ABSTRACT
The Roman government had always regarded the oversight and regulation of religious affairs as one of its legitimate functions, an effort to maintain the pax deorum, the harmonious relationship between the Roman people and the gods. The emperors themselves, beginning with Augustus, had held the post of pontifex maximus and thus had stood at the head of the religious establishment. Constantine, therefore, was fully within the Roman tradition when he announced his support of Christianity, paid subsidies to the Christian church and granted immunities to its clergy. Little did he know that his actions were to mark the beginning of one of the great problems of post-classical Western Civilization, the relationship of secular authority to spiritual authority, of state to church. And if he thought that the church might be of help in unifying the empire he was soon disappointed. He had not anticipated that disputes within the church would absorb a major portion of his time and energies.
