christianit in th roman empire

[kortam girl]

when did christianity become the official religion in the roman empire ?and does that mean that this is when christianity started and why?

[Clanad]

In the early 4th century AD, Constantine either converted to Christianity or made it an acceptable part of Roman religion, eliminating the emperor deification, that had been established by Julius Caesar, altogether. Prior to that, the religion of the Romans consisted of a pantheon of gods and goddesses.
But, by By 392 AD, Emperor Theodosius I banned the practice of pagan religions in Rome altogether and Christianity was, without question, the official religion of the state. The roots of Christianity had existed nearly 400 years by that time, having begun with the birth of Jesus, considerd the Christ or Messiah by his followers in and near Jerusalem... From which we date our calendars... (Source: UNRV Roman Empire )

[Lil O'lady]

At the time that Emperor Constantine converted to christianity, it had been around the empire for about 300 years. There were already bishoprics and churches all over the place, so christianity definitely 'had started'.....thing was, christians wouldn't do their civic duty that comprised an annual token sacrifice to the emperor-god. Refusing this might open the floodgates to choosing which other laws they would or wouldn't obey, so in varying degrees the Roman authorities clamped down on them.
At the same time, 'mystic eastern cults' became ever more popular with the upper class Romans, and christianity was seen as one of these.
So there was a strange dynamic of fashion and rebellion in Constantine's choice.
It is definitely the case that Constantine continued to identify himself and his family as closer to the christian god than the rest of us - depictions of christ in mosaics made at this time represent Constantine rather remarkably; and he had his mother made into a saint (St Helen).