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 The intertwining of Christian and imperial authority created an environment in which dissent against Christianity was increasingly equated with dissent against the state. By the late 4th century, the Christian church had become a partner of the Roman state, and its leaders played an active role in shaping imperial policy. Bishops, such as Ambrose of Milan, not only influenced theological debates but also exerted political power, advising emperors and, in some cases, enforcing ecclesiastical discipline over imperial rulers themselves (Markus 1990, 88-90). The close relationship between church and state meant that the suppression of paganism was not simply a matter of religious intolerance but a political necessity for maintaining unity within the empire.

The state’s enforcement of Christian orthodoxy extended to the use of law and coercion to root out heresy, as well as pagan practices. Theodosius’s laws did not merely target polytheistic traditions but also sought to eliminate Christian heresies, such as Arianism, which threatened to fragment the church (Harries 2012, 155-156). By establishing Christianity as the official state religion, Theodosius and his successors aimed to create a unified religious front that could serve as a foundation for the political stability of the empire.

The consolidation of Christian authority over both spiritual and temporal matters effectively marginalized any remaining pockets of pagan resistance. The use of state power to enforce conformity ensured that public expressions of non-Christian beliefs became increasingly rare, relegating pagan practices to the private sphere or driving them underground (MacMullen 1984, 35). The integration of Christian symbols into public life, from the repurposing of temples to the celebration of Christian festivals as state holidays, further reinforced the idea that to be Roman was now to be Christian. This fusion of religious and imperial identity solidified the Christian God’s supremacy over the spiritual landscape of the empire, marking the end of the religious pluralism that had defined the Roman world for centuries.

Harries, Jill. 2012. Imperial Rome AD 284 to 363: The New Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

MacMullen, Ramsay. 1984. Christianizing the Roman Empire: (A.D. 100-400). New Haven: Yale University Press.

Markus, R. A. 1990. The End of Ancient Christianity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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