In this, the 2nd part of a series, British journalist Michael Portillo, a former Conservative Party politician and lapsed Catholic, investigates the legacy of the Roman Emperor Constantine.
Constantine was the first Christian Roman emperor and he transformed Christianity from a clandestine handful of followers of Jesus Christ into one of the world's great religions with a global reach of over two billion worshippers.
Michal Portillo uses his politician's mind to unravel the process by which Constantine and the church came together and questions how ruthless imperialism came to be reconciled with Christ's pacifist, altruistic values. Portillo's conclusion is that once enthroned in a position of power, the church never looked back.
Christianity: A History - Rome
Compass, ABC TV1, 10.15pm Sunday, March 14