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Good morning.

Anniversaries often produce wonderful celebrations, and the biggest anniversaries often produce the biggest parties. We delight with those who celebrate a Golden Wedding dinner, a 100th birthday message from the Queen, last week's 60th anniversary of the coronation, and occasionally something much more ancient like this year's celebrations at St Andrews University, founded 600 years ago. But I'm sure I can't remember ever before celebrating – to the exact day – a 1700th anniversary, and an important one at that.

On this day in 313 AD the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great granted the Edict of Milan, giving religious freedom throughout the lands of the Empire, the end of the persecutions that had so shaped and bruised the early Christian Church. It was a kind of giving of light. Men and women could follow the light of their conscience, and know that their beliefs were no longer channelled and constricted. They could follow the light they found in Christian Scriptures, guided and inspired by story and poetry and teaching in those words.

1700 years later we understand what that freedom meant, what it means in a society rich in diversity and steeped in traditions of respect; even if we are each faithful to the tradition we long for our children to follow.

Allowing light to pour freely into the life and thoughts of someone else, when they are our child or our pupil or our student, is the most wonderful gift that adults can offer.