[Cronos]

robby: Constantine’s choosing to make .. the state religion:

Robby, you are wrong, Constantine just in 313 with the Edict of Milan made the Empire religion neutral

his predecessor Galerius ended the persecutions of Christians in 311

And it was only Theodosius I, Flavius Theodosius Augustus who, on 27 February 380 declared the Catholic Church the only legitimate Imperial religion

It is our desire that all the various nation which are subject to our clemency and moderation, should continue to the profession of that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one diety of the father, Son and Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Catholic Christians;

So, this wasn't Constantine

[RobbyS]

Put it another way. Constantine made Christianity HIS religion, and what the big-cheese says, is what matters. Having done that, he then intervenes in the Arian controversy in order to create unity in the Church. He sends his mother to Jerusalem as a start to a make-over and builds basilicas there and in Rome for the new faith. Not only that but he mixes politics and piety by moving his capital from pagan Rome to the heavenly Christian east.

De facto usually beats de jure,