The Great Persecution
†
The
Roman emperor Diocletian initiated "The
Great Persecution” in A.D. 303. Determined to eradicate Christianity, he wrote laws designed to undermine faith,
destroy churches, kill resisters, and prompt mass exodus from the Christian community
.
No one knows how many thousands of Christians were killed, but testimonies from
various parts of the Roman empire describe the cruel torture and death
faced by uncompromising believers. Most
familiar are the vicious battles in the Roman coliseum, where men and women were
forced to face lions or gladiators, then died before cheering crowds.
Diocletian's edicts included the following
orders:
"Christians holding
public office were to be put out of office;
All accusations against Christians were to be welcomed and
received;
Christians were to be tortured for their faith;
Scriptures were to be confiscated and burned immediately;
Church buildings were to be destroyed;
A Christian’s civil rights were to be forcefully denied; and
Presidents, bishops, and leaders of churches were to be
arrested in order to sacrifice to the gods."
"During this time, a young writer named Eusebius documented
[some of] the atrocities committed against the early church. A church
leader and theologian named Pamphilus greatly inspired him.
Pamphilus was arrested and tortured in A.D. 308, but not before
he made a significant impact on Eusebius’s life.
"Eusebius wrote, “We saw with our very eyes the houses of
prayer cast down to their foundations . . . and the inspired and
sacred Scriptures committed to the flames . . . and the pastors
of the churches, some shamefully hiding themselves here and
there.”
"Pamphilus’s execution in A.D. 309 did not deter Eusebius
from writing the manuscript, History of the Church.
Eusebius was later arrested for his contribution to the
Christian cause. However, his life was spared. God protected him
so he could continue to write his message to the future church.
His writings opened the eyes of future generations to the
tribulations the early church faced."
†
"If
you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you
are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world
hates you.... If they persecuted Me they will
persecute you... for they do not know the One who sent Me." John 15:19-21