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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Victor_Clark, post: 2568550, member: 10613&quot;]There are actually quite a few letters written by Constantine from around A.D. 313, sent to various people including bishops, talking about their worship of God. Just because Sol still appeared on coins for a few more years, it does not mean that Constantine worshiped SOL. Compare the number of Christian churches he is known to have built versus temples to Sol his is credited with building.</p><p><br /></p><p>a bit from my MA thesis on this topic-</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Of course the old gods did not disappear from the coinage over night; it was a gradual transition that took years. For many of Constantine’s early years as an emperor though, he shared rule of the Roman Empire with others and did not have complete authority over the types of coins that the mints issued. Shortly after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, when Constantine consolidated his power in the West, the old pagan imagery started to disappear from Roman coinage. Constantine certainly realized that he could not change the people’s religion immediately, it would take many years to win their hearts and minds…and eventually convert them. Constantine had to exercise some caution and not upset too many people, especially the army. &quot;He was careful, and that was why his Christianization of the empire was only gradual...reflected in the slow and for a long time minimal infiltration of the coinage by Christianity.&quot; (Grant, Constantine the Great: The Man and His Times) He continued to occasionally utilize Sol on his coinage until circa A.D. 320, when Sol was eventually supplanted by generic reverses such as soldiers holding military standards. By this time, Constantine had a pretty firm hold in the western half of the Roman Empire and there had been almost a decade for the Christianity of Constantine to trickle down through the ranks. It was extremely important for Constantine not to alienate the military. Since the army was responsible for putting him on the throne, it could have just as easily removed him. In reality, Constantine owed his position to the army, regardless of his trust in God, and he surely realized this. Constantine professed to being a Christian, but the army at this time was mostly pagan&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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