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Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire
In its first three centuries, the Christian church endured periods of persecution at the hands of
Roman authorities. Christians were persecuted by local authorities on an intermittent and ad-hoc
basis. In addition, there were several periods of empire-wide persecution which was directed from
the seat of government in Rome.
Reasons for persecution
The Roman Empire was generally quite tolerant in its treatment of other religions The
imperial policy was generally one of incorporation - the local gods of a newly conquered area were
simply added to the Roman pantheon and often given Roman names. Even the Jews, with their one
god and refusal to worship the Emperor, were generally tolerated
Christianity in the 1st century was largely still a Jewish sect, so-called Jewish Christianity, thus the
status of Jews in the Empire is valuable background to Roman persecution of the sect that would
become known to the Romans as Christians, which occurred largely in the 2nd century.
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DURING EMPEROR CALIGULA
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the "Crisis under Caligula" (37-41) was the "first open break" Roman War (66-73), Jews were officially allowed to
practice their religion as long as they payed the Jewish tax. Roman government had distinguished between Christians and Jews prior to Nerva's modification of the
tax in 96. From then on, practising Jews paid the tax, Christians did not
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the Romans, religion was first and foremost a social activity that promoted unity and loyalty to
the state
a religious attitude the Romans called pietas, or piety. that if piety
in the Roman sense were to disappear, social unity and justice would perish along with it.[
The Roman distaste for Christianity, then, arose in large part from its sense that it was bad for society.
In the 3rd century
On a more social, practical level, Christians were distrusted in part because of the secret and
misunderstood nature of their worship. Words like "love feast" and talk of "eating Christ's flesh"
sounded understandably suspicious to the pagans, and Christians were suspected of cannibalism,
incest, orgies, and all sorts of immorality
B
y the mid-2nd century, mobs could be found willing to throw stones at Christians, and they might
be mobilized by rival sects. The Persecution in Lyon was preceded by mob violence, including assaults,
robberies and stonings. When rumor seemed about
to expose Pontus was full of atheists and
Christians who had the hardihood to utter the vilest abuse to christiansdrive them away with stones i.
Further state persecutions were desultory until the 3rd century,
Christianity under the severest penalties," immediately adding that "Nothing is known as to the
execution of the edict in Rome itself nor of the martyrs of the Roman Church in this era
f the Christians were often given opportunities to
avoid further punishment by publicly offering sacrifices or burning incense to Roman gods, and were
accused by the Romans of impiety when they refused. Refusal was punished by arrest, imprisonment,
torture, and executions. Christians fled to safe havens in the countryside and some purchased their
certificates, called libelli. Several councils held at Carthage debated the extent to which the
community should accept these lapsed Christians.
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Persecution under Nero
the reigns of Tiberius
and Nero.
Implicating the Christians for massive act of arson,
Nero successfully capitalized on the already-existing public suspicion of this religious sect and, it
could be argued, exacerbated the hostilities held toward them throughout the Roman Empire.
Forms of execution used by the Romans included burning in the tunica molesta
murder, crucifixion, and the feeding of Christians to lions and other wild beasts
vast multitude, were convicted, not so much of the crime of incendiarism as of hatred of
the human race. And in their deaths they were made the subjects of sport; for they were wrapped in
the hides of wild beasts and torn to pieces by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set on fire, and when day
declined, were burned to serve for nocturnal lights."
The apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul are said by Christian writers to have been martyred in Rome
during this persecution;
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Persecution under Domitian
Jews and Christians were heavily persecuted toward the end of
Domitian's reign
The Book of Revelation was written during
Domitian's reign.
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EMPEROR TRAJAN
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Persecution under Trajan
Between 109 and 111 AD, Pliny the Younger was sent by the emperor Trajan (r. 98-117) to the
province of Bithynia as governor. During his tenure of office
Pliny encountered Christians, and he
wrote to the emperor about them. The governor indicated that he had ordered the execution of
several Christians, "for I held no question that whatever it was they admitted, in any case obstinancy
and unbending perversity deserve to be punished."
The emperor responded that
Christians should not be sought out, anonymous tips should be rejected as "unworthy of our times,"
and if they recanted and "worshiped our gods," they were to be freed. Those who persisted,
however, should be punished.
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EMPEROR MARCUS AURELIUS
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Persecution under Marcus Aurelius
Belonging to the later Stoical school, which believed in an immediate absorption after death into the
Divine essence, Marcus Aurelius considered the Christian doctrine of the immortality of the soul,
with its moral consequences, as vicious and dangerous to the welfare of the state. A law was passed under his reign, punishing every one with exile who should endeavor to influence people's mind by
fear of the Divinity, and this law was aimed at the Christians. At all events his reign was a stormy time
for the church, although the persecutions cannot be directly traced to him. The law of Trajan was
sufficient to justify the severest measures against the followers of the "forbidden" religion.
It was was during the reign of Marcus Aurelius that Polycarp, bishop of
Smyrna, was martyred, but newer estimates place it under the rule of Antonius Pius, and more
specifically the proconsul of Asia Minor, Statius Quadratus. Later, there is record of "new decrees"
making it easier for Christians to be accused and have their property confiscated.
EMPEROR Septimius Severus
One of the best-recorded acts of violence against Christians in Marcus Aurelius' reign is the
persecution in Lyons, which occurred in 177 AD. Over 48 Christians were killed in it
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Persecution under Septimius Severus
under him whom Christians suffered terribly was Septimius Severus who ruled from
193-211. Writing during his reign, Clement of Alexandria said, "Many martyrs are daily burned,
confined, or beheaded, before our eyes."
The emperor Severus may not have been personally ill-disposed towards Christians, but the church
was gaining power and making many converts and this led to popular anti-Christian feeling and
persecution in Carthage, Alexandria, Rome and Corinth between about 202 and 210.
In 202 Septimius enacted a law prohibiting the spread of Christianity and Judaism. This was the first
universal decree forbidding conversion to Christianity. Violent persecutions broke out in Egypt and
North Africa. Leonides, the father of Origen, a Christian apologist, was beheaded. Origen himself was
spared because his mother hid his clothes. A young girl was cruelly tortured, then burned in a kettle
of burning pitch with her mother. The famed Perpetua and Felicity were martyred during this time,
as were many students of Origen of Alexandria. It is reported that Perpetua, a young noblewoman,
and Felicitas, a slave girl, held hands and exchanged a kiss before being thrown to wild animals at a
public festival.
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Persecution under Maximinus the Thracian
Maximinus the Thracian initiated a persecution in 235 in the reign of that was directed chiefly against
the heads of the Church. One of its first victims was Pope Pontian, who with Hippolytus was banished to the island of Sardinia.
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Persecution under Decius Trajan
It was not until the reign of Decius that a persecution of Christian laity across the Empire took place.
"History of the Franks", written in the decade before 594 by Gregory of Tours, glosses the
persecutions:
"Under the emperor Decius many persecutions arose against the name of Christ, and there
was such a slaughter of believers that they could not be numbered. Babillas, bishop of
Antioch, with his three little sons, Urban, Prilidan and Epolon, and Xystus, bishop of Rome,
Laurentius, an archdeacon, and Hyppolitus, were made perfect by martyrdom because they
confessed the name of the Lord. Valentinian and Novatian were then the chief heretics and
were active against our faith, the enemy urging them on. At this time seven men were
ordained as bishops and sent into the Gauls to preach, as the history of the martyrdom of the holy martyr Saturninus relates. For it says: " In the consulship of Decius and Gratus, as faithful
memory recalls, the city of Toulouse received the holy Saturninus as its first and greatest
bishop." These bishops were sent: bishop Catianus to Tours; bishop Trophimus to Arles;
bishop Paul to Narbonne; bishop Saturninus to Toulouse; bishop Dionisius to Paris; bishop
Stremonius to Clermont, bishop Martial to Limoges." The persecution under Decius was the first universal and organized persecution of Christians, and it
would have lasting significance for the Christian church. In January of 250, Decius issued an edict
requiring all citizens to sacrifice to the emperor in the presence of a Roman official and obtain a
certificate (libellus) proving they had done so.
In general, public opinion condemned the government's violence and admired the martyrs' passive
resistance, and the Christian movement was thereby strengthened. The Decian persecution ceased in
251, a few months before Decius' death. The Decian persecution had lasting repercussions for the
church. How should those who had bought a certificate or actually sacrificed be treated? It seems
that in most churches, those who had lapsed were accepted back into the fold, but some groups
refused them admission to the church. This raised important issues about the nature of the church,
forgiveness, and the high value of martyrdom. A century and a half later, St. Augustine would battle
with an influential group called the Donatists, who broke away from the Catholic Church because the
latter embraced the lapsed
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Persecution under Valerian
Under Valerian, who took the throne in 253, all Christian clergy were required to sacrifice to the gods.
In a 257 edict, the punishment was exile; in 258, the punishment was death. Christian senators,
knights and ladies were also required to sacrifice under pain of heavy fines, reduction of rank and,
later, death. Finally, all Christians were forbidden to visit their cemeteries. Among those executed
under Valerian were St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, and Sixtus II, Bishop of Rome. According to a
letter written by Dionysus during this time, "men and women, young and old, maidens and matrons,
soldiers and civilians, of every age and race, some by scourging and fire, others by the sword, have
conquered in the strife and won their crowns." The persecution ended with the capture of Valerian
by Persia. Valerian's son and successor, Gallienus, revoked the edicts of his father
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Persecution under Diocletian and Galerius
Diocletian came to power in 284, and for twenty years upheld edicts of toleration made by a previous
emperor. His wife and daughter were Christians, as were most of his court officers and eunuchs
The reasons for this persecution are unclear, but Diocletian's actions may have been based on the
influence of his junior colleague Galerius (an adherent of Roman religion), Porphyry (an anti-Christian
Neoplatonist philosopher), or the usual desire for political unity.
In any case, Diocletian published four edicts of 303-04. The emperor ordered the burning of Christian
books and churches, but promised not to spill any blood. In actuality, the Diocletian persecution turned out to be extremely violent. This violence "did not succeed in annihilating Christianity but
caused the faith of the martyrs to blaze forth instead."
The emperor ordered the doors of the Christian church at Nicomedia, the capital, to be barred, and
then burnt the edifice with 600 Christians within. Many edicts were issued by him against Christians.
Churches were demolished, Christian books were seized and burnt, Christians were persecuted,
imprisoned, tortured and killed.
Christian churches were to be burned, all copies of the Bible were to be burned;
all Christians were to be deprived of public office and civil rights; and last, all, without exception,
were to sacrifice to the gods upon pain of death."
A fifth edict was issued by co-regent Galerius in 308 ordering that all men, with wives, children, and
servants, were to offer sacrifice to the gods, "and that all provisions in the markets should be
sprinkled with sacrificial wine." As a result, Christians either had to commit apostasy or starve. Says
Schaff: "All the pains, which iron and steel, fire and sword, rack and cross, wild beasts and beastly
men could inflict, were employed" against the church. Executioners grew tired with all the work they
had to do
The tide finally turned in the terrible struggle between paganism and Christianity in 311 when
Galerius admitted defeat in trying to bring Christians back to the pagan religions. He gave Christians
permission to meet as long as they didn’t disturb the order of the state. He even requested that they
pray to their God for the welfare of the state. The Eastern Orthodox church commemorates the
burning of 20,000 martyrs which occurred on 302AD under this persecution on the liturgical calendar
date of December 28.
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Persecution under Julian the Apostate
Julian the Apostate, the last pagan emperor of the Roman Empire, was brought up during a time that
paganism was in decline in Rome. Upon being proclaimed Augustus in 361 AD, Julian
immediately declared his faith to the old Roman Gods and began to bring about a pagan revival.
However, he was killed in Persia in 363 AD and his attempt to restore paganism ultimately failed.
Julian used many methods to subtly break the Church. He recalled bishops who had previously been
exiled for heretical teachings, stripped clergy of their rights to travel at the expense of the state as
they had done previously,[citation needed]
and banned Christians from teaching classical works such as the
Iliad or the Odyssey. Julian was replaced by the Christian emperor Jovian.
APOSTLE Paul was beheaded
