Theodosius and the Ban on Paganism
Christianity becomes the faith of the state, and the old cults are banned by law.
The edict of 380 directs the emperor's subjects to hold the confession held by the bishops of Rome and Alexandria; a council at Constantinople a year later confirms the Nicene creed. Then come the laws against sacrifices and sanctuaries: temples are closed, their revenues confiscated, and soon the Olympic games, which had run for more than a thousand years, cease as well. The position of the Jews remains distinct—their communities are recognised in law and protected from violence, but the building of new synagogues is forbidden. After the death of Theodosius in 395 the empire is finally divided between his two sons, never to be joined again.
Sources
Documents of the period
- the Theodosian Code and imperial law — the laws against the older cults
Scholarship
- late Roman historians: Ammianus Marcellinus, Zosimus — the end of classical polytheism as contemporaries saw it
Basis: documents and evidence.