1. 64-68 Persecution under Nero. (Martyrdom of Peter and Paul?)
2. 81-96 Persecution under Domitian.
3. 112-117 Persecution under Trajan. (Christianity outlawed but Christians not sought out)
4. 161-180 Persecution under Marcus Aurelius (Martyrdom of Polycarp of Smyrna).
5. 202-210 Persecution under Septimus Severus (Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas in
Carthage).
6. 235-238 Persecution under Maximinus the Thracian
7. 250-251 Persecution under Decius (the first truly Empire wide persecution; Christians
were actively sought out and required to make public sacrifice on pain
of death).
8. 257-259 Persecution under Valerian (martyrdoms of Cyprian of Carthage and Sixtus II
of Rome.
9. 270-275 Persecution under Aurelian.
10. 303-324 Persecution under Diocletian and Galerius. The most thorough and severe
of all the persecutions. Christian documents were sought out and destroyed.
I. Persecution of Christians started from the beginning as recorded in Acts, but Nero is
the first emperor to sanction the persecution of Christians (64-68 A.D.).
A. Romans speculated that Nero had started the fire that ravaged Rome in 64 A.D.
B. Accusing Christians would take the focus from himself.
C. The Roman historian, Tacitus, records Nero’s attempt at deception.
D. Nero’s persecution was local (Rome) and short lived.
II. Domitian’s persecutions were sporadic (81-96).
A. He executed members of his own family on charges of atheism.
B. Charges of atheism and “Jewish manners” generally refer to Christians.
III. Trajan advises his governors to not seek out Christians or pay attention to anonymous
tips 112-117).
A. If Christians would not worship the Gods they should be punished (not
necessarily executed).
B. Trajan seems more concerned with public order and participation in festivals
(indicative of loyalty to the empire) than in the religious views of Christians.
IV. Under Hadrian persecution for religious reasons, even refusal to worship the gods
was ended, so Christians were not under persecution by this emperor.
A. Being a Christian was no longer sufficient reason for arrest.
B. Christians could be tried only for acts that were specifically illegal.
C. There were legal consequences for those who falsely accused Christians.
V. Marcus Aurelius was Rome’s philosopher emperor. His persecution was from 161-180)
A. He was an old fashioned Roman who championed self-reliance and Stoicism.
B. He regarded Christianity as a superstition.
C. Many Christian leaders wrote him personally explaining Christianity (the
apologies), and he was sent copies of at least one of the gospels.
D. There is high probability that Aurelius never read any of the Christian
apologies or of the gospel(s) that were sent him.
E. He chalks up Christian martyrdom to sheer obstinacy and love for “theatrical
display.”
F. He believed Christians were dangerous to the state.
G. The laws of Trajan were reinstated. Polycarp of Smyrna was martyred, and
there was a large widespread martyrdom in Lyons, Gaul (France) at this time.
The bishop, Irenaeus, escaped only because he was away visiting at Rome.
VI. Severus, unlike Aurelius, had no personal feelings against Christians.
A. The church’s renewed sense of mission to the unsaved created tension.
B. Strong anti-Christian sentiment led to persecution in several cities scattered
around the empire between 202-210.
C. We have a detailed account of the martyrdom of a new convert named
Perpetua, who nursed her baby while in prison awaiting trial and execution.
VII. Under Maximinus the focus shifted from the newly converted to the bishops and
leaders of the Church.
A. Persecution is not widespread under this emperor, but lasted from 235-238.
B. Twelve years of calm followed this persecution.
C. Origen of Alexandria does much of his apologetic writing, and establishes an
intellectual superiority of Christianity over contemporary pagan writers.
VIII. The great persecution of Decius was the first truly empire wide persecution (250-251).
A. All citizens required to sacrifice to the emperor, and revere the gods in the
presence of a Roman official.
B. The official would then give the individual a certificate (libelli).
C. It was possible to bribe officials to obtain a libelus.
D. The questions for Christians: “Is it ok to bribe an official in order to not
sacrifice or pay honor to the pagan gods?”
E. Many Christians would not bribe and were executed.
1. Bishops of Rome, Antioch, and Jerusalem would not and were executed.
2. Bishop of Smyrna as well as some others sacrificed to the gods.
F. Many now start admiring the Christians willingness to die for their faith.
(the “blood of the martyrs” concept definitely comes into play at this time).
G. After the persecutions end (only months before Decius’ death) Christians have
a problem.
1. What to do about the lapsed who want to return to the fellowship of the
Church?
2. This divides the church, especially in North Africa. (The purists who
will exclude all those who lapsed under persecution, and the churches
who welcomed back those who repented.)
3. Cornelius, Bishop of Rome comes down on the side of readmitting the
lapsed. In arguing with the “purists” he will insist that the church
must forgive this sin. Many argue that no one knows if God will
forgive this, but the lapsed should be welcomed and leave final
judgment up to God. A small statement (the church will forgive
this sin) made in the heat of argument will have big consequences
in a few hundred years i.e., the church itself possesses the power
to forgive sin. This will become an important medieval doctrine.
IX. Under Valerian (257-259) all Christians were required to sacrifice to the gods.
A. Punishment for clergy was “exile”. A year later this was changed to “death.”
B. Christian Senators, administrators and other officials were given heavy fines,
and stripped of their positions in the government.
C. Persecution ended when Valerian was captured in a war with Persia (Iran).
D. His son, Gallienus, revoked all of the anti-Christian edicts of his father.
X. Emperor Aurelian’s persecution of Christians was so light that it hardly qualifies (270-275).
A. He hoped to give all Romans one god who was above the other gods.
B. He wanted Romans to worship their own god or gods, but to honor the sun.
C. There was some persecution of Christians who would not honor the sun, but it
was light, and those who refused to honor the sun were mostly ignored.
X. Diocletian was the last but greatest persecutor of the Christians (303-324).
A. Diocletian had two men close to him who were fanatically anti-Christian.
B. Perhaps Diocletian felt that eliminating Christians would bring greater unity
with everyone fully participating in the rituals and festivals of the empire.
C. Christians will be imprisoned but no blood will be shed. This is short lived
because there was no place for all of the prisoners, so execution followed.
D. Christian scriptures and all other Christian writings were to be burned.
E. Churches were to be torn down and all property of the Church and of
individual Christians was confiscated.
F. As persecution increased so did the Christians’ defiance. In Phyrgia an entire
town was wiped out rather than submit to the emperor.
G. In Egypt one eyewitness reported: “when we were at these places, many, all
at once in a single day, some suffered beheading, others punishment by fire,
so that the murderous axe was dulled, and worn out, was broken in pieces,
and the executioners grew utterly weary.”
H. Diocletian abdicated in 305 and turned the empire over to Constantius in the
west (the father of Constantine), and Galerius in the east.
1. Constantius stopped persecution in the west.
2. In the east Galerius continued persecution and actually tried to
reorganize paganism along the lines of the Christian Church, with
offices similar to bishop, presbyter/elder, and deacon.
XII. On the death of Constantius, his son Constantine was proclaimed emperor. A rival,
Maxentius, was defeated in 312, and in 313 Constantine met and defeated
Galerius’ successor, Licinius.
A. In a formal document, the Edict of Milan, in 313 the persecution of Christians
by the Roman Empire ended forever. Confiscated property was returned. All
persons of the empire were declared free to follow their own conscience.
B. In 324 Constantine announced his own belief in Christ and said it was his aim
to make Christianity the religion of the empire.
C. In 325 Constantine announced that he would build a new capital for the empire on
the site of old Byzantium.
D. The new capital will be called New Rome, but it quickly was referred to as the
City of Constantine, (Constantinopolis, or Constantinople).
E. Constantine began a program of building churches since most had been destroyed
by Diocletian.
A. The cathedral of the city will be called the Church of the
Holy Wisdom (gr. Hagia Sophia). It will be rebuilt by the Emperor
Justinian in the 6th century and will be the world’s largest church
crowned with the largest dome in the world for the next 1,000 years.
B. The Church of the Twelve Apostles was built to contain the body of
Constantine after his death. His intent was to get the bones of all twelve
Apostles to place in the church with their tombs surrounding his own.
C. Constantine will build the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
D. He will build the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
Two Christian Responses: The Glory of Martyrdom and Apologetics
“Though beheaded, and crucified, and thrown to wild beasts, and chains, and fire, and all other kinds of torture, we do not give up our confession; but, the more such things happen, the more do others in larger numbers become faithful.” — Justin Martyr —
In the face of persecution, many Christians chose to die before they would deny their Lord. Those who did so came to be called martyrs, which means “witnesses.” The second-century theologian Tertullian had converted to Christianity based in part on his wonder at Christians’ faithfulness in the face of martyrdom and it clearly had a similar effect on others as well. It was Tertullian who famously declared, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Indeed, persecution seemed to have a dramatic effect on Christianity’s numbers, but not in the direction intended by the persecutors.
A second response of the church to Roman persecution was to write apologies, or defenses, of the Christian faith. The bishops and leaders who wrote these defenses are known as the Apologists. Writing especially in the 2nd century AD, the Apologists’ primary goal was to defend Christianity against pagan accusations and misconceptions in an effort to stop the persecution. Thus they often addressed their works to Roman emperors. The Apologists explained, for example, that the Christian “love feast” did not involve cannibalism or orgies as many thought, but was a sacred meal of bread and wine in honor of Christ’s death.
The Apologists also sought to show that Christianity was equal or even superior to pagan religion and philosophy, and good for the Roman state. They pointed out that Christianity was just as old as Greek thought, having originated in the ancient religion of the Hebrews. They asked their readers to compare the ethical behavior of Christians and pagans. They explained that although they were not willing to sacrifice to him as a god, Christians prayed for the emperor’s welfare regularly.
The Apologists’ writings do not provide a full picture of Christianity in the 2nd century, as they were generally limited in their scope to responding to specific accusations. However, these early texts provide important insight into how early Christians related their faith to Greco-Roman paganism and why they personally found it convincing. Important Greek Apologists include Aristides of Athens, Justin Martyr of various cities, but lastly of Rome, Tatian of Assyria, Apollinaris (bishop of Hierapolis), Athenagoras of Athens, Theophilus of Antioch, and Clement of Alexandria. Notable among the Latin apologists were Marcus Minucius Felix and Tertullian.