ABSTRACT
We now turn to the Christian side in order to examine the first reactions to the victory of an emperor willing to favour and promote the Christian religion. In this chapter we will pay attention to three authors who represent the generation of those who witnessed the unexpected turn from persecution to privilege.1 Though succeeding each other in age they experienced the radical changes of the epoch in overlapping periods and they reacted to these in their publications. By their writings they join the ranks of early Christian apologists, i.e., of those authors who set out to prove the fundamental truth of the Christian faith. Their argument often contained a strong plea with the authorities to acknowledge the positive contribution Christians were making to Roman society, in spite of their being marginalised, arguing that they could do even more if they would be given a free hand. It is therefore logical to assess the first reactions on the Christian side to the changing religious policy by paying attention to writers who belonged to this specific tradition.
