Edict of Thessalonica
The Edict of Thessalonica[1] was issued on 27 February AD 380 by Theodosius I, made Nicene Christianity[2] the state church of the Roman Empire. Contrary to Christ it condemned other Christian creeds such as Arianism as if it had the right to exercise authority and proclaim heresies of "foolish madmen", and even authorized their punishment.[3]
This edict was for the inhabitants of Constantinople. Theodosius sought to impose religious orthodoxy by oppressing[4] dissidents who qualified as "heretics" by the opinions of the Council of Nicaea.
The Edict of Thessalonica was codified into Book XVI of the Theodosian Code which was a comprehensive compilation of imperial laws concerning religion, specifically detailing the transition of the Roman Empire from paganism to Christianity but was it true Christianity.
Footnotes
- ↑ Greek: Διάταγμα της Θεσσαλονίκης
- ↑ Not all Christians adhered to the teaching of the Nicene Creed which had been created at that Council of Nicaea called by Constantine AD 325
- ↑ Theodosius I, put the brute force of the imperial state behind this new faith.
- ↑ Priscillian (c. 340–385) was a wealthy Spanish nobleman and theologian from Roman Gallaecia who became the first person in Christian history to be executed for heresy. He promoted a strict ascetic movement that emphasized celibacy, abstinence from meat and wine, and the study of apocryphal texts, which led to his excommunication by the Council of Saragossa in 380. He was consecrated as Bishop of Ávila in 381.