How Did The Roman Persecution Of Christians

Lucy Ervin History, Ms. Stratton 4/12/24 The Roman Persecution of Christians.

There were 10 major persecutions throughout the first three centuries. The Roman Emperor was seen as divine, and Christians directly rejected the divinity of the Emperor. They also would not obey the law. The persecution of Christians became the most efficient way of spreading the Gospel. Many people saw how many people were dying and spread it to all the known world, thus making the persecutions a primary source of evangelization. When Jesus came, he directly disobeyed the Romans. He spread the Father’s love to all and taught the truth. Many people converted to Christianity and left the Roman religion. The Romans thought that the decrease of followers would anger

To the rest of the public, they believed Nero had ordered these people to do as they did. Some speculated that Nero had sung a song about Troy and disasters. In a desperate attempt to clear his name, Nero gave the homeless resources, as well as threw many religious parties. Nothing worked and Nero was desperate. Nero was looking for someone to blame, and he picked the Christians as a scapegoat. Most of the persecutions took place in the Roman Colosseum. St. Peter and St. Paul died during this tragic time. Nero killed the Christians in many cruel and painful ways. He put some into animal skins and let dogs attack and kill them. Others he tied to trees in his garden and lit them on fire. Emperor Trajan’s persecutions took place in the year 112-138. The Christians refused to worship the Roman gods and they were forbidden to evangelize. Governor Pliny wrote to Trajan to inform him as to how he had dealt with Christians in his region. He forced them to worship the Roman gods, or else they would die. Trajan responded that the Christians should not be searched. Instead, if they outwardly refuse to worship the gods or

He only wanted one religion and Christianity undermined this. Many Christians, though forced to give up their faith, did not. They stayed faithful to Jesus and the Church. In retaliation, many severe killings have been committed. Some of the most noticeable deaths are Sts. Perpetua, Felicity, and St. Irenaeus (the bishop of Lyons at the time). The persecution of Maximin of Thrace happened in the year 235. Maximin despised all religions. He desired to rid the world of all religions of every kind. He executed countless people without trial. After they had been killed, Christians were flung into pits to be buried. Over 50 people would have been thrown into a burial pit. All this was done without any decency at all. During his persecutions, Pope Pontian died. Also, Pope Atherus was slaughtered, as well as countless others. Emperor Aurelian’s persecution happened in the year 275. Felix, the bishop of Rome, was the first to suffer. His head unwillingly departed from his body on December 22. Another young man, Agapetus, who cared for the less fortunate, was killed. He was tortured first, he said. Afterwards, he too, was beheaded at Praeneste, a day’s journey from Rome. Soon after, Aurelian was killed so that quickly put an end to