While Emperor Constantine (280-337) is often praised for granting Christians freedom of worship and expanding their privileges, his story fills a dark spot in the history of Christianity

The church buildings began with him. The story is astonishing. By the time Constantine appeared on the scene, the atmosphere was ripe for Christians to escape their despised minority status. The temptation to be accepted was too great to resist, and Constantine’s influence began in earnest.

In 312 AD, Constantine became emperor of the Western Empire. In 324, he became emperor of the entire Roman Empire. Shortly thereafter, he began ordering the construction of church buildings. He did so to promote the popularity and acceptance of Christianity.

If Christians had their own sacred buildings—as Jews and pagans did—their faith would be considered legitimate. It is important to understand Constantine’s mindset—because it explains why he was so enthusiastic about establishing church buildings.

Constantine’s thinking was dominated by superstition and pagan magic. Even after he became emperor, he allowed the old pagan institutions to remain as they were. After his conversion to Christianity, Constantine never abandoned sun worship. He kept the sun on his coins. And he erected a statue of the sun god bearing his own image in the forum of Constantinople (his new capital).

Statue of Cybele, the fertility goddess, in the Vatican Museum

Constantine also erected a statue of the mother goddess Cybele (though he depicted her in a Christian prayer pose). Historians continue to debate whether or not Constantine was a true Christian. The fact that he allegedly had his eldest son, nephew, and brother-in-law executed does not strengthen the case for his conversion. But we will not delve into this too deeply.

In 321 AD, Constantine decreed that Sunday would be a day of rest—a legal holiday. Constantine’s intention was to honor the god Mithras, the undefeated sun. (He described Sunday as the day of the sun) Further demonstrating Constantine’s affinity with sun worship, excavations of St. Peter’s in Rome have uncovered a mosaic of Christ as the undefeated sun.

The picture shows a medal of Pope John XXIII, which reads: Pontifex Maximus

Almost until his death, Constantine continued to act as the high priest of paganism. In fact, he retained the pagan title Pontifex Maximus, meaning chief of the pagan priests! (In the fifteenth century, the same title became an honorary title for the Roman Catholic Pope.)

When Constantine consecrated Constantinople as his new capital on May 11, 330, he adorned it with treasures taken from pagan temples. And he used pagan magic formulas to protect crops and cure diseases. Furthermore, all historical evidence indicates that Constantine was an egomaniac.

When he built the Church of the Apostles in Constantinople, he included monuments to the twelve apostles. The twelve monuments surrounded a single tomb that lay in the center. This tomb was reserved for Constantine himself—making him the thirteenth and chief apostle. Thus, Constantine not only continued the pagan practice of venerating the dead, but also sought to be included as one of the great dead. Constantine also reinforced the pagan understanding of the sacredness of objects and places.

It was largely through his influence that the practice of relic-worship became commonplace in the church. By the fourth century, the obsession with relics had become so rampant that some Christian leaders spoke out against it, calling it "a pagan observance introduced into the churches under the guise of religion... the work of idolaters." Constantine is also known for introducing the idea of a holy place into the Christian faith, which was based on the model of the pagan sanctuary. Because of the aura of "sacredness" that Christians in the fourth century attributed to Palestine, it became known as the "Holy Land" by the sixth century. After Constantine's death, he was declared "divine." (This was the custom for all the pagan emperors who had died before him.) It was the Senate that declared him a pagan god after his death. And no one stopped them from doing so. At this point, a few words should be said about Constantine's mother, Helena. This woman was best known for her obsession with relics. In 326 AD, Helena made a pilgrimage to Palestine. In 327 AD, she allegedly found the cross and nails that had been used to crucify Jesus in Jerusalem. It is said that Constantine promoted the idea that pieces of wood that came from the cross of Christ had spiritual power. The pagan magical mind was truly at work in Emperor Constantine—the father of church building.

CONSTANTINE’S BUILDING PROGRAM

Following Helen’s journey to Jerusalem in 327 CE, Constantine began to build the first church buildings throughout the Roman Empire, some at public expense. In doing so, he followed the pagans’ path of building temples in honor of God.

Interestingly, he named his church buildings after saints—just as the pagans named their temples after their gods. Constantine built his first church buildings in cemeteries where Christians had eaten for the dead saints. That is, he built them over the bodies of the dead saints. Why? Because for at least a century before, the burial places of saints had been considered “holy places.” Many of the largest buildings were built over the graves of martyrs. This practice was based on the idea that martyrs had the same power that had once been attributed to the gods of paganism. Christians fully embraced this view.

The most famous Christian "holy places" were St. Peter's Basilica on the Vatican Hill (built over the supposed tomb of Peter), St. Paul's Basilica outside the Walls (built over the supposed tomb of Paul), the dazzling and magnificent Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (built over the supposed tomb of Christ), and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem (built over the supposed cave of Jesus' birth). Constantine built nine churches in Rome and many more in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Constantinople.

In 2013, Pope Francis publicly displayed what the church believes to be the genuine bones of Saint Peter, discovered during excavations under Saint Peter's Basilica in the 1940s and 1950s

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a 4th-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is also the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is considered the holiest site in Christianity and has been a major pilgrimage site for Christians since the 4th century

The Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls is one of the most important papal basilicas in Rome, second in size only to Saint Peter's

The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. The grotto holds significant religious significance for Christians of various denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. The grotto is the oldest continuously used place of worship in Christianity, and the basilica is the oldest major church in the Holy Land. The church was originally built by Constantine the Great shortly after his mother Helena's visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in 325–326, on the site traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus