“And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
- The New Testament, “The Acts of the Apostles,” Chapter 11, Verse 26 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)
Constantine was the first Roman emperor to become a Christian. Thus, “Ancient Roads from Christ to Constantine” is really a history of the early Christian faith, from its beginning with Christ to its flourishing under Constantine. After his conversion, Christianity became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. Today, it is the world's largest religion; and it is doubtful that it would have ever become that way otherwise.
The presenter is a professional historian from the Royal Holloway University of London …
But this documentary starts out much earlier than the conversion of Constantine. It starts with the birth of the babe in Bethlehem, as told by the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The host, Jonathan Phillips, visits the site of Bethlehem where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born. Local traditions pinpoint an exact spot for this birth, which he shows in the documentary. It is now marked by a beautiful church with commemorative art. This visiting of the original sites is a feature of this documentary, which allows it to visually tell the story for television in a good way. I'm not always sure that these really are the “original sites,” but they are probably the best educated guesses that scholars today can make. Thus, they would seem good enough for a television audience. The host is actually a professional historian from the Royal Holloway University of London. I do not know whether he is a believing Christian, but I would not be surprised if he were (which is a good thing for me). He also gives the impression of being a great scholar (and a great storyteller), and he certainly seems like the perfect person to tell this story for television. The host uses many artistic interpretations of the events depicted here, which may not always be from the original time period. (Given the lack of period paintings, though, I have no complaints on this score – the later paintings are better than nothing, and they have much artistic merit to boot. But I'm no professional art critic, so don't quote me on that … )
Painting of Jesus Christ
The first three episodes (and part of the fourth) are about New Testament times …
The first episode is called “Birth of a Faith,” which chronicles the life of Jesus Himself. As expected, this episode culminates in the “passion narrative,” or the story of His crucifixion and resurrection. This story is so central to Christian belief that it cannot be omitted, and Mr. Phillips' coverage does not disappoint in this matter. The second episode is called “The Great Missionary,” and you can probably guess from the title what it's about. (Yep, the apostle Paul. You guessed it!) The third episode is called “Age of the Apostles,” and some of Paul's story also appears here. There is also coverage of Peter and John, so some other apostles are covered, too. There are doctrinal controversies in the early church, which Paul addresses through his letters. Thus, the story of the “Pauline Epistles” is told, but the real focus here is on the Book of Acts. Phillips visits Biblical cities like Antioch as well, near the city of “Antakya” in modern-day Turkey. This is important for the story of the early church. The fourth episode is called “From Apocalypse to Heresies,” and it starts with the writing of the Book of Revelation on the isle of Patmos. They visit the cave on this island where local traditions say that John wrote this book. This is one of the highlights of the series for me.
Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, as depicted by a seventeenth-century artist
The last part of the fourth episode also covered some doctrinal controversies in the early church
The later portion of the fourth episode is the part where I encountered some territory that I was not as familiar with. I grew up on New Testament stories, but my faith does not emphasize the period after the New Testament. But, I am glad to hear other points of view about Christian history, and so do not object to their inclusion in this documentary. Since my faith does not emphasize this period, much of the material was somewhat new to me; and so I learned much from Mr. Phillips' coverage.
Jonathan Phillips, the host of this series
Some of my own beliefs can be found in this time, although they were (and are) somewhat unpopular …
Some have criticized my faith for “strange beliefs,” which they believe were “invented” by Joseph Smith. But similar beliefs are sometimes found in this time, and Mr. Phillips covers some of them here. (For example, the absence of infant baptisms, and the idea of “secret knowledge” about God which is not to be shared publicly, like that which we claim to be found in our our church's temples.) These beliefs were regarded as “heresies” in the early Church, but they are accepted as doctrinal in my faith, so I found them especially interesting. Please note that this does not mean that I agree with all of the beliefs presented here as “heresies,” only that I do accept some of them.
Adult baptism of Emperor Constantine, which was fairly typical for the time
The fifth episode is about a period of persecutions of Christians by the Roman pagans
The fifth episode is called “Pagans and the Cult of Martyrs,” and I freely admit that its content was also somewhat new to me. This is because the episode actually focused on the persecution of the early Christians by Roman pagans – a widespread phenomenon at this time, unfortunately. I sympathize far more with the Christians of this time than with the Roman pagans, and thus gladly rooted for the Christians in their conflicts with the pagans. Nonetheless, the host and the talking heads make clear that not all pagans at this time were bad people; and that they sometimes looked upon the Christians as good neighbors. I wish these friendly attitudes towards Christians had been more widespread then. With some exceptions, though, most persecutions of the Christians were instigated at the local level, rather than at the broader imperial level. Local religious competitors often saw the Christians as a threat, and were sometimes not above executing them when they refused to renounce Christianity. This is one of the sadder aspects of this time. There were even some persecutions instigated by Rome's imperial government, although these were more rare, and tended not to last as long. Fortunately, things got somewhat better after the advent of “Constantine the Great,” the subject of the last episode.
Amphithéâtre des Trois-Gaules, in Lyon – the site of some of these persecutions
The sixth and final episode is about Constantine
The sixth and final episode is simply called “Constantine,” and this title is accurate. Some have questioned whether Constantine converted to Christianity out of genuine religious conviction, or did so for more “political” reasons. But Christians were a small minority in the empire at this time (albeit a significant one); and therefore, Constantine would have had very little to gain by this. Thus, it seems clear to me that Constantine's own conversion was genuine; despite the claims to the contrary from some today. I've seen the story of Constantine covered elsewhere, by two documentaries about the Roman Empire. But this coverage seemed to me to be the best. (These two other documentaries, incidentally, are the History Channel's “Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire,” and the BBC's “Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire.” The documentaries are different, but the titles are similar.) Again, “Ancient Roads from Christ to Constantine” seems to give the definitive coverage of this period. It also seems to give the equally definitive coverage of the persecution period that preceded it. We Christians owe much to these martyrs for their sacrifices, whether we are Catholics or Protestants or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Constantine
The last episode also covers the formulation of the Nicene Creed
As I mentioned earlier, the host of this program gives the impression of being a believing Christian. He also seems to believe in the Nicene Creed as well, and gives some good coverage of its history. Although I do not subscribe to the Nicene Creed myself, I did enjoy hearing about the history behind its formulation. I acknowledge that my views are somewhat unorthodox in this matter, and that most Christians do tend to believe in the Nicene Creed. Nonetheless, if any might wonder why a Christian like me would decline to believe in the Nicene Creed, I invite them to view this explanation of our beliefs here if they so choose. I will, in any case, show the same respect for their Trinitarian doctrine that I would hope that my readers will extend to my doctrine. Most of them, thankfully, have been very respectful of my beliefs in the past, even when they have not agreed. Their courtesy in these matters is much appreciated for a multitude of reasons, and it has often been a pleasure to have them as friends and neighbors (not to mention readers).
16th-century fresco of the Council of Nicaea in 325
Christians still have much common ground today
I have noted some differences of belief in this post, where it seemed appropriate. But I nonetheless feel much common ground with the Christians of both the early churches, and the contemporary churches. I have benefited from hearing their perspectives in these matters (including in this documentary). In that spirit of hearing other perspectives, I hope that my readers will feel some benefit from having heard a Latter-Day Saint perspective in this post. Life is much better when we can share our thoughts freely, I think, about important matters (even when reasonable people can disagree about them); and still regard each other as brothers and sisters afterwards, when all is said and done.
“But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”
- The New Testament, “The Acts of the Apostles,” Chapter 11, Verse 9 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)
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If you liked this post, you might also like:
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A review of PBS’s “Jerusalem: Center of the World”
A review of Bettany Hughes’ “The Spartans”
A review of Bettany Hughes’ “Athens: The Dawn of Democracy”
A review of “The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization” (PBS Empires)
A review of “Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire” (History Channel)
A review of “Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire” (BBC)
A review of “The Roman Empire in the First Century” (PBS Empires)
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