St. Miltiades
Miltiades · 311 – 314
The pope who saw persecution end under Constantine and received the Lateran Palace as the Church's first major property.
Miltiades, probably of African origin, became pope in 311 and lived to see something no previous bishop of Rome had experienced: imperial favor. Emperor Constantine's Edict of Milan in 313 ended the persecution of Christians, and Constantine gave Miltiades the Lateran Palace as a papal residence. It was a staggering reversal. A Church that had been meeting in catacombs and private homes now had a palace. Miltiades also presided over a synod that ruled against the Donatists, who argued that sacraments performed by clergy who had lapsed during persecution were invalid. He rejected that position, holding that the sacraments depend on Christ, not on the worthiness of the minister.
From Catacombs to a Palace
Miltiades lived through the sharpest turn in Church history. One decade, Christians were hunted. The next, the emperor was handing over real estate. Whether that change was entirely good for the Church is a question Catholics have been debating for seventeen centuries.
Against the Donatists
The Donatists wanted to invalidate every sacrament performed by a priest who had wavered under persecution. Miltiades said no. If sacramental validity depended on the priest's holiness, no one could ever be sure their baptism counted. This ruling became foundational Catholic teaching.