Christening the Cross Bible in Babylon

The general had just given an order that probably left his soldiers bewildered. They all had to paint a sign on their shields. The battle was just hours away. The sign represented a sect.

- SANJAY PODDER

Christening the Cross

And till the other day, these very soldiers had been slaughtering anyone who followed that sect.

The general had camped just outside the capital but he was hugely outnumbered and was concerned. Then he suddenly saw a vision in the sky with a sign. Beneath the sign was inscribed the message 'in hoc signo vinces,' which means 'In this sign, prevail.' The general interpreted this as divine intervention.

In the battle that followed, the enemy was routed. And the general got hold of the world's greatest empire. More importantly, he attributed his success to the vision he saw and became a follower of the sect. It was the first time the sect was getting patronage from the very empire that had been persecuting it ever since it came into existence. This patronage would transform the obscure cult into the most followed religion across the globe.

It was 312 CE. Only a few years back Emperor Diocletian had divided the mighty Roman Empire into the Western and Eastern halves for better administration.

He further sub-divided it into four. A separate person was in charge of each subdivision with Diocletian retaining one in the East. To ensure that the people in charge do not rebel, he kept their sons and also groomed them. One of them was a young Constantine, Diocletian's favourite. Though Diocletian was an able administrator, like many Roman Emperors in the past he too was intolerant towards the strange sect-Christianity. Christians' belief in one God and their blunt refusal to perform animal sacrifices were in direct conflict with the beliefs and practices of the ruling Pagan Rome. In fact, it was an insult to all their gods.