PERSECUTION in the EARLY

CHURCH

PERSECUTION in the EARLY

CHURCH

“The blood of

the martyrs is the seed

of the Church”

Tertullian

-Christians accused of cannibalism, perversion, and incest

-Christians used asscapegoats for every misfortune-Christians arrested,harassed, andpersecuted

Shortly After the Death of Christ

The Apostles• Simon Peter: crucified up-side down• Andrew: crucified—St. Andrew’s Cross• James the Greater: beheaded• John: boiled in oil then imprisoned on the island of

Patmos• Phillip: crucified• Bartholomew/Nathanael: beaten and crucified • Matthew/Levi: mortally wounded with a sword• Thomas: stabbed with a spear• James the Lesser: thrown from the Temple pinnacle

then beaten with a fuller's club • Simon the Zealot: crucified• Jude/Judas/Thaddeus: crucified• Judas Iscariot: suicide by hanging• Matthias (replaced Judas Iscariot): stoned then

beheaded

Early Christian MartyrsIgnatius of Antioch

• Martyred in 107 in the arena

• Roman Authorities hoped to make an example of him and thus discourage Christianity from spreading.

• Instead, he met with and encouraged Christians who flocked to meet him all along his route, and he wrote letters to the churches.

Bishop of Antioch

Perpetua, her slave Felicity, and three men were

arrested for converting to Christianity.

Perpetua and Felicity (d. 202)

• Amphitheater in Carthage

• Scourged• Attacked by wild

animals• Then put to the

sword

Sts. Sergius and Bacchus were the leaders of a group of Roman soldiers under Emperor

Diocletian. When it became known that they were Christians, they were tortured

and killed.

The Roman Coliseum

Caesar Nero Emperor: 54-68

First emperor to persecute Christians

Blamed the Christians for the fire in Rome in 64

"Mockery of every sort accompanied their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired." -Tacitus

Caesar DeciusEmperor: 249-251

Empire-wide & systematic persecution

Required libelli (certificates)Apostasy or martyrdom

Martyred Christians were known as Confessors

Libelli & ConfessorsThe libelli were documents notarized by Roman authorities to certify that someone

had offered sacrifice to the gods. In times of persecution these documents were accepted as proof that someone was not a Christian.

Confessors were Christians who confessed their faith. They were imprisoned for their faith, where other Christians flocked for strength and guidance. Many Christians even sought them for forgiveness of their sins, which became controversial in the

Church.

Caesar DeciusEmperor: 249-251

“They seized first an old man and commanded him to utter impious words. They beat him with clubs, tore his face and eyes with sharp sticks, and dragged him out of the city to stone him. Then they carried to their temple a faithful woman. As she turned away in detestation, they bound her feet and dragged her through the city over the stone-paved streets, dashed her against the millstones, scourged her, and stoned her. Then they rushed to the homes of the pious to steal and plunder. Then they seized the most admirable virgin and broke out her teeth. They threatened to burn her alive if she would not utter impious cries. She leaped eagerly into the fire.

There was no street, nor public road, nor lane open to us, by night or day; for always and everywhere, all of them cried out that if any one would not repeat their impious words, he should immediately be dragged away and burned.”

½ of his congregation missing

Council in 254 in North Africa Great penance for apostates

Certificates are no good

Novatism schism

Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258)

“No salvation outside the Church.”

In 303 AD:4 Edicts:

Destroy Churches & ScripturesImprison clergyAll clergy must sacrifice to godsAll Christians must sacrifice to gods

Caesar DiocletianEmperor: 284-305

AtheismCauses of doom

CannibalismInfanticide

IncestOrgies

False Accusations

Catacombs of Rome

• Used for burial and memorial services of Christian martyrs.

• In 380, the practice of catacomb burial declined.

• In the 6th century, catacombs were used only for martyrs’ memorial services.

• By the 10th century catacombs were abandoned, and holy relics were transferred to above-ground basilicas.

• They remained forgotten until they were accidentally rediscovered in 1578.

Burial niches were carved into walls: 16-24” high and 47-59” long

Some bodies were placed in chambers in

stone sarcophagi.

The Edict of Galerius in 311

“Let Christians have the right to exist again, and to set up their places of worship, provided always that they do not offend against public order.”

The Edict of Milan in 313

Constantine (d. 338)Battle of Saxa Rubra (The Chi Ro sign)

Baptized a Christian in 337

Religious liberty for Christians

Emperor Theodosius (d. 395)

In 380 he proclaimed himself (and the Roman Empire) a Christian of the Nicene Creed

in 391, pagan temples were closed and pagan worship forbidden

Modern Persecution

Religious persecution continues around the world. Many argue that today’s

persecution is worse as it is more wide-spread and results in more martyrs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uekLQTA25tUStart at 3:42

Pope John Paul II wrote in his 1994 apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (The Coming Third Millennium),

"The Church has once again become a Church of

martyrs." Christians today are the most persecuted

religious group in the world. Torture, enslavement, rape, imprisonment,

killings... even crucifixions are among the atrocities perpetrated upon believers

around the world.

Around the World

Modern Persecution• An estimated 200 million Christians

worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ.

• 160,000 people die every year as a result of violence directed against Christianity.

• In the 20th century, more Catholics lost their lives as martyrs than in any previous century in the history of the Church.

Modern Martyrs

St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan priest who gave up

his life for that of a fellow prisoner in Auschwitz in 1942.

St. Edith Stein, a convert from Judaism to Catholicism who died at the hands of the Nazis in Auschwitz in 1942.

Father Jerzy Popiełuszko

He was a Roman Catholic priest from Poland, associated with the

Solidarity union. He was murdered by three agents of the Polish communist internal intelligence agency.

Modern Martyrs

Modern Martyrs

The Archbishop of San Salvador was a champion of the poor who was assassinated while celebrating Mass in 1980.

Archbishop Oscar Romero

Born in southern Sudan, Josephine was kidnapped at the age of seven, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate. Her body was mutilated by those who enslaved her, but they could not touch her inner spirit. She was later baptized and became a Canossian sister.

Modern MartyrsSt. Josephine Bakhita

Modern Martyrs

What about us today, here?