Persecution- 1st Phase

What were the characteristics of persecution before 64AD?

-Local and not empire wide
-The form and degree of severity of the persecutions varied
-They were sporadic and sometimes short-lived

Who did the first opposition to the Christian church come from?

The Jews

What was Christianity seen as by the Romans in the generation after Jesus’ crucifixion?

as a sect of Judaism

Why did the Jews experience a priviledged position in the Roman Empire?

The government excused Jews from sacrificing to the Emperor and they were known as monotheists. They were a very numerous, prosperous, influential and ancient people so the state did not wish to offend them

What were the five false charges against Christianity?

1- the charge of Atheism

2- The charge of cannibalism

3- The charge of gross immorality

4- A threat to the state

5- Other charges against the faith

Why were Christians charged with atheism?

Christians denied the Roman gods and goddesses. It wa believed that offending the gods led to public calamity, so if disaster befell the state, economic, social or political, it was seen to be the fault of those who did not worship and honour the state and its gods. This was the central cause of Roman hatred of Christians

Why were Christians charged with cannibalism?

This arose from garbled versions of what happened at the Lord’s supper, which led to the plan imaginings to the belief that they ritually murdered little children in order to eat their flesh

John 6:55? (Lord’s supper)

‘Jesus said to them, ‘I am telling you the truth, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you will not have life in yourselves’

Why were Christians charged with Gross immorality?

This arose from talk of love feasts and of Christian brothers marrying Christian sisters and greeting each other with a holy kiss. The love feasts was another name used for communion, which were closed meetings and therefore outsiders to the Christian faith did not know what was going on in them

Why were Christians a threat to the state?

-Fear of revolt made government distrust parties, unions, or societies. So the state generally forbade associations of any kind
-Christians stood apart from various social practices and trades, e.g. the arts of an actor, astrologer, or soothsayer, painting and sculpting if it meant teaching pagan mythology. They stood apart and where different, which the government saw as conniving and as a threat to overthrow

What were other charges against the Faith?

-Young religion
-Christians regarded Sunday as a Holy day and refused to work on it
-Jesus’ resurrection was an invention of his disciples
-Jesus failed to convince his own people, the Jews, that he was the messiah
-Jesus was of illegitimate birth

So, if Jesus was seen as disreputable, merely to bear the name of Jesus was enough to cause persecution.
-Need for a scapegoat

When did Nero reign?

54-68AD

What caused the first imperial attack on Christians? (simple)

the need for a scapegoat

Why did Nero need to use the Christians as a scapegoat?

In 64AD, there was a local persecution with a specific cause.
Great fire devastated two quarters of the city of Rome, and suspicion fell on Nero, who it was believed wanted to rid the city of a crowded, unsightly area to rebuild it and extend his palace.
Tacitus, a Roman Historian, says ‘Therefore to scotch the rumour, Nero substituted as culprits and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men loathed for their vices whom the crowd styled as Christians’

What was the course of persecution of Nero?

Tacitus tells us those who confessed were arrested.
R Banks ‘The death penalty was administered in such a way as to entertain and amuse the public as well as to mock and humiliate victims’
They were covered with hides of beasts, torn to death by dogs, crucified like their founder, and set on fire to illuminate the darkness of the night
Tacitus underlines Nero’s perverse delight in the cruel spectacle

Why did Nero’s persecution evoke pity?

Tacitus reports that the manners of the prosecution evokes a sense of pity since it seemed to be for the gratification of an individuals cruelty rather than the good of the public

How many people perished in Nero’s reign?

Peter and Paul, and 977 other Christians which appear in later martyrologies

What were the impacts of Nero’s persecution on the Christians?

-Christianity was no longer legal, it was a Religio Illicita. This situation remained until the end of the Great Persecution in 312AD
-Change in state attitude caused hatred stirred up against the church to last longer than the persecution of Nero
-Nero’s actions served in a general way as a precedent for later rulers who saw fit to bring measures against the Christians

When did Domitian reign?

81-96AD

After Nero’s reign, how long were Christians free of state persecution?

about 30years, gave them space to grow

What does Eusebius tell us about Domitian?

Domitian was Nero’s successor in terms of hostility to God.

In the last year of his reign, who did Domitian act against?

Roman Historian Dio Cassius writing in 225AD in Bithynia tells us he acted against many charged with ‘atheism’ (didn't worship Roman Gods)

Who does Dio Cassius mention was persecuted during Domitian’s reign?

Flavius Clemens, the emperor’s cousin, and his wife, Flavia Domatilla. Clemens was executed while Domatilla was exiled to an island

What does the persecution of Flavius Clemens and Flavia Domatilla tell us about Domitian?

Family meant nothing- he was determined to uphold the roman religion no matter what

Why did Domitian persecute the Christians?

Could have been his enthusiasm for the imperial cult as he encouraged it during his reign as emperor. Suetonius tells us that Domitian used the title ‘Our Master and our God’ as a self reference.

What does Eusebius tell us about disciple John?

“There is ample evidence that at that time the apostle and evangelist John was still alive and because of his testimony to the word of God was sentenced to confinement on the island of Patmos”

What does Eusebius tell as about the type of people that were persecuted during the reign of Domitian?

“Many were the victims of Domitian’s appalling cruelty. At Rome great numbers of men distinguished by birth and attainments were executed without a fair trail and countless other eminent men were for no reason at all banished from the country and their property confiscated”

What are similarities between Nero and Domitian’s persecution?

Both persecutions were localised to Rome and instigated by the Emperor
Both used the charge of atheism
Vast numbers of Christians were persecution (977 in Nero martyrologies, great numbers of men)

What are differences between Nero and Domitian’s persecution?

-Different reasons for persecution (motivation)
-Severity and methods
-Domitian was prepared to persecute family
-Nero’s persecution resultied in a lasting impact due to Christianity becoming a religio illicita.

When did Trajan reign?

98-117AD

What is the context behind the correspondence of Pliny and Trajan?

Lawyer Pliny the Younger was sent by the Emperor to Bithynia in 112AD to correct corruption and incompetent local government. In his travels, he came across Christians and was unsure about what to do, so wrote to the emperor

What does the Pliny-Trajan correspondence provide us with?

A valuable insight into Roman treatment of early Christians and into Church lifr and growth in the early second century

How did Christians manage to get around the ban that was imposed on unlicensed collegia?

Burial clubs were permitted, Christians thought it was advantageous to organise their communities in this way.

Why did Pliny feel it was necessary to consult the emperor regarding Christians?

-He realised there were many Christians in his province
-He decided to apply to the emperor for a ruling instead of relying on his own desertion

What does Pliny say he is in doubt about?

Treatment of Christians
“I have been in no little doubt whether some discrimination is made with regard to age or whether the younger are treater no differently from the older, whether renunciation wins indulgence.”

What was Pliny’s procedure so far in dealing with Christians?

-Asked if they were Christians 3 times each time warning of the consequences.
-If christians continued to say yes he had them executed
-He let people off if they denied Christianity by sacrificing to the gods
-”I thought it more necessary to inquire to the real truth of the matter by subjecting to torture two female slaves”

What did the anonymous letter contain/what did Pliny do regarding it/what did he find out?

Many epople’s names who were supposedly christians. He forced them to invoke and sacrifice to the gods while also cursing Jesus. People who were christians wouldn’t do it

Why did Pliny think he has been right to do what he did? What did he think could be achieved?

“At any rate in the temples which had been well-high abandoned are beginning to be frequented again and customary services that had been abandoned are beginning to be frequented again”
-he can reclaim people that were Christian

What does Trajan say to Pliny about the procedures?

“You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance.”

What does Trajan say about the anonymous letter?

“But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.”

What does the correspondence between Pliny and Trajan tell us about imperial policy towards Christians?

-There was no general imperial policy. Pliny writes ‘I am in doubt’
-Trajans response is to not ferret them out, but also to punish them
-no clear policy allows space to grow

What does the correspondence between Pliny and Trajan tell us about early Christian worship?

-They met together ‘on a certain fixed day before sunrise and recited an antiphonal hymn to Christ as God
-took communion “meet again to partake of food of an ordinary and innocent kind”

What does the correspondence between Pliny and Trajan tell us about the growth of the Christian church?

-two female deacons- the church was structured, church government established.
-”For many of every age, every class and of both sexes are being accused and will continue to be accused. Nor has this contagious superstition spread through the cities only but also through the villages and countryside”
-”Multitude of people can be reclaimed”

When did Marcus Aurelius reign?

161-180AD

Why did Marcus Aurelius oppose Christianity?

-He had been tutored from a young age by Fronto, who was an opponent of Christianity
-Was a keen student of Stoic philosophy and was ideologically opposed to christianity (e.g. criticised the christians’ eagerness to die for their faith)

Who were notable martyrs/groups of martyrs during marcus Aurelius’ reign?

-Polycarp
-Justin Martyr
-Blandina
-At Lyons and Vienne (Sanctus)
-In Scilli, north africa

Polycarp?

Bishop of Smyrna. He was captured and asked to sacrifice to the gods, but replied ‘Eighty and six years i have served Him and He did me no wrong, how shall i blaspheme my King who saved me?'
He was tied to a stake where flames licked around him and didnt touch his body. the executioner plunger a sword into his body and so much blood came forth that it extinguished the fire

Justin Martyr?

Justin and six others were brought before the prefect of Rome-rusticus. they were ordered to obey the gods. For their refusal to sacrifice and to obey the emperors command, they were flogged and beheaded.

Vienne in AD177

Christians were socially excluded, verbally assaulted, and physically attacked. Over several days christians were imprisoned and brought out in the day to watch torture and executions of fellow believers
Sanctus, a deacon from the church at Vienne edured application of hot metal plates to the tenderest parts of his boyd, attacked by wild beasts, and finally died in an iron chair suspended above a fire

Blandina?

Suspended on a post as food for wild animals, forced to watch others get tortured. Scourging, wild animals, burnt on a griddle, put in a basket and thrown to a bull. Finally sacrificed by stabbing

Scilli in North Africa?

Twelve Christians beheaded in Carthage in 180AD. their spokesman speratus declared their innocence and respect for the emperor but christians declared their faith

How extensive were the persecutions?

There was a very great difference between the official position of the government on the question of persecution and the official enforcement of that position.

Was the church continually persecuted (yes)?

They were regarded as haters of mankind, bad citizens, disloyal to the empire
They had often to endure unfair administration of justice, discrimination in opportunities to work and social inequality
To this Christians were more or less universally and constantly exposed in the empire

Was the church continually persecuted (no)?

-Long periods when christians were not molested
-some emperors were neutral
-between 260 and 305 there was a complete rest from persecution
-it would be thus be inaccurate to say that from the time of Nero to that of constantine the church suffered constant persecution. it is more correct to say that in these 250 years there was persecution at various times and with varying degrees of severity.
-by far the greater part of this time witnessed no persecution at all