Editing Constantius II (section)

===Religious issues===
[[File:07 constantius2Chrono354.png|thumb|right|270px|Constantius II depicted in the [[Chronography of 354]] dispensing largesse (a [[Renaissance]] copy of a [[Carolingian art|Carolingian]] copy)]]

[[File:Byzantine - Belt Section with Medallions of Constantius II and Faustina - Walters 57527 - Back.jpg|right|thumb|Section of a belt containing two gold medallions, the larger coin depicting the triumphant emperor in his chariot;<ref>{{cite web |publisher= [[The Walters Art Museum]]
|url= http://art.thewalters.org/detail/# |title= Belt Section with Medallions of Constantius II and Faustina}}</ref> The Walters Art Museum]]
{{Main|Religious policies of Constantius II}}

====Paganism====
Laws dating from the 350s prescribed the death penalty for those who performed or attended pagan [[sacrifice]]s, and for the worshipping of [[cult image|idols]].<ref name="Kirsch04pp200-201">Kirsch, J. (2004) ''God against the Gods'', pp.200-1, Viking Compass</ref><ref name="CodexTheodosianus16.10.2">''The Codex Theodosianus On Religion'', 16.10.2</ref><ref name="CodexTheodosianus16.10.6">Theodosian Code 16.10.6</ref> Pagan temples were shut down,<ref name="CodexTheodosianus16.10.4">{{cite web| url = http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/codex-theod1.html| title = 'The Codex Theodosianus On Religion', XVI.x.4, 4 CE}}</ref><ref name="hughes"/> and the [[Altar of Victory]] was removed from the Senate meeting house.<ref name="Sheridan66">Sheridan, J.J. (1966) ''The Altar of Victor – Paganism's Last Battle.'' in L'Antiquite Classique 35 : 186–187.</ref> There were also frequent episodes of ordinary Christians destroying, pillaging and desecrating many ancient pagan temples, tombs and monuments.<ref name="Ammianus22.4.3">[[Ammianus Marcellinus]] ''Res Gestae'' 22.4.3</ref><ref>[[Sozomen]] ''Ecclesiastical History'' [https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/26023.htm 3.18].</ref><ref name="CodexTheodosianus16.10.3">Theodosian Code 16.10.3</ref><ref name="CodexTheodosianus9.17.2">Theodosian Code 9.17.2</ref>
Paganism was still popular among the population at the time. The emperor's policies were passively resisted by many governors and magistrates.<ref name="hughes">"A History of the Church", Philip Hughes, Sheed & Ward, rev ed 1949, vol I chapter 6.[http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/HUGHHIST.TXT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223191523/http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/HUGHHIST.TXT|date=23 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="Ammianus9.10and19.12">[[Ammianus Marcellinus]] ''Res Gestae'' 9.10, 19.12. quote summary: Ammianus  describes Pagan sacrifices and worship taking place openly in [[Alexandria]] and [[Rome]]. The [[Roman Calendar]] of 354 cites many Pagan festivals as though they were still being openly observed. See also the descriptions of Pagan worship in the following works: Firmicius Maternus De Errore Profanorum Religionum; Vetus Orbis Descriptio Graeci Scriptoris sub Constantio.</ref><ref name="Bowder1978">Bowder, D. (1978) ''The Age of Constantine and Julian''</ref>

In spite of this, Constantius never made any attempt to disband the various Roman priestly colleges or the [[Vestal Virgin]]s. He never acted against the various pagan schools. At times, he actually made some effort to protect paganism. In fact, he even ordered the election of a priest for Africa.{{sfn|Vasiliev|1958|p=68}} Also, he remained [[pontifex maximus]] and was deified by the Roman Senate after his death. His relative moderation toward paganism is reflected by the fact that it was over twenty years after his death, during the reign of [[Gratian]], that any pagan senator protested his treatment of their religion.{{sfn|Salzman|2002|p=182}}

====Christianity====
Although often considered an [[Arianism|Arian]],{{sfn|Jones|1964|p=118}} Constantius ultimately preferred a third, compromise version that lay somewhere in between [[Arianism]] and the [[Nicene Creed]], retrospectively called [[Semi-Arianism]].<ref>Pelikan, J. J., ''The Christian Tradition'' (1989), pp. 209–210</ref>{{sfn|Gaddis|2005|p=92}} During his reign he attempted to mold the Christian church to follow this compromise position, convening several Christian councils. "Unfortunately for his memory the theologians whose advice he took were ultimately discredited and the malcontents whom he pressed to conform emerged victorious," writes the historian [[A. H. M. Jones]]. "The great councils of 359–60 are therefore not reckoned [[Ecumenical council|ecumenical]] in the tradition of the church, and Constantius II is not remembered as a restorer of unity, but as a heretic who arbitrarily imposed his will on the church."{{sfn|Jones|1964|p=118}}

According to the [[Greek historian]] [[Philostorgius]] (d. 439) in his ''Ecclesiastical History'', Constantius sent an [[Arianism|Arian]] bishop known as [[Theophilos the Indian|Theophilus the Indian]] (also known as "Theophilus of Yemen") to [[Tharan Yuhanim]], then the king of the [[South Arabia]]n [[Himyarite Kingdom]] to convert the people to [[Christianity in pre-Islamic Arabia|Christianity]]. According to the report, Theophilus succeeded in establishing three churches, one of them in the capital [[Zafar, Yemen|Zafar]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=Greg |title=Rome, Persia, and Arabia: shaping the Middle East from Pompey to Muhammad |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-0-415-72880-5 |location=London & New York |page=90}}</ref>

====Judaism====
Judaism faced some severe restrictions under Constantius, who seems to have followed an anti-Jewish policy in line with that of his father.{{sfn|Schäfer|2003|p=180-181}} This included  edicts to limit the ownership of slaves by Jewish people<ref name="Codex Theodosianus 16.9.2">[[Codex Theodosianus]] 16.9.2</ref> and banning marriages between Jews and Christian women.<ref name="Codex Theodosianus 16.9.2"/> Later edicts sought to discourage conversions from Christianity to Judaism by confiscating the [[Apostacy|apostate's]] property.<ref name="Codex Theodosianus 16.8.7">[[Codex Theodosianus]] 16.8.7</ref> However, Constantius's actions in this regard may not have been so much to do with Jewish religion as with Jewish business—apparently, privately owned Jewish businesses were often in competition with state-owned businesses. As a result, Constantius may have sought to provide an advantage to state-owned businesses by limiting the skilled workers and slaves available to Jewish businesses.{{sfn|Schäfer|2003|pp=180–181}}