Constantine the Great and Peter I: strategies of state-confessional policy

Constantine the Great and Peter I are compared in the article in terms of their relationship to the Christian Church. The comparison of these rulers was an important element of the mythologizing of Russian history. As a result, the acts of Peter shade all pre-Petrine Russia's past (just as acts of Constantine distinctly shared by Christian Rome from the pagan Rome). Constantine was the protector of Christianity, while Peter strongly limited the rights and influence of the Church. However, in their religious policy is an important thing in common. Both emperors converted the church into an element of the state machine, and church leaders - in state figures. They both sought to maximize the mobilization and unification of social life.