The ANTE-NICENE PERIOD (A.D.

100-325)
Persecution

I. Geographic Expansion
A. The Extent
1. Church became predominantly Gentile and was no longer identified as a Jewish sect.
2. By 200, it had permeated the Roman Empire (as previously stated) from India to Spain,
maybe even China.
3. Christians congregated in the larger cities (Lyon in Gaul, Carthage, Alexandria, and Rome).
4. By A.D. 325, it is estimated that there were 7,000,000 Christians.
B. The Causes
1. Christianity gave meaning to life. It answered the Greek question “why?” It answered the
Roman question “how?” It answered the Hebrew question, “what is its function?”
2. Endorsed by Constantine in his Edict of Milan in 313 ( a mixed blessing).
3. Arose contemporaneously with the decline and fall of Roman society.
4. Easily adaptable to all races and nations.
5. Possessed moral transforming power, a fact which cannot be explained naturally
6. Radical nature of the resurrection evoked a strong faith response.
7. Christians treated each other as brothers and sisters. This appealed to the Stoic sense of
brotherhood and the Roman idea of equity.
8. Appealed to the poor and slaves. At this time, from 25-50% of the population of the
empire was enslaved or in the military service.
9. Martyrdom – The testimony of death drew many people to Christ’s way

II. Persecution
A. Introduction
1. Jesus had warned his disciples that they would experience persecution: Matthew 10:22:
(“All men will hate you because of me. . .”); John 15: 18-20: (“If the world hates you, keep in mind that
it hated me first. . . . If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”)
2. Paul spoke of the same thing in his letters. Example, 2 Timothy 3:12. (“In fact, everyone
who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”)
B. Reasons for Persecution:
1. Christianity was an illegal religion. The empire published a series of lists around 45-50
naming societies or brotherhoods to which one could not legally belong. Christianity always made the
list.
2. Christians were uncompromising. They would not worship the emperor. This was perceived as mere
obstinacy.
3. Early Christians were mostly from the powerless classes (slaves, merchants, soldiers).
4. The Jews had accused Christians of heresy.
5. False charges were issued against Christians:
a. ATHEISM: Christians were actually called “atheists” for several reasons. First, they
worshiped an “invisible” God. Second, they had no idols. And third, they refused
to worship the emperor.
b. TREASON: Because they would not worship Caesar.
c. LICENTIOUSNESS: Christians were accused of being “licentious” because of the
misinterpretation of the agape “love-feasts.”
d. CANNIBALISM: A misinterpretation of the Lord’s Supper. It was also said that Christians sacrificed
children and ate them.
e. IMMORALITY: They had secret meetings; thought to hide shameful practices.
 f. HATERS OF HUMANITY (Misanthropes): Because they refrained from secular events
and pagan festivals.
g. INTELLECTUAL CONTRADICTION: God is transcendent, yet immanent. You must die
in order to live. If you are rich you are actually poor. Free will and sovereignty, the
Trinity, and the Incarnation all bothered the Romans. Most especially, they hated the idea that a just
man had been put to death for the unjust. It did not appeal to their sense of fairness in law.
6. Christians were blamed for all of the empire’s problems and ills from about A.D. 200 on. Its demise
actually came in 410, but the fact was that Christians had denied the Roman gods, so they were to blame.
C. Persecutions
1. Jewish Persecution: Subtle because they did not rule their own land.
2. Roman Persecution: Mostly took place under eleven emperors and starts in about the year 54 (not
all emperors are mentioned here):
a. Local and Intermittent Persecution (confined to a region, and sporadic):
1) Nero (54-68): When Nero came to the throne in 54, he was heralded as a
bright and gifted young man. The Romans had high expectations of him. He even
wrote at one point that it bothered him that he had the ability to sign a death warrant. But something
happened to him about 55. In that year, he ordered the murder of his brother,
Britanicus. In 60, his mother was executed. He also had two of his wives murdered.
Nero became like a ravenous bear with a taste for human blood. As for his
hatred of the Christians, the story goes:
• In the summer of 64, a great fire engulfed ten of the fourteen precincts of Rome. Suetonius,
Pliny, and Tacitus, all state that Nero was at fault. It was suspected that he was insane and
burned the city to make way for a new city, called Neropolis, for which he had the blueprints
drawn.
• Nero blamed the Christians and ordered them seized. Tradition says that Peter and Paul were
martyred during this time. Many were sent to the lions in the ring.
• Tacitus wrote that although the Christians were “a class hated for their abominations,”
followers of “pernicious superstition,” disliked “for their hatred of the human race,” and
“whose guilt merited the most exemplary punishment,” they had not started the fire. One can
easily see how the Christians were hated.
2) Domitian (81-96): He was the son of Vespatian. He took the throne at thirty
years of age. He never allowed the people to refer to him as a god. But
he had no fear of the title. His problem was that he regarded all secret religions
as “hotbeds of treason.” He also wanted to return to the traditional values that had
made Rome great. That meant returning to the Roman pantheon of gods. Domitian
required all of the empire to pay a temple tax for the maintenance of Jupiter
Capitolinus in Jerusalem (built as a temple to Jupiter after the destruction of the Jewish temple in
70). Both Jews and Christians were persecuted for refusing to pay. But
for the most part, the persecution of Christians was concentrated in Rome
and Asia Minor (in the great cities of Sardis, Philadelphia, Ephesus, and
Laodicea). Domitian was a nasty fellow, responsible for:
• Fired all opposition to his rule in the Senate
• Did not follow stated laws
• Instituted espionage between slaves and masters
• Persecuted Christians
• Banished his cousin, a Christian, to an island, and put her husband to death. **NOTE** This is
the context for the book of Revelation.
3) Trajan (98-117): One of the best Roman emperors, yet formally prohibited
secret religions.
 • Said that Christians were not to be sought out; there was to be no uniform ruling but a case by
case basis; those who would recant and worship the gods were to be let go
• Disregarded anonymous accusations (those who accused could be punished as well for false
charges)
• Christians were not punished for religious crimes before they were brought to trial, but for
their refusal to submit to the court and imperial command.
• Famous Christians martyred under this policy were a) Ignatius of Antioch (107): bishop, and
author of seven letters. He was arrested and transported to Rome for execution. His letter to
the Romans warned them not to try to free him. It was a privilege to die a martyr.
b) Polycarp of Smyrna (156): bishop and student of John, the apostle. He was executed under
Antoninus Pius after being arrested at the instigation of a pagan mob. Given a chance to
recant, he would not. He said, “For eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me no
evil. How could I blaspheme my king, who saved me?” He was sentenced to be burned at the
stake. He said, “You threaten me with the fire that burns for an hour and in a little while is
quenched; for you know not of the fire of the judgment to come, and the fire of eternal
punishment, reserved for the ungodly.” As he died, he said, “Lord, Sovereign God, I thank you
that you have deemed me worthy of this moment, so that, jointly with your martyrs, I may have
a share in the cup of Christ. For this, I bless you and glorify you. Amen.”
4) Marcus Aurelius (160-181): He was the last of the “five good emperors” whose reign antedated civil
unrest and the disintegration of the empire. He was a Stoic philosopher and wrote Meditations, a
book of personal devotions. He considered all men and women his brothers and sisters, except
for Christians. He was biased by his tutor, Crescens, who hated Christians. He was also convinced
that several natural calamities and invasions were the result of the gods’ punishment of Christianity.
The church in Gaul experienced heavy losses under his reign (Gladiator).
b. Empire-Wide Persecution:
1. Decius (aka Decius Trajan) (249-251): Goal was to restore the glory of
Rome through worship of the gods. Those who would worship received
a libellus, a stamped certificate proving that you had fulfilled the
requirements of the empire as to emperor worship. Certificate enabled citizens
to buy and sell, etc. Some gave in and worshiped Caesar. They were referred to as “the
Lapsed.” Some obtained certificates on the black market. Still others would not worship
and were known as “confessors.” Decius’ first act as emperor was to kill
Fabian, pastor of the church at Rome. His purpose was to create apostates, not martyrs.
2. Valerian (257-259): Under his reign, bishops were sought out and made to recant or be put to
death. He said that no Christians were allowed to be buried in sanctified locations (cemeteries).
3. Diocletian (284-305): By the time of his reign, for administrative purposes, there were two
emperors (over the east and west). These men were called “Augustii.” Their second-in commands
were known as “Caesars.” Galerius, the Caesar to Diocletian, instigated persecution against the
Christians. But as emperor, Diocletian was the worst of all. His reign was known as “The
Age of the Martyrs” or “The Great Persecution.” The height of persecution came in 300. He evicted
Christians from the army, forbade civil service to Christians, and issued the Edict of
303 commanding all churches and Scriptures to be burned. Some Christians surrendered
false copies of the Scriptures. These individuals were called “Traditors.” The Edict of 303
required all Christians to sacrifice or die. This was the most severe and widespread persecution
of all.
D. Summary and Results of Persecution:
1. Some apostatized and left the faith.
2. Some purchased a libellus on the black market.
3. Some temporarily “lapsed.” That is the name they received.
4. Some endured and earned the title “Confessor.”
 5. There was division within the Church over questions such as, should “the Lapsed” be
restored? Were there different degrees of lapsing? (e.g. some renounced Christ altogether
and never wished to return to Christ or His Church, others pretended to conform by purchasing
false certificates on the black-market). Who should have the authority to decide such
matters?
6. There were two approaches regarding restoring the lapsed: forgiveness or penance
a) Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage: He had to flee in order to survive. He was
accused of cowardice, but later vindicated himself in martyrdom under
Valerian. He felt as if the “Confessors” were restoring the “the Lapsed” too
easily, so when those in Carthage came asking for re-admittance to the church, he
called a synod to settle two issues. Over re-admission of the “Lapsed.” he won the
point. He required rigid discipline in order for them to be readmitted. This gave birth to the
idea of penance. He stated that “Outside of the church there is no salvation.”
Over the authority of the church, he said authority in the church did not
lie with the splintered group of “Confessors,” but with the bishop who is
descended from the apostles. With the bishop, he stated. He won this point as
well.
b) Novatian: Clashed with Cornelius, Bishop of Rome. He was a rigorist who required extreme and
extensive acts of repentance before reinstatement. This view would give birth to a reforming
sect later.
7. THE CHURCH GREW! Tertullian – “The blood of the martyrs is seed of the Church”