archaeological, legislative) the problem of the end of the pagan temples in Hispania. The present article analyses, using all the available sources (literary. At the same time the imperial laws mantain and recommend that is necessary to preserve the temple buildings as emblematic monuments and useful buildings of the cities. There are in the Theosodian Code a series of imperial laws regarding the suppression of pagan sacrifices or idol’s cult (CTh XVI, 10) during the IVth Century. Those who argued the opposite pointed disdainfully at the continued presence of pagan images on his coins for some time after 312, his unwillingness to use any but the most general terms for deity in his public utterances, and, most damningly of all, evidence that he not only permitted the old cults to survive but even actively patronized them, at least on occasion. Was he in truth a pious son of the church, or was he rather a political mastermind who seized on the power he could gain by subordinating this well-organized and doctrinaire group to his will? Admirers pointed to the enormous powers and benefactions he bestowed upon the church, the Christian character of his laws, and his suppression of pagan cults. At one time, the only question that needed to be asked about that role was how “sincere” Constantine’s conversion had been. But Constantine’s role in bringing about this reversal is more problematic. Before the century ended, the tables were turned completely, with traditional sacrifices outlawed and the old state cults forbidden. When he died in 337, Christian leaders had assumed the rank, dress, and, increasingly, the duties of the old civic elite. In 306, when Constantine was first elevated by his father’s troops, the imperial government was in the middle of a concerted effort to remove all traces. The impact of Constantine on Christianity can be summarized fairly quickly: during the thirty years of his reign, more change took place in the status, structure, and beliefs of the Christian Church than during any previous period of its history. More importantly, they allow religious bodies to retain control over their own histories, which is essential for small, sometimes threatened, groups like contemporary Pagans. Yet archives are essential to gaining credibility and respectability in the greater American (even global) religious landscape. "Archival" materials related to these bodies tend to reside on hard drives or in file cabinets in members' homes or offices hardly a dependable setting for long-term preservation. are smaller, younger, or less secure than mainline Christian denominations, have neither created nor maintain formal archives. This is especially true in the case of contemporary Pagan religious bodies, many of which, whether because they tend to be non-scriptural, or because they. Although religious archives as they exist today are a relatively recent development, the need to maintain a collection of materials essential to the administration of a church or other religious body emerges at the moment that body is founded.
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