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Why in time of persecution Christians still continued to celebrate the Eucharist?
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13 What ended the Roman persecution of the Christians?
Emperor Galerius issued the Edict of Toleration in 311, bring the Great Persecution of 303-311 to an end. However, persecution of some Christians was renewed under the rule of Emperor Constantine, who determined that Gnostic Christians were not covered by the Edict of Toleration or his own Edict of Milan, issued in 313. Constantine also ordered the persecution of Donatist Christians, but later rescinded the order because it was not having the desired effect. Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of empire in 380, but only the Christianity "taught by the bishops of Rome and Alexandria". Persecution of Christians outside the mainstream Church continued for many centuries, so it is not possible to identify a single time or person who ended this persecution.
How did the Romans deal with new religions in the empire?
Generally the Romans continued with their policy of religious tolerance. There were persecutions of the Christians. However, these were on and off and there was only one large scale persecution.
Which poman emperor ended the first persecution?
There are suggestions of Christian persecutions under Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus and Maximinus the Thracian. However, they are not documented and their reliability is uncertain. It is likely that there were sporadic bouts of short-lived and unsystematic persecutions. It is also likely that on these occasions, particular provincial governors were more severe that the emperors in question. With regard to Nero's persecution in 64 AD, historians doubt that the Christians were already distinguished from the Jews so early on. The Ministry of Jesus is estimated to have started at around 27-29 AD. Maybe Nero targeted the Jews.The first documented, severe, and systematic persecution of Christians was the Decian Persecution decreed by emperor Decius reigned (249-251) in 250 and which was continued by his successors, Trebonianus Gallus (reigned 251-253 ) Aemilianus reigned (253) and Valerian (reigned 253-259). It was ended by the Edict of Toleration by (emperor) Gallienus in 260.The end of the Great Persecution of the Christians (the worse and final one) was decreed by the Edict of Toleration by(emperor) Galerius in 311. The Edict of Milan signed by co-emperors Constantine I and Licinius in 313 reiterated the toleration of Christianity, extended it to all religions, and provided for compensation by the state for those who had bought or received Christian property as a gift during the confiscations of the persecution and returned it to the Christians. This edict also acted as an order to the Governor of Syria to stop persecuting the Christians in his province. He had continued the persecution disregarding Galerius' edict.
What nationality continued the practice of the Christmas tree?
the pagans/christians
What freedom did Romans gain from Emperor Constantine?
The emperors' policy towards Christianity varied between toleration and persecution. There were two recorded and severe persecutions (other references to persecutions are not documented and were mild) the Decian Persecution (250-260) and the Great Persecution, which was started in 303 by the emperor Diocletian. This was ended by the Edict of Toleration by (emperor) Galerius in 311 The end of the latter persecution was decreed by the Edict of Toleration by (emperor) Galerius in 311. Galerius returned to toleration of Christianity and guaranteed the Christians freedom of worship and the right to be safe in order to restore political stability in the empire. The persecution had caused great social unrest among the large Christian population round the empire which was threatening its stability. Co-emperors Constantine the Great and Licinus signed the Edict of Milan of 313. It reiterated the toleration of Christianity, extended it to all religions (even though other religions had not been persecuted) and provided for compensation by the state to those who had bought or received Christian property as a gift which had been confiscated during the persecution and returned it to the Christians. The main aim of the edict seems to have been to act as an order for the Maximinus Dia (a junior emperor who governed Syria and Egypt) to stop persecuting the Christians in his province. Maximinus Dia continued the persecution, ignoring Galerius' edict. It is sometimes said that Constantine legalised Christianity and that he ended the persecution of the Christians. Both statements are inaccurate. Christianity was never banned and was never illegal. It was a matter of toleration or persecution. The Edict of Milan was aimed at ending the remnants of the persecution in Syria. The decree that officially ended to Great Persecution was the one issued by Galerius.
Which Roman Emperor persecuted the most Christians?
It was Emperor Nero, Emperor Decius and Emperor Diocletian Unquestionably, Christians were persecuted by the orders of Decius, Valerian and Diocletian. There also appears to have been a local persecution of Christians under Nero, who blamed the Roman Christians for the Great Fire of Rome.
What caused Constantine to end Rome's persecution of Christians and make Christianity the legal religion?
The end of the Great Persecution of the Christians was actually decreed by emperor Galerius in the Edict of Toleration by Galerius in 311. Galerius returned to toleration of Christianity and guaranteed the Christians freedom of worship and the right to be safe in order to restore political stability in the empire. The persecution had caused great social unrest around the empire which was threatening its stability.Co-emperors Constantine the Great and Licinus signed the Edict of Milan of 313. It reiterated the toleration of Christianity, extended it to all religions and provided for compensation by the state to those who had bought or received Christian property as a gift which had been confiscated during the persecution and returned it to the Christians. The main aim of the edict seems to have been to act as an order for the governor of Syria to stop persecuting the Christians in his province. This governor continued the persecution, ignoring Galerius' edict.Neither the Edict of Toleration by Galerius nor the Edict of Milan made Christianity legal. Christianity had never been made illegal. There had been alternations of periods of toleration and period of persecution, but no emperor ever made Christianity illegal.More generally Constantine the Great supported Christianity. When he became sole emperor in 327 he and built important churches: the original Basilica of St Peter's in Rome, the St John Lateran's Basilica (the city of Rome's first Cathedral and the original residence of the Popes), the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople and Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem. He promoted Christians to high position in the imperial bureaucracy and he mediated disputes between various Christian doctrines.
What did rome do to early christians?
Until 250 CE, the Roman authorities treated the Christian Church with great indifference. Until Christianity's break with Judaism, late in the first century, the Romans would have tolerated Christianity as a sect of Judaism. Even for some time after that break, the Romans were probably not fully aware of its permanence, and would have continued to regard the Christians as Jews.Origen, the third-century Church Father, writing of the total number of Christian martyrs up until his own time, stated that there were not many and that it was easy to count them (Contra Celsum 3.8).While Rome may have treated the Christians with indifference, there is no doubt that some citizens would have, from time to time, blamed natural catastrophes on Christians for their failure to appease the gods.It is sometimes claimed that Nero (54-68) was the first emperor to persecute the Christians. However, it has been pointed out that the Christians themselves never made that claim until centuries later. Tacitus, writing about half a century later, said that Nero did blame the Christians for the Great Fire and convicted many of them, "not so much for the crime of arson as for their hatred of the human race." Even here, G. Walter suggests that part of the quote ascribed to Tacitus was really a later Christian interpolation.It is also said that official persecution occurred under Domitian (81-96), but any persecution seems to have been limited in scope. In any case, Origen's statement tells us that there were few real martyrs.By 250, Christians incurred the displeasure of the pagan Roman government because they did not seem entirely loyal. The government liked to express the view that, by worshipping their own God instead of the pagan gods, the Christians were flouting the hallowed traditions of Rome. But what the emperors may have really meant was that these Christians could not be relied upon to do what the government required, preferring to accept the authority of their own bishops instead, and thus fostering disunity in the empire. A brief period of persecution followed, and a somewhat more serious persecution followed at the end of the century.It has been estimated that the early Christians suffered official persecution for a total period of about twelve years.
What is orthodox Easter?
Orthodox Easter is the date when Eastern Orthodox Christians throughout the world celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This year, Orthodox Easter is on 27 April 2008, according to the Julian Calendar. The Western Christians (Catholics and Protestants) now use the Gregorian Calendar to calculate their Easter. Orthodox Easter is also known as 'Pascha' in Greek, and has continued to be celebrated in the same way by Orthodox Christians for over 2,000 years.
Why were Christians persecuted in rome?
It is likely that the early Christians in Rome were not popular amongst the ordinary people, or the elite. The Roman were proud of their devotion to the traditional gods: they thought that the gods particularly favoured them, giving them victory in their wars, because the Romans were so "pious." The provocation for the first official persecution of Christians in Rome, according to the Roman historian Tacitus, was that Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for starting the fire of Rome. Tacitus thought that Nero did this in order to deflect criticism from himself. From Tacitus' account the attacks on the Christians continued from here to be a major pogrom against the Christians in the city. Tacitus lamented that Nero's attack came to be seen as Nero's folly, and resulted in the Christians gaining sympathy from the ordinary citizens of Rome.
How long did the persecution last in the Roman empire?
There is no real evidence of the Romans persecuting Christians before at least 97 CE, and only sporadic periods of persecution even after that. Professor Keith Hopkins (A world full of gods: the Strange Triumph of Christianity) says that although in its early years Christianity was both illegal and at loggerheads with the state, it was largely ignored until the three purges of 250, 257 and 303- 311.Any persecution of the Christians ended early in the fourth century, when Christianity received state patronage under Emperor Constantine. Then, later in the fouth century, Christianity became the official religion of Rome and was in a position to persecute pagans and Mithraists. It seems that persecution does not choose its victims - whichever religion is more powerful at the time persecutes the less powerful.AnswerEuan Cameron (Interpreting Christian History: The Challenge of the Churches' Past) says, "Contrary to popular tradition, the first three centuries of Christianity were not times of steady or consistent persecution. Persecution was sporadic, intermittent, and mostly local." 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, which then only remained in effect until 251 CE. The only prolonged and very widespread "great persecution" of Christians was that initiated by Diocletian in 303 CE. It lasted until 305 in the West, but continued until 311 in the East. Over a period of almost three centuries, it has been estimated that the Christians suffered a total of about twelve years of official, widespread persecution.Answer120years
Did Christianity spread despite the torment from the romans?
It is thought that there were many isolated occasions of persecution of the Christians by the Roman authorities, but relatively few organized persecutions. In most cases, the Christians were severely knocked down by the persecutions, but they appear to have quickly recovered afterwards, with the Church adopting the practice of allowing those who fell to be restored to fellowship after showing due signs of penitence. After the first empire-wide persecution ended, that of Emperor Decius in 250, Christianity appears to have spread more rapidly than before. However, other factors could have played a role. It is not clear exactly what happened in the Great Persecution (303-313) started by the edict of Emperor Diocletian. While this continued sporadically for 11 years, it would appear that the Christians resisted more strongly this time than they appear to have done during the persecution under Emperor Decius. This final period of persecution saw emperors and caesars, one after another, giving up and conceding that they could not win the "war" they had declared against Christians. It is difficult to separate this circumstance from the fact that around this time Emperor Constantine, who had charge of the western part of the Empire, decided to invoke the Christian god on his behalf, and a little later, Licinius joined with him to urge the Christians to pray for them, the empire, and for themselves. The Church went from strength to strength after this.
