Reasons for Christians Persecution in the Roman Empire - Essay Example

?Reasons for Christians Persecution in the Roman Empire Order No. 542705 Introduction Christianity began around 30 C.E from Judaism following the crucifixion and death of Jesus in Jerusalem. During the regime of the Roman Empire by Tiberius Caesar, Jerusalem too came under its control. Christianity gradually spread across through the Roman Empire through the propagation of religious faith by the apostles and disciples of Jesus. The Romans seemed threatened by the new religion because of the great disparity between Christian and Roman doctrines and therefore they retaliated by persecuting the Christians. The religious outlook of the Romans was quite different to that of the Christian faith because the state religion was interconnected with politics. The three primary characteristics of state religion were 1) it was patriotic, 2) open to foreign influence and 3) the religion was controlled and regulated by the people in the administration such as the emperor and nobles. Rome was quite well known for adopting different gods from other cultures and including them into the pantheon of their own deities because they believed that these Gods would help them during illnesses, famines, drought and other problems faced by them. The Romans were also famous for their belief in animism because they had a strong opinion that the spirits lived in the lakes, rivers, land and trees that surrounded them. The Roman faith was highly ritualistic in nature and espoused the views of their elders and ancestors. They worshipped their deities by offering incense and sacrifices to appease them and receive benefits in return. Such beliefs and practices were quite different from the religious practices of the Christians. According to the Christian belief, Jesus Christ is the one and only true living God and so Christians refused to worship the God of the state. The Romans were angered by this Christian attitude of believing that the worship of other Gods was ‘false worship’ because they maintained that worship “belonged to their God alone”1,2 Other practices of the Christians such as living in close knit communities, away from the general Roman society and addressing each other as brothers and sisters did not find favor with Roman beliefs. Gathering together as a congregation for prayer and worship and receiving communion which they believed to be the body and blood of Christ was gravely misconstrued by the Romans who retaliated by persecuting the Christians because they believed them to be Jews. Christianity was looked upon by the Romans with the same suspicious skepticism as that of Jewish practices and cults like the “Bacchus, Cybele, Isis, that developed in the Empire.”3 The Romans were quite suspicious of the Christian religious practices because they believed that they included “magic, infanticide and incest”4 and “cannibalism at their meetings.”5 Therefore, as Christianity spread far and wide through the Roman Empire, the suspicions, misconceptions and hatred grew in leaps and bounds because the Romans felt immensely threatened by it. Widespread persecution resulted from these misconceptions and punishments and expulsions began to take place in 64 C.E. Nero is believed to be the very first Caesar to punish the Christians by inventing “charges of guilt”6 against them. In his ‘Annals’ Tacitus explains how Nero got many of the Christians arrested, mockery thrust upon them and then ordered them to be brutally killed. He also explains how they were “wrapped in the skins of wild animals, torn by dogs, nailed to the cross or even burnt alive to provide light at night, when the daylight had faded.”7 In fact, this was just the beginning of the Christian persecution by Nero. During the first half of the 2nd century, the persecution of the Christians intensified during the rule of the emperor Trajan. In accordance with Pliny, the governor of Bithynia, he brought about a new policy for the Christians. According to this policy, if Christians who were brought before him were found to be guilty, they were to be severely punished. However, they would be exonerated if they worshipped the Roman God. People who confessed to being Christians were executed.8 (Jo- Ann- Shelton, 1998) Marcus Aurelius was the next emperor who made use of the precedent set by Trajan and persecuted the Christians still further. These persecutions were chronicled by Eusebius9 who was one of the first Christian historians. In his writings he explains how the Christians were verbally abused, dragged in the streets, beaten badly and then killed. According to Elizabeth Castelli, Christianity too was an archetype type of religio- political persecution and gave the example of the condemning and execution of Jesus at the hands of the Romans. Castelli explains that "the earliest Christians routinely equated Christian identity with suffering persecution". Therefore the ideology of martyrdom was closely associated with Christian pain and suffering. According to Christian ideology, suffering and death through persecution was looked upon as a heroic victory against their persecutors. Such an ideology can be clearly seen in the number of Christians who welcomed the concept of martyrdom and were happy to die for their religion. Eusebius, who was the bishop of Caesarea Maritima at that time, gives us an account of the martyrdoms that were carried out in that region but the actual number of martyrs is not clearly known. Septimius Severus, another emperor carried out such martyrdoms and enforced a law that prohibited the spread of Christianity through the country, with the aim of putting an end to the Christian religion. A good number of Christian martyrs were confined, burnt, tortured and beheaded in public view. However, Christianity began to spread across Rome and the Church gained more power through conversion, which resulted in anti- Christian surge that led to further persecution of the Christians. Examples of such martyrdom are written about extensively by historians and scholars. Age was no bar for martyrdom and we find the young, old and even children were treated alike in this respect. Some of them were beheaded, some burnt in black pitch or oil and many others were thrown to wild animals. Countless number of Christian bishops, priests, knights and ladies lost their lives through persecution. Christian persecution continued under the rule of Valerian, Diocletian and Galerius who levied heavy fines on the Christians, reduced them from their rank and office and finally killed them. Calls for universal sacrifices were made and mass persecutions took place. However, a great turning point came during the rule of Constantine in 306, when he put an end to such persecutions and restored equality to the Christians. He was also responsible for restoring the property that was confiscated from them during the persecutions. Both Constantine and Licinius signed the ‘Edict of Milan’ and put an end to the persecution in the East. References A.J. Rayner, “Christian Society in the Roman Empire”, Greece & Rome, Vol. 11, No. 33. (May, 1942), 114. Eusebius. Ecclesiastical History. Quoted in Jo-Ann Shelton. As the Romans did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Jo-Ann Shelton, As the Romans did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 408. Jo-Ann Shelton, As the Romans did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 409. Pliny the Younger, Letters, quoted in Jo-Ann Shelton, As the Romans did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 411. Tacitus, Annals, quoted in Jo-Ann Shelton, As the Romans did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 408. W.H.C. Frend, 1965. Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church. Read More