Lawrence S. Cunningham (A Brief History of Saints) says tradition has it that there were ten periods of persecution, but that may be pious fiction. The third century Church Father, Origen does not give us an exact figure for the number of martyrdoms,but states that up to his time there were not many Christians who had been martyred and they could easily be counted.
Nevertheless there were those who sought and even provoked martyrdom. In this circumstance, one should wonder whether to feel any sympathy or admiration for these martyrs, and what significance there is in the number who died.
In his work Ad Scapulam, Tertullian describes how, around 185 CE, all the Christians of a town in Asia presented themselves to the Proconsul Arrius Antoninus and demanded the privilege of martyrdom. The proconsul told them that if they wished to die, they could hang themselves or throw themselves from the precipices.
When the early Church Father, Ignatius was taken prisoner by the Roman authorities, he expected and eagerly desired to die as a martyr. His surviving letters refer to a 'lust for death' and enumerate in grusesome detail the tortures he expected to suffer. He apparently asked the Christians in Rome to do nothing to save him.
The fourth-century Circumcellions eagerly embraced martyrdom. When they were not attacking their coreligionists, they sought out and attended pagan rites in order to denounce them, hoping to provoke the Romans to make them martyrs.
So, the number is not as high as is commonly supposed, and could have been even lower if the early Christians did not seek and encourage their own martyrdom.
Nero punished the Christians in 64 AD.
Nero punished the Christians in 64 AD.
Nero punished the Christians in 64 AD.
Nero punished the Christians in 64 AD.
Nero punished the Christians in 64 AD.
Nero punished the Christians in 64 AD.
Nero punished the Christians in 64 AD.
Nero punished the Christians in 64 AD.
Nero punished the Christians in 64 AD.
Around the year AD 64
Nero punished the Christians in 64 AD.
reeeeeeeeeeeee
According to the story, the Christians were used as scapegoats because of accusations that Nero had started the great fire of Rome
There were no emperors persecuting the Christians in 64 AD. This is a misconception. 64 was the year of the Great Fire of Rome and the emperor Nero was in power. Nero did not persecute the Christians for their religion. Nero punished the Christians for the crime of arson. After the outrage died down, the Christians were free to worship as they saw fit.
It is generally agreed that there was no organised, general, centrally directed persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire before the edict of Emperor Decius in 249. This remained in effect until 251 CE. The "great persecution" of Christians was initiated by Emperor Diocletian in 303 CE. It lasted until 305 in the West, but continued until 311 in the East.
Yes, the Moors did persecute the Early Christians.
Nero did not actually persecute the Christians as later emperors did. He rounded them up and punished those he found for the crime of arson. After conditions calmed down, he let them alone and they were free to practice their religion, although they were still considered a "suspicious cult" by many.
The reason for Nero's persecution of Christians may be attributed to the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. The city was reduced to rubble and although many thought that Nero may have been responsible for the blaze, a few sources say that Christians may have confessed to the crime, although by free will or by torture is unknown. Because of this, Nero and the community placed the blame on the Christians, and thus they suffered greatly, by being crucified, thrown to dogs, and burned.
According to the story, the Christians were used as scapegoats because of accusations that Nero had started the great fire of Rome
There were no emperors persecuting the Christians in 64 AD. This is a misconception. 64 was the year of the Great Fire of Rome and the emperor Nero was in power. Nero did not persecute the Christians for their religion. Nero punished the Christians for the crime of arson. After the outrage died down, the Christians were free to worship as they saw fit.
It is generally agreed that there was no organised, general, centrally directed persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire before the edict of Emperor Decius in 249. This remained in effect until 251 CE. The "great persecution" of Christians was initiated by Emperor Diocletian in 303 CE. It lasted until 305 in the West, but continued until 311 in the East.
he told the people that the Christians had started the fire.
Yes, the Moors did persecute the Early Christians.
St. Peter, the first pope, was ordered executed by the Roman Emperor Nero because he was a Christian and Nero had decided to blame the great fire that destroyed much of Rome in the year 64 on the Christians.
Nero did not actually persecute the Christians as later emperors did. He rounded them up and punished those he found for the crime of arson. After conditions calmed down, he let them alone and they were free to practice their religion, although they were still considered a "suspicious cult" by many.
Nero didn't persecute Christians because they wouldn't worship the gods. He used them as scapegoats for problems in the City, starting with the fire of 64 AD (which Nero himself likely had started so that he could build a palace on the site).
Christians:)
Yes, there was evidence against the Christians, so they were blamed for the fire. However Nero did not persecute them as is hyped up in both religious and secular history. Rather he prosecuted them for the crime of arson. The evidence against the Christians consisted of eyewitness accounts of them hindering the firefighters and some of them running through the city with torches to spread it.Yes, there was evidence against the Christians, so they were blamed for the fire. However Nero did not persecute them as is hyped up in both religious and secular history. Rather he prosecutedthem for the crime of arson. The evidence against the Christians consisted of eyewitness accounts of them hindering the firefighters and some of them running through the city with torches to spread it.Yes, there was evidence against the Christians, so they were blamed for the fire. However Nero did not persecute them as is hyped up in both religious and secular history. Rather he prosecutedthem for the crime of arson. The evidence against the Christians consisted of eyewitness accounts of them hindering the firefighters and some of them running through the city with torches to spread it.Yes, there was evidence against the Christians, so they were blamed for the fire. However Nero did not persecute them as is hyped up in both religious and secular history. Rather he prosecutedthem for the crime of arson. The evidence against the Christians consisted of eyewitness accounts of them hindering the firefighters and some of them running through the city with torches to spread it.Yes, there was evidence against the Christians, so they were blamed for the fire. However Nero did not persecute them as is hyped up in both religious and secular history. Rather he prosecutedthem for the crime of arson. The evidence against the Christians consisted of eyewitness accounts of them hindering the firefighters and some of them running through the city with torches to spread it.Yes, there was evidence against the Christians, so they were blamed for the fire. However Nero did not persecute them as is hyped up in both religious and secular history. Rather he prosecutedthem for the crime of arson. The evidence against the Christians consisted of eyewitness accounts of them hindering the firefighters and some of them running through the city with torches to spread it.Yes, there was evidence against the Christians, so they were blamed for the fire. However Nero did not persecute them as is hyped up in both religious and secular history. Rather he prosecutedthem for the crime of arson. The evidence against the Christians consisted of eyewitness accounts of them hindering the firefighters and some of them running through the city with torches to spread it.Yes, there was evidence against the Christians, so they were blamed for the fire. However Nero did not persecute them as is hyped up in both religious and secular history. Rather he prosecutedthem for the crime of arson. The evidence against the Christians consisted of eyewitness accounts of them hindering the firefighters and some of them running through the city with torches to spread it.Yes, there was evidence against the Christians, so they were blamed for the fire. However Nero did not persecute them as is hyped up in both religious and secular history. Rather he prosecutedthem for the crime of arson. The evidence against the Christians consisted of eyewitness accounts of them hindering the firefighters and some of them running through the city with torches to spread it.
There were not any prosecution of the Roman Empire. An empire would not persecute itself. There were persecutions of the Christians. The first such persecution occurred under the emperor Nero.