Yes, as noted above, Gratian did abolish the office of Pontifex Maximus. The growing “Christianization” of imperial institutions in the 4th century saw the removal of the altar and statue of Victory in the Senate House under Constantius II, only to be restored by Julian, in his short lived attempt to restore the traditional religion. The altar and statue remained in place under Valentinian I, but his son and successor Gratian, raised as a fervent Christian, again removed them in 382. Gratian further suppressed funds for pagan worship and traditional priestly colleges, with the hearty approval of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. Much of the senatorial body, a bastion of traditional Roman mores and religion, reacted to these developments with dismay, and in 384, the Praefectus Urbi Quintus Aurelius Symmachus addressed a final appeal to the emperors Theodosius I, Valentinian II, and Arcadius with a plea to retain the time-honored trappings of Roman custom, in his “Relatio Tertia in Repetenda Ara Victoriae” (third “appeal” in retaining the Altar of Victory)”. Even after reading it for the first time 40 years ago, I still remember his words “uno itinere non potest inveniri ad tam grande secretum”: (“by one way it is not possible to arrive at such a great secret”). Moral of story regarding toleration: “meet the new boss, same as the old boss". Attached is one of my favorite coins of Gratian.
