: The Constantinian turn of the fourth century changed the circumstances of the Christian church. Instead of persecution, the Christian
movement was embraced by the emperor and provided with considerable
privileges. As the Christian movement had previously defined itself in opposition to the Roman power, this opposition was apparently suspended
by the emperors change of heart. The church, therefore, found itself in an
urgent theological dilemma: how should the church relate to the power
that was offered by the emperor and how could this relationship be justified in theological terms? Can power be used to proactively promote the
Christian cause in the world? Or is it rather a threat to the core of Christianity that must, therefore, be rejected?
Two bishops, Eusebius of Caesarea (265 – 339) and Athanasius of Alexandria (ca. 298 – 373), provided two theologically distinct, yet very different answers to these questions. This article explores their answers and the
very different political settings from which their answers arrived – one being counselor to the emperor, the other an exiled bishop. This seems to
have contributed to the development of two opposed yet also partly complementary views on the ideal relationship between Christ, the church, and
the emperor.