Constantine (the Great?)

A Roman emperor by the name of Constantine I stopped the persecutions of Christians started by his predecessor, Diocletian. During Diocletian’s rule, Christians were not allowed to practice their religion; instead, they were required to follow the Roman gods. In order to enforce this, Diocletian persecuted those who were Christians. In 313, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan which allowed citizens to practice any religion without being punished.
Why did Constantine create the Edict of Milan and convert to Christianity?
Constantine led the Romans to many military victories including the Battle of Milvian Bridge. However, this battle differed from his other battles. Constantine faced Maxentius, a rebellious Caesar, making this a civil war. During this war, Constantine claims that he saw a symbol (The Labarum) which changed his views of Christians from that point on. Constantine believed that the symbol and Christianity helped him win the Battle of Milvian Bridge, so he converted to Christianity. Constantine created the Edict of Milan, supported the Church financially, built basilicas, granted privileges to clergy, and promoted Christians to high office positions.
Constantine earned “the Great” from Christian historians, but should he have deserved this title because he was a Christian? Constantine could have claimed the title through his military achievements as well.
In 337, Constantine fell ill. At this point in his life, he decided to be baptized in the Jordan River (where Jesus himself was baptized). Why did he put off baptism until the last days of his life? Some thought Constantine did this to be forgiven for as much of his sin as possible. However, all sin is forgiven as long as an individual confesses them and attempts to live life according to God. For this reason, I do not believe Constantine to be a good Christian. This is much like Christians today who claim to be Christian because they attend church, but they do not live the way God intends them to live. In both cases, I think hypocritical describes the situations, and for this reason I believe that Constantine does not deserve the title of “the Great.”
However, without Constantine, Christianity could be non-existent today. Constantine’s work of making Christianity popular and ceasing the persecution of Christians helped the religion stay alive and spreading. Today in America, Christianity is the most popular religion, and without Constantine, many Americans, including myself, would follow some other religion. For this reason, I think Constantine deserves the title of “the Great.”