Third Century Christian Persecution

The article, “3rd Century Christianity” by Graeme Clarke, discusses the history of Christian persecution. Section two, “Persecution AD 193-249” and section three, “The Persecution of Decius”, provide an in depth review of Christian persecution under the Roman Emperors’ Septimius Severus, Caracalla and Decius. However, the exact number of Christians persecuted and martyred for their faith will never really be known. Very few written records exist that chronicle events throughout the entire Roman Empire.

At the start of the 2nd century, persecution of Christians was occasional, sporadic, and typically localized. Christians were harassed similar to other exotic groups, who were considered deviant (magicians, astrologers, soothsayers and the like). When Christians became too difficult or troublesome, locals would seek the assistance of the Roman provincial governors or Roman urban perfect, and on rare occasions, the Emperors themselves become involved.

Early in the 3rd century, the numbers of incidents were significant enough that Ulpian developed a register of imperial rescripts or responses to referrals by provincial governors or complaints by provincial councils, which outlined the appropriate punishment for Christian adherents. Although there was an accumulation of case-histories with imperial authority by this time, it must be emphasized that these cases were still intermittent and regional in nature. This pattern of tolerance, unless pushed to act by the locals, continued into the middle of the 3rd century.

Throughout the first half of the 3rd century, source information relies heavily on the writings of Eusebius, a Roman historian. When he talks about evidence of Christ...

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...g trial, followed by an appearance at a tribunal and an eventual sentence. Torture and further periods of imprisonment might be imposed, followed by death or, in relatively few cases, eventual dismissal as a hopeless case.

In the eastern provinces of the empire, mainly Alexandria in Egypt, there were many Christian victims. There were many areas where Christians were martyred as well.

In the western provinces of the empire, there is very little evidence of Decian martyrs from Spain, Gaul, and Sicily. This implies that although Decius’ edict was enforced, historians have no knowledge of any Christian deaths.

The religious rally under Decius created mass confusion within the Christian ranks. It also caused dissension over the proper conditions for reinstatement of the fallen, back into the Christian ranks. This divided the churches everywhere in the Empire.