uring Constantine's reign in Europe, there were several developments that allowed him to gain power in Europe. Such changes had begun with the administration, the military and the effect of his edict of Milan, which caused an important division in Europe.

    To obtain a sense of Constantine's power, there were many precedents that allowed him to change Europe. For one thing, Diocletian had begun the separation of civil and military commands and Constantine completed his process so that there was an ever growing division between civilians and numerous and smaller geographical units. He was also responsible for the division of Moesia, but reunited Numidia and supressed other smaller provinces in Western Europe. Constantine also expanded civil service and military career. This militarization came naturally to Constantine since he was a military man himself. Constantine's new arrangements were accompanied by further reorganization of the central government and general charge of personnel. Officials helped to ensure the Constantine had tight control.

    With this possession of power and control, Constantine issued his Edict of Milan in the year 313, building on Galeriu's Edict of Tolerance but going much further by granting positive advantages and privileges to the Christian community which in the West was quickly recognized and accepted. The results of the Edict were that the policy involved an elevation of the clergy, who received all sorts of privileges. Church lands should not be taxed, provincial officials were to supply labor and materials for the construction of churches, a scheme by which allowances should be paid to nuns and others who were engaged in ecclesiastical positions. All this set a great deal of help to the churches of Western Europe and constituted an important developments. The top clerics, the bishops, received special attention, and were employed and given power.

    This rapid increase of power to church men in worldly affairs played a large part in driving people who objected to this development and were influenced by the current act of asceticism to become hermits in the desert. Christianity persuaded men who might have played a part in public affairs to turn their backs on public life and enter monasteries. The main reason why Constantine favored Christianity was because he believed that it would encourage unity. However, the Christian faith failed to achieve that goal, causing division from one christian group from the other. Constantine wanted an established Church to where all Christian individuals could belong and those who would not belong to it were dismissed as "heretics"-a term causing Christian accusations.

    There was of course a brighter side to this division of individuals in Western Europe. Men were able to differ from one another about theological issues and individual views could be expressed. Nevertheless, these disagreements were only a dead loss. The history of the Christians were damaged by the savage warfare which raged within their own ranks. Voltaire and Gibbon concluded that these wars had explained the fall of the Western Empire. Nevertheless, it remains true that the hostility between the sects was a destructive factor and played an important role in the politics of the fourth and fifth centuries. Constantine was immediately confronted by the damaging precedents. Two powerful heretical bodies of Christians made themselves felt. They were the donaists and Arians. They concluded that Constantine's idea of harmonious unity of Christians was totally abolished. As far as the Western Empire was concerned, it stood in disharmony. The Empire completely rejected the sovereignty of Constantine's official church. Before the year 315 ended, the Donaist bishop of Carthage died and was succeeded by Donatus who on November 10, 316, stood firm against the edict by Constantine. Bloodshed and violence was caused by the edict later regarded by Augustine as savage and by the resistance it had provoked.

    Constantine's idea of Christian unity within Western Europe was quickly demolished by division and accusation. Even though Constantine had power over the military, administration, or the church, the Edict of Milan resulted in a division that Constantine thought he could diminish.
 
 
 
 

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