Roman rulers extending back to the earliest days of the republic and

beyond had always been responsible for maintaining the pax deorum,
the "peace of the gods and it was natural both for Constantine to
assume a position of leadership in the Christian organization once it
became one of Romes legally recognized religions... 283
The ancient world did not make such distinctions, for the state was
itself religious instituition, and the Emperor of Rome was in fact
literally and figuratively, pope Pontifex Maximus, head of the Roman
State religion . 36
H. A. Drake Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000)