Constantine and the Divine Mind: The Imperial Quest for Primitive Monotheism

Constantines conversion to Christianity marks one of the most significant turning points in the epic of Western civilization. It is also one of historys most controversial and hotly-debated episodes. Why did Constantine join a persecuted sect? When did he convert? And what kind of Christian did he ultimately become? Such questions have perennially challenged historians but modern scholarship has opened a new door towards understanding the fourth centurys most famous and mysterious convert. In Constantine and the Divine Mind Chandler offers a new portrait of Constantine as a deeply religious man on a quest to restore what he believed was once the original religion of mankind: monotheism. By tracing this theological quest and important historical trends in Roman paganism Chandler illuminates the process by which Constantine embraced Christianity and how the reasons for that embrace continued to manifest in his religious policies. In this we discover not only Constantines personal religious journey but the reason why Christianity was first developed into a world power.