1. Condition of the Church in the Second Century.—During the second century the church had many seasons of immunity from persecution. The Roman emperors for the most part were of a mild and equitable character, and at the beginning of the century there were no laws against the Christians, as those enacted both by Nero and Domitian had been repealed. The first by the senate, the second by his successor, Nerva.^[15] Still it must not be supposed that the saints were free from persecution. Their troubles arose, however, rather from the tumults of the rabble at the instigation of the pagan priests than from any desire of the emperors to oppress them.

2. As the Christians had no temples, no altars, no clouds of incense, no smoking victims—in short, as they had none of the pomp and circumstance in their simple religion which attended pagan worship, they were open to the charge of atheism by the great body of the people of the Roman empire; and, in their judgment, deserved the severest tortures and death.

If the empire had been afflicted by any recent calamity, [remarks Gibbon], by a plague, a famine, or an unsuccessful war; if the Tiber had, or if the Nile had not, risen above its banks; if the earth had shaken, or if the temperate order of the seasons had been interrupted, the superstitious pagans were convinced that the crimes and impurities of the Christians, who were spared by the excessive lenity of the government, had at length, provoked the divine justice.^[16]

And however virtuous the emperors were, however mild or equitable in character the governors of the provinces, it is certain they did not hesitate to appease the rage of the people by sacrificing a few obnoxious victims.

3. The Persecution Under Marcus Aurelius.—The strangest fact of all connected with the persecutions of this century is that the saints suffered most under the most virtuous of the emperors—Marcus Aurelius [Mar-cus Au-re-li-us], who allowed the judges to put many of the saints accused of crime to torture. Among those of note who fell in this persecution were Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna (see note 1, end of section.) and Justin Martyr, the philosopher. The persecution was most severe in Gaul (France), the churches of Lyons and Vienne being well nigh utterly destroyed. The unparalleled cruelties practiced upon the saints in those cities are related at length by Eusebius^[17] in letters written by those who survived the persecution. (See note 2, end of section.)

4. Edicts of Severus.—Early in the third century a law was enacted by the Emperor, Severus [Se-ver-us,] making it criminal for any reason to abandon the religion of his fathers for that of the Christians or the Jews. The object of the law was to stay the propagation of Christianity which was spreading abroad on every hand; and while it was not intended to increase the hardships of those already Christians, it nevertheless encouraged the governors and judges of some of the provinces—especially those of Egypt and other parts of Africa and Asia—to sorely afflict the saints. Many of the poor were put to death—thousands of them if we may credit Eusebius—and many of the rich intimidated into paying large sums of money to the judges to secure them from torture and death. Still this persecution was not long continued, nor was it general throughout the empire, and after it subsided there was a long period of peace—pity it is that we have to say that it was more hurtful to the church than the periods of the cruelest persecution. 5. Persecution Under Decius Trajan.—In the middle of this century under Decius Trajan [De-ci-us Tra-jan] the severest and most disastrous persecution of all befell the Christians. The emperor must have been impelled both by his fear of the Christians and his attachment to the ancient religion of the Romans to publish his terrible edicts by which he hoped to destroy the Christian church. The governors of the provinces were ordered, on pain of forfeiting their own lives, either to exterminate all Christians utterly, or bring them back by pains and tortures to the religion of their fathers. Even Gibbon, whose constant effort is to belittle the sufferings of the early Christians, says of this persecution:

The bishops of the most considerable cities were removed by exile or death; the vigilance of the magistrates prevented the clergy of Rome during sixteen months from proceeding to a new election and it was the opinion of the Christians that the emperor would more patiently endure a competitor for the purple than a bishop in the capital.^[18]

6. For more than two years the persecution raged with unmitigated fury; and great multitudes of Christians, in all the Roman provinces, were butchered in the most inhuman manner.

This persecution, [writes Dr. Mosheim], was more cruel and terrific than any which preceded it; and immense numbers, dismayed, not so much by the fear of death as by the dread of the long continued tortures by which the magistrates endeavored to overcome the constancy of the Christians, professed to renounce Christ, and procured for themselves safety, either by sacrificing—i. e., offering incense before the idols—or by certificates purchased with money.^[19] (See note 3, end of section.)

7. The immediate successors of Decius continued this persecution, which with a pestilential disease which prevailed in many of the Roman provinces, greatly increased the hardships of the saints; but the latter part of the century passed away in peace.

8. The Diocletian Persecution.—In the commencement of the fourth century a peculiar state of affairs existed in the Roman empire. In 284 A. D., Diocletian [Di-o-kle-shan], a native of Dalmatia [Dal-ma-shi-a], whose parents were slaves, was proclaimed emperor. The year following, feeling that the extent of the empire was too vast to be managed by a single mind, he chose a colleague, one Maximian [Max-im-i-an], an unlettered soldier, with whom he shared the authority of emperor and the title of "Augustus." Soon afterwards they each chose a colleague with whom they shared their authority. These were Constantinus [Con-stan-ti-nus] Chlorus [Klo-rus] and Galerius [Ga-le-ri-us]. On their ascension to this honor they each took the title of "Caesar," and so matters stood at the opening of the fourth century.

9. The church had peace at the opening of this century, and at first there were no indications that it would be broken. But early within that period Diocletian was persuaded to undertake the suppression of the Christian religion. This he attempted by demanding that the Christians give up their sacred books; if they refused they were put to death. The constancy of all the Christians, no, not even that of all their bishops and clergy, was equal to this trial, and many voluntarily surrendered the sacred writings in their possession, to save themselves from punishment and death.

10. The royal palace at Nicomedia being twice set on fire, soon after the first edict of Diocletian was published, the crime was charged to the Christians, and led to the issuance of a second edict which caused many Christians to suffer the penalties inflicted on incendiaries—torture and death. Following this came rebellion against Roman authority in Nicomedia and Syria. This too was charged to the intrigue of Christians (see notes 4 and 5, end of section), and was made a pretext for throwing all bishops and ministers into prison. A third edict authorized the employment of torture to compel them to offer sacrifices to the gods of the heathen. It was hoped by Diocletian that if these leaders of the church could be forced into acts of apostasy the people would follow. A great multitude, therefore, of excellent men in all parts of Christendom—excepting Gaul—were put to death, and others condemned to labor in the mines.

11. But Diocletian was disappointed in the effects of these assaults on the leaders of the church. The members thereof remained obdurate in their adherence to the Christian faith; whereupon he issued a fourth edict, directing the magistrates to compel all Christians to offer sacrifice to the gods and to use tortures for that purpose. As the governors yielded strict obedience to these orders, the Christian church was reduced to the last extremity.^[20]

12. With the exception of Gaul, [says Schlegel], streams of Christian blood flowed in the provinces of the Roman empire. Everywhere the Christian temples lay in ruins, and assemblies for worship were all suspended. The major part had forsaken the provinces and taken refuge among the barbarians. Such as were unable or unwilling to do this, kept themselves concealed, and were afraid for their lives if they appeared in public. The ministers of Christ were either slain, or mutilated and sent to the mines, or banished from the country. The avaricious magistrates had seized upon nearly all their church property and their private possessions. Many, through dread of undergoing torture, had made away with their own lives and many apostatized from the faith; and what remained of the Christian community consisted of weak, poor, and timorous persons.^[21]

Truly it would appear from this that the beast unto whom was given power "to make war with the saints and overcome them"^[22] had at last triumphed. 13. End of Pagan Persecution.—This, however, was to be the last great persecution of the Christians by the heathens. In 305 Diocletian, to the surprise of his own and all succeeding ages, resigned the empire and compelled his associate, Maximian, to do the same. This left the empire in the hands of the two Caesars, who became the emperors. Like their predecessors they chose colleagues; but Constantius Chlorus, dying at York, in Britain, his son, Constantine [Kon-stan-tin], afterwards called the Great, was proclaimed emperor by the army. The associate of his father, Galerius, and the two Caesars refused to ratify the election, and civil war ensued which lasted for eighteen years. Finally, however, Constantine prevailed over all his rivals and became sole emperor, A. D., 323. Being, like his father, favorably disposed towards Christianity, his accession to the throne brought universal peace to the church.

14. The Luminous Cross Seen by Constantine.—It was during the above-mentioned civil war, while marching against the forces of Maxentius [Max-en-ti-us], one of the rebellious Caesars, that Constantine and his army are said to have seen near midday, in the heavens, a luminous cross bearing this inscription in Greek: "By This Conquer." The same night Christ appeared to him in a dream accompanied with the same sign and instructed him to make a standard bearing the cross as a protection against his enemies. The circumstance is related at great length in the life of Constantine by Eusebius, on whose sole authority the story rests. It is regarded as suspicious that he makes no reference to the matter in Ecclesiastical History, written only twelve years after the event. (See note 7, end of section.) The story is altogether rejected by some writers as the cunning invention of interested priests seeking to make the cross an object of veneration; and even Christian writers of high standing—among them Mosheim—consider the story to be doubtful.

15. Constantine and his Friendliness to Christianity.—With the accession of Constantine to the imperial throne, as before remarked, the peace of the church was assured. His father had favored the Christians, and in the cruel persecution under Diocletian, he kept the provinces of Gaul free from the effusion of Christian blood; and his son seems to have fallen heir to his father's friendliness for the Christian faith.

16. It is difficult to determine the motives of Constantine for favoring the Christian cause and resolving upon the destruction of the pagan religion. Whether it was the appearance of the miraculous cross in the heavens, as some aver, the influence of Helena, his mother,^[23] as Theodoret claims, or through the arguments of an Egyptian priest who promised him absolution for the crime of murder if he would accept Christianity.^[24] But let the motive be what it may, benevolence, policy, conviction or remorse, coupled with a hope of forgiveness, Constantine from the time of his accession to the throne became the avowed protector of the Christian church; and at length by his powerful influence made Christianity the reigning religion of the Roman empire.^[25] The exiles were recalled; those condemned to labor in the mines were released; those who had been robbed of their property were reinstated in their possessions, and the demolished Christian temples were ordered to be rebuilt and enlarged. The church militant after the emperor's edicts of toleration became the church tranquil, so far as external opposition was concerned. Her ministers were welcomed to the court of the emperor, admitted to the imperial table, and even accompanied the monarch in his expeditions. Wealth, honor and imperial patronage were bestowed almost without measure on the Christian church. From the position of a despised, persecuted religion, Christianity was suddenly exalted to the very throne of the Roman world. Yet these things which are usually accounted among the good fortunes of the church, were, as we shall yet see, disastrous to the purity of the Christian religion.

17. Progress of the Church Under the Patronage of Constantine.—The court of Constantine was converted, of course; but it is to be feared that it was the hope of wealth and honor, the example of the emperor, his exhortations, his irresistible smile, rather than the truths of Christianity which wrought a change in the hearts of the obsequious crowd that filled the palace. A number of cities manifested a forward zeal in a voluntary destruction of their temples and idols, but it is more than likely that the municipal distinctions and popular donations which were held out as a reward for such conduct, rather than belief in the Christian faith are what inspired the iconoclasts. Twelve thousand men and a proportionate number of women and children were baptized in a single year in Rome; but how far did the twenty pieces of gold and a white garment promised to each convert by the emperor influence the conversion of this great number? Nor was the influence of Constantine in respect to the Christian religion confined within the provinces of the empire. It extended to the barbarous peoples outside; who, while they had held in disdain a despised and proscribed sect, soon learned to esteem a religion which had been so lately embraced by the greatest monarch, and the most civilized nation of the globe.^[26]

18. The Character of Constantine.—It is as difficult to come to a right conclusion as to the real character of Constantine as it is to decide the motives which led him to accept the Christian religion; for in the former as in the latter case the authorities are conflicting. The Christians who were favored by his actions extol him for his virtues; while the pagans who were despoiled by him, execrate him for his crimes. It is certain, however, that he put to death his own son Crispus, and his wife Fausta, on a suspicion that was at least precarious. He cut off his brother-in-law Licinius, and his offending son, contrary to his plighted word; and, according to Schlegel and Gibbon, he was much addicted to pride and voluptuousness:

He pursued the great objects of his ambition through the dark and bloody paths of war and policy, and after the victory, abandoned himself without moderation to the abuse of his good fortune. As he advanced in years he seems to have declined in the practice of virtue, blighting in his old age, when a convert to the Christian faith, and famed as the protector of the Christian church, the fair promises he gave in his youth, and while a pagan, of being a truly virtuous prince. It is not likely that the patronage of such an emperor would contribute to the real progress of religion or assist in the establishment of the church of Christ.

NOTES.

1. The Martyrdom of Polycarp.—Presently the instruments prepared for the funeral pile were applied to him. As they were on the point of securing him with spikes, he said: "Let me be thus, for he that gives me strength to bear the fire, will also give me power, without being secured by you with these spikes, to remain unmoved on the pile." They therefore did not nail him, but merely bound him to the stake. But he, closing his hands behind him, and bound to the stake as a noble victim selected from the great flock an acceptable sacrifice to Almighty God, said: "Father of thy well-beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the knowledge of thee, the God of angels and power and all creation, and of all the family of the righteous, that live before thee, I bless thee that thou hast thought me worthy of the present day and hour to have a share in the number of the martyrs and in the cup of Christ, unto the resurrection of eternal life, both of the soul and body, in the incorruptible felicity of the Holy Spirit. Among whom may I be received in thy sight this day as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, as thou the faithful and true God hast prepared, hast revealed and fulfilled. Wherefore on this account, and for all things I praise thee, I bless thee; I glorify thee through the eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ, thy well beloved Son. Through whom be glory to thee with Him in the Holy Ghost, both now and forever. Amen." After he had repeated Amen, and had finished his prayer, the executioners kindled the fire.—Eusebius.

2. A Second Century Persecution.—Would the reader know what a persecution in those days was, I would refer him to a circular letter written by the church at Smyrna soon after the death of Polycarp, who it will be remembered had lived with St. John; and which letter is entitled a relation of that Bishop's martyrdom. "The sufferings," say they, "of all the other martyrs were blessed and generous which they underwent according to the will of God. For so it becomes us, who are more religious than others, to ascribe the power and ordering of all things unto him. And indeed who can choose but admire the greatness of their minds, and that admirable patience and love of their Master, which then appeared in them? Who when they were so flayed with whipping, that the frame and structure of their bodies were laid open to their very inward veins and arteries, nevertheless endured it. In like manner, those who were condemned to the beasts and kept a long time in prison, underwent many cruel torments, being forced to lie upon sharp spikes laid under their bodies, and tormented with divers other sorts of punishments; that so, if it were possible, the tyrants by the length of their sufferings might have brought them to deny Christ."—Paley.

3. The Persecution Under Decius Trajan.—This persecution was more terrible than any preceding one, because it extended over the whole empire, and because its object was to worry the Christians into apostasy by extreme and persevering torture.—The certificated or libellatici, are supposed to be such as purchased certificates from the corrupt magistrates, in which it was declared that they were pagans and had complied with the demands of the law, when neither of these was fact. To purchase such a certificate was not only to be partaker in the fraudulent transaction, but it was to prevaricate before the public in regard to Christianity, and was inconsistent with that open confession of Christ before men, which He Himself requires.—Murdock. (Note in Mosheim, vol. I., cent. iii., p. 1, ch. ii.)

4. The Insurrection of Syria and Nicomedia.—Some degree of probability could be attached to the charge against the Christians of causing the insurrection from the fact that their inconsiderate zeal sometimes led them to deeds which had an aspect of rebellion. At the commencement of this persecution, for example, a very respectable Christian tore down the imperial edict against the Christians which was set up in a public place.—Schlegel.

5. Unwise Zeal of the Christians.—Several examples have been preserved of a zeal impatient of those restraints which the emperors had provided for the security of the church. The Christians sometimes supplied by their voluntary declaration the want of an accuser, rudely disturbed the public service of paganism, and rushing in crowds round the tribunal of the magistrates, called upon them to pronounce and to inflict the sentence of the law. The behavior of the Christians was too remarkable to escape the notice of the ancient philosophers; but they seemed to have considered it with much less admiration than astonishment. Incapable of conceiving the motives which sometimes transported the fortitude of believers beyond the bounds of prudence or reason, they treated such an eagerness to die as the strange result of obstinate despair, of stupid insensibility or of suspicious frenzy.—Gibbon.

6. Spirit of the Christian Martyrs.—The spirit of the Christian martyrs, at least of the first three centuries, may be learned from the epistle of Ignatius of Antioch, who, early in the second century was taken from Syria to Rome, where he suffered martyrdom by being thrown to the wild beasts. On his journey to Rome, under sentence of death, he wrote an epistle to the Roman saints from which the following passage is taken: "I write to the churches and I declare to all, that willingly I die for God, if it be that you hinder me not. I beg of you, do not become to me an unseasonable love. Let me be of the beasts, by whose means I am enabled to obtain God. I am God's wheat, and by the teeth of the beasts am I ground, that I may be found God's pure bread. Rather entreat kindly the beasts that they may be a grave for me and may leave nothing of my body; that not even when I am fallen asleep, I may be a burden upon any man. Then I shall be in truth a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world seeth not even my body. Supplicate our Lord for me, that by these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to God. I am not commanding you like Peter and Paul; they were apostles, I am a condemned convict; they were free, I am hitherto a slave. But if I suffer I am a free man of Jesus Christ, and I shall rise from the dead, in him a free man. And now since I am in bonds, I learn to desire nothing. From Syria to Rome I am cast among beasts by sea and by land, by night and by day; since I am bound between ten leopards, who get worse when I do good to them. But by their ill-treatment I am furthered in my apprenticeship; still by that I am not justified. May I have to rejoice of the beasts prepared for me! and I pray that they may be found ready for me, and I will kindly entreat them quickly to devour me, and not as they have done to some, being afraid of them, to keep from touching me. And should they not be willing, I will force them."—Ignatius' Epistle to the Romans.

7. Constantine's Luminous Cross.—Now if this narrative [by Eusebius] is all true, and if two connected miracles were actually wrought as here stated, how happens it that no writer of that age, except Eusebius, says one word about the luminous cross in the heavens? How came it that Eusebius himself said nothing about it in his Ecclesiastical History, which was written twelve years after the event, and about the same length of time before his life of Constantine? Why does he rely solely on the testimony of the emperor and not even intimate that he even heard of it from others; whereas, if true, many thousands must have been eye-witnesses of the fact. What mean his suggestions, that some may question the truth of the story; and his caution not to state anything as a matter of public notoriety, but to confine himself simply to the emperor's private representation to himself. * * * But how came the whole story of the luminous cross to be unknown to the Christian world, for more than twenty-five years, and then to transpire only through a private conversation between Eusebius and Constantine?—Murdock.

REVIEW.

1. From what source did the persecution of the church come during the 2nd century?

2. What charge did pagan priests bring against the Christians?

3. What in the estimation of the ignorant pagans gave the color of truth to their charge?

4. To what circumstance were the calamities which befell the empire usually attributed?

5. What strange fact meets us in connection with the persecution of the 2nd century?

6. What two noted martyrs were put to death in the reign of Marcus Aurelius?

7. Describe the martyrdom of Polycarp.

8. What was the nature of some of the tortures inflicted on the Christians? (Note 2).

9. What was the nature and purpose of the edicts of Severus?

10. What was the effect of this persecution and the period of peace which followed it?

11. What can you say of the persecution under Trajan?

12. What does Gibbon say of it?

13. How long did it continue?

14. What means of avoiding the severe tortures were offered the Christians?

15. What was the effect of this persecution?

16. What other circumstance added to the afflictions of the Christians?

17. What changes in respect to the Roman government took place early in the 4th century?

18. What method did Diocletian adopt for the suppression of the Christian religion? 19. What special crimes were charged to the Christians in the reign of Diocletian?

20. What can you say of the zeal of the Christians? (Note 4 and 5).

21. What effect did these persecutions have on the church?

22. What event put a stop to the pagan persecutions?

23. Relate the circumstances which led to Constantine becoming emperor of Rome.

24. What effect did his accession to the throne have upon the Christian church?

25. By what circumstance is Constantine said to have been converted to the Christian religion?

26. What evidences exist against the probability of this story?

27. What good service did the father of Constantine do the Christians in the Diocletian persecution?

28. What are the several motives assigned for Constantine's friendliness to the Christian church?

29. What can you say of the emperor's treatment of the Christians?

30. What considerations very likely influenced converts when Constantine extended his patronage to the church?

31. What was the character of Constantine?