Constantine and the Conversion of Europe

By: Arnold Jones

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

The turmoil, both physical and mental, which the Roman Empire underwent during the chaotic third century, resulted in a Greco-Roman culture which was essentially exhausted. For a thousand years this culture had spread itself over the Mediterranean world in roughly the same recognizable architecture, law, art and religion. By the end of Diocletian's reign in the opening years of the fourth century, the pagan world had collapsed into the arms of a multicultural religious movement which had spread from the eastern Mediterranean. These were the "mystery religions" which had been in competition with one another for a century.

By the time of Constantine, they had spread everywhere within the empire. But one of these religions, Christianity, was chosen by the young emperor. His decision changed the course of history. By putting the bureaucratic weight of the empire behind the Christian church, Constantine brought the new religion into prominence. He gave it the breathing spell it needed to vanquish its rivals and establish its political dominance. But hardly had Constantine's proclamation been made before the new religion began to tear itself apart in a series of recriminations and heresies.

Listen and learn how Constantine guided this new force and placed his personal imprimatur on Christianity for all time.

©1948 Arnold Jones (P)2009 Audio Connoisseur

A Wonderful Insight to the Life of Constantine

This audiobook was a very thoughtful non-partisan look at the life of Constantine. The narrator did a very good performance of the book and I highly recommend it. I warn you however, it is abridged. I have a paperback copy of the book, and it does not exactly match what the narrator says.

Every Student Of History & The Church Should Read This Excellent Book

A must for ALL Theologians, it is Clear Constantine was a devoted Christian Post Conversion

Informational but biased

This book has much useful information and even some right deductions and opinions but in making pretentions for scholarly reasoning it cannot hide it's bigotry displayed in irony against Christianity and any Christian opinion. The narrator's tone emphasizes this irony. In fact it barely ever steps out of its ironic and overly theatrical tone so it is unpleasant.

A Lot of Potentially Boring Detail

I might have enjoyed this book more if I listened to the last chapter first, which summarizes the entire book. Much of the book is filled with detail of bishops and church officials and arguments and antics during Constantine's lifetime. Very interesting if this extremely narrow time period and topic appeals to the listener. Furthermore, the arguments between these long-forgotten characters are completely alien to the modern Christian, and the author acknowledges that fact occasionally. Most readers will simply be unable to associate with any of the sects battling with each other over early church doctrine. Theological hair-splitting that is very dense to the modern ear. Also, I thought there would be more material about the actual spread of Christianity throughout Europe. Instead the book chronicles the actions taken by Constantine that eventually resulted in the spread of the faith. Nonetheless, the book is reasonably interesting to anyone curious about the period. Most histories of Rome that I've read don't have any where near as much detail as this book does about Constantine's life and personality. I'm a history buff, but not a professional or academic historian and quite frankly it amazes me how much detail and actual dialog and day-to-day rundown of events has been preserved from this period. I have to assume that the actual dialog and text and correspondence quoted in the book is in fact accurate. I'd love to know what the primary sources are and where they are kept.

Regarding the reader, Charlton Griffin has the best reading voice for this kind of material and it's a pleasure to listen to. Direct quotations and speeches are produced with a reverb on his voice to set such quotations aside from the author's own writing. Listeners may or may not like it.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND A History of Rome, read by Charlton Griffin, also available on Audible.

Interesting, but a little misleading

While there is actually very little in this book about the conversion of Europe, it is nevertheless an interesting portrait of Constantine. The book focuses on Constantine's conversion and his subsequent push towards making Christianity the formal religion of the Empire. The book has a few sections that get a little dry when it focuses on the schisms and sects that began to emerge within Christianity is it grew within the Empire. Most of the focus in this book is actually on North Africa and the near east.

Constantine, and the actions that he took had huge impacts that can be felt to this day. His decision to make Constantinople a Capitol for the Eastern Provinces I believe created a divide in Europe that can still be seen. Western Europe and the religion that evolved there is to this day very different from the Orthodox Christianity that exists in Easter Europe. And the fact that the Roman Empire, and later Europe became the bastion of Christianity was certainly impacted by the actions of Constantine. The book points out many flaws and strengths that he seemed to have, certainly he was no Saint but he was markedly different from previous Emperors.

Charlton Griffin is one of the premier narrators for audio books and does an outstanding job in this one. I would recommend this book if you enjoy Roman History, it is however very slow in some parts, particularly those focused on the various infighting among the sects.

Not perfect

Sometimes rambly and un-linear, sometimes overly or underly detailed. It was ok for an introduction to Constantine, but not great. That said, I don't know why people praise Constantine as a Christian saint. Was he even a Christian? He postponed baptism till his deathbed because he believed baptism removed sins, and he had plenty of them; the murder of his wife and son in a fit of rage over their transgressions being just one of the standouts in his less than saintly life. It sounds like Christianity was to him a tool for unifying his empire. His theological motif was: Obviously God is with me because I have conquered my enemies.

Absolutely Spellbounding

Where does Constantine and the Conversion of Europe rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Probably one of the finest ever downloaded.

What did you like best about this story?

The history of this period basically set the stage for the entire rise of Christianity and the western world. The insights I gained gave me a better foundation for understanding the world then and now. The narrator was superb.

Have you listened to any of Charlton Griffin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I will now - I would download an Audible.com book just for his narration.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction - but the 4th century Christians were damn lucky Constantine was around.

Any additional comments?

I almost believed that Griffin's narration were the words of the emperor speaking them.

Great Book

I loved this book. You should probably have some prior knowledge about Constantine and his conversion; and there is sometimes way to much detail about the inner broils of the early Church. But it’s fascinating to see how one man’s conversion changed the entire history of Europe. The narrator is wonderful. I particularly enjoyed his deep voiced impressions while quoting an edict or letter of Constantine.

Either poorly written or poorly read

What didn’t you like about Charlton Griffin’s performance?

This narrator has an pompous English accent, which is a constant annoyance. In addition, for some reason, an echo effect is applied to quotations, which sounds ridiculous.
Apart from that, I'm not sure if the book is poorly written, or if it is all the narrator's fault.