A Study Of The Conversion Of Noble Women To Christianity In The Eastern Part Of The Roman Empire In The 4th Century

Since the Edict of Milan was enacted in 313,Christianity,which had gained legal status,had grown rapidly in the Roman Empire.In the 4th century,the eastern provinces,represented by Egypt,became another theological center of the Roman Empire,and theologians produced fruitful Christian works,under the leadership of the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers,the desert monastic movement also ushered in its heyday,and the Christianity in the east was in full swing.In the process of Christianization in the eastern part of the Empire,one group we can not ignore is the Christian women of the Roman aristocracy,who had a profound influence on the development of Christianity in the 4th century.This paper mainly focuses on the study of the aristocratic female Christians in Egypt and Syria in the 4th century,and after the conversion of three aspects of the impact of the introduction.This article is divided into four chapters.The first chapter introduces the development of Christianity in the Roman Empire in the 4th century,and briefly summarizes the religious policies of the Roman authorities towards Christianity in the4 th century,the development of Christianity in Egypt and Syria in the 4th century and the relative independence of Christianity in the two places.The second chapter describes the reasons why the nobles women in Syria area of Egypt converted to Christianity in the 4th century,mainly from two aspects.First,aristocratic women could enjoy a relatively advantageous position within the church.They held senior positions within the church,enjoyed relatively independent status in the family and were relatively tolerant of women,especially widows.Secondly,Christian targeted propaganda will also promote the conversion of aristocratic women to Christianity.Theologians would use the stories of heroines in similar situations to lure aristocratic women to Christianity.The third chapter mainly introduces the situation of the aristocratic female Christians in the eastern part of the Roman Empire in the 4th century.First,they can have some autonomy in the family.Second,in terms of social activities,Christian aristocratic women with large assets often chose to give to charity,especially in the eastern regions,it is common for Christian aristocratic women to donate money to monasteries and theologians.Third,in the church,the 4th century oriental aristocratic women,especially in Egypt and Syria aristocratic women in the church can hold senior positions.Fourth,in terms of ideological movements,the Christian monasticism that prevailed in the eastern regions,represented by the Egyptians and Syrians,was very popular among the aristocratic Christian group of women,these Christian monasticism women,known as the “Desert Mothers”,played as important a role in the monastic movement as the “Desert Fathers”.The fourth chapter discusses the influence of the Eastern Roman aristocratic women’s conversion to Christianity in the 4th century.First,for Christianity,Christian aristocratic women contributed to the growth of the Christian population,expanding the theological influence of the eastern provinces and promoting the prevalence of Christian monasticism.Secondly,as far as Roman society was concerned,the aristocratic women of the upper class converted to Christianity,which accelerated the Christianization of the Roman upper class and promoted the transformation of the classical society,aristocratic women brought great wealth to the east to practice monasticism,which prompted the transfer of wealth to the eastern part of the empire.Finally,for women themselves,on the one hand,by converting to Christianity,aristocratic women could to some extent get rid of the constraints imposed on women in the traditional Roman society;on the other hand,Christianity did not eliminate the oppression of women in the patriarchal society,but became a new shackle of oppression of women.