Persecution In The Early Church

In the first three centuries of the Christian church, Christians had to endure persecution from the Romans. The persecution of the church has an important effect on the church today (“Persecution in the Early Church” 2015). In the early days of the Christian church, members of this new religion faced persecution from all around them. Early Christians were hated and persecuted for their beliefs. The Romans believed that many things were wrong with the Christian faith. The first problem that they had with them was identity. The Romans first saw Judaism and Christianity as the same religion, but their minds were quickly changed. For the most part they left the Jewish people alone but viewed Christianity as a new cult, and as a threat ("Persecution

Nero blamed Christians for every tragedy that struck the Roman Empire. A vast fire destroyed most of Rome, the citizens of the Empire claimed that Nero was to blame. To remove the blame of the fire, Nero commanded that all Christians should be gathered up and be put to death. Christians were charged with cannibalism, because of the Eucharist (the partaking of the blood and body of Christ). With the Roman Empire trembling on its uneasy foundation, citizens were scared. Both Christians and Pagans began to look for something or someone to blame for the economic downfall (“Christianity and the Roman Empire” 2011). In the hands of Nero, Christians were not only punished for their beliefs, but they were used as entertainment. They were dressed in the hides of animals and torn apart by dogs. Many others were crucified, and countless others were burned alive (“Persecution in the Early Church” 2015). Nero persecuted the Christians towards the end of his reign, his persecutions were the first official oppression of the Christian faith. Following the reign of Nero, it was a crime to be a Christian (“Persecution in the Early Church” 2015). While the tension between the Roman Empire and Christians rose, so did the Christians

The first time was between 211 and 250, the second time was between 258 and 303 ("Persecution in the Early Church: Did You Know? | Christian History Magazine"). There were very few emperors who could tolerate the Christian faith, one of them was Constantine. Constantine converted to the Christian faith in about 312 AD. Christ had been crucified by the Roman Empire, a Roman emperor converted to a religion that worshiped him. Following his conversion, Constantine declared that Christians and pagans could worship freely (Lunn-Rockcliffe "History - Ancient History in depth: Christianity and the Roman Empire" 2011). In 313 Constantine made Rome a friendly empire towards Christians ("Persecution in the Early Church – How Persecution Strengthens the Church" 2014). Latter on, Constantine named a new city after himself called Constantinople. Constantinople was called the “New Rome” by many Christian writers. This new city was to be known as the Christian capital, for a Christian Empire. Many of the Roman citizens had a hard time adjusting to this new way of life (Lunn-Rockcliffe "History - Ancient History in depth: Christianity and the Roman Empire"