Myth Buster: Constantine Founded the Catholic Church

Is this Constantine admiring the Church he founded?

The Catholic Church claims that she was founded by Christ. Some Evangelicals and fundamentalists claim that she was founded by the emperor Constantine (c.272-337).

The idea for this post came from a friend of mine, and funny as it may be, I first thought that this was a rather lame myth (still do).

"Who thought that?" I asked myself. I mean, come on, really, St. Ignatius of Antioch was calling the Church Christ founded the "Catholic Church" in the first century and there is evidence that this verbiage was a unique identifier of the Church all the way back to the mid first century. (Note: the term Christian was a term given to the followers of Christ by unbelievers--they (unbelievers) also called themselves Nazarenes--Acts 24. In other words, believers of Christ called themselves Catholics and the world called them Christians*)

And then I turned on the TV and heard a preacher talking about how Constantine changed the Sabbath day and founded the Catholic Church. Apparently the myth persists (along with dogs can fly). I don't like myths that keep people from the truth.

This myth assumes three things:

1. Christians did not worship on Sunday before Constantine

2. Constantine had a significant sway in the Christian Church

3. The Roman Catholic Church did not exist before Constantine

#3 runs concomitant with the idea that The Council of Sardica established the primacy of the Roman bishop thereby inaugurating the Roman Catholic Church in some sense.

Reply to #1- Christians worshiped on the Lord's day and not the Sabbath day

St. Ignatius to the Magnesians:

"We have seen how former adherents of the ancient customs have since attained to a new hope; so that they have given up keeping the sabbath, and now order their lives by the Lord's Day instead, the day when life first dawned for us, thanks to Him and His death."

Barnabas, The Epistle of Barnabas, 120A.D.:

"Wherefore, also, we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day, also, on which Jesus rose again from the dead"

St. Justin Martyr, The First Apology, 155 A..D.:

"Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness, made the world; and Jesus Christ our savior , on the same day rose from the dead."

There are two creations. In the first creation, the day of rest was the Sabbath. It was the day God's work was completed. When Christ came, he presented himself as the creator (John 1:3) and the synoptic Gospels unanimously recognize him as the "Lord of the Sabbath" (Matt 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5).

Christ came to fulfill not abolish the Old Covenant. Through his entire ministry, he came to fulfill "all righteousness" (Matt 3:15). Thus, in the new creation, Christ established a new Sabbath, the day of his rest, or rather the day that he completed his work. Of course, this is Friday and no one believes that the Christian day of worship is Friday. Yet we know that three days latter he rose again, and so the "Lord's Day" would be that day that Christ rose from the grave.

In the Didache, an early record of apostolic teaching (c.60-100), we find evidence that Christians began to meet on the "Lord's day":

"And on the Lord's own day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanks, first confessing your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. And let no man, having his dispute with his fellow, join your assembly until they have been reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be defiled; for this sacrifice it is that was spoken of by the Lord; In every place and at every time offer me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great king, saith the Lord, and My name is wonderful among the nations."-14:1-3

The teleological ordering of the temple cult and Judaism at large was the first creation, the genesis of God's relation to mankind. Christianity, however, is ordered to the new creation and as such the new, final and definitive revelation of God in Christ Jesus. Those who demand that Christians worship on the first "day of rest" deny the early Christian practice as it relates to the revelation of Jesus Christ, teach the error of the Judaizers who claimed that one had to follow the Jewish customs to be Christian, and more importantly deny one of the greatest proofs of Christ's resurrection.

Pope Benedict XVI in Jesus of Nazareth, Part 2, points out the fact that the cult of the temple would not come to a complete end until after Christ's ascension. Christ prophesied that the temple would be laid to waist, and it was at the hands of the Romans in 70 AD that this would come to pass. Moreover, the sabbath was so deeply imbedded into the culture, psychology and religious practice of Jews it is hard to imagine what could possibly augment this practice. It is precisely because the early Jews ceased to worship on the Sabbath but instead worshiped on the "Lord's Day"--Sunday--that we have evidence that something monumental happened on Sunday, something so great as to literally re-order their entire psychology. So it is, that in Christ, God re-orders the entire cosmos to the new creation, and the rhythm of worship would forever be ordered to his glorious work in His Son.
 
Reply to #2 Constantine's influence was limited but welcome

What did Constantine do in the Edict of Milan? Did Constantine established a new Sabbath?

First, the Edict of Milan established religious tolerance of all religions. The edict reads:

"And thus by this wholesome counsel and most upright provision we thought to arrange that no one whatsoever should be denied the opportunity to give his heart to the observance of the Christian religion, of that religion which he should think best for himself, so that the Supreme Deity, to whose worship we freely yield our hearts) may show in all things His usual favor and benevolence."

Christianity had severely dis-settled the temple economy of the Roman religions. In turn, the second half of the edict discusses the proper way of restoring property to Christians since it was a common practice to extort Christians since their religion had so significantly diminished the Roman economic system of temple sacrifice and feasts.

Considering #1, we should reject that notion that Constantine established Sunday as the day of worship. Instead, the infamous Edict of Constantine (c.321), should be understood as a way Constantine integrated his new and immature Christian faith into his administrative role as emperor. In no way was Constantine the leader of the Christian Church, nor was his edict directed at Christians only. The fact that the Romans worshiped the sun (whether on Sunday or not) can be understood, instead of some pernicious conspiracy, as a way that God was preparing Gentiles for His Son, who would rise again--like the Phoenix--on Sunday.

Reply #3 The Catholic Church existed before Constantine, and the primacy of the Roman Bishop was affirmed before the Council of Sardica

Evidence A- The First Epistle of St. Clement

Written in the second century, the fourth Pope is writing to the Corinthian church founded by St. Paul. Pope St. Clement opens the letter, "The Church of God which sojourns at Rome, to the Church of God sojourning at Corinth". Clearly, both (1) the Church at Rome existed at this time and (2) churches by this time are being identified by location not congregation. 

The entire tone of the letter is authoritative. Why, we should ask, is the pastor of the church in Rome writing instructively to the church in Corinth? Most striking about the overall language, tone and style of the letter is Pope St. Clement's command that those who were in schism in Corinth submit to the bishop, and "[lay] aside the proud and arrogant self-confidence of your tongue. For it is better for you that ye should occupy a humble but honorable place in the flock of Christ, than that, being highly exalted, ye should be cast out from the hope of His people". Pope St. Clement also makes one of the most obvious and direct references to apostolic succession.

Evidence B- St. Ireneaus, St. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, St. Cyprian and St. John of Chrysostom

All of these early churchmen witness to the Petrine office. Against the claim that the primacy of the bishop of Rome is grounded in the proclamations of Sardica, in each of their writings we find direct evidence that the early church understood the preeminence of St. Peter, the perpetuation of the apostolic offices and the primitive transfer of the locus of that chair to Rome. Here are just a few examples:

"Peter, upon whom is built the Church of Christ, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail, left only one epistle of acknowledged genuinity. Let us concede also a second, which however is doubtful." Origen, Commentaries on John 5,3

"[T]he blessed Peter, the chosen, the preeminent, the first among the disciples, for whom alone with himself the Savior paid the tribute [Matt. 17:27], quickly grasped and understood their meaning. And what does he say? ‘Behold, we have left all and have followed you’ [Matt. 19:27; Mark 10:28]" Clement of Alexandria, Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? 21:3–5

"For what purpose did He shed His blood? It was that He might win these sheep which he entrusted to Peter and his successors." (St. John of Chysostom, De Sacerdotio, 53

Evidence C- The Bible Teaches it

For this purpose, I will leave you with a few passages of Scripture. The purpose is to simply evidence the possibility of Scripture establishing the primacy of St. Peter and not to prove the papacy:

"And I also, I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and hades' gates shall not prevail against it." - Matt 16:18

"But I have prayed for thee [Peter], that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren." -Luke 22:32

"And when there had been much disputing, Peter, rising up, said to them: Men, brethren, you know, that in former days God made choice among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe." -Acts 15:7

In sum, the Roman Catholic Church was alive and kicking 250 years (since the fall of Jerusalem) before Constantine. The bishop in Rome had authority, and the early Church recognized both apostolic succession and in particular the unique succession of the Petrine office. What Constantine did was provide religious asylum in Rome to Christians who had previously been persecuted. In addition, the early Christians worshiped on Sunday well before Constantine because Christianity is ordered to the new creation not the first creation. Therefore, it is obvious and beyond argument that Constantine did not found the Roman Catholic Church through either the Edict of Milan or in his influence on the Council of Sardica. The claim is a myth and should be rejected as propaganda meant to further schismatic religions.

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*Bonus myth busted that the term "Catholic" is less authentically Christian than the general term Christian, when in fact, the term Christian was a general and ambiguous term, albeit one giving one great honor if it was the cause of your personal suffering (1 Pet 4:16), whereas the term Catholic was used to distinguish between those who followed the Apostolic teaching that would spread to the entire world versus those who started sects or lived in schism from Christ's Church.