I ran across this in a Facebook group posted from an online friend.
Constantine and the Edict of 321
by: Ирина Нина Захар
The truth about that "day of the Sun" and Constantine's edict is very simple, actually. Here are the facts:
2.Now imagine the Christians back then. They died as flies because they didn't want to bow down before a pagan deity. They were cooked alive, crucified, cut to pieces, flayed, thrown to lions and gladiators, died in the most horrible way imaginable, because they did NOT want to worship a pagan deity. Now comes Constantine to tell them: You should gather then and then... If that was in conflict, what the Christians believed, they will CONTINUE to die as martyrs and to refuse anything pagan. But they didn't. Not because they weren't brave, no, they WERE much more brave than we are today.
3.Why Christians accepted the edict of Constantine with no problem? Well, because Constantine told the PAGANS to adopt the CHRISTIAN day of worship, and Christians didn't have any reason to refuse such an edict.
4.The very WORDING of the edict reveals that it was addressed to the PAGANS and not to Christians! If Constantine wrote: You must gather on the day of Resurrection, the pagans would not know which day that was! But the wording reveals the TARGET AUDIENCE: pagans!
5.Sunday was a day of corporate worship for Christians since the days of the Apostles, for 300 years BEFORE Constantine.
6.Pagans NEVER had a holy weekly day, and the SUN was not the highest god of the Roman pantheon. It was JUPITER, and not HELIOS. The sun god was ONLY understood as a patron of Roman soldiers, and the PEOPLE COULD NOT CARE LESS FOR THE SUN GOD OF THE LEGIONS!
7.Finally, the children and spouses of Christian martyrs would NEVER accept a pagan influence, they would have rather DIED, as they did for 300 years before Constantine. And also: In the lands ruled by Constantine, the Roman Pope has NO influence whatsoever. NEVER.
8.Constantine moved the capital of the Empire to the EAST (Istanbul, Constantinople) and thereby moved the POWER to the EAST. Thereby, the Church of Rome LOST A LOT of its influence and power. NO Christian of the East was and is a Roman Catholic. And also, in our languages and in our Church, Sabbath is still called the Sabbath, and it is still day seven, and Sunday is NOT the Sabbath (day of rest) and it is still day one of the week.
I'll try to be more clear.
Christians died as martyrs for 300 years, from Nero to Constantine. They died because they did not want to worship a pagan deity. They died because they refused to accept godless laws and imperial edicts which were in direct conflict with their faith. Christians chose death and martyrdom, they NEVER took an easy way out.
Not only Nero persecuted Christians. Seven Roman emperors between Nero and Constantine persecuted Christians, and those later persecutions were even more brutal than Nero's. And yet, not a single Christian chose an easy way out. No, they all chose death and martyrdom, to preserve their faith clean from any pagan influence.
When Constantine came to the throne of the Empire, the persecutions of his predecessor were bloody and evil and mercilessly brutal. Constantine put a stop to it and banned persecution of Christians in his Empire. Finally, Christians were no longer persecuted. But they could REMEMBER the persecution and the martyrs, those people who were killed were their own family members, their parents, spouses, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and so on. Christians were still wearing scars!
Now, imagine these Christians hearing an imperial edict which demands from them to observe a day which is in conflict with their faith. If the edict was in conflict with their faith, they would AGAIN CHOOSE MARTYRDOM and never an easy way out. They would NEVER bow down to the Emperor who wants them to worship a pagan deity.
Christians died for 300 years beforehand, precisely for that very reason! Christians were fearless, and for 300 years they opposed every Emperor who tried to change what Christians believed.
Christians would have chosen DEATH, and they would have NEVER accepted the edict of Constantine if it had been in conflict with their own faith.
I hope it's clearer now. Greetings from Constantine's Birthplace (Niš, Serbia)
Constantine and the Edict of 321
by: Ирина Нина Захар
The truth about that "day of the Sun" and Constantine's edict is very simple, actually. Here are the facts:
- Constantine stopped 300-year-long persecution of Christians in Rome. Don't think that only Nero persecuted Christians. No, emperors after Nero were even WORSE than Nero. MILLIONS of martyrs died before Constantine put a stop to it.
2.Now imagine the Christians back then. They died as flies because they didn't want to bow down before a pagan deity. They were cooked alive, crucified, cut to pieces, flayed, thrown to lions and gladiators, died in the most horrible way imaginable, because they did NOT want to worship a pagan deity. Now comes Constantine to tell them: You should gather then and then... If that was in conflict, what the Christians believed, they will CONTINUE to die as martyrs and to refuse anything pagan. But they didn't. Not because they weren't brave, no, they WERE much more brave than we are today.
3.Why Christians accepted the edict of Constantine with no problem? Well, because Constantine told the PAGANS to adopt the CHRISTIAN day of worship, and Christians didn't have any reason to refuse such an edict.
4.The very WORDING of the edict reveals that it was addressed to the PAGANS and not to Christians! If Constantine wrote: You must gather on the day of Resurrection, the pagans would not know which day that was! But the wording reveals the TARGET AUDIENCE: pagans!
5.Sunday was a day of corporate worship for Christians since the days of the Apostles, for 300 years BEFORE Constantine.
6.Pagans NEVER had a holy weekly day, and the SUN was not the highest god of the Roman pantheon. It was JUPITER, and not HELIOS. The sun god was ONLY understood as a patron of Roman soldiers, and the PEOPLE COULD NOT CARE LESS FOR THE SUN GOD OF THE LEGIONS!
7.Finally, the children and spouses of Christian martyrs would NEVER accept a pagan influence, they would have rather DIED, as they did for 300 years before Constantine. And also: In the lands ruled by Constantine, the Roman Pope has NO influence whatsoever. NEVER.
8.Constantine moved the capital of the Empire to the EAST (Istanbul, Constantinople) and thereby moved the POWER to the EAST. Thereby, the Church of Rome LOST A LOT of its influence and power. NO Christian of the East was and is a Roman Catholic. And also, in our languages and in our Church, Sabbath is still called the Sabbath, and it is still day seven, and Sunday is NOT the Sabbath (day of rest) and it is still day one of the week.
I'll try to be more clear.
Christians died as martyrs for 300 years, from Nero to Constantine. They died because they did not want to worship a pagan deity. They died because they refused to accept godless laws and imperial edicts which were in direct conflict with their faith. Christians chose death and martyrdom, they NEVER took an easy way out.
Not only Nero persecuted Christians. Seven Roman emperors between Nero and Constantine persecuted Christians, and those later persecutions were even more brutal than Nero's. And yet, not a single Christian chose an easy way out. No, they all chose death and martyrdom, to preserve their faith clean from any pagan influence.
When Constantine came to the throne of the Empire, the persecutions of his predecessor were bloody and evil and mercilessly brutal. Constantine put a stop to it and banned persecution of Christians in his Empire. Finally, Christians were no longer persecuted. But they could REMEMBER the persecution and the martyrs, those people who were killed were their own family members, their parents, spouses, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and so on. Christians were still wearing scars!
Now, imagine these Christians hearing an imperial edict which demands from them to observe a day which is in conflict with their faith. If the edict was in conflict with their faith, they would AGAIN CHOOSE MARTYRDOM and never an easy way out. They would NEVER bow down to the Emperor who wants them to worship a pagan deity.
Christians died for 300 years beforehand, precisely for that very reason! Christians were fearless, and for 300 years they opposed every Emperor who tried to change what Christians believed.
Christians would have chosen DEATH, and they would have NEVER accepted the edict of Constantine if it had been in conflict with their own faith.
I hope it's clearer now. Greetings from Constantine's Birthplace (Niš, Serbia)
