During the first half century after the crucifixion of Jesus, the Roman government including governors in the eastern provinces took no active measures against Christians. The attitude of the higher Roman authorities had always been that Christianity was merely a sect of Judaism, and as such, were entitled to share in its privileges as a recognized religion. In 64 A.D. this attitude suffered a severe alteration. On July 19, 64 A.D. occurred the great fire of Rome. Half a million people were left homeless. Popular rumor persistently asserted that the fire was started by incendiaries acting under the orders of the Emperor Nero. It was said that Nero wanted the city burnt down so he could build a new city which was to be re-named after himself. Nero felt that something must be done to deflect the public indignation against him. To do this he contrived that accusations should be brought against the Christians. So Nero began an aggressive persecution of the Christians in Rome. Those who confessed their guilt were brought to trail. During these trials a great number of other Christians were uncovered and were also brought to trial. Oddly enough, these people were not charged with starting the great fire of Rome, but rather for “hatred of the humankind.”
Adding mockery to their death, the Christians were dressed in the skins of wild beasts and torn to pieces by crazed dogs. Others were put on crosses and set on fire so that when the sun set they would serve as illumination for the night. As a general rule, from this time forward Christians were dealt with by the Roman authorities as a matter of policy by the ordinary laws in force, rather than as a result of any definite edict issued against them. Therefore the first act of persecution on the part of the state was due to the personal act of the Emperor himself.
In the closing years of the 1st century, Roman authorities executed a sufficient number of Christians. In general, the provincial governors had wide discretionary powers of jurisdiction, but knowledge of Nero’s actions may have set a precedent in regards to the handling of Christians and may have also encouraged local enemies of Christians to try to persuade a governor to accept their accusations and proceed against the accused on the assumption that they were guilty of conduct detrimental to the interest of the Roman State.
They thought that the Christians were stubborn when they denied worshiping the Roman gods. Stubbornness and inflexibility were both punishable crimes. “For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished”(Pliny, paragraph 2). The Romans try to understand why the Christians are so stubborn and what it means. They do this by torturing two female slaves who were deaconesses. The Romans take what they hear as excessive superstition.
Unlike today, the church had a close relationship with the State. There was practically no division between secular and state affairs. The secular law that existed during the Middle Ages in Europe stated that all crimes that were committed we...
In the article “Modern-Day Witch Hunts”, Jamie Dailey focuses the attention on problems that Muslim Americans commonly face on a day-to-day basis. He first paints a picture by comparing the violent acts performed on Muslims to the Salem Witch trial in 1692. The Salem Witch trials resulted in 19 deaths of innocent individuals, because they were accused of witchcraft. Dailey goes on to explain in America, the type of persecution Muslims endure has many forms. A more recent controversy towards this religion involves the building of the Ground Zero Mosque in central New York. The name of this building is very misleading, especially to the eyes of an American. Even though this structure is actually built a few blocks away from where the former World Trade Center stood, problems have still risen from the public. Americans often mistake Muslims as the group of people who had performed acts of terrorism on American soil, when it was actually an Islamic group known as Al Qaeda. Mosques all across the United States started being vandalized by people protesting against their religion. This article shows how irrational fear can corrupt the thoughts of people.
As the Byzantine empire’s power began to lessen, ecclesiastical law flourished (Rautman). The Inquisition was entirely based around Roman Catholicism, and was commonly seen as needed in order to protect and defend the church from protestantism and sinners. It’s courts had judges called “inquisitors.” Inquisitors served lifelong terms and made decisions solely in the name of the Pope. While the only type of crime pursued and prosecuted by the Inquisition were crimes against the church, it was often accused of being a very biased institution, as all verdicts were made according to Catholic beliefs, regardless of the circumstance
Different from the Decian persecutions, Valerian wanted to take out the Christian church by simply banning it’s activities altogether. Beginning with the first edict he ordered, the church’s property and religious ceremonies were to be seized by the imperial officials and any religious ceremonies that would have been halted, or if continued, members would have most likely been arrested and sent to trial. This has been implied through the later rescript of toleration that Gallienus would eventually put out to the empire. Even while the property of the church was being seized and the edict was also causing public ceremonies to be halted, the Christians would have continued to hold their religious activities in secret and away from the public. The damage to the Christians in the Roman Empire before the second
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
...nt. An individual guilty of a misdemeanor could be put in jail, forced labor, pay fines or even death by beheading. For some reason if a case could not be resolved, higher officials and even the emperor were involved.
attacked them in their homes. Jews had to sell their businesses and other property to
One of the key aspects that may have led to the initial stages of the trials and ultimate spiral out of control is the religious context of Ne...
It was also during this time that Rome was subjected to numerous horrendous fires that destroyed much of the city when it was under the control of the emperor Nero.
Christianity is defined as, “A major religion, stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ, or the Anointed One of God) in the 1st century AD.” (Shelton) It has become the largest of the world’s religions. Yet in Ancient Rome in the first century A.D. they were not welcome. Christians were burned and tortured, and persecuted for just over three hundred years because of their beliefs. Why? We may never fully know, but I believe it was mostly out of fear. Fear of the new, and fear of change.
The purpose of this essay is to examine the barriers to the spread of Christianity during the Roman Empire. The relationship between Christians, Jews, and the Roman Empire was quite complicated. The Romans became involved with the Jews in 63 B.C.E. as part of their domination of the eastern Mediterranean. Christianity originated 6 B.C.E – 29 C. E. by a Palestinian Jew named Jesus, proclaiming to be the Messiah. The NIV Bible is the primary source for this essay. Leviticus from the Old Testament is written as a series of rituals or laws given to Moses by God. The book of Acts, I Corinthians and Galatians are from the New Testament. Acts was written by Luke, one of Jesus’ disciples, and outlines the spread of Christianity. I Corinthians and Galatians are letters to the early church written by Paul, a leader and missionary. The authors of the books of the Bible record eye witness accounts and revelations from God. The World History I textbook and The Survey of World History/Civilization online content are secondary sources used to connect events in the Bible to historical events during the Roman Empire. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire despite opposition from the Jews, the Romans, and problems with the early church.
During the Age of Reformation people were greatly against the abuses that existed in the Roman Catholic Church. A couple of abuses that were greatly stressed were the selling of indulgences, simony, and nepotism. It was some of these same abuses that prompted German reformist Martin Luther to write his 95 Theses. And for the Council of Trent to later address them in a series of meetings.
Christianity, originally, was thought of as an outsider religion, and wasn’t accepted by most Romans. The Romans could learn to live with other religions, but not when they were harmful to public order. At one point, Romans viewed it to be just that. Christians tended ...
In the time before Constantine, the Roman Empire was a vast expanse covering all of Spain, Gaul, Asia Minor, Italy, the Balkan Peninsula, and the North African coastline, giving Rome a vast influence in the Mediterranean world. This influence was a largely pagan culture, interspersed with a faint Christian presence (since Christianity had been legal for forty years, but not endorsed). By the time of Diocletian, Christians were persecuted to a lesser extent than in times past. Even so, Roman officials that were Christian prayed and worshipped in secret. If they were suspected to be Christian, the officials would be put through a “Christian test” based on the principle that “no committed Christian would offer a sacrifice.” If the official failed the test, he would be expelled from his position. At this time, a Church Council in Spain ruled that if some...