Search results
In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding that they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to the gods.
The Great Persecution, from A.D. 303 to 311, was a time of sudden transition and massive change in the history of Christianity. It's the change and what caused it that we want to focus on. To do so, I want to rename the Great Persecution and give you my unique (but historically accurate) perspective.
- Though it's popular to believe that Christians were always being persecuted in the Roman empire, it's not true. Empire-wide persecutions were rare,...
- By 311, Galerius could no longer stomach the attack on the church. Along with Constantine and Licinius he issued the Edict of Toleration, ending th...
- Constantine the Great eventually took the rule of Rome from both Galerius and Licinius, finally defeating Licinius in a civil war in A.D. 324. The...
- Diocletian (and afterwards Galerius), with the Great Persecution, pushed on the Church, Constantine did the pull, turn, and throw. The Church crash...
The persecution of Diocletian began particularly to rage in A.D. 304, when many Christians were put to cruel tortures and the most painful and ignominious deaths; the most eminent and paritcular of whom we shall enumerate.
Feb 24, 2016 · The first edict of the Diocletianic persecution was promulgated on 24 February AD 303, the day following the Terminalia, a festival in honour of the god of boundaries, Terminus. The symbolism was clear: this would be the beginning of Christianity’s termination.
Sep 14, 2017 · While Rome in the third century had begun to codify anti-Christian laws, persecution was “relatively limited and local,” according to Bruce Gordon, a professor at Yale University. And that persecution mostly came to a halt following the death of the emperor Valerian (d. 260 A.D.).
Aug 13, 2024 · At the urging of the caesar Galerius, in 303 Diocletian began the last major persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, resulting in the destruction of churches and the torture and execution of Christians who refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods. Galerius, who succeeded Diocletian as augustus in 305, continued the persecution until 311.
On Feb. 23, 303, an imperial edict bearing the signature of the two emperors and the two Caesars was promulgated. It ordered the destruction of Christian churches and books, prohibited gatherings of Christians for worship, and deprived Christians generally of their civil rights.
