When Theodosius issues the Theodosian decrees historian Wise-bauer claims "Theodosius was not just Christianizing the Empire; he was beginning to rewrite it's history. The Theodosian  decrees were designed to place all Roman ideologies in unification with the teachings and practices of Orthodox Christianity. To Theodosius these decrees would prove to be a great way to unify the the Empire, and would cause Roman citizens of Rome to view him as an Empire who was seeking out the was esteeming the laws of the Divine above all man man-made traditions. However what Theodosius and his preceding Emperors failed to realize was that 'Christianizing the Empire' would not only unify the Empire, but place the state under the Church. In the Emperor's desire to employ Christianity as a new political technique for gaining power, they had in fact placed their power subject to the power of the Church. For example, In the Pannonia governor incident, Theodosius had committed an immoral act, which had previously been expected of an Emperor. Yet now, because the church and state had seemingly switched roles. Emperor Theodosius is excommunicated. It is the first time the Roman Empire has seen the church overpower the Emperor.