Constantine’s Faith

The Enigma

Constantine ended the relatively short term discrimination against the Church of Rome but it was not by making it the state religion.

What he actually did was to ban discrimination against any religion. He did not expect the Church of Rome to demand supremacy and was disappointed and disillusioned  by the way they reacted.  He intervened to support both the Donatist and Arian heresies. He was only baptised on his death bed and he was baptised as an Arian.

Chrestos

The name of “Christian”  is a real mystery . Many early Christians, including some of the Church fathers such as Justin Martyr, actually called themselves Chrestians rather than Christians.  Marcionites referred not to Jesus Christ, but to Isu Chrestos.  The oldest known Christian inscription, dating from 318 AD, was found over the doorway to a Marcionite Church and read, “The Lord and Saviour Jesus the Good” – the title Chrestos being used rather than Christos. According to Lactantius, another early Christian writer, “it is only through ignorance that men call themselves Christians instead of Chréstians.

The  tenth century copy of the history of Tacticus was modified later to change Chrestian to Christian”The gospels were originally written in Greek, not Aramaic or Hebrew, and that is not to buy into the argument of what Jesus and his disciples spoke( probably Aramaic but possibly Greek as a second language).

The greek word for “Annointed” and therefore Messiah is “Christos” and this is probably where the name “Christians” came from. However long before Jesus birth both Mithras the Persian and Roman god and  Osiris, the Egyptian god who was the husband of Isis were known as Chrestos.

There is a prophecy of the Erythrean Sybil which states, “IESOUS CHREISTOS THEOU HUIOS SOTER STAURUS”.  This literally means “Iesus, Christos, God, Son, Saviour, Cross”.  This is quite weird when you think that it was made by a Pagan oracle several hundred years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth!

The title Chrestos was also used to refer to gods themselves.  There is, for example, evidence that the Egyptian sun god Osiris was called Chrestos, whilst the word Chrestos can be seen on a Mithraic relief in the Vatican.  Mithras was a sun god popular in Rome around the time of Jesus, many aspects of whose cult (including his birthday of 25 December) were absorbed into Roman Christianity.  In this sense, the title Chrestos was linked to the god as a saviour figure or Soter.

The Good Men

By the time of Jesus, though, Chrestos had acquired an outward meaning of a kind, good or honourable man – a title that would precede a person’s name much like ‘the honourable …’ in modern English.  So Jesus became the “Good Man Jesus”. Chrestos continues to mean ‘honourable, upright or virtuous’ in modern demotic Greek.

All this leads us to believe that Cathars called themselves “Good Men” and that the only link with christianity was that Jesus was a “Good Man”. This can be interpreted as meaning that Jesus shared their faith or that like Mohammedans they regarded Jesus as a special person but not God.

The Church of Rome seems to gone out of it’s way to claim that Cathars and a dozen other similar sects were all ‘Christians’, heretic but part of the Christian Community and therefore under the their judiciary. Because of variations in translation or the deliberate mistranslation, the  records the Roman Church claim that the Cathars called themselves “Good Christians”.

SPQR

Vexilloid The Roman standard before the time of Constantine. SPQR is an acronym for Senatus Populusque Romanus–For the Senate and the People of Rome.The Roman standard before the time of Constantine carried the insignia SPQR, which is an acronym for Senatus Populusque Romanus–For the Senate and the People of Rome. The standard was topped by an eagle.

Chi Rho

constantinevision

Constantine adopted the Chi Rho Symbol at the battle of Milvan bridge in 312, and he won.The Church of Rome claims that Constantine saw a vision before the battle of the Chi Rho Symbol and that Chi rho are the first letters of Christ in greek and that subsequently Constantine adopted the Christian faith.

Sol Invictus

Labarum of Constantine Constantine adopted the Chi Rho Symbol at the battle of Milvan bridge in 312, and he won.The Church of Rome claims that Constantine adopted the faith Certainly Constantine changed the Roman Standard. Chi Rho replaced the eagle as a symbol. Rarely mentioned however are the three balls below which effectively replace SPQR, as a dedication. They are in fact a representation of the Sol Invictus, the Mithratic god of the Sun ,Bel god of Babylon and Ra god of Egypt.Certainly Constantine changed the Roman Standard. Chi Rho replaced the eagle as a symbol. Rarely mentioned however are the three balls below which effectively replace SPQR, as a dedication. They are in fact a representation of three visions of the same god, the Sol Invictus; the Mithratic god of the Sun , Bel god of Babylon and Ra god of Egypt.

Sunday

constantine-and-his-labarum This coin, from 321 shows the labrum impaling a snake. In this year Constantine demanded that Sun day, the day of Sol Invictus, be made a day of rest. this was subsequently adopted by the Church of RomeIt wasn’t only his standard which did not comply with what the Church of Rome would like us to believe.

A coin from 321 shows the labrum impaling a snake.  In this year Constantine demanded that Sun day, the day of Sol Invictus, be made a day of rest. This was subsequently adopted by the Church of Rome.

The Baptism

Constantine and Sol Invictus This coin was issued three years before Constantine's death If there is any doubt who is on the reverse of the coin it is spelled out " Soli Invicto Comiti"

Another coin was issued three years before Constantine’s death. If there is any doubt who is on the reverse of the coin it is spelled out ” Soli Invicto Comiti”

It would appear that Constantine is honouring both Christian and Pagan Gods almost equally until the end of his life. Constantine was baptised as an Arian on his death bed. The Arian faith had little in common with the Church of Rome and may have predated the birth of Jesus.

From Egypt

It is Egyptian In a way it does not matter what the origins of Chi Rho are although Sir Flinders Petrie apparenty found it on several even earlier monuments. This coin proves it predates Christianity by a long period and so it throws into doubt exactly what is the meaning of the symbol on Constantine's Labrum and therefore Constantine's relationship with the Church of Rome

In 230 BC, over five hundred years earlier Greek teachers and students used Chi Rho in the margin of texts to indicate passages they liked. It was the first letters of Chreston meaning “good’.

At about the same time Ptolemy, Pharoh of Egypt issued a coin, on the obverse of which an eagle was strangling a snake. Between the legs of the eagle, unexplained in any way is the Chi rho symbol. In a way it does not matter what the origins of Chi Rho are although Sir Flinders Petrie apparenty found it on several even earlier monuments. This coin proves that the use of Chi Rho as a symbol predates Christianity by a long period and so it throws into doubt exactly what is the meaning of the symbol on Constantine’s Labrum and therefore Constantine’s relationship with the Church of Rome.

And of course a major city in Egypt is still known as Chi Rho though it is usually spelled as Cairo.

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Extract from The Prisoner of Foix--Chapter 43 -The EntranceNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley-26th April 1355

 

'Looks like we are going to see a bit of excitement, John. The Captain tried to get an agreement from the Prince that if there is surf running across the channel to Arcachon we will turn back to Bordeaux, but the Prince would hear none of it. Instead, he has offered to provide insurance for all three ships. If they are damaged or sunk, the owners will be compensated and every sailor who makes the passage will be given a bounty payment. What none of this seems to take into account is that if we sink in rough, fast-flowing waters we might all drown.'

John raised his eyebrows. 'But that is what we are going to do?'

'Yes, despite the fact that surf running accross the entrance is not uncommon and the deep water channel moves continually. In the end, the Prince attacked their captains on their weakest point, their professional pride! He threw down the gauntlet. He offered to take the Sally first through the channel, and to take control during the passage.' He raised his brow. 'We are going into the Bay of Arcachon, come what may! '

Extract from The Eagle of Carcassone -- Chapter 24-- A Real GoddessNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley - 22 July 1355

An hour later John walked with Ximene close to the river along the valley below St Feriole. It was the very essence of a summer’s day. The sun was fierce but in the shadow of the trees, it was cool and fragrant. The trees and shrubs along the riverbank hid their progress, from the Château, from St Feriole.

Eventually they reached a point where John thought it was safe to emerge from cover. To his satisfaction the stream extended into a pool with a sandy beach, shaded by trees. Where the stream entered the pool there was a flat grassy area, almost circular. Behind this, the bulk of two mountain ridges provided a splendid backdrop. He looked around once more ‘Not just a good training ground but a great training ground. If the Greek heroes knew about this they might be tempted to join me, to train with me’

Ximene laughed out loud. He turned to look at her. She had removed her outer clothes and was wearing a white chemise, cut short so that it barely reached her knees. Around her waist, she wore a plaited leather belt, obviously fashioned from the multitude of leather straps to be found in the tackle room.

She ran her hands down over her breasts. ‘When you were unconscious I heard you muttering about gods and goddesses, so  I have decided that from now on, for you, I will be the goddess.’

The Prisoner of FoixVol 1 of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

Aquitaine, an English possession, is in crisis. It is under threat from neighbouring nations and internal dissension.

The Black Prince, King Edward III’s eldest son has been given the task of taking command in Aquitaine.

Suddenly there is an opportunity. Ximene Trencavel is the heiress to the lands of Occitan, to the east of Aquitaine: lands controlled by the Franks. Ximene wants independence, both for herself and for Occitan.

A union between Aquitaine and Occitan would be mutually beneficial. The Black Prince undertakes a secret journey to meet Ximene to negotiate a marriage contract. It is, however, a marriage neither of them really wants.

Meanwhile, the  Franks plot to murder Ximene to prevent ,not just the marriage, but any kind of union between England and Occitan.

The Eagle Of CarcassonneVol II of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

The loose alliance between Ximene Trencavel and the Black Prince is under threat.

The Prince invades Occitan, to show his support for Ximene but it becomes an invasion which creates more problems than it solves.

The Prince has fallen hopelessly in love with Joan of Kent and Joan is now determined to marry him and become the next Queen of England.

Joan is therefore  determined to convince Ximene that she should not marry the Prince.

Part of her strategy is to encourage Ximene’s relationship with John Stanley—one of the Princes bodyguards—not an easy task as both John and Ximene have doubts about their compatibility.

However, John is grievously injured in a battle and Ximene commits herself to nurse him back to health.