God's own Church - a sign of the times

This bronze statue of the Roman Emperor Constantine sits near the south door of York Minster.

Constantine, or Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all religions throughout the empire.

The bronze plaque explaining the significance of locating a statue of a Roman Emperor outside York Minster, was stolen by metal thieves, on November the 5th, to join the mountain of electrical cables, drain covers, lead roofing and even war memorial plaques, regularly nicked and handled by the contemptible nerds in our society.