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Wysłany: Pon 11:47, 13 Gru 2010 |
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The tolerance of pagan Rome and her emperors was worn down throughout the years with the constant threat of Christian disloyalty to the empire. The threat of Christians’ loyalty in the military began years before the first edict of the persecution, but not directly under the emperor Diocletian. Under Maximian [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], in 286A.D, a revolt broke out in Gaul which required serious military action to be brought against it. The emperor desired to sacrifice to the gods in order to secure his victory; unfortunately the legions’ soldiers were Christians and refused to sacrifice. As a result the entire legion was martyred. Only two years after Diocletian became emperor and the same year that Maximian was pronounced Augustus, this action was quite
After forty years of religious peace in the Empire, Diocletian’s religious edicts of 303 A.D. put an end to a multi-religious tolerance that included nineteen years of his rule. It had been nineteen years since Diocletian came to power in 284 A.D. where he felt no desire to persecute the Christians [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], so why two years before he abdicated? In the narratives of Eusebius and Lactanius some explanation might be found as to why the Christians were left alone for so long.
Diocletian's Great Persecution resulted in the continuing strength and conviction of the Christian peoples and a increasing tolerance of the Roman populace for the new religion. Not only did the Christians refuse to be influenced by persecution but the Roman people, it seemed, also refused to accept the persecution of the Christians unanimously and less then one hundred years later, pagan religions were banned in Rome.
Lactantius does not place the blame on the Christians. Instead, he places the blame on the head of Galerius and the anger of a religious old man. Lactantius describes a series of events that makes the corruption of pagan religion look like the reason for Diocletian’s edicts against the Christians. He sites an instance where the Christians, invoking their God, interfered with the results of the emperor’s divinations. As a result, Diocletian was filled with a rage against the Christians in his presence. This anger, combined with the never ending goading of Galerius, prompted Diocletian into passing the first edict.
In Book Eight of Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History, chapter one includes what he experienced as preceding events to Diocletian’s Persecution. He speaks of the causes, describing what the Christians did wrong to warrant such retribution. More importantly, he recounts the freedoms that Christians enjoyed in his time before the Persecution. He shows that, though some people might have felt oppressed, in his opinion, Christians were treated quite fairly. He records that, “the favour shown [Christian] people by the rulers might be adduced as evidence.” “Indeed,” he continues, “they esteemed them highly, and preferred them to their fellow-servants.”
Even though Lactantius blames the emperors for the edicts, he also includes details in his narrative that make the Christian position in Rome, before the Persecution, sound quite acceptable. In the description of Diocletian’s rage after the poisoned sacrifice, Lactantius comments on the eunuchs, who had significant roles in the church and were well treated in court. He also mentions Diocletian’s domestic staff, and his wife and daughter [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], apparently all Christians and all living under his roof. This presence of Christians in Diocletian’s household would lead one to believe that he was quite tolerant of the religion. Incidents with the Christians before this seemed of greater importance, but it might have been the constant goading of Galerius could have pushed the old emperor into passing an edit he didn’t think was necessary.
Lactantius on Diocletian’s Christian Family
Eusebius’s Account of Christian Tolerance
Revolt of the ‘Theban Legion’
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