The Edict of Milan & Egypt: Constantine and the Legalization of Christianity

Table of contents

1) Christianity in Egypt Before 313 CE

The roots of Christianity in Egypt stretch back to the apostolic era. Tradition holds that Saint Mark the Evangelist founded the Church of Alexandria around 42 CE, making it one of the earliest Christian communities in the world. By the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Alexandria had become a towering centre of Christian intellectual life, producing influential theologians such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen, whose writings shaped the theology of the entire early Church.

Yet before the Edict of Milan, Egyptian Christians lived under constant threat. Roman emperors periodically launched brutal persecutions — most notoriously under Decius (249–251 CE) and Diocletian (284–305 CE), whose reign is still remembered by the Coptic Church as the "Era of the Martyrs," so severe was the suffering inflicted on Egypt's faithful. Christians worshipped in secret, met in private homes, and risked death for their beliefs. The Edict of Milan was, for them, the dawn of a new world.

The Diocletian Persecution in Egypt

Emperor Diocletian's persecution (303–311 CE) was among the most severe Rome inflicted on Christians. In Egypt, churches were destroyed, scriptures burned, and thousands of believers executed or sent to labour in mines. The Coptic calendar — still used by the Coptic Orthodox Church — begins its year count from 284 CE, the year Diocletian came to power, commemorating those who died for their faith in what Copts call the "Era of the Martyrs" (Anno Martyrum).

2) Constantine & the Edict of Milan

Emperor Constantine I, having defeated his rivals and consolidated control over the Western Roman Empire, met his co-emperor Licinius in Milan in early 313 CE. Together they agreed upon a policy of full religious tolerance for all citizens of the Empire — the text of which historians call the "Edict of Milan," though it was technically a letter sent to provincial governors. The document went far beyond merely tolerating Christians: it ordered the restoration of confiscated church properties and granted Christians the right to organise, build, and worship freely.

For Constantine personally, the move was also strategic. He had reportedly experienced a divine vision before the Battle of Milvian Bridge (312 CE), and increasingly identified with the Christian God. While he was only baptised on his deathbed in 337 CE, his reign marked the decisive turning of Rome from a pagan empire to a Christian one. The Edict of Milan was the hinge upon which that transformation swung — and Egypt felt the effects almost immediately.

3) Impact on the Church of Alexandria

The Church of Alexandria was already one of the most prestigious Christian institutions in the world when the Edict of Milan was issued. Its bishops — who would later bear the title "Pope of Alexandria" — held authority over Christians across Egypt, Libya, and parts of Ethiopia. After 313 CE, their power grew exponentially. Bishops gained the right to sit in legal judgement, to receive imperial funding, and to administer vast tracts of formerly temple-owned land. The political weight of the Alexandrian Church became comparable to that of Rome itself.

Key Shifts in Alexandrian Church Power

Area	Change After 313 CE
Legal authority	Bishops gained judicial powers in civil disputes
Land & wealth	Temple estates transferred to Church ownership
Public worship	Open church construction began throughout Egypt
Imperial ties	Bishops attended councils funded by the emperor

The Council of Nicaea (325 CE) and Egypt

Just twelve years after the Edict of Milan, Constantine convened the First Council of Nicaea (325 CE) — the first empire-wide Christian council. Egyptian bishops played a central role: Alexander of Alexandria and his deacon Athanasius successfully argued against the Arian heresy, which had itself originated in Alexandria. The Nicene Creed produced at this council became the cornerstone of Christian orthodoxy and remains in use today by the Coptic, Catholic, and Orthodox churches alike.

Athanasius: The Stubborn Bishop of Alexandria

No figure better illustrates the new power of the Alexandrian Church than Athanasius (296–373 CE), who became Bishop of Alexandria in 328 CE. He was exiled five times by successive emperors who favoured Arianism, yet always returned — earning him the nickname "Athanasius contra mundum" (Athanasius against the world). His defiance demonstrated that the post-Edict Church was not merely a tool of the state; it had developed its own formidable institutional momentum.

4) The Fall of Egypt's Pagan Temples

The Edict of Milan did not immediately destroy Egypt's ancient pagan religion — but it set the clock ticking. In the decades that followed 313 CE, imperial funding for pagan temples was gradually withdrawn, temple estates were redistributed, and the legal status of paganism slowly eroded. The process accelerated dramatically under Emperor Theodosius I, who issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 CE making Christianity the official state religion, and the Edict of 391 CE effectively banning pagan worship throughout the Empire.

In Egypt, the results were swift and often violent. The great Serapeum of Alexandria — one of the most magnificent temple complexes in the ancient world, housing a famous library and cult statue of Serapis — was destroyed by a Christian mob led by Bishop Theophilus in 391 CE. Temples across the Nile Valley were either demolished, converted into churches, or simply abandoned. The ancient priestly class, which had maintained Egyptian religious traditions for over three millennia, ceased to exist as an institution within a generation.

5) New Churches Rise Across Egypt

As pagan temples fell silent, churches appeared across Egypt with remarkable speed. Constantine himself funded the construction of churches throughout the Empire, and Egyptian bishops used their newfound resources to build houses of worship in every major town and village. Many temples were repurposed directly: columns, stones, and even carved reliefs from pharaonic structures were incorporated into early Christian churches, creating an extraordinary architectural palimpsest that blended ancient Egyptian and early Christian aesthetics.

The monastic movement, which Egypt effectively invented through figures such as Saint Anthony of Egypt (c. 251–356 CE) and Saint Pachomius (c. 292–348 CE), also flourished after 313 CE. With persecution lifted, men and women could now retreat openly into the desert to pursue lives of prayer and asceticism. The monasteries they established — some of which, like the Monastery of Saint Anthony near the Red Sea, still operate today — became centres of learning, manuscript production, and spiritual authority.

Notable Early Christian Sites Built After 313 CE

• The Hanging Church, Cairo: Built over a Roman gatehouse in Old Cairo (Babylon), this church became one of the most important Coptic Christian sites in Egypt, with origins in the 3rd–4th century CE.
• Monastery of Saint Anthony, Eastern Desert: Established near the cave of Anthony the Great following his death in 356 CE, it is considered the world's oldest Christian monastery still in active use.
• White Monastery, Sohag: Founded by Saint Shenoute of Atripe in the late 4th century CE, built partly from stone taken from nearby pharaonic temples, a vivid symbol of the religious transformation sweeping Egypt.

6) Alexandria as a Christian Power Centre

In the century following the Edict of Milan, Alexandria cemented its status as one of the most important cities in the Christian world. Its bishop held the title "Pope" — a title shared only with the Bishop of Rome — and presided over the vast Diocese of Egypt. Alexandrian theologians such as Cyril of Alexandria (Archbishop 412–444 CE) wielded extraordinary influence, not just spiritually but politically: Cyril is credited (and blamed) for the destruction of the Neoplatonist philosopher Hypatia in 415 CE, illustrating how completely the city's power dynamics had shifted since the pre-Edict era.

The Alexandrian theological school continued to shape Christian doctrine throughout the 4th and 5th centuries. However, tensions with Constantinople and Rome eventually led to the Chalcedonian Schism of 451 CE, in which the Egyptian Church rejected the Council of Chalcedon's definition of Christ's nature and went its own way — giving birth to what we know today as the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an institution with an unbroken lineage traceable directly to the world that the Edict of Milan made possible.

7) Visiting Related Sites Today

Last updated: April 2025. Entry prices and opening hours are subject to change; verify with local authorities or your tour operator before visiting.

8) Sources & Further Reading

The following are reputable starting points used to compile the information on this page.

• Eusebius of Caesarea. Life of Constantine (Vita Constantini). c. 337–339 CE. — The primary ancient source on Constantine's conversion and the events leading to the Edict of Milan, written by a contemporary bishop and church historian.
• Bowman, Alan K. Egypt After the Pharaohs: 332 BC – AD 642. University of California Press, 1996. — A comprehensive scholarly account of Egypt under Greek and Roman rule, including the Christianisation of the country.
• Davis, Stephen J. The Early Coptic Papacy: The Egyptian Church and Its Leadership in Late Antiquity. American University in Cairo Press, 2004. — Detailed history of the Alexandrian papacy from its origins through the post-Edict era and the Chalcedonian Schism.
• Frankfurter, David. Religion in Roman Egypt: Assimilation and Resistance. Princeton University Press, 1998. — Examines how both paganism and Christianity evolved in Egypt under Roman rule, with particular attention to the transition period of the 4th century CE.

Hero image: Bust of Constantine I — State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Hanging Church image: CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Pompey's Pillar / Serapeum image: public domain, Wikimedia Commons.