Niš, less often spelled in English as Nish, is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in the southern part of Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 182,797, while its administrative area has a population of 260,237 inhabitants.

Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a pivotal role in elevating the status of Christianity in Rome, decriminalizing Christian practice and ceasing Christian persecution in a period referred to as the Constantinian shift. This initiated the cessation of the established ancient Roman religion. Constantine is also the originator of the religiopolitical ideology known as Constantinism, which epitomizes the unity of church and state, as opposed to separation of church and state. He founded the city of Constantinople and made it the capital of the Empire, which remained so for over a millenium.