Did Romans efforts to stop Christianity?

Answer 1

AnswerThis would be the fourth century. Christians were persecuted between 249-251 CE, then briefly around 257 CE. Otherwise, during the first three centuries of Christianity, persecution was sporadic, intermittent, and mostly local. The "great persecution" of Christians was initiated by Diocletian in 303 CE and lasted until 305 in the West, but continued until 311 in the East.

Answer 2

Answer

In the fourth century, Constantine made an alliance with the Christian Church, with himself as its de facto leader and patron. His Christian successors set about to ensure the fall of paganism, until public worship of the pagan gods was finally banned towards the end of the century. Thus, the fourth century marked a partnership between the Roman Empire and the Christian Church.

Answer 3

During Early Christianity there were alternations of periods of persecution and periods of toleration of Christianity. Some of the persecutions were very mild. The first documented empire-wide Christian persecution occurred under Maximinus Thrax (reigned 235-238), though only the clergy were sought out.

Two persecutions were severe. One was the Decian Persecution decreed by emperor Decius in 250 and continued by emperor Valerian from 253 to 260. It ordered that everyone had to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods and the well-being of the Emperor in the presence of a Roman magistrate who then signed and witness certificate. It was the first time that Christians faced a law which forced them to choose between their beliefs and death. Previous emperors had been reluctant to issue discriminatory laws. There is no evidence that the decree was aimed at targeting the Christians. It seems that it was intended to test the loyalty of the peoples of the empire. However, many Christians were executed for refusing to comply and many others went into hiding, while many complied. It caused tensions between the Christians who did not comply and those who did.

Emperor Gallienus issued the first imperial edict that declared the toleration of Christianity in 260. It led to 40years of peaceful co-existence.

The other severe persecution was the Great Persecution decreed by co-emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius and Constantius in 303. They issued a series of edicts rescinding the legal rights of Christians and demanding that they comply with Roman religious practices. Some decrees targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice to the Roman gods. Christian property was confiscated. Its intensity varied in across the empire. It was strongest in the eastern part of the empire where Diocletian and Galerius were keen persecutors and weakest in Gaul and Britain where Constantius was an unenthusiastic persecutor. The persecution failed to weaken the Christians and it led to widespread social unrest. It was ended by the Edict of Toleration by (emperor) Galerius of 311 and the Edict of Milan signed by co-emperors Constantine I and Licinius. It was the last persecution. After that, all subsequent emperors but one were Christians.

Answer 4

Of course. Constatine's rule was only a break. The early Christians of Rome faced horrible tortures/deaths.