(1) A Christian counsellor advising Emperor Theodosius on making Christianity the official

religion of the Empire.

Most excellent Emperor Theodosius, upon receiving word that you are
burdened with the conundrum of deciding whether to legislate Christianity as the
official religion of the Empire, I have without haste taken it upon myself to compile all
that I know regarding this matter into this letter, in hope that I may be granted the
honour of alleviating a portion of your burdens at this crucial crossroad in our
Empire’s growth. Without doubt, there is much to consider, Your Highness, but I hope
to present to you an overview of the salient benefits that our Empire may reap, as
well as the repercussions that may entail if we were to proceed with such a
legislation – that you may be placed in the most informed position to make a decision
that would bring our Empire to far greater heights and for Christianity to be at the
centre of that greatness!
Indeed, making Christianity the official religion of the Empire would allow for
knowledge of the gospel to be extensively spread throughout the Empire.
Considering it is the duty of a citizen or dweller to know and obey the law of the
Empire, doing so would certainly result in widespread awareness of the gospel. As
such, in view of the responsibility us Christians are entrusted with to spread news of
the gospel and teachings of Christianity, this benefit of intra-empire evangelism
through legislative means does seem worthy of our consideration. Additionally, and
in a more practical aspect, Your Majesty, making Christianity an official religion would
mean that the Church would receive much better funding! The rich and elite
members of society would be required by law to contribute financially to the Church,
and it would allow us to better develop the physical infrastructure of our churches
and improve the aesthetic quality of our rituals and ceremonies. In doing so, we
would be able to make Christianity more appealing to the layperson, again improving
our evangelistic efforts within the Empire since it would more likely catch the eye of
the layperson who did not previously find it appealing. More funding would also
mean that greater work can be done in the area of charity and social aid as it would
empower the Church to more widely reach out to the vulnerable and disadvantaged
(victims of plagues, prisoners, those in poverty) and in turn also allow for the
spreading of the gospel through these avenues. Furthermore, there would also be
positive implications on the spreading of Christianity outside the borders of the
Empire – better funding for the Church would also allow for more extensive
missionary work to be accomplished; the Church would be able to allocate more
resources and manpower towards increasing evangelistic efforts across the
Mediterranean.
Yet, Great Emperor, I do not want you to be unaware of the potential ways in
which this could backfire for the advancement of the Empire as well as for that of
Christianity in our land. If it were to be made compulsory by law for all to live by
Christian beliefs, values, and practices, how would it portray Christianity to the
masses? Though it may seem that widespread dissemination of knowledge about
Christianity is achieved, it may certainly instead backfire in that many people may
form a negative impression about Christianity and its values system – it would likely
be seen as oppressive, domineering, and forceful. From what we can observe in the
accounts of Jesus’ ministry, we can see that great emphasis is put on love and
gentleness towards both those who were willing to believe and those who were not.
After all, Your Highness, we believe him to be the Son of God, yet we could see that
he did not force people to believe in him by way of coercion with his divine power but
instead gave people the choice to believe or turn away from his words. Furthermore,
making Christianity the official religion of the Empire could complicate the process of
self-assessment on whether one has genuine faith or not. If obeying the Christian
law were to be part and parcel of being a lawful citizen of the Empire, it would be
difficult for a Christian to differentiate one’s own genuine faith that has culminated in
following Christian practices from the secular compliance to the Empire’s law. As a
result, although it may bring about many “conversions” and show many people
following Christian laws and practices, much of it may likely be built on a
disingenuous faith.
Making such a move may also undermine the current rulership of the Roman
Empire. By integrating Christianity and consequently the Church into the legislative
fabric of the Empire, it is most likely going to result in the dilution of power, where the
Church is going to want to have a say in how the Empire is run, since we would be
subscribing to Christian doctrine and values. This would certainly pose problems for
maintaining the allegiance of people towards the Empire as those who hold the Pope
in high regard may instead want him to have the greatest say in leading the Empire
and may hence shift in allegiance away from you, Your Majesty. Conversely (but in a
similar vein), such a political arrangement would also likely give rise to conflict
regarding who has the highest authority over the Church: you, Your Highness, or the
Pope? It is of course my belief that clearly, you have been anointed by God to take
on positions of great leadership and that you are certainly qualified to be the head of
the Church on top of being the head of the Empire; but it is likely that many
ecclesiastical leaders may think otherwise and strongly object to such an
arrangement as they place the Pope in the highest regard in terms of ecclesiastical
leadership. As such, I would strongly advise Your Majesty to carefully consider these
potential implications and the hindrance it could pose to the effectiveness of rulership
in the Empire as well as maintenance of good relations with the Church leadership.
It is not up to me to decide, Your Highness, but if I were to give a
recommendation on the issue at hand, I would suggest that Christianity should have
a prominent place in the Empire, but it should not be made the official religion such
that all are required by law to follow it. What this would mean is that Christian values
should continue to guide you in how you lead the Empire and make judgements on
what is right or wrong in implementing other laws and allocating resources, but there
is no need to force it upon the citizens and dwellers of the Empire to share the same
beliefs if it is against their will. The spreading of knowledge about the gospel and
Christianity can be done in ways other than through legislation, such as through
increased welfare for citizens across the Empire (in the name of Christianity) and
better funding for the Church can be obtained by reallocating funds from other areas
of the Empire, such as from the military budget. Though successfully doing so may
prove to be challenging, it is my belief that priority should be given to upholding
Christianity as the gospel of love and gentleness, rather than that of coercion; and
that obedience to Christian living should arise from a genuine faith rather than a
secular obedience towards laws set in place by the Empire. I also believe that
circumventing these challenges, though tricky, would still be a better problem to deal
with than the dilution of power with the Church or the potential shift of allegiance of
roman citizens and inhabitants. May God abundantly grant Your Majesty wisdom (as
he has been doing thus far) so that you may make the best decision for the Empire
in the days ahead!