Document E: Religious Policy of Theodosius (Modified)

Emperor Theodosius received baptism at the hands of bishop Acholius

of Thessalonica during the autumn of 380 when serious illness
threatened his life. Theodosius continued to tolerate the traditional
pagan practices and rituals that did not include blood-sacrifice or did not
smack of treason against the emperor, until 391 at least. He then issued
a series of laws which seemed effectively to prohibit all pagan worship
by forbidding visits to pagan sites of worship or even the adornment in
any manner of the images of the gods. This apparent change of policy
on his part has often been credited to the increased influence of bishop
Ambrose of Milan.
An increasing number of militant Christians could be found throughout
Theodosius administration. Although he had voiced his support earlier
for the preservation of temples or pagan statues as useful public
buildings or as works of art, in 391 he officially sanctioned the
destruction of the most famous of the temples in the East, the
Serapeum at Alexandria. Bands of monks and Christian officials had
long been accustomed to take the law into their own hands and destroy
various centres of pagan worship, but the destruction of the Serapeum
seemed to confirm that such actions enjoyed the emperor's tacit
approval and served to encourage such action in the future also.
However, Theodosius had been effectively manipulated into sanctioning
the destruction of the Serapeum by local officials who had essentially
engineered the crisis there for this very purpose.
Theodosius importance rests on the fact that he founded a dynasty
which continued in power until the death of his grandson Theodosius II
in 450. This ensured a continuity of policy which saw the emergence of
Nicene Christianity as the orthodox belief of the vast majority of
Christians throughout the middle ages. It also ensured the essential
destruction of paganism and the emergence of Christianity as the
religion of the state.
Source: David Woods, professor of Ancient Roman History at University College of Cork. Published 1999.