In AD 380, Emperor Theodosius made belief in Christianity a matter of imperial command: "It is Our Will that all the peoples We rule shall practice that religion which the divine Peter the Apostle transmitted to the Romans." Once, when Theodosius ordered 7,000 Thessalonians killed, Ambrose threatened to excommunicate him, and Theodosius eventually apologized publicly for what he had done.
[tags]Ambrose, BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Peter, Theodosius[/tags]