PERSECUTIONS AGAINST CHRISTIANS. — This term refers to the harassment suffered by the Church at the hands of the Roman Empire, from the Neronian persecution (AD 64) to the promulgation of the so-called Edict of Milan (AD 313).
The first signs of persecution seem to have arisen under Claudius (AD 50), according to Suetonius, when that emperor expelled from Rome the Jews who were rioting because of Chrestus (Vita Claudii, 25, 4; Acts 18:1; Rom 16:3). It is now generally accepted that this phrase should be related to Christianity (cf. H. Janne, Impulsore Chresto, in Ann. de l'Inst. de philos. et d'hist. orient., Brussels 1934, p. 254), though it is uncertain whether it refers to some unclear phrases in a letter of Claudius to the Alexandrians (id., Un passage controversé de la lettre de Claude aux Alexandrins, in Rev. archéol., 3rd series, 35 [1932], p. 273). In those years, as in the following decades, the general public did not distinguish Jews from Christians, so that the latter were caught up in the pagans’ hatred of the former.
The Romans tolerated the profession of any cult that did not conflict with the laws and morality, but they did not allow public manifestations that were linked to the public life of the nation, particularly the worship of the goddess Roma and the genius of the Emperor, which in the provinces especially were the mark of legitimate subjection. Christians, who shunned all religious ceremonies and, in principle, all public office, military service, and social obligations that were intimately connected with idolatrous acts, living apart and far removed from all manifestations of luxurious and profane life, were regarded as haters of the human race (v. ACCUSATIONS AGAINST CHRISTIANS). This led to a determination on the part of the authorities to exterminate them and provided a pretext for popular uprisings.
I. Legal basis of the persecutions
During the three centuries of persecution, Christians lived in a hostile atmosphere that at times became particularly violent. Yet, despite all the hatred and calumnies heaped upon them, Christians could not be legally prosecuted except by virtue of specific legal provisions enacted against them; indeed, there is no evidence that they were prosecuted for common crimes. It is generally agreed that during the 2nd century the norm established by Trajan was in force: “They are not to be sought out [conquiri non sunt]; if they are accused and convicted, they must be punished.” But on what legal basis did Trajan establish this procedure? Some (Le Blant) have therefore thought that Christians were persecuted under the general law against crimes of treason and impiety, rightly or wrongly attributed to Christians. Others (Profumo), however, believe that a decree of Tiberius against all kinds of enemies of the Empire and the Roman people was invoked, and that Nero was the first to apply it to Christians. Others again (Th. Mommsen), while admitting that Christians could well have been prosecuted under the existing general laws against crimes of treason, were in fact prosecuted under the ius coercitionis granted to Roman authorities to safeguard the security of the Empire and social tranquility: a police authority by which they could and should act against anyone who in any way endangered the public good and order. Finally, others (P. Allard, C. Callewaert), and perhaps they are closer to the truth, believe that Nero, following the investigation into the fire, issued a legal decree, the institutum Neronianum mentioned by Tertullian, which was summed up in the legal maxim: christianos non licet. This also explains the persistent hostility toward Christianity among the Roman ruling classes over many years. One fact, however, is certain and universally admitted: Christians were persecuted for a religious reason. Whenever an accused denied being a Christian, he was set free, but if he persisted in his beliefs, he was found guilty and sentenced to capital punishment, which could be death or relegation.II. Judgments, tortures, and penalties in the persecutions
While civil law was gradually softening during the Empire, criminal law, on the contrary, became more despotic and cruel. Torture, once reserved for slaves, was extended to plebeians, and new kinds of punishment were devised. Christians bore the brunt of this harshness. Arrested by municipal agents or soldiers, they were thrown into prison, where, however, they could, with the connivance of the guards, be visited by relatives and friends who brought them food, clothing, and especially the ministers of the Church. The trial, which was quite brief, took place before the ordinary magistrate in the secretarium or in a public place in the presence of the people. The Christian was urged to comply with the laws, and torture was sometimes used to harden him; during this process, it was not uncommon for the victim to die. No witnesses or defense by lawyers were required: all that was needed was an abjuration to be saved. The trial usually ended with a sentence of capital punishment, condemnation to hard labor, exile, beheading, exposure to beasts or fire, crucifixion, immersion in boiling liquids, and other forms of death.III. History of the persecutions
The first was instigated by Nero. The proximate cause is indicated by Tacitus (Annales, XV, 44) as the fire that in July AD 64 devastated 10 of Rome’s 14 regions. Accused by popular rumor of being the author, the emperor shifted the blame onto the Christians, who were arrested en masse, tried, and condemned. To the injustice was added mockery and cruelty, for to make the slaughter more spectacular Nero opened his gardens to the public, where Christians, covered with wild beasts’ skins, were exposed to the bites of dogs or, crucified, were burned to provide light at night. Unfortunately, no reliable document has preserved their names, except those of the Apostles Peter and Paul, who perished, one crucified, the other beheaded. The persecution, which arose from a local and contingent cause, must have spread to the provinces as well.From the death of Nero, because of the internal struggles for the imperial throne and the indifference of the Flavians, Christians were left in peace. However, in the last years of his reign, Domitian, because of opposition from the Senate, became cruel and bloodthirsty. Christians were swept up in the storm, perhaps because they were included in the tax imposed on all Jews and those who lived “more iudicio.” In any case, Christian writers are unanimous in designating Domitian as the second persecutor. The persecution, as far as is known, struck illustrious personages, among them the emperor’s own relatives, Flavius Clemens with his wife Domitilla, and Acilius Glabrion. The Apostle St. John, according to Tertullian (De praescript. haeret., 36, 3), after being immersed in a cauldron of boiling oil, was exiled to the island of Patmos. Martyrs were not only in Rome but in all the provinces of the Empire, as can be deduced from the Apocalypse, from Pliny’s letters to Trajan, and from Eusebius of Caesarea. Domitian recognized his error toward the Christians and revoked his orders (Tertullian, Apol., 5; Eusebius, Hist. eccl., III, 20).
Trajan (98–117) did not issue new edicts of persecution, but regulated procedure with the famous Rescript to Pliny the Younger (v.), laying down that Christians were not to be sought out; if accused and convicted of being Christians, they were to be punished unless they recanted by sacrificing; anonymous accusations were in any case not to be entertained. Tertullian noted the illegality of this arrangement (Apolog., 2): for if Christians were guilty, they should be convicted and punished, not merely for being Christians. There were victims under Trajan; among the most illustrious are Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, exposed to beasts in Rome, Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem, and many others mentioned in the letter of Pliny the Younger and in the letter of St Polycarp to the Philippians.
The dispositions which Trajan intended to mitigate persecution by regulating its application remained in force under his successor Hadrian (117–38), who took care to prevent popular outbursts against Christians and to impress upon provincial governors that they should act in accordance with legal norms, even threatening severe penalties against false accusers (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., IV, 8, 26). There were martyrs, among them Pope Telesphorus (137). The same situation continued under Antoninus Pius (138–61); some Roman martyrs are mentioned by St Justin in his Second Apology (ch. 1). During the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161–80) the application of the laws grew harsher. He and his philosophical circle entertained a profound contempt for Christianity. The populace, for its part, multiplied disturbances against Christians and grew more hostile as their numbers and social importance increased. Victims of this mood were, in Rome, St Justin, accused by the Cynic philosopher Crescens, the group of martyrs at Lyons (177; V. LYONS), and at Smyrna the venerable bishop Polycarp (v.). The religious policy remained the same under Marcus Aurelius’ son Commodus during the first three years of his rule. From 183 onwards the favourite Marcia obtained, among other favours, the recall of some Christians exiled in Sardinia (Philosopoumena, 9, 12). In these early years, however, there were martyrs, especially because of the hostility of certain governors. To this period belong those of Scillium (Africa), put to death at Carthage in 180, the senator Apollonius at Rome, and others in Phrygia, Syria and Cappadocia.
With the third century the relations between Empire and Christianity took on a new aspect, thanks to fresh legislative dispositions; on the other hand, the Church, ever more extensive, acquired greater influence in social life, organized itself and came to possess property. A new persecuting policy was inaugurated by Septimius Severus (193–211). In the early years of his reign, preoccupied as he was with struggles against rivals, he did not alter the previous jurisprudence. At the beginning of the third century, however, he issued a decree by which he forbade conversions to Christianity (Spartianus, Vita Severi, 17) and, with the neophytes and catechumens, struck also their teachers and instructors; as a consequence the famous School of Alexandria, already flourishing, was closed and many of its frequenters suffered martyrdom (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., VI, 1–5); among them were the father of Origen and the virgin Potamiaena; at Carthage, Perpetua, Felicity and their companions (v.). The edict of Severus was applied also under his son Caracalla, especially in Africa (Tertullian, Ad Scapulam, 3 ff.); but Alexander Severus (217–35), according to his biographer, “allowed Christians to exist” (Lampridius, Vita, 22). Maximin the Thracian (235–38), who succeeded him, coarse and cruel, in reaction to Alexander’s policy (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., VI, 28), sought to disorganize the Church by eliminating its leaders and with an edict condemned to death bishops, presbyters and doctors. As a result Pope Pontian and the presbyter Hippolytus were exiled to Sardinia; there were martyrs in Cappadocia, Palestine and elsewhere.
The last phase of the persecutions was inaugurated by Decius (249–51). A rigid conservative, to avert the collapse of the Empire he decided to restore its foundations by reviving the official cult. To this end, in 250 he issued an edict ordering all citizens of the Empire, without distinction, to give proof of their loyalty to the fatherland by sacrificing and taking part in public sacrificial banquets before the civil authorities. Though the lapsed were many, the martyrs were no less numerous: in Rome Pope Fabian was the first victim. More certain and abundant information survives about the African martyrs; in his letters St Cyprian records several, those of Egypt are mentioned by Dionysius of Alexandria (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., VI, 40), others occurred in Syria and Palestine (ibid., VI, 39), in the proconsular province of Asia, in Pamphylia, etc. There were also many confessors, that is, those who endured imprisonment and torments but did not lose their lives. The persecution, however cruel and terrible, did not last long: Decius was killed in 251 during the war against the Goths.
Under his successor Gallus (251–53), the plague of 252 gave occasion for a renewal, since Gallus ordered public propitiatory sacrifices and, under pressure of popular fury, issued a new edict. Cornelius (v.) with others was relegated to Centumcellae (Civitavecchia) where he died in 253, Lucius (v.) met the same fate. It seems, however, that Gallus’ death prevented the edict from being applied outside Rome.
During the early years of Valerian’s reign (253–260), Christians were not molested, and some of them were even at court. But in August 257 Valerian issued an edict ordering the leaders of the Church to sacrifice under pain of exile, forbidding the faithful, under pain of death, to attend their assemblies or enter the cemeteries (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., VII, 11). As a result Dionysius of Alexandria (v.) and St Cyprian (v.) were exiled; in Africa many other bishops, priests and layfolk were condemned to the mines (St Cyprian, Ep., 76–79). In 258 a harsher edict was issued, imposing capital punishment on the leaders of the churches, deprivation of rank and confiscation of goods for nobles who persisted, and capital punishment; exile for women, and perpetual slavery for Caesarians (St Cyprian, Ep., 80). There were many victims after this edict: in Rome Pope Sixtus II, caught presiding at a liturgical assembly, was beheaded together with four deacons; St Cyprian was recalled from exile to be beheaded. In Africa many other martyrs stand out, among them Marian and James, Montanus, Lucius and companions; in Spain the bishop Fructuosus of Tarragona; others fell in Egypt, Palestine, etc. In 260 Valerian was taken prisoner and killed by the Persians; his son Gallienus revoked the edicts of persecution and restored all confiscated goods at the request of many bishops (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., VII, 13). From Gallienus until the outbreak of the last persecution stirred up by Diocletian, for about forty years Christians lived in peace, consolidating their organization. There was a threat under Aurelian ([v.], 270–75), but without consequences, since Aurelian did not have time to promulgate any edict (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., VII, 30).
The last persecution is commonly attributed to Diocletian because he was the head of the tetrarchy ruling the Empire, but the instigator was his Caesar Galerius. Peace reigned supreme in the Church (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., VII, 1) when
As a prelude, there was the purging of all Christians from the army in 297. Then, in February 303, the first Edict appeared, ordering the destruction of churches and the burning of the Holy Scriptures; noble faithful were stripped of their dignities and commoners of their freedom (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., VII, 2). The Edict was immediately enforced in the various provinces of the Empire, and in Nicomedia there were also martyrs (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., VII, 6). Shortly afterward, at a brief interval, a second edict appeared, ordering the exile of ecclesiastical leaders, and then a third with the condemnation to death of those who refused to sacrifice. There were numerous martyrs, but the situation worsened further when, in 304, a fourth edict ordered all the faithful, without distinction, to sacrifice under penalty of death: the blood of Christians flowed throughout every part of the Empire. In 305, however, Diocletian abdicated, followed by his colleague Maximian; Galerius and Maximinus Daia divided the eastern part of the Empire, where in 306 an edict was promulgated ordering governors to compel, by personal summons, all Christians to sacrifice, and in 308 a sixth edict ordered that all goods offered for sale in the markets be sprinkled with lustral water, while soldiers were stationed at the doors of the baths to force bathers to perform idolatrous acts (Eusebius, De martyribus Palaestinae, 4). In the West, however, where Constantius Chlorus had become Augustus in 305 and then his son Constantine in 306, persecution in fact ceased.
In 311 there was a sudden change. Galerius, the principal instigator of the persecutions, nearing death, issued an edict—also signed by Constantine and Licinius—in which he acknowledged the futility of his efforts against the Christians and granted them tolerance. Maximinus Daia, their colleague who had only permitted the edict to be published verbally, became ruler of all the East upon Galerius’s death (May 311) and resumed the persecutions, even provoking petitions from various cities that Christians be exterminated from the Empire. Meanwhile, in February 313, on the occasion of the marriage of Licinius to Constantia, Constantine’s sister, the so-called Edict of Milan (v.) was promulgated. It immediately took effect throughout the West, where Constantine, having won victory at the Milvian Bridge over Maxentius, remained sole emperor, and shortly afterward also in the East, where Maximinus was defeated and killed by Licinius. The official persecutions ended with the victory and triumph of the Church.