Chapter 5 4. God's morning light

The church was a very simple organization in its early days.Once people understood that the end of the world was not imminent, that Judgment Day would not follow the death of Jesus, and that Christianity would struggle for a long time in the vale of tears, they began to feel the need for some form of governance. Christians originally (since they were all Jewish) met in synagogues.Due to the friction between Jews and non-Jews, non-Jews held meetings in empty houses in other people's homes, or simply held meetings in the open air or in waste rock dumps if they couldn't find a house that could accommodate all the devout (and curious) believers.

At first meetings were held on Saturdays.But as the relationship between Jewish Christians and non-Jewish Christians deteriorated, non-Jewish Christians abolished the Saturday Sabbath and changed their meetings to the Sunday of the resurrection of the dead. These solemn ceremonies fully characterize the character and sentiments of the public.There are no fixed lectures and sermons, no priests, and all men and women can stand up and profess their faith if they feel inspired by the holy fire in their hearts.These godly brethren, as Paul describes them, filled the great saint's heart with vision for the future "by their eloquent eloquence."Most of them are common people with little education.The sincerity of their extemporaneous good words is of course beyond doubt, but they are often too excited and shout like madmen.Although the church can withstand persecution, it cannot stand people's cynicism.So Paul, Peter, and their successors had to labor to maintain order and quell the confusion caused by the eagerness to express spirituality and divine passion.

At first, these efforts had little success, because the rules and regulations were at odds with the Christian spirit of democracy.However, people finally proceeded from reality and agreed that the assembly should be conducted according to a fixed ceremony. The congregation begins with a hymn (to appease Jewish Christians who may be present).The congregation then sings songs newly composed for Roman and Greek worshipers. The only pre-scripted speeches were the famous prayers in which the philosophy of Jesus' life was poured out.Yet for centuries, sermons were spontaneous, and only those who felt they had something to say got on the stage to preach.

But as the number of meetings increased, the police, always wary of secret societies, interfered, and it was necessary to elect someone to represent Christians with the outside world.Paul once spoke highly of leadership qualities.He likened the small groups he visited in Asia and Greece to a small boat on a stormy sea, and to navigate the rough seas, you must have a very smart helmsman. So the devout believers got together again and elected male and female deacons.They were the "servants" of the community, taking care of the sick and poor (a concern of the early Christians), managing the collective property, and taking care of all the daily chores.

Later, the number of members of the church continued to increase, and the transactional management became extremely complicated. It was necessary to have a full-time deacon, so several "old men" were elected to take up this position.Their Greek title is "Elder", which in our terms is "Father". After some years, each village and city had its own church, and it became necessary to come up with a common policy to be carried out by all.People elected "Director" (i.e. the bishop) to oversee the entire diocese and to represent the diocese in dealing with the Roman government.

Soon there were bishops in every major city of the empire, and in Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Carthage, Rome, Alexandria, and Athens, these famous men of power. In the beginning, bishops ruled over most of the places where Jesus lived, suffered, died and was widely revered.But since the destruction of Jerusalem and the disappearance of a generation that expected the end of the world and the success of the Kingdom of Heaven, the poor old bishop has been stripped of his old prestige in his shabby palace. The position of the leader of the pious believers was naturally replaced by the "director". The "Director" lives in the capital of the civilized world, guarding the place where the great saints of the West, Paul and Peter, died in martyrdom - he is the Archbishop of Rome.

Like other bishops, this bishop is also called "Father" or "Holy Father", which is a general title for clergy, expressing love and respect.However, in the following centuries, the title "Holy Father" was only associated with the head of the diocese in people's minds.Whenever people refer to the "Holy Father," they only mean the Pope, the archbishop of Rome, never the Bishop of Constantinople or Carthage.This is a natural and appropriate development process.When we see the word "President" in a newspaper, we never need to qualify it with the word "United States," because we know that we are referring to the head of government, not the head of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the president of Harvard, or the president of the League of Nations.

The name "Pope" first appeared in official documents in 258.At that time, Rome was still the capital of a powerful empire, and the power of bishops was completely swallowed up by the emperor.But in the next three hundred years, Caesar's descendants were often threatened by foreign invasion and internal strife, so they began to look for a safer new nest.On the other side of the land they found a city called Byzantium.It is named after a legendary hero Byzas, who is said to have landed here shortly after the end of the Trojan War.It is located on the banks of several straits that separate the Eurasian continent. It overlooks the commercial arteries from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, controls several unique industrial and commercial centers, and enjoys an important position in commerce. The Spartans and the Athenians competed for This rich fortress used to fight to the death.

Byzantium, however, remained independent until the time of Alexander.Not long after it fell into the hands of Macedonia, it was incorporated into the territory of the Roman Empire. Now after ten centuries of accumulated wealth, the harbor known as the "Golden Horn" is filled with ships from a hundred nations, and it has been chosen as the center of the empire. The inhabitants of Rome were left at the mercy of Goths, Fandrals, and God knows what other barbarians.They saw that the palace was empty for several years, that government departments were moved to the shore of the Bosphorus one after another, and that the residents of the capital had to act in accordance with the laws enacted thousands of miles away. They all felt that the end of the world had come. .

But in the long river of history, everything is lost Peter.The emperor was gone, and the bishops who remained were the most prominent men in the town, the heirs to the visible and tangible crown glory. They spare no effort to seize this great opportunity to be unfettered.The prestige and influence of the Church attracted all the learned minds of Italy, and made the bishops shrewd statesmen again.They feel that they are the representatives of some eternal beliefs, so there is no need to rush, but to take a subtle approach and see the timing to surprise.They are not like many people who make hasty decisions due to the pressure caused by haste, and finally make mistakes in chaos, resulting in failure.

But the important thing is that the bishops have only one purpose, and they are only moving forward with perseverance towards one goal.Everything they do, say, or think, is to increase the glory of God, and to make the Church stronger and more powerful as the representative of God's will in the mortal world. The history of the next ten centuries shows that their efforts were fruitful. At that time, barbarian tribes swept across the European continent. Under the impact of the wind and clouds, jade and stone were burned, and the walls of the empire collapsed. Thousands of institutions as old as the Babylonian Plain were scattered like garbage, and only the church was as solid as a rock. In China, especially in the Middle Ages, it was like a mainstay. Although the victory was achieved in the end, the price was considerable. Christianity, though it originated in stables, was allowed to die in palaces.It started out as a protest against the government, but then the priest who claimed to be able to communicate with God insisted that every mortal should obey unconditionally.Christianity was originally revolutionary, but it continued to develop in the future, and a new theocratic political group was formed in less than a hundred years.The old Jewish state was, by comparison, a mild and free commonwealth inhabited by happy and carefree subjects. Yet all this is logical and inevitable.I will explain further below. Most people who visit Rome stop at Colicium, where within the sand-beaten walls one can see a depression where thousands of Christians once fell, victims of Roman despotism. But while there have been a few persecutions of advocates of new faiths, none have had anything to do with religious arbitrariness. The persecution is all for political reasons. As a religious denomination, Christianity enjoys the most extensive freedom. However, Christians openly declared that they objected to military service due to religious morality, even boasted about pacifism when the country was invaded by foreign countries, and openly denigrated the laws of the land regardless of the occasion.These believers were executed as enemies of the state. Christians act according to the sacred creed in their heads, but ordinary police judges don't care about it. Christians try to explain their moral nature, but your majesty is confused and understands nothing. Police judges in Rome were, after all, mortal.He suddenly found that he was summoned to conduct the trial, but the reasoning of the prisoner's statement was just a trivial matter in his opinion, which made him feel at a loss.Long experience taught him to take a detached approach to theologically contested issues.He also recalled the many emperor's edicts admonishing public officials to be tactful and tactful in dealing with new sects.So he threw away the solution and tried to reason.But when all the debates focus on a matter of principle, all logical methods are futile. In the end, the chief executive is faced with such a choice, whether to give up the dignity of the law, or to insist on the unqualified absolute punishment function of the highest state power.However, those believers firmly believe that life will only begin after death, and they cheer enthusiastically to leave this evil world to enjoy the happiness of heaven, even prison and torture can do nothing to them. Thus broke out a bitter and protracted guerrilla war between the authorities and the subjects of Christ.We do not have official data on the full death toll.According to Origen, the famous priest of the third century, whose relatives were killed in a persecution in Alexandria, "the number of true Christians who died for their faith can still be counted." We only need to study the lives of the early saints carefully to find many bloody stories; we can't help wondering how a religion that has been repeatedly killed and persecuted can survive? Regardless of the numbers I give, I will eventually be accused of being a bigoted liar.I reserve my opinion and let the reader draw his own conclusions.One has only to look at the lives of the emperors Decius and Valerian to see more clearly the true nature of Roman despotism at the height of persecution. Moreover, if the reader remembers that even a wise and enlightened monarch like Marcus Aurelius had to admit his own incompetence in dealing with his Christian subjects, one can imagine the difficulties faced by unknown officials in the remote parts of the empire. And know.Official Zhima, who wanted to be loyal to his duty, either had to break his oath of office, or had to execute his relatives and friends, because these relatives and friends could not and were unwilling to obey the few simple decrees formulated by the imperial government to preserve themselves. Meanwhile, the Christians, not deluded by the phony sentimentality of their pagan subjects, continued to steadily expand their influence. In the late fourth century, Christians in the Roman Senate appealed that it was hurtful to live in the shadow of pagan idols, and begged the Emperor Ghosian to remove the Victory.As a result, the statue that had stood in the palace built by Caesar for four hundred years lived far away.Several senators protested, but to no avail, only resulted in the exile of some. At this time, the famous and loyal patriot Quintus Aurelius Symachus wrote a letter, proposing a compromise. "Why," he asked, "we pagans cannot live in peace with our neighbors of Christ? We look up to the same stars, walk side by side on the same land, and live under the same sky. Each of us chooses to seek What does it matter the path to ultimate truth? The mysteries of existence. There is not only one path to the answer." He is not the only one who recognizes this truth and sees that the ancient Roman tradition of religious openness is under threat.At the same time, with the removal of the Roman goddess of victory, fierce infighting broke out between the two rival Christian sects that had already gained a foothold in Byzantium.The dispute gave rise to the most intellectual discussion on the subject of tolerance that the world has ever heard of.The philosopher Themisthius was the initiator of the discussion. He was loyal to the God of his ancestors, but when Emperor Vaslin took sides in the debate between orthodox and unorthodox Christians, he also felt compelled to know the emperor's true faith. responsibilities. He said: "There is a kingdom where no ruler can exercise authority, the kingdom of virtue, the kingdom of personal religion. Coercion in its domain necessarily leads to hypocrisy and conversion founded on deceit. Therefore, It is better for rulers to tolerate all beliefs, because only tolerance can prevent public conflicts. Moreover, tolerance is the way of the divine, and God himself has clearly expressed his will to tolerate many religions. God alone can discern the methods by which humans understand the divine mystery .God appreciates the various forms of worship that are performed upon him, and delights in one of the Christian ceremonies and others of the Greeks and Egyptians." Good words indeed, but no one listened to them at all. The ancient world is dead along with its ideas and ideals, and any attempt to turn back the clock of history is doomed to failure.Life means progress, and progress means suffering.The old order of society is rapidly disintegrating.The military became rebels in foreign hire.There was open rebellion on the frontier.England and the other frontiers had long since fallen into the hands of the barbarians. At the time of the final catastrophe, bright young men who had been in state office for centuries found that all avenues to advancement were blocked except one, and that avenue was the ecclesiastical career.The Christian bishops of Spain could wield the power of magistrates, Christian authors could reach a wide readership if they devoted themselves to theoretical subjects, and Christian diplomats could reach a wide audience only if they were willing to represent the Pope at the court of Constantinople, or venture to Gaul or Scandinavia gained the friendship of the barbarian chiefs and rose through the ranks.A Christian treasurer would also be in charge, and especially rich, of the rapidly growing domain that had made the occupants of the Lateran Palace the largest landowner and wealthiest family in Italy. We've seen essentially the same thing over the past five years.As late as 1914 ambitious young Europeans who did not expect to live by manual labor still wanted to squeeze their way into government service, serving as officers in the various imperial and royal armies and navies.They hold high court positions, manage finances, or serve as governors or military commanders in the colonies for a few years.They do not expect to be rich, but their official positions bring great social prestige. As long as they are smart, hardworking, and honest, they can win a happy life and a respectable old age. Then came the war, which swept away the remnants of the old feudal structure of society.The lower classes took power.Some official officials were old and unable to change the habits they had formed throughout their lives, so they sold their medals and passed away.Most people, however, go with the flow.They have been educated since childhood, and they regard business as inferior and dismiss it.Business may be trivial, but one has to choose whether to go to an office or to a poorhouse.Relatively few people would go hungry for their beliefs, and within a few years of the upheaval we found that most government officials and military officers were not reluctant to go into business that they would have never cared about ten years ago of.In addition, because most of them have been engaged in administrative work for generations, and commanding others is like driving a car with ease, they always go better in their new careers, and they are happier and more prosperous than expected. What business is like today is what the church was like sixteen centuries ago. It was not so easy for young men who traced their ancestry back to Hercules, Romilas, or the heroes of the Trojan War to be taught by the son of a slave, by a simple priest; Priests offer what those young men who trace their ancestry back to Hercules, Romilas, or Trojan War heroes hunger for.So if both partners are intelligent (and they probably are), they can quickly learn from each other's strengths and live in harmony.Here's another strange law of history: the more superficial changes, the more constant. Since the earliest days of humankind, there has seemed to be an inescapable law that a small number of intelligent men and women rule and a large number of less intelligent men and women obey.The two types of people have different names in different eras, one representing strength and leadership, the other representing weakness and submission. They are called empire, church, knight, monarch and democracy, slave, serf, and proletarian respectively.But the mysterious laws governing human development work the same way in Moscow as they do in London, Madrid, and Washington, regardless of time and place.Often in monstrous form or guise, it takes on a clumsy cloak and cries out for love of humanity, devotion to God, and a humble desire to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people.But beneath the pleasant shell there has always been and continues to be the harsh truth of primordial law: man's first duty is to survive.Some people are annoyed by the fact that humans were born into the mammalian world and are disgusted by this argument.They call us "materialists," "cynics," and so on.They have always regarded history as a beautiful fairy tale, and they are horrified to find that history is also a science subject to unshakable laws that govern other things.They might also object to the rule of parallel lines and the multiplication table. I advise them to obey the rules as well. Then, and only then, can history be of practical value to mankind, and not be an alliance of men who profit from racial prejudice, tribal arbitrariness, and the ignorance of the majority of the population. Whoever doubts this, please look for proofs in the history of these centuries which I wrote a few pages ago. Ask him to study the lives of church leaders in the first four centuries. He was sure to find that the headmen of the Church had been born of ancient heretical societies, educated in the schools of Greek philosophers, and transferred to the Christian Church only later when they had to choose a profession.Of course, a few of them were attracted by new ideas and sincerely accepted the teachings of Christ, but most of them changed their allegiance from their mortal masters to their heavenly rulers because they had more opportunities for promotion. On the one hand, the church is also reasonable and understands people's hearts, so it doesn't pay too much attention to the motives of many new believers who suddenly convert to Christianity, and is serious about being kind to everyone.Some people yearn for a practical and ordinary life, and the church provides opportunities for them to show their talents in the political and economic circles.People with different tastes have a deep sense of faith, and the church provides them with the opportunity to leave the crowded city, meditate on the disadvantages of existence in peace, and pursue the personal sanctuary that they believe is essential to the eternal happiness of the soul. At the beginning, this kind of life of believing in God and silently praying and contemplating seemed very comfortable. In the first few centuries after the church was established, it only had loose restraint on the lower class people who lived far from the center of power.But when the church became the master of the world after the empire and became a powerful political organization with large lands, the possibility of living in seclusion was reduced, and many good men and women began to yearn for the "good old days" when all true Christians could Commit to doing good deeds and praying.In order to pursue happiness, they want to use artificial methods to create some conditions to reproduce the situation formed in the past in the natural development. This movement for monastic life originated in the East, and it had a huge impact on the political and economic development of the next millennium, providing a faithful and useful shock force for the church's war against infidels or heretics. We should not be surprised by this. The civilizations of the countries on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea are very old, and the people are exhausted.In Egypt alone, ten different cultures arose, and these cultures have cycled in different ways since the first inhabitants settled in the Nile Valley.The same is true of the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates.The vanity of life and the futility of human endeavor are reflected in the ruins of thousands of temples and palaces that abound along the way.The younger generation in Europe embraced Christianity because it reflected their aspirations for life and inspired their newly revived energy and enthusiasm.However, Egyptians and Syrians have very different ideas about their religious life. Religion meant to them the long-awaited relief.In anticipation of the happy hour of death, they fled the boneyard of memory, into the desert, with only sorrow and God for company, leaving the reality of existence behind. For some inexplicable reason, reforms always seemed to have a special appeal to soldiers.They have more direct access than anyone to the barbaric and terrifying side of civilization.In addition, they also know that without discipline, nothing can be achieved.The greatest warrior who fought for the church was a captain in Charles V's army.He was the first to form simple groups of the mentally outdated, and had served as a leg-pong in the army of the Emperor Constantine, named Pachomius, an Egyptian.After his military service he joined a small group of hermits led by a man from the same country named Antony.Pachomius left the city and lived in peace with the jackals of the desert.But seclusion often leads to all sorts of contradictions of thought, to certain deplorable excesses of piety, such as climbing to the tops of old stone pillars or living in barren tombs (which amuses the pagans and saddens the true believers), So Pachomius decided to put the movement on a more practical basis.He became the founder of the first religious order.From then on (the middle of the fourth century) the hermits who lived together were subject to a single commander whom they called the "Supreme Commander" who could appoint the abbots of the different monasteries, calling the numerous monasteries the fortress of the Lord. Pachomius died in 346.Before his death, his monastic ideas were brought from Egypt to Rome by Bishop Athanasius in the time of Alexandria.Thousands of people have taken this opportunity to escape the real world, its evil and insatiable blackmail. However, the climate of Europe and the nature of the people necessitated a slight modification of the founder's vision.In a world of ice and snow, the taste of hunger and cold is not so easy to bear as in the Nile Valley.Moreover, the minds of Westerners are very practical, and the dirty and sloppy representation of the sacred Eastern ideals not only does not enlighten them, but disgusts them. The Italians and the French asked themselves: "What is the result of the painstaking good works of the early church? Do widows, orphans and sick people benefit from the asceticism of a few people living thousands of miles away in damp tents in the mountains and forests?" The Western mind had to change the monastic system to make sense, thanks to a Nacian townsman who lived in the Apennines.His name is Benedict, commonly known as Saint Benedict.His parents sent him to Rome to study, but the city filled his Christian soul with terror.He fled to the village of Subiak in the Abruzzi Mountains and hid in an old country palace in the time of Neru. He lived in seclusion for three years, and the reputation of his virtue spread through the country.Those who were willing to get close to him quickly became famous all over the world, so hermits flocked to him, enough to form a dozen monasteries. Benedict bid farewell to the cave and became the code maker of monastic life.He was the first to legislate, revealing traces of his Roman blood between the lines.Monks who swear to abide by the rules he made can't expect to be idle. Apart from blessings and silent prayers, they also have to work in the fields.Those who are too old to do farm work should teach young monks how to be good Christians and useful citizens.Their prudence in duty made Benedictine education unique for a millennium, and for most of the Middle Ages it was permitted to educate young men of superior ability. In return, the monks received decent clothes, rich and delicious food and beds, and they could sleep for two or three hours every day when they were not working or praying. But from a historical point of view, the most important thing is that monks are not just ordinary people fleeing the real world and obligations to prepare the soul for the afterlife, but servants of God.They must, during a long and painful trial period, make themselves worthy of their new title, and then play a directly active role in spreading the power and glory of the Kingdom of God. The initial missionary work among the pagans of Europe has been completed.However, in order not to wipe out the achievements of the believers, it is necessary to obtain the organized support of the residents and officials.So the monks, carrying shovels and axes, and holding prayer books, came to the barren lands of Germany, Scandinavia, Russia, and distant Iceland to cultivate, harvest, preach, and run schools. Here comes the voice of civilization that most people just hear from hearsay. It is in this way that the Pope, the supreme executive head of all churches, inspires all kinds of human spiritual forces. Pragmatic people can get the chance to be famous, just as dreamers can find happiness in the quiet forest.There is no exercise for nothing, nothing wasted.What it results in is an increase in strength.Soon, emperors and kings could not hold their thrones unless they stooped to the demands of the professed followers of Christ. The method by which the final victory was achieved is also interesting, since it shows that Christianity triumphed for a real reason and was not (as it is commonly believed) the result of a mighty religious fanaticism sprung from a whim. The last persecution of Christians took place during the time of Emperor Diorisian. It is strange that Diorisian, who was not the worst of the many princes who ruled Europe by the force of the Guards, suffered the reproaches of those who in all ages have been called upon to govern mankind.In fact, he didn't even know the most basic economic knowledge. He found that his empire was falling apart and falling apart.He has been engaged in military life all his life, and he knows that the fatal weakness lies in the Roman military system, which assigns the defense of the border areas to the soldiers in the occupied territories, and these soldiers have long since lost their fighting spirit and become a leisurely country. Dude, sell cabbage and carrots to savages who are supposed to be kept out of the country. Dioli was unable to change the precarious system. In order to relieve the urgent need, he established a new type of field army, composed of young and agile fighters, who could go to any corner of the empire within a few weeks after an invasion. Not a bad idea.However, like all good ideas with a military tinge, the costs involved are enormous and must be paid out of the pockets of ordinary people in the interior in the form of taxes.As expected, the common people were outraged, shouting that if they paid the money, they would be left in vain.The emperor replied that the people had misunderstood, and handed over to the tax collector a power that only the executioner had.But all to no avail, because subjects from all walks of life worked hard for a year, but in the end they lost money, and they all left their houses and families and flocked to the cities or simply became vagabonds.However, His Majesty the Emperor did not stop doing two things, and issued another decree to solve the difficulty, which shows that the ancient Roman Republic has fallen into oriental despotism to the point where it cannot be added.With one stroke of his pen, all government offices, handicrafts, and commerce became hereditary occupations. He must also inherit his father's career. Even if the son of a sailor gets seasick when rowing on the Tiber River, he will have to drift on the board for a lifetime.Although coolies are technically free, they have to live, die, die and die in the place where they were born, and are not allowed to cross the border, which is no different from ordinary slaves. Whoever thinks that a self-confident ruler can, or will, suffer the rules and laws to be observed or opposed by a small number of people according to their own likes and dislikes, is very mistaken.But in assessing Dioritian's brutality towards Christians we must remember that he was in a dilemma and deeply doubted the loyalty of millions of his subjects, who only knew how to spend their money under the emperor's protection, but did not know what to do. Watching from the sidelines does not share the country's worries at all. The early Christians never wrote anything down.They expect the world to fall apart at any time. Since the literary achievements that cost money and time will be burned by the fire in less than ten years, why should it be futile?But Protestantism has failed to fulfill the prophecy, and the story of Christ (after a hundred years of patient waiting) has been embellished and transformed by word of mouth, and the pious believers are at a loss as to what to do.The need was then felt for an authoritative volume combining in one volume several short biographies of Jesus and the original manuscripts of the letters of the saints.This is the New Testament. There is a chapter in the book called "Apocalypse", which includes quotations and prophecies about the city built on the "seven hills".People have known since the time of Romulus that Rome was built on seven hills.The anonymous author of this curious chapter was indeed careful to refer to the city as Babylon, which he detested, but it did not escape the understanding of the imperial officials.The city is said to be "the mother of whores" and "the stain of the earth," drenched in the blood of saints and victims, the abode of all devils and evil spirits, and the home of all foul and hideous birds. ovaries, and many such profanities. These remarks may be construed as the ramblings of a poor zealot, blinded with pity and rage, thinking of his many friends murdered over fifty years.Yet these words were read as part of the church's solemn liturgy, repeated week after week in places where Christians met, and the onlookers naturally took it to mean an expression of genuine Christian affection for the mighty city on the Tiber.I am not saying that Christians have no reason to feel the passions that the spectators speak of, but neither can Diorisian be blamed for not having such passions. But that's not all. The Romans became familiar with an unfamiliar concept, that of "pagans."At first the name "Heretic" was used only for those who were willing to believe in certain creeds, or a "sect".But gradually its meaning narrowed to those who do not believe in the "correct", "reasonable", "true" and "orthodox" teachings established by the authority of the church, and are, in the words of the saints, "heresy, error, falsehood" and eternal error". A few Romans who held fast to their old beliefs were exempt from heresy, since they remained isolated from Christianity and were not, strictly speaking, allowed to explain their views.Similarly, some words in the "New Testament" also hurt the emperor's self-esteem. Some, out of courtesy, will not be repeated here. All this leads to friction and misunderstanding, which in turn leads to persecution.Once again the Roman prisons were filled with Christian prisoners, and the executioners vastly increased the number of Christ's victims, with rivers of blood flowing for nothing.In the end, Dioli ran out of skills, gave up his dominance, and returned to his hometown of Salona on the Dalmatian coast to devote himself to a more interesting pastime-growing Chinese cabbage in the backyard. His successors did not continue the policy of repression.On the contrary, seeing that it was hopeless to exterminate Christianity by force, he pursued a dishonorable bargain, trying to win the favor of his enemies by bribery. This happened in 313, when Constantine the Great officially recognized the Christian Church for the first time. If one day we have an "International History Revision Committee", all emperors, kings, presidents, popes, and mayors who enjoy the title of "big" must be measured by specific criteria, then the "International History Revision Committee" One that needs careful study before the court of the "Committee" is the emperor Constantine mentioned above. This wild Serb wielded his spear on every battlefield in Europe, from Walker in England to Byzantium on the Bosphorus. He killed his wife, brother-in-law, and nephew, and slaughtered some of his lesser relatives.然而尽管如此，由于他在面临最危险的对手莫克赞蒂厄斯时惊慌失措地为获得基督徒的支持而大加许愿，反而赢得了“第二个摩西”的名声，亚美尼亚和俄国教会都推崇他为圣人。他生来死去都是个野蛮人，虽然表面上接受了基督教，但至死还试图用蒸祭祀羊的五脏卜测未来。然而人们却忘记了这些，只是盯着皇帝用以保证可爱的基督臣民“自由表达思想和集会不受干扰”的权利的著名《宽容法》。 我在前面已经讲过，四世纪上叶的教会头目都是些实用政治家，他们终于使皇帝签署了这个值得纪念的法令，使基督教从小教派的行列中一跃成为国教。不过，他们知道成功是怎样取得的，君士坦丁的后裔对此也一清二楚。他们想大展伶牙俐齿的解数掩盖这些，但机关算尽仍不能瞒天过海。
“交给我吧，强大的统治者”，内斯特主教对狄奥多西皇帝说道，“把教会的全部敌人都交给我吧，我将给你天堂。与我站在一起，把不赞成我们教义的人打倒；我们也将与你在一起，打倒你们的敌人。” 在过去的二十个世纪中，还有过其它交易。 但是这个无耻妥协使基督教从此大权在握，这种事在历史上还是寥寥无几。