Did Constantine Create Christianity? How Rome Changed the Church
Updated: Oct 3
The short answer: Constantine did not create faith in Yeshua; that began with a Jewish Messiah, Jewish apostles and the Hebrew Scriptures. But Pastor Chris teaches that Constantine reshaped the church. Once he embraced Christianity in the early 300s, it became the path to power in Rome, and many converts brought their pagan practices with them. Pagan statues were renamed, Mary was elevated to a place Scripture never gives her, and Sunday replaced the Sabbath God made holy. Today the Lord is calling His people back to the original faith.
The emperor and the sign
In this episode of The Shift Connection, Pastor Chris and Josh go back to the 300s and to one of the most influential figures in church history: the Roman emperor Constantine. Before his rise, believers in Yeshua were being persecuted, many of them meeting in hiding.
On his way to confront his rival Maxentius in Italy, history records that Constantine had a dream telling him to put a Christian sign on his soldiers' shields. He then saw a vision of a cross of light above the sun with the words "In this sign you will conquer," and his army is said to have seen it too. Constantine ordered the sign placed on the shields, won the battle and began using Christian symbols on his imperial standards, even though he was not yet officially a Christian.
Josh points out that Constantine's mother was a devoted Christian, which may have influenced him. Pastor Chris believes some kind of spiritual intervention took place, but questions whether it came from heaven or from somewhere else, because of how much what followed distorted the faith.
When Christianity became the path to power
After Constantine's victory, the whole Roman Empire began to shift. Believers went from hiding to holding powerful positions in the courts. If you wanted to advance in the army or the civil service, being a Christian made it easier. Christianity became not only legal but almost necessary for advancement.
Josh believes many of those conversions were political. And as crowds entered the church for the sake of power, they did not leave their pagan beliefs at the door. They brought them in. That, Pastor Chris says, is where things began to get messy.
A Jewish Messiah, remade for Rome
Yeshua was a Jew with Jewish disciples in a Jewish culture, and the Scriptures, from Adam to Noah to Moses, come from the Hebrew world. The first followers of Messiah were Jewish believers. God chose Paul, Rabbi Shaul, to bring the Good News to the Gentiles, the nations, who came to faith and were grafted in.
But as Rome took ownership of the faith, Pastor Chris teaches, it was reshaped to be more acceptable to the empire. Over the centuries, Western art went on to portray the Messiah as a fair, European figure, and that image was carried to the nations. His Hebrew name is Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ in English, and Pastor Chris is clear that there is power and authority in His name in either language; arguing over the name misses the point.
Renamed statues and new idols
Rome's public squares were filled with statues of pagan gods. Pastor Chris and Josh describe how, once the empire turned Christian, those images were not removed but rebranded: statues of Jupiter were presented as Peter, and images of the Egyptian goddess Isis holding her child became depictions of Mary holding the baby Yeshua. This, Pastor Chris says, is how idols entered the church.
He is careful about the spirit of this teaching. He is not judging anyone; he is presenting history so people can be set free and experience the fullness of God. Mary was a great woman, chosen by God, and nothing is taken away from her. But she was not divine. She was a sinner saved like all of us, and the commandment is clear: "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). We do not pray to her.
And if you grew up in these practices, Pastor Chris says, do not feel condemned. God knows you followed Him with a sincere heart. But now that truth is being shown to you, search it out. Study the Scriptures for yourself and pray, because the Spirit of God will guide you into all truth.
Baptism by your own decision
Pastor Chris teaches that baptism also changed. Yeshua was immersed by John, Yochanan, when He was about thirty (Luke 3:23), and the Spirit descended like a dove as the Father said, "This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." Those John immersed came with a conscious decision to repent and die to themselves.
Yeshua told Nicodemus in John 3:5, "Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Pastor Chris teaches that true immersion is a person's own public decision to die to self so that Messiah can live in them. A baby cannot make that decision, so he sees infant baptism as one of the enemy's lies, leaving people believing they are already baptized when they never chose it.
Sunday replaced the Sabbath
Pastor Chris says one of the most far-reaching changes was the day of worship. The commandment says, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8). Constantine made Sunday the official day of rest, honoring the day many pagans already devoted to the sun. Josh admits he had always assumed Sunday worship was simply about the resurrection.
Pastor Chris teaches that the true day of worship is the Sabbath, mentioned throughout Scripture, and that on the Sabbath heaven is especially open to prayer and healing. At the same time he is balanced: Yeshua is greater than the Sabbath, God hears prayer in Yeshua's name any day of the week, and no one should condemn themselves. Each person must look into it in their relationship with the Father, who leads open hearts deeper and deeper.
Pressed like an olive
In the studio sits an olive tree, and Pastor Chris uses it to bring a word. The olive tree represents God's people with two branches, Jewish and Gentile. Kings like David and Solomon, and Messiah Himself, the Anointed One, are pictured in the anointing oil of the olive. But the only way to get oil out of an olive is to press it. Seasons of pressure and the wilderness are how God brings out what is valuable in us and shows us what needs to be removed.
In order to bring the oil out of the olive, you need to press it.
Breaking generational patterns
Pastor Chris shares that before coming to Messiah, he spent years in Buddhism, Hare Krishna and the New Age, practicing kundalini awakening and astral projection, and that his family is Catholic. Over about ten years he has watched his family come into covenant with the Lord.
Exodus 20:5 says God visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Him. Many families follow traditions passed from grandparent to parent to child without ever examining them. But it only takes one person in a family coming into covenant with the truth for that pattern to be broken. Josh says he might be that one for his family.
Josh shares that what brought him to faith was going back to the roots: seeing that Yeshua was Jewish and kept the Sabbath. When the Scriptures were explained in their original context, everything made sense, and God touched him. That is the invitation of this teaching: not a religion built on Rome's traditions, but a living relationship with the risen Messiah on His terms.
Frequently asked questions
Did Constantine create Christianity?
No. Faith in Yeshua began with a Jewish Messiah and Jewish apostles. Pastor Chris teaches that Constantine reshaped the church by making it the path to power in Rome, which brought pagan practices inside.
What did Constantine see before his battle?
History records a dream and a vision of a cross of light above the sun with the words "In this sign you will conquer." He put the sign on his soldiers' shields and won.
Was Constantine a genuine believer?
Pastor Chris and Josh question it. He used Christian symbols before becoming a Christian, his mother was devoted to the faith, and conversion soon became a way to gain influence in the empire.
How did pagan practices enter the church?
Pastor Chris teaches that people converted for advancement and brought their beliefs with them. Statues of gods like Jupiter and Isis were rebranded as Peter and Mary.
Should Christians pray to Mary?
Pastor Chris teaches no. Mary was a great woman chosen by God, but she was not divine, and Exodus 20:3 says, "You shall have no other gods before Me."
Is infant baptism biblical?
Pastor Chris teaches that immersion must be a person's own conscious decision to die to self, as with those John immersed. Yeshua said one must be born of water and Spirit (John 3:5).
Who changed the Sabbath to Sunday?
Pastor Chris teaches that Constantine made Sunday the official day of rest, a day pagans already devoted to the sun, while the commandment says to keep the Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8).
Do I have to keep the Sabbath to be saved?
Pastor Chris teaches that Yeshua is greater than the Sabbath and God hears prayer every day. He encourages believers to seek the Father about it, not to condemn themselves.
Take the next step
If this stirred something in you, do not walk it out alone. Join the Faith Sower community on WhatsApp for daily Bible study, prayer and teaching with Pastor Chris and believers around the world.
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