TRANS-AFRICA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

TABERNACLE OF DAVID ASSEMBLY CAMPUS

NAME : DAVIS MUSHEKWA

COURSE : CHURCH HISTORY 1

ASSIGNMENT : TWO

QUESTION : (a) FROM EDICT OF MILAN IN 313 AD WHICH ENDED

PERSECUTION TO EDICT OD THESSALONICA IN 380
WHICH DECREED CHRISTIANITY A STATE RELIGION
AND BEYOND, DISCUSS HOW THE CHURCH WAS
AFFECTED BOTH POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY.
(b) WHAT SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES DO YOU SEE
WITH THE DECLATION OF ZAMBIA AS A CHRISTIAN
NATION IN 1991?

LECTURER : DR KENNEDY MUSONDA

DUE DATE : 30TH JUNE, 2021

TELEPHONE : 0977819404

EMAIL : dsmushekwa@gmail.com
INTRODUCTION
In 313 AD a two man conference was held between Roman Emperors Constantine 1 and Licinius
of the West and East respectively to abolish the persecution of Christians. This meeting was held
in Milan to establish toleration of Christian Religion freedom of worship. This Meeting is called
the Edict of Milan.

The Christian Religion grew strong and had a great influence on the Roman Empire system so
much that in 380AD, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity an Official Roman Empire
Religion. This is called the Edict of Thessalonica.

Before both the Edict of Milan of 313 and the Edict of Thessalonica of 380AD, Christians were
persecuted for their beliefs. They were harassed and oppressed and even killed as they went
about preaching and teaching the Good News because they were believed to have been preaching
against the systems of the Roman Empire. The Roman Officials falsely accused Christians that
they were committing treason, practiced incest and many other evil vices such as cannibalism.

Emperor Diocletian (284-305) was concerned with the growth of Christianity because they grew
in numbers and a “Religion that appealed to both the poor and the rich. The Christians had
shown themselves to be a thorn in the side of an Emperor since days of Nero.” World History
(2014)

Diocletian ordered the destruction of Churches and arrested Christians who refused to obey him.
He wanted Christians to sacrifice to the Roman gods. All these happened in the Great
Persecution of 303-311

MAIN BODY

Edict of Milan 313AD

Concise Oxford Dictionary states that that an Edict is, “an official order or proclamation.” Edict
of Milan of 313AD brought the cessation of Christian persecution by abolishing the Great
Persecution of 303-311. Political Roman Emperors, Constantine 1 and Licinius, sat to establish
toleration of Religious activities. People were given liberty to worship their gods. Christians
were given legal rights to worship God and given back properties that were confiscated from
them. This freedom set Christians at par with other religions that were allowed to operate without
problems by the Roman Empire. The Edict of Milan provided for abandonment of the policies of
persecution of Christians and the end of martyrdom.

(a) Positive effects on Christians is that Christianity became a legal Religion in the Roman
Empire, Christians became free to do Christian activities such as preaching the gospel
without fear of persecution. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and some
parts of Europe.

The Christian faith grew so much that it became influential to high officials in the Roman
Empire. Constantine was so much in love with Christians that he favored them above other
Religions.

Many people who were afraid to become Christians for fear of been persecuted or killed,
easily started coming to Christianity

Preacher men and women found it easy to call people for meetings and they preached the
gospel and travelled to many cities proclaiming the good news.

“During this time Christians’ causes were funded from Roman royal treasury.”

(Annoyzview: 2013)

(b) Negatives of Edict of Milan were that the Roman Emperors started controlling the
Christian Churches indirectly. Christian Churches got some favours from the Emperors
and the Churches got some resources to fund their activities from the Empire treasury
therefore they could not refuse certain instructions that demanded them to return favours
to Emperors.

Christianity became so powerful and influential that pagans religions “joined” Christians
but continued to practice their religions within Christianity. Pagans were influenced by the
favours they saw which were given to Christians by the Roman Empire so they also
wanted to benefit.
 Christianity became an Official Roman Empire Region. This means that some people
converted to Christianity not because they were convicted after listening to the gospel but
that it was convenient to do so and benefits were physically seen.

Edict of Thessalonica 380AD

History Today (2021) states that this Edict made Nicene Christianity the State Religion of the
Roman Empire and abolished Arianism. This was put in place by Emperor Theodosius who
banned all unorthodox doctrines in the Roman Empire. Arianism is Christological belief by
Ariun, a Christian leader in Alexandria in Egypt, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was
begotten by God the Father and that he was not God like the Father but a finite created being. It
was declared as a “heresy of madmen.”

In this Edict, Theodosius decreed and warned that both divine punishment and Emperical
retribution for those who rejected the Nicene Creed.

The advantage of the Edict of Thessalonica is that:

1. Christianity grew faster and bigger because the Roman Empire had made it illegal for
anyone to reject it. It was a legal requirement for the Roman Empire citizens to belong to
Christianity.
2. Christians had all the freedom and resources to reach out to people without fear. The
Roman Empire funded all activities of Christian by even building Church structures.
3. Doing a Church activity or even attending a meeting was not only a fulfillment as a
believer but also it was like performing a civic duty.
4. Christians of those days did not need any sort of permission to hold mass rallies to preach
the gospel to people.
5. Christians did not encounter any opposition in doing their work. All Christian activities
were legally allowed.

The disadvantage of the Edict of Thessalonica

1. Christians no longer needed personal conviction to work for God. They did everything for
God because they were required by law to do.
2. During times of martyrdom, testimonies for those who died was used to win people to God
and to strengthen believers to preach the gospel despite the dangers. These virtues were not
seen during times when Christianity was made an official Religion.
3. Sometimes one’s faith and convictions prove to be the
politically expedient course of action at a given juncture in human events. (Church History,
Volume1:P198)
4. But just as the church’s impact on the culture grew, so too did the culture’s impact on the
church. The affluent materialism of the Roman world started to seep in among the body of
believers. The necessity of new life in Christ marked by holy living faded from view. Instead,
as members of the dominant cultural group, people assumed they were Christians by default.

© There are a lot of similarities and differences that I see with the declaration of Zambia as a
Christian nation pronounced in 1991. I will start with discussing the differences:

i. In the Edict of Milan 313AD where the Roman Empire decreed that the Christian
Religion would not be persecuted when they carried out their Christian work, the same
was not the case with the Republic of Zambia as there was already freedom of worship.
Persecutions and killings were not reported at an official level. No such decree was
needed to stop persecutions.
ii. The Edict of Thessalonica of 380AD was made so that Christianity could be an Official
Roman Empire Religion and abolish what were considered heretic teachings. In the case
of the Zambian declaration as a Christian nation in 1991, did not mean that only
Christians would be recognized and allowed to function in the Country. The preamble in
the Constitution of Zambia (2016) declares that:
WE, THE PEOPLE OF ZAMBIA:
ACKNOWLEDGE the supremacy of God Almighty; DECLARE the Republic a Christian
Nation while upholding a person’s right to freedom of conscience, belief or religion;

The Edict of Thessalonica 380AD has some similarities with the Zambian scenario after the
declaration as a Christian nation. In the case of the Roman Empire, the Christians received some
favours from the Officials and were regarded as the Official religion. In Zambia, the Christian
community especially the clergy, were so much in touch with the government, especially the
Head of State who at the time was a Christian. The politicians of the day influenced the Christian
leadership and little in terms of moral change was seen amongst the politicians. Most Christian
leader were very passive and offered no moral advice to Politicians when it was evident that the
declaration did not come with change in social and economic justice. With their new privileged
status, Christians Leaders began to shift their focus from service and sacrifice to politics and
power.
Kirbey Lockhart (2001) asserts that Pastor Nevers Mumba understood and learnt very clear that,
the gospel of our Lord Jesus and politics should not mix.

The Roman Empire provided funding to build Churches and many other Christians works, in the
case of Zambia the Head of State came up with what was known as “Slash Funds” which were
distributed at the discretion of the Head of State. Churches that were in good books with the state
were given funds for Church building projects and so on.

CONCLUSION
Both the Edicts of Milan 313 and Thessalonica of 380 are very important in the History and
growth of the Church. The Edict of Milan was key to the growth and influence of the Church
especially after the Great Persecution of (303-311) which slowed down the spread of the gospel.
The gospel spread to all parts of the Roman Empire and became so influential that the Emperors
started to help the Christian Church by funding some activities.
The Edict of Thessalonica made Christianity to be a State Religion making it even easier for the
gospel to spread but this came with some Christians being complaisant in preaching the gospel
and teaching Holiness in the Churches. Passion to work for God stopped because it was now like
a civic duty.
In a similar way, the Zambian declaration as a Christian Nation has not yielded much and it is
only viewed as a political declaration for political expedience.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Church History, Volume1 (2005)

2. The Concise Oxford Dictionary
3. Zambia Shall be Saved (2001)
4. Zambian Constitution (2016)
5. https://www.worldhistory.org (accessed on 06.07.2021)
6. https://annoyzview.wordpress.com (accessed on 07.07.2021)
7. https://www.focusonthefamily.ca (accessed on 07.07.2021)