The Moment Roman Paganism Became Mandatory
Imperial Decree, February 27, 380 AD:
"It is our will that all the peoples who are ruled by our administration shall practice that religion ... professed by the Pontiff Damasus ... that is, according to the apostolic discipline and the evangelic doctrine, we shall believe in the single Deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, under the concept of equal majesty and of the Holy Trinity.
We command that those persons who follow this rule shall embrace the name of Catholic Christians. The rest ... shall sustain the infamy of heretical dogmas ... and they shall be smitten first by divine vengeance and secondly by the retribution of Our own initiative ..."
"It is our will that all the peoples who are ruled by our administration shall practice that religion ... professed by the Pontiff Damasus ... that is, according to the apostolic discipline and the evangelic doctrine, we shall believe in the single Deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, under the concept of equal majesty and of the Holy Trinity.
We command that those persons who follow this rule shall embrace the name of Catholic Christians. The rest ... shall sustain the infamy of heretical dogmas ... and they shall be smitten first by divine vengeance and secondly by the retribution of Our own initiative ..."
🚨 Translation: Roman imperial hybrid paganism is now MANDATORY. Anything else = insane, heretical, criminal.
Who Was Theodosius I?
- Spanish general, became Eastern Emperor (379 AD)
- Political “conversion” for power and unity
- Promoted Sunday solar worship, Trinity, Roman ceremonies
- Absorbed pagan festivals (Christmas, Easter) and goddess cults into imperial religion
- Did NOT keep Yhwh’s Word, the seventh‑day rest, or the Name Yhwh
Political Motivation
- Empire weakened by defeat at Adrianople (378) and internal chaos
- Needed religious unity for military survival
- Solution: Make “Catholic” (universal) religion law of the land
- Political control, not devotion to Yhwh
What “Catholic” Actually Meant
- Whatever the emperor and his bishops defined at the time
- Included: Sunday worship, Trinity, imperial rituals, rebranded pagan festivals, saint/goddess system
- Excluded: Yhwh’s Word, seventh‑day rest, the Name Yhwh, appointed seasons from Yhwh’s Word, simple obedience
Immediate Results
- Arian Christians and Yhwh’s line purged
- Keepers of Yhwh’s Word and the seventh‑day rest criminalized
- Pagan symbols and holidays continued with new names
- Religious police state: informants, surveillance, forced conformity
- “Catholic” identity required for business, trade, education, status
The Global Impact
- Cities: churches built with confiscated wealth; symbols replaced but meanings persisted
- Rural: local pagan gods renamed as Christian saints; festivals retitled, practices retained
- Military: imperial creeds on standards; attendance compelled
🚨 The Ultimate Truth:
- February 27, 380 AD = The day Roman imperial paganism conquered civic life
- Yhwh’s line was outlawed; the Name Yhwh erased from public life; keeping Yhwh’s Word treated as a crime
- What survived? Roman paganism with Christian names — the beast in a new disguise