JOURNAL 1.

THE THREE DISTINCT

PERIODS OF CHRISTIAN
PERSECUTION
By: Pearl Dianne V. Basergo
 FIRST PERIOD: SECOND PERIOD:
The first great persecution by Nero (54-60 A.D.) The persecutions started from 100 A.D. to 250 A.D.

THIRD PERIOD:

This was the last course of the persecution of Christians.

 First Period:
: THE FIRST GREAT PERSECUTION
BY NERO (54-60 A.D.)

It was limited to the city, devoid of any lawful foundation.

He blamed the Christians for the six days of fire that
destroyed three-fourths of the city of Rome. A narrative
account of Tacitus, the greatest Roman historian, (53- 117
A.D.) included the rumor that Nero himself was responsible
for the fire to gain the glory of rebuilding the city. The
Christians were persecuted and turned into living torches in
the garden of Nero. Among the victims were Peter and paul.
The various measures of Domitian (81-96 A.D.) were also the
murderous acts of a tyrant. According to the oldest
tradition, the Apostle John was exiled to Patmos (during the
reign of Domitian), where he wrote the Book of Revelation or
Apocalypse.
 Second Period:
THE PERSECUTIONS STARTED
FROM 100 A.D. TO 250 A.D.

Christianity continued to be an illegal religion in the Roman Empire. Informers were

hired to report to the authorities those engaged in Church worship and practice. Many
were forced to deny and abandon their faith. Trajan (98-117 A.D.) issued a decree
stating that simply to be a Christian was punishable by death. The implementation of
the decree was left in the hands of the governors of the Roman provinces. The famous
martyr of this period was Ignatius of Antioch.

When Emperor Hadrian ascended to the throne (117-138 A.D.), he issued a decree that
governors should not follow the desires of the mob. Christians who were accused of a
crime must be judged according to the nature of their crimes. The decree gave some
relief to the suffering Christian
During the time of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 A.D.), the Christians faced another
tyrannic emperor. He decreed the legalization of persecution. Among those persecuted
were Justin the Philosopher, Polycarp of Smyrna, and the martyrs of Lyons

Septimus Severus (193-211 A.D.) ordered the cruel persecution of the Christian.
Tertullian wrote that Christians were fed to the lions wherever there was a disaster or
famine.

In 244-249 A.D. there was peace in the empire when the emperor by the name of
Philip the Arabian ascended the throne. But it lasted only for a few years. His reign
provided the lull before and last and most severe of the persecutions.
 Third Period:
THIS WAS THE LAST COURSE OF THE
PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS.

Decius, who became the emperor of Rome in 249-251 A.D., saw

Christianity as a terrible poison. He ordered all Christians to make
a public act of homage to the Roman gods. A great number of
Christians abandoned their faith but many also suffered
persecution in its defense. Decius passed a law that required the
return of all citizens to the worship of the state religion. His goal
was to eradicate Christianity completely so that the traditional
Roman state worship might be firmly imposed on all citizens.
When emperor Valerian ascended to the throne, the methodical persecution of the
Christians was conducted. In 257 A.D., he decreed that all bishops, presbyters, and
deacons were to offer sacrifice to the gods. Whoever was caught conducting services
or secret meetings in the cemeteries or catacombs was punished by death. In another
edict in 258 A.D., he ordered the immediate arrest and execution of all clerics who
refused to offer sacrifice to the gods. The Christian senators and members of the
nobility were demoted and if they refused to make sacrifices to the gods, their estates
were confiscated. if they still refused, they were executed. Other Christians were
tortured and sent to head labor or were executed.

Famous martyrs of this period were Cyprian of Carthage and Pope Sixtus II of Rome.
Emperor Valerian died in 284 A.D. and was succeeded by Emperor Diocletian. The last
and bloodiest persecution of the Christians was conducted by Emperor Diocletian
throughout the Roman Empire. He started a radical reorganization of the Roman
Empire in his reign from 284-305 A.D. He divided the Roman empire into a tetrarchy