The article examines how the character of the emperor Constantine was formed in the Christian histories of Late Antiquity. The author shows a variety of approaches to describing the character of the first Christian Emperor, a gradual, controversial and long process of creating the now familiar image and a far from equal attitude of Christian historians of the 4th-7th centuries towards this legendary person. Nevertheless, it is noted that in spite of all local differences and ambiguity in interpretations, church historians form a rather compact group in representing and eval- uating Constantine the Great's activity and present a more or less consistent version of events. The character of the first Christian Emperor has become significant for Christian historiography not only as an example of individual piety, but also as one of mnemonic schemes important for designing a new vision of history and creating a Christian historical narrative: the figure of emperor Constantine is associated with the beginning of true faith (the Council of Nicaea) and with the fundamentals of power (the foundation of Constantinople and new laws). Therefore, the ra- tionale for and the evaluation of the whole historical path of the Byzantine Empire and the formation of a new identi- ty are largely determined by the characterization of this person.
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