. (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Volume 3, Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity A.D. 311-600, from Constantine the Great to Gregory the Great. pp. 1783-1838. (Original work published 1889). Amazon Kindle Edition. (Personal Library).
"§ 5. From Jovian to Theodosius. A.D. 363-392." (pp. 1825-1829).
Schaff opens this se tion, as is his custom, with a brief bibliography. He then observes again the decline of paganism, slowly decreasing in its influence (Schaff 2014, p. 1826). Julian left no heir, and represented the last member of Constantine's family.
With no heir to the throne, Jovian, a Christian general, was selected by the army to be emperor. He restored toleration of all religions, made a hasty peace with Persia, and avoided interference in the church. Jovian died in 364, after reigning for eight months (Schaff 2014, p. 1827).
Valentinian, the successor of Jovian, likewise avoided interference in matters of church polity. Valentinian's brother, Valens, became co-emperor, governing the East. Schaff notes Valentinian was more Nicene in outlook while Valens was more Arian. Both took an aggressive stance against magical arts, which were closely related to paganism. During this period, paganism mostly ended in cities and was increasingly obscure in villages (Schaff 2014, p. 1827).
After Valentinian's death in 375, his son, Gratian, succeeded him. Schaff observes that Gratian stepped away from serving as pontifex maximus and withdrew support for the pagan temples (Schaff 2014, p. 1828). Schaff considers this to have broken the last support paganism had.
After Gratian's death in 383, his brother Valentinian II reigned until 392. He, with the influence of Ambrose of Milan, refused to restore support of the pagan temples (Schaff 2014, p. 1828). The requests were repeated periodically, but never successfully. After 394, many patrician families became Christian.
2/5/24
Schaff, Philip. (2014). "Chapter I. Downfall of Heathenism and Victory of Christianity in the Roman Empire." In History of the Christian Church. (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Volume 3, Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity A.D. 311-600, from Constantine the Great to Gregory the Great. pp. 1783-1838. (Original work published 1889). Amazon Kindle Edition. (Personal Library).
"§ 5. From Jovian to Theodosius. A.D. 363-392." (pp. 1825-1829).
Schaff opens this se tion, as is his custom, with a brief bibliography. He then observes again the decline of paganism, slowly decreasing in its influence (Schaff 2014, p. 1826). Julian left no heir, and represented the last member of Constantine's family.
With no heir to the throne, Jovian, a Christian general, was selected by the army to be emperor. He restored toleration of all religions, made a hasty peace with Persia, and avoided interference in the church. Jovian died in 364, after reigning for eight months (Schaff 2014, p. 1827).
Valentinian, the successor of Jovian, likewise avoided interference in matters of church polity. Valentinian's brother, Valens, became co-emperor, governing the East. Schaff notes Valentinian was more Nicene in outlook while Valens was more Arian. Both took an aggressive stance against magical arts, which were closely related to paganism. During this period, paganism mostly ended in cities and was increasingly obscure in villages (Schaff 2014, p. 1827).
After Valentinian's death in 375, his son, Gratian, succeeded him. Schaff observes that Gratian stepped away from serving as pontifex maximus and withdrew support for the pagan temples (Schaff 2014, p. 1828). Schaff considers this to have broken the last support paganism had.
After Gratian's death in 383, his brother Valentinian II reigned until 392. He, with the influence of Ambrose of Milan, refused to restore support of the pagan temples (Schaff 2014, p. 1828). The requests were repeated periodically, but never successfully. After 394, many patrician families became Christian.
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