The History behind it:The Emperor Constantine I was exposed to Christianity by his mother, Helena. Helena was one of the many early Christians who practiced Christianity secretly under the pain of death if caught by Roman officials.
Christian sources record that Constantine experienced a dramatic event in 312 at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, after which Constantine would claim the Emperorship in the West. According to these sources, Constantine looked up to the sun before the battle and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek words "Εν Τουτω Îικα" ("by this, conquer!", often rendered in the Latin "in hoc signo vinces"); Constantine commanded his troops to adorn their shields with a Christian symbol (The Holy Cross), and thereafter they were victorious.
Before the battle, a-convinced and evangelized Constantine, ordered his legions to remove the Roman Eagle from their standards and replaced it with the Cross.
Following the battle, Constantine ignored the altars to the gods prepared on the Capitoline to receive sacrifices appropriate for the celebration of his victorious entry into Rome, and the new emperor instead went straight to the imperial palace without performing any sacrifice. Constantine, unlike the hundreds of Roman Emperors before him did not accept the Divine offerings that citizens gave to him. Rejecting the old notions of the Divinity of the Emperor.
The accession of Constantine was a turning point for the Christian Church, generally considered the beginning of Christendom. After his victory, Constantine I took over the role of the patron for the Christian faith. He supported the Church financially, had an extraordinary number of basilicas built, granted privileges (e.g. exemption from certain taxes) to clergy, promoted Christians to high ranking offices, and returned property confiscated during the Great Persecution of Diocletian. The most important thing of all, was that he officially was baptized into the Christian Faith and made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire.
With that, the Roman Empire was conquered by Christ.
The very empire that crucified the Lord centuries earlier, ultimately, became Christian.
One of the greatest miracles of all.
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