Persecution in the Early Church - Research Paper Example

? Persecution in the Early Church Task Religion today is a matter of personal choice in many parts of the world, and this is in sharp contrast to the difficult times of persecution Christianity as one of the world’s religions underwent in its initial stages to become one of the greatest as documented in history. Persecution began in the period after Christ and continued for a period of about 300 years. It was witnessed at the time of the Roman rule during the period 64 A.D to 311 A.D and was facilitated by different Emperors and Jewish religious leaders.1 Professing to be a Christian during that period was like declaring the death sentence upon oneself because people were martyred in some of the cruelest ways witnessed which included beheading and being thrown alive to man eating beasts, being boiled in oil and crucifixion among others. Emperors like Nero are documented in history to have cruelly ordered that Christians be thrown to hungry lions in amphitheaters as spectators enjoyed. The meaning of the word martyr to the followers of the Christian religion meant just a witness, but it acquired a deeper meaning and implication when the followers were ready to die for what they believed and through this many people were converted probably due to the deep conviction shown by the martyrs. Christians endured persecutions in the early church, not only from Jews, but from Romans as well and they all advocated for removing Christianity in their systems. There were many reasons why the persecution occurred and continued for the long period that it did. Rome had embraced paganism and thus all citizens were expected to adhere to it as the state religion. Failure to do so was considered to be rebellious and was punishable by death. The followers of Christianity were also influenced by ancient Jewish stories as narrated in Christian literature, for example, the story of Daniel who was thrown into a lions den when he refused to stop praying.  Shadrack, Meshak and Abednego were also thrown into a furnace when they refused to bow to an idol. The revolt of the Maccabees who believed that it was better to die than deny the nation of Israel was also one of the sources of inspiration for Christians.2 Persecution was not only caused and done by Roman authorities. The Jews who were followers of Judaism, one of the oldest religions in the world and which is based on Abrahamic beliefs strove against the immerging group of Christianity whose beliefs were based on Jesus Christ. Christians believed they were the new dispensation. One of the first Christian martyrs, Stephen as narrated in the book of Acts 7 was not killed by the Romans, but by the Jews when he tried to explain to them about the new faith based on Jesus Christ while they believed in Judaism.3 The Jews in protecting what they believed was the truth teamed up many times with the Roman authorities to persecution. The fire of Rome in which a very great part of the city was burnt was also used as an excuse to further persecute the Christians in the year A.D 64. Emperor Nero, the reigning monarch was thought to have been responsible, probably in his quest to destroy old buildings to give way for new ones, but he was able to lay blame elsewhere. The Jews were accused, but lastly it was the Christians who suffered the consequences.4 Many of them were arrested, tortured and martyred for the Arson. This act made them become classified as trouble makers instead of an accepted religion. This was a reason enough to do all things possible to prevent their rise to become a recognized religion. Roman emperors did not entertain anything that appeared to be superstitious and to them, failure to pray to Roman gods was against state policy. Atheism was construed to mean the worship of other gods other than those accepted by the Roman authorities. The Christians were supposed to deny their faith and accept to adhere to the faith of the Roman gods.5 Many publicly disagreed and were ready to die for Christianity and thus were martyred because they were considered dangerous and rebellious. The sentence was immediate execution in the most terrible ways to deter others following the same path. However, the authorities did not protect the many who were ready to die for their faith. Different emperors treated the Christians differently and so the levels of persecutions vary from one Emperor to the other. Just before the rule of Emperor Marcus, the situation had slightly improved, but during his reign, Christians were accused of many crimes including black magic, failure to worship accepted gods and causing all sorts of problems to the community. The Roman authorities had the belief that sacrifices to their gods brought prosperity to Rome. The failure of the Christians to follow the Roman way of worship was then seen as going against the good of the community. Decrees were issued then, which allowed non Christians to denounce the Christians and even seize their property in the quest to control them. Many Christians were killed during this period attaining the state of matyrhood. During what is referred to as the Severan dynasty, the relations of the Christians and Jews worsened further. The Christians were becoming better organized. They had started embarking on missionary endeavors which had been started by the Apostle Paul, but which had decreased during the time of persecution. They had also started to establish their own properly documented rules of worship in their religion, which were different from those of the Jews. They also had started acquiring property as many of them became based in urban areas. They also established the control of bishops who established a means of communication and were able to monitor operations and information for the Christians most effectively. This caused a lot of strife between the Christians, Jews and the Roman authorities because the Christian church appeared to become stronger and more established6. Many Christians were persecuted during this period as they seemed to be on the way to become the dominant religion in Rome. Being exiled and condemned to deserted islands to prevent their rise was also done. Some of the documented persecutions of this period were those of converts Felicitas and Perpetua who were killed in A.D 203.7 This was also followed by a new wave targeting the leaders of the Christians and the Christian church. However, there came a brief period of peace for a period of around 12 years during which the church expanded greatly and especially through the teachings of one of its teachers, Origen around the year A.D 254.8 His teachings brought about great knowledge upon the Christians which made them better informed than their contemporaries the Jews, increasing the tension between them. One of the churches severest time of persecution was around A.D 249 to 251. Emperor Decius had ascended to the throne at a time of great economic crisis and threat from the enemies. He laid the blame for the situation on the ruler before him to the effect that he had been lenient to the Christians, who he blamed for failure to worship the Roman gods and lack of adherence to the Roman way of worship. The way out of the problems according to the Emperor was a return to the worshipping of the Roman gods and the yearly sacrifice by all Roman citizens as had previously had been the procedure. This was also followed by a decree by the Emperor to seize and execute all Christian leaders. During this period, a bishop known as Fabian was executed after been tried before the Emperor. The authorities took the issue seriously, and people were assigned the duties of making sure that people obeyed. Those who refused were punished severely including being executed. For those who obeyed the orders, there was even the issuing of certificates to show observance. This affected the whole of the Roman Empire which extended even to some parts of Africa like Egypt then. The measures were very successful at the onset with many recanting their faith including a bishop who performed the required sacrifices. It was only after the death of Decius that there was a slight calm, but the period had also brought a great division among the Christians themselves. There was a problem to accept back into the fold those who had denied their faith. Emperor Decius had almost accomplished his purpose of making the whole of the Roman Empire to adhere to the Roman way of the worship of its gods9. Fear, the feeing of Christians and denying of the Christian faith occurred in this period more than during the other periods in the past. The period under the next Emperor, Valerian was peaceful at first but later the situation reverted to the continuation of persecution. His greatest goal was bringing the Christians to follow the ways of Roman worship of its gods since he believed they could protect the Empire at times of hardship and problems. This was bound to cause further conflict between the Roman authorities and the Christians since it was contrary to the beliefs of the Christians. The resulting conflict resulted in the deportation of some bishops and the sending of others to work in adverse conditions and especially in the mines.10 Orders were also issued to close churches, which were the Christians places of worship, and if anyone was known to enter into them, they risked being executed since it was an Emperors order. However, it seemed that the Christians had acquired boldness unlike in the past when they had easily been frightened. This was demonstrated when some of them were courageous enough to visit the deported bishops. This triggered a new phase of persecution whereby the emperor ordered the executions of bishops, priests and deacons. The order also included the taking over by the state of church property. Church leaders were also to lose their privileges and church members who worked as civil servants in the Roman government would become slaves. This order was so serious that a bishop who was found conducting an act of worship the Christian way was executed together with the seven deacons assisting him. One of the exiled bishops, Cyprian was put on trial during this period. His accusers alleged that he had refused to obey the laid down rules and had also led others into the rebellion. He was said to have associated with the wrong people, rebellion and disrespectful to the Roman gods, and his punishment was pronounced as execution.11 The church experienced peace for a period of about 40years. This was after the death of Valerian, on of the Roman Emperors who facilitated persecution on a large scale12. Churches and other Christian places of worship were constructed without great interference from the ruling authorities. Unlike in the past, they were constructed in places which were in the full view of everyone. Even though there was peace, there were few cases of people denouncing each other were not uncommon which led to few cases of persecutions. The church even opened branches in the country side unlike in the past when it had only being based in urban areas, showing that in spite of persecution, there was growth. It is a period hailed in church history as one of great growth and expansion in the conversions of many and the building of places of worship. It would seem that the great period of past persecution had borne fruit. However, what appeared to be a calm period was followed by a decade of further persecution of the church. It was as though greater problems awaited the Christians and that the persecution was systematic. There arose an assault against the Christians about their beliefs. This assault was led by Porphyry, one of the philosophers of the time and another group that was against the Christian faith. While the issue seemed insignificant at first, it became a serious matter as it spread in Rome and its provinces. There also arose a period when the reigning emperor embarked on a quest to return the empire into the Roman way of the worship of Roman gods. He introduced a system whereby all citizens had to follow a certain way of administration and use the same type of currency13. Failure to adhere to the said systems put the Christians in a collision course with the government because many refused to comply. They became a very great hindrance to the quest of the emperor. However, the reigning emperor Diocletian was not very intolerant to the Christians until one of his army leaders; Caesar Galerius won a battle over the Persians.14 This man influenced the emperor to change his attitude towards the Christians. There was also great influence from provincial governors since the Roman Empire was very large. There started to be seen the destruction of churches, disruption of Christian church ceremonies and Christian literature was confiscated and burnt.15 Christians in high positions in the Roman government lost their privileges and ordinary citizens who were Christians were denied their freedoms16. One thing though that the emperor did not allow was martyrdom, and it is assumed that it was because of the influence of some of his family members who supported the Christians. Another decree was the order to all Christian leaders to offer sacrifices the Roman way. Many did not comply and when jail houses became too full, there were no other alternative, but to release them. Change was to come in A.D 304 during a time of the Emperors illness when the army leader issued an order against all the Christians stating that those who did not sacrifice according to the Roman tradition would be executed. 17 This was different from the emperor’s order when only Christian leaders were involved. Execution of the Christians which had abated now escalated. In some instances, whole communities were wiped out. All the same the Christians continued to be bold in spite of the terrible onslaught. It could be referred to as the period of great martyrdom. Emperor Diocletian finally left the throne and Galerius took over and unleashed a short period of persecution using anti Christian teaching, the establishment of pagan ways of worship and distorted forms of Christian teachings.18 He does not seem to have succeeded much since there are no martyrdoms recorded during this period. The decrees that he had issued were no longer being enforced effectively like in the past. It is also documented in history that he also realized in the year A.D 311 that he was in his final days.19He removed his earlier decrees and reestablished those that had been operation during the reign of his predecessor. In his quest to appease the Christians, he stated that the decrees had been made for the benefit of everyone in the Roman Empire. Since according to him too many Christians had not adhered to them, it was important to allow them to worship in their own way instead of not worshipping any god. They could now worship in their places of worship without fear and should also offer their prayers for the good of the Roman Empire. He died six days later after issuing this decree with Christianity starting to enjoy a period of calm. Persecution was finally brought to an end by Emperor Constantine who assumed the throne in A.D 312.20 It is said that in a dream he realized that his call was to be a Christian. When he entered Rome triumphantly, he shortly issued the now very famous document known as the Edit of Milan which ended the persecution by the Roman government. Every person who had been arrested because of their beliefs was to be released immediately and allowed to follow the religions of their choice. Constantine later took over the whole of the Roman Empire and proclaimed that Christianity was to become the state religion under his rule. It seemed that instead of exterminating Christianity, it was the Roman pagan worship that was in danger. Christianity had overcome the evil of persecution.21 Christianity would be said to have overcome persecution due to various reasons as narrated in its history. First and fore most, it seems that persecution made them stronger rather than weaker. The great persecution seems to have strengthened the members in their convictions and resolves. They probably grew bolder and determined in the belief that nothing was greater than what they were fighting for. They grew in numbers and in some instances became more than those who opposed them and again were organized especially under the rule of bishops. Information and was effectively passed and this enhanced great unity. The Christian religion was also found to be simple and attractive to the masses compared to the complications and many requirements of the religion of the Romans and Judaism.22 People probably were intrigued about this that was so good that it was worthy dying for and in the process they were converted. Its moral teachings were also found to be attractive. Christianity also did not seem to be intimidated by the threat of martyrdom. In spite of the cruel methods, many faced their accusers boldly. People also seem to have been drawn away from many of the other gods because of the atrocities done in the name of these other gods. The Christians probably also believed that persecution brings increase according to Christian writings. Observers were touched as historical records narrate that the accused Christians bravely faced judges and confessed about their adherence to the Christian faith, even when they knew what consequences awaited them. Some did not even wait for their names to be called forth by the judges. They would literally jump forth and confess. This made them acquire heroic status. They had been debate also comparing Christianity against the Roman rites of the pagan gods. The portrayal of such a strong fighting spirit made the Christians look greater and attract more followers. References Alikin, Valeriy. The Earliest History of the Christian Gathering: Origin, Development and Content of the Christian Gathering in the First To Third Centuries. Danvers, MA: BRILL, 2010 Barnes, Timothy. Early Christian Hagiography and Roman History. Tuebingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010. Bettenson, Henry. Documents of the Christian Church. London, New York: Oxford University Press, 1963. Brown, Peter, Augustine of Hippo: a Biography, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967, 2000. Bruce, F.F. New Testament History, New York: Galilee, 1969, 1980. Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church, London: Penguin, 1993. Davies, P.S. "The Origin and Purpose of the Persecution of AD 303," Journal of Theological Studies 40.1 (1989): 66-94. Geoffrey E.M. "Why Were the Early Christians Persecuted?" Past and Present, Vol. 26 (1963): 6-38. Ferguson, Everett. Persecution in the Early Church: Did You Know? Christianity Today Library, 1990. http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1990/issue27/2705.html/ (accessed February 23, 2012). Ferguson, Everett. Church History Volume One: From Christ to Pre-Reformation: The Rise and Growth of the Church in Its Cultural, Intellectual, and Political Context, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009. Frend, W.H.C. Early Church, London: SCM, 1982. Fitzgerald, Allen. Augustine through the Ages: An Encyclopedia, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999. Kate, Coleman, "Fatal Charades: Roman Executions Staged as Mythological Enactments," Journal of Roman Studies 80 (1990): 44-73. Timothy, Barnes, "Legislation against the Christians," Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 58 (1968): 32-50. Young, M. Frances, Ayres, Lewis, and Louth, Andrew. The Cambridge History Of Early Christian Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Read More