Chap. XLVIII.

Not many days after the victory, Licinius, having received part of the soldiers of Daia into his service, and properly distributed them, transported his army into Bithynia, and having made his entry into Nicomedia, he returned thanks to God, through whose aid he had overcome; and on the ides of June,38    13th of June. [Note the rise of general toleration.]   while he and Constantine were consuls for the third time, he commanded the following edict for the restoration of the Church, directed to the president of the province, to be promulgated:—  

“When we, Constantine and Licinius, emperors, had an interview at Milan, and conferred together with respect to the good and security of the commonweal, it seemed to us that, amongst those things that are profitable to mankind in general, the reverence paid to the Divinity merited our first and chief attention, and that it was proper that the Christians and all others should have liberty to follow that mode of religion which to each of them appeared best; so that that God, who is seated in heaven, might be benign and propitious to us, and to every one under our government. And therefore we judged it a salutary measure, and one highly consonant to right reason, that no man should be denied leave of attaching himself to the rites of the Christians, or to whatever other religion his mind directed him, that thus the supreme Divinity, to whose worship we freely devote ourselves, might continue to vouchsafe His favour and beneficence to us. And accordingly we give you to know that, without regard to any provisos in our former orders to you concerning the Christians, all who choose that religion are to be permitted, freely and absolutely, to remain in it, and not to be disturbed any ways, or molested. And we thought fit to be thus special in the things committed to your charge, that you might understand that the indulgence which we have granted in matters of religion to the Christians is ample and unconditional; and perceive at the same time that the open and free exercise of their respective religions is granted to all others, as well as to the Christians. For it befits the well-ordered state and the tranquillity of our times that each individual be allowed, according to his own choice, to worship the Divinity; and we mean not to derogate aught from the honour due to any religion or its votaries. Moreover, with respect to the Christians, we formerly gave certain orders concerning the places appropriated for their religious assemblies; but now we will that all persons who have purchased such places, either from our exchequer or from any one else, do restore them to the Christians, without money demanded or price claimed, and that this be performed peremptorily and unambiguously; and we will also, that they who have obtained any right to such places by form of gift do forthwith restore them to the Christians: reserving always to such persons, who have either purchased for a price, or gratuitously acquired them, to make application to the judge of the district, if they look on themselves as entitled to any equivalent from our beneficence.  

“All those places are, by your intervention, to be immediately restored to the Christians. And because it appears that, besides the places appropriated to religious worship, the Christians did possess other places, which belonged not to individuals, but to their society in general, that is, to their churches, we comprehend all such within the regulation aforesaid, and we will that you cause them all to be restored to the society or churches, and that without hesitation or controversy: Provided always, that the persons making restitution without a price paid shall be at liberty to seek indemnification from our bounty. In furthering all which things for the behoof of the Christians, you are to use your utmost diligence, to the end that our orders be speedily obeyed, and our gracious purpose in securing the public tranquillity promoted. So shall that divine favour which, in affairs of the mightiest importance, we have already experienced, continue to give success to us, and in our successes make the commonweal happy. And that the tenor of this our gracious ordinance may be made known unto all, we will that you cause it by your authority to be published everywhere.”  

Licinius having issued this ordinance, made an harangue, in which he exhorted the Christians to rebuild their religious edifices.  

And thus, from the overthrow of the Church until its restoration, there was a space of ten years and about four months.  

XLVIII. Licinius vero, accepta exercitus parte ac distributa, trajecit exercitum in Bithyniam paucis post pugnam diebus, et Nicomediam ingressus, gratiam Deo, cujus auxilio vicerat, retulit; ac die iduum Juniarum, Constantino atque ipso ter consulibus, de restituenda Ecclesia hujusmodi litteras praesidem datas proponi jussit.

LITTERAE LICINII.

«Cum feliciter, tam ego Constantinus Augustus, 0267B quam etiam ego Licinius Augustus, apud Mediolanum convenissemus, atque universa, quae ad commoda et securitatem publicam pertinerent, in tractatu haberemus, haec inter caetera quae videbamus pluribus hominibus profutura, vel in primis ordinanda 0268A esse credidimus, quibus divinitatis reverentia continebatur, ut daremus et christianis, et omnibus liberam potestatem sequendi religionem, quam quisque voluisset, quo quidem divinitas in sede coelesti, nobis atque omnibus qui sub potestate nostra sunt constituti, placata ac propitia possit existere. Itaque hoc consilio salubri ac rectissima ratione ineundum esse credidimus, ut nulli omnino facultatem abnegandam putaremus, qui vel observationi christianorum, vel ei religioni mentem suam dederat, quam ipse sibi aptissimam esse sentiret; ut possit nobis summa divinitas, cujus religioni liberis mentibus obsequimur, in omnibus solitum favorem suum benevolentiamque praestare. Quare scire Dicationem tuam convenit, placuisse nobis, ut, amotis 0268B omnibus omnino conditionibus, quae prius scriptis ad officium tuum datis super christianorum nomine videbantur, nunc vere ac simpliciter unusquisque eorum, qui eamdem observandae religioni christianorum gerunt voluntatem, citra ullam inquietudinem 0269A ac molestiam sui idipsum observare contendant. Quae sollicitudini tuae plenissime significanda esse credidimus, quo scires nos liberam atque absolutam colendae religionis suae facultatem hisdem christianis dedisse. Quod cum hisdem a nobis indultum esse pervideas, intelligit Dicatio tua, etiam aliis religionis suae vel observantiae potestatem similiter apertam, et liberam pro quiete temporis nostri esse concessam; ut in colendo quod quisque delegerit habeat liberam facultatem, quia (nolumus detrahi) honori, neque cuiquam religioni aliquid a nobis. Atque hoc insuper in persona christianorum statuendum esse censuimus, quod si eadem loca, ad quae antea convenire consueverant, de quibus etiam datis ad officium tuum litteris certa antehac forma fuerat comprehensa, priore 0269B tempore aliqui vel a fisco nostro, vel ab alio quocumque videntur esse mercati, eadem christianis sine pecunia, et sine ulla pretii petitione, postposita omni frustratione atque ambiguitate, restituantur. Qui etiam dono fuerunt consecuti, eadem similiter hisdem christianis quantocius reddant: etiam vel hi qui emerunt, vel qui dono fuerunt consecuti, si petiverint de nostra benevolentia aliquid, Vicarium postulent, quo et ipsis per nostram clementiam consulatur. Quae omnia corpori christianorum protinus per intercessionem tuam, ac sine mora tradi oportebit. Et quoniam iidem christiani non ea loca tantum, ad quae convenire consueverunt, sed alia etiam habuisse noscuntur, 0269C ad jus corporis eorum, id est, Ecclesiarum, 0270A non hominum singulorum, pertinentia, ea omnia lege, qua superius, comprehendimus, citra ullam prorsus ambiguitatem vel controversiam hisdem christianis, id est, corpori et conventiculis eorum reddi jubebis, supradicta scilicet ratione servata, ut ii qui eadem sine pretio, sicut diximus, restituerint, indemnitatem de nostra benevolentia sperent. In quibus omnibus supradicto corpori christianorum intercessionem tuam efficacissimam exhibere debebis, ut praeceptum nostrum quantocius compleatur, quo etiam in hoc per clementiam nostram quieti publicae consulatur. Hactenus fiet, ut sicut superius conprehensum est, divinus juxta nos favor, quem in tantis sumus rebus experti, per omne tempus prospere successibus nostris cum beatitudine nostra publica perseveret. Ut 0270B autem hujus sanctionis benevolentiae nostrae forma ad omnium possit pervenire notitiam, perlata programmate tuo haec scripta et ubique proponere, et ad omnium scientiam te perferre conveniet, ut hujus benevolentiae nostrae sanctio latere non possit.»

His litteris propositis, etiam verbo hortatus est, ut conventicula in statum pristinum redderentur. Sic ab eversa Ecclesia usque ad restitutam fuerunt anni decem, menses plus minus quatuor.