Constantinople, and the new Christian empire
Polls and plans for the future
Today we’ll just have a little sneak peek above the fold at what we’re going to be looking at for the rest of February. We’ve come through the earliest stages of the development of Christian art from its time of persecution, with its hidden symbols and coded images - the keys to its visual language restricted to its fully initiated adherents - then the sudden legalisation empire-wide by Constantine in 313. But more was to come, and BIG changes were to come for the empire and the Faith.
Today is February 1st, and we have now completed the first section of our year-long editorial plan, covering the development of Christian sacred art and faith from the 1st to 3rd century. Moving forward, the month of February will be focused on the dramatic transformation ushered in by Edict of Milan and the new Emperor’s shocking and world-changing decision to relocate the empire’s government to Byzantium - at the time a small, but strategically crucial seaside port town.
Byzantium: the first purpose-built Christian city
Founded1 by Greek colonists from Megara around 657 BC, Byzantium occupied a commanding position on the Bosporus Strait, the narrow waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Aegean and Mediterranean. This made it a vital commercial hub and a key military outpost.
Byzantium had long been part of the broader Greek world, falling under Persian control during the 5th century BC before becoming part of the Delian League, led by Athens. Later, it was absorbed into the expanding Roman Republic in the 2nd century BC. Under Roman rule, Byzantium remained a provincial city, valued for its strategic location but never playing a central role in imperial affairs - until Constantine recognized its potential.
When Constantine re-founded it as Nova Roma (New Rome) in 330 - soon to be called Constantinople - he transformed it from a relatively minor city into a vast, well-fortified metropolis.
Out of the shadows with a developed visual theological language
As we’ve discussed, for nearly three centuries Christianity was a marginal and often persecuted faith, growing in the shadows of an empire that saw it as either subversive or, at best, tolerable only in certain periods. Bloody persecutions under emperors like Decius, Valerian, and Diocletian sought to uproot it, but instead, they strengthened the resolve of its followers. Then, in 313 AD, everything changed. With the Edict of Milan, Constantine and his co-emperor Licinius not only legalized Christianity but laid the foundation for its ascendance in the Roman world.
Within a decade, Constantine had defeated his rivals and become the sole ruler of the empire. He aligned himself increasingly with Christianity and allied the empire with the leaders of the Christian institution that was allowed to grow in influence since legalisation. He built churches, supported bishops, and even involved himself in theological disputes. The First Council of Nicaea in 325, called under his authority, would affirm key doctrines about the nature of Christ that defined Christian belief for all the centuries since.
This shift did not just affect imperial politics, it reshaped the course of Christian art, theology, and culture. We will explore how sacred art developed and flourished in this new era, and how what we now call Byzantine Christian art was in fact a cosmopolitan synthesis, drawing from traditions across the old empire, Rome, Greece, Egypt, Syria, Anatolia and beyond.
The transformation was seismic. Christianity, once an underground faith, was now publicly patronized and was to become deeply embedded in imperial politics. But this shift was not without its complexities. What did it mean for the Church to move from the catacombs almost immediately into imperial palaces? How did Christian art and architecture evolve in this new era? And what tensions arose as the faith adapted to a position of influence and power?
In Monday’s post for paid subscribers, we will begin to explore how Christianity’s emergence from persecution shaped its visual and material culture, the complexities and development of Byzantine art, and how the grand churches of Constantine signalled a profound shift in the identity of the faith. Christianity as an imperial state religion - the pros and the cons.
Who are we? A set of polls for our community
I’d like to thank again all the subscribers who have signed up over the last year, both free and paid. It might sound a bit cringe to say, but it’s simply a fact and I really mean it: I wouldn’t have kept going with this work if you - readers, subscribers, followers, friends and supporters - hadn’t come along and joined your enthusiasm to mine. Your love for this great, but almost forgotten, patrimony of sacred art, Christian history, thought and culture is literally what makes this project thrive!
There is a pretty big set of plans ahead. I’ve been dropping hints for a while now that the work that started about a year ago, as a simple free Substack blog, will in the next year or two be expanding into new and bigger things. Some major changes that will allow for deeper engagement and exclusive content, including expanded research, dedicated courses, and a richer experience for annual subscribers.
As we grow, I’d love to get a clearer picture of who we all are, what brings you here, and how we can tailor future work to better serve this community.
So, today we’ve got a series of short polls to help us start putting a bigger picture together. Your input will help shape what comes next.
The Sacred Images Project is a reader-supported publication where we talk about Christian life, thought, history and culture through the lens of the first 1200 years of sacred art. It’s my full time job, but it’s still not bringing a full time income, so I can’t yet provide all the things I want to and am planning for. You can subscribe for free to get one and a half posts a week. Take out a paid membership to get all three.
For $9/month you also get the second half of the weekly Friday Goodie Bag post, plus a weekly paywalled in-depth article on this great sacred patrimony, plus our Benedictine Book Club in the Substack Chat. There are also occasional extras like downloadable exclusive high resolution printable images, ebooks, mini-courses, videos and eventually podcasts.
Demography:
Religious self-categorisation is often tricky, especially in our confusing times, but if you’re OK with sharing, taxonomically where are we, in general?
What brings you to be interested in Christian sacred art or art history?
More polls and discussion below the fold. Join us by upgrading to a paid subscription here: