04. The Christian Roman Empire
419,721
Published 2012-04-05
The emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity brought change to the Roman Empire as its population gradually abandoned the old religions in favor of Christianity. The reign of Julian the Apostate, a nephew of Constantine, saw the last serious attempt to restore civic polytheism as the official religion. The Christian church of the fourth century was divided, however, by two serious heresies: Arianism and Donatism. Religious dissent led to the intervention of the emperors at church councils and elsewhere. Professor Freedman then introduces St. Augustine's Confessions, including an overview of Platonism.
00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction
08:09 - Chapter 2. Julian the Apostate
12:17 - Chapter 3. Essential Heresies: Arianism and Donatism
26:04 - Chapter 4. Essential Heresies 2: Manicheanism
30:06 - Chapter 5. Roman Emperors and Christian Heresies
40:33 - Chapter 6. Introduction to St. Augustine's Confessions
43:51 - Chapter 7. Platonism
Complete course materials are available at the Yale Online website: online.yale.edu
This course was recorded in Fall 2011.