The impact of the Edict of Milan

Constantine did not relax restrictions on Christianity in order to make it an official state religion, but the laws and other policies he formulated effectively promoted its development. During the reign of Constantine, he issued decrees granting many privileges to Christianity. For example, the church had the right to receive inheritances and donations, and church clergy were exempted from taxes and corvee. Believing in Christianity also became a shortcut to promotion to high-level positions in the country. He himself also built many well-known churches, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. After Constantine, Christianity's status has been unshakable, and an era of self-reliance has begun in the history of Western culture.

In 380 AD, the Roman Emperor Theodosius officially designated Christianity as the state religion and began to prohibit other religions from performing religious rituals. Christianity began to show its "exclusive" nature. In 392 AD, Christians led by Bishop Theophilus set fire to the Temple of Serapis, and more than 300,000 Greek manuscripts were destroyed; fanatical Christians also killed the only temple in the ancient world here. A famous female scientist, Hypatia - the last important figure in Alexander Museon's Academy and the leader of the local Neoplatonic school. This period was the golden age for the growth of Christianity. During this time, original Roman temples were demolished or converted into churches, and the Olympic Games were cancelled.

In the next 1000 years, Christianity gradually spread everywhere, and the migrating Germanic tribes accepted Christianity in Asia Minor and Byzantium. In the north, northeast and northwest, different peoples of the Slavic system also adopted Christianity through the Byzantine Church. The three activities of missionary work, civilization and colonization were often carried out together. Therefore, missionaries representing more advanced cultures often brought important changes to many more developed areas. However, it was also during this period that Christianity was severely tested: its early sphere of influence, Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, North Africa and even parts of Spain, had been Islamized; Sicily and southern Italy were also threatened; Russia fell to the Mongol Khan ( Under the rule of Shamanism) and the Golden Horde Khan of the Huns, the Anwars, Huns, Mongols and Turks also invaded the West, and Islam spread widely.

With the division of the ancient Roman Empire, Christianity also split into two. The Orthodox Church centered on Constantinople (Byzantium) and the Catholic Church centered on Rome faced off between the east and the west. During the reconstruction of Western European civilization, the Bishop of Rome took the opportunity to improve his status. Gregory I tried his best to expand the power of the Bishop of Rome. Among the Western bishops, he was the only one who could be called "Pope" and became the recognized leader of the Western Church. In order to compete with this, the Bishop of Constantinople also called himself the "Ecumenical Patriarch" (also translated as "Patriarch") in 595. The increasingly intensified conflicts between the two sides finally led to a split. In 1054, Christianity, which had suffered a severe test, was divided into two major factions: Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

The religious reform movement in the 16th century gave rise to Protestantism, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Reformed Christianity and various other sects. The 19th century was a "great century" in the history of the spread of Christianity. In this century, Christianity was spread to all parts of the world.

In Christian teachings, humans are created in the image of God, so when God manifests His actions, humans must play a decisive role. Since man reflects the image of God, God must require man's cooperation in carrying out his plan. God and man are closely dependent on each other. It can be said that God and man exist for each other's sake. According to Christian teachings, the church is an eschatological group composed of people chosen by God. The Holy Spirit is poured out in the life of the church. The church is composed of people who believe in Jesus Christ, including both Jews and non-Jews. The church members are all "New Israel" "People" are God's chosen people; the church is the body of Jesus Christ, and the members of the church are the "living stones" used to build the church building and are guided by the representative of the church on earth, the Pope the Rock.