Romanus of Caesarea ( Greek : Ρωμανός), also known as Romanus of Antioch, is venerated as a martyr . A deacon of Caesarea, he was martyred at Antioch.
166-690: In 303 or 304, at the beginning of the Diocletianic Persecution , a deacon called Romanus, served in Caesarea in Palestine . He was living in Antioch where in the midst of the persecutions, he encouraged the Christians to stand firm. During a pagan festival, he upbraided the participants for worshiping idols. Taken prisoner, he was condemned to death by fire, and was bound to the stake. When rain extinguished
332-438: A religio licita , "on a par with Judaism", and secured Christians' property, among other things. Not all have been so enthusiastic. The 17th-century ecclesiastical historian Tillemont called the edict "insignificant"; likewise, the late 20th-century historian Timothy Barnes cautions that the "novelty or importance of [Galerius'] measure should not be overestimated". Barnes notes that Galerius's legislation only brought to
498-471: A few days afterward. What followed Marcellinus's act of traditio , if it ever actually happened, is unclear. There appears to have been a break in the episcopal succession since his successor, Marcellus I , was not consecrated until either November or December 308; it was likely not possible to elect a new bishop during the persecution. In the meantime, two factions diverged in the Roman Church, separating
664-523: A general amnesty in a third edict. Any imprisoned clergyman could be freed so long as he agreed to make a sacrifice to the gods. Diocletian may have been searching for some good publicity with this legislation. He may also have sought to fracture the Christian community by publicizing the fact that its clergy had apostatized. The demand to sacrifice was unacceptable to many of the imprisoned, but wardens often managed to obtain at least nominal compliance. Some of
830-466: A gradual shift in official attitudes toward religious minorities. In the first fifteen years of his rule, Diocletian purged the army of Christians, condemned Manicheans to death, and surrounded himself with public opponents of Christianity. Diocletian's preference for activist government, combined with his self-image as a restorer of past Roman glory, foreboded the most pervasive persecution in Roman history. In
996-714: A king who sits on a throne at the highest of the heavens. In the Manichaean description, this being, the "Great King of Honor", becomes a deity who guards the entrance to the World of Light placed at the seventh of ten heavens. In the Aramaic Book of Enoch, the Qumran writings, overall, and in the original Syriac section of Manichaean scriptures quoted by Theodore bar Konai , he is called malkā rabbā d-iqārā ("the Great King of Honor"). Mani
1162-777: A particularly intransigent, fanatical, and legalistic variety of Christianity. It was Africa that gave the West most of its martyrdoms. Africa had produced martyrs even in the years immediately prior to the Great Persecution. In 298, Maximilian , a soldier in Tebessa , had been tried for refusing to follow military discipline; in Mauretania in 298, the soldier Marcellus refused his army bonus and took off his uniform in public. Once persecutions began, public authorities were eager to assert their authority. Anullinus, proconsul of Africa, expanded on
1328-483: A reform of Zarathrusta's ancient teachings. This was of great fascination to the king, for it perfectly fit Sabuhr's dream of creating a large empire that incorporated all people and their different creeds. Thus, Manichaeism became widespread and flourished throughout the Sasanian Empire for thirty years. An apologia for Manichaeism ascribed to ibn al-Muqaffa' defended its phantasmagorical cosmogony and attacked
1494-713: A religion. It was his "Twin" who brought Mani to self-realization . Mani claimed to be the Paraclete of the Truth promised by Jesus in the New Testament. Manichaeism's views on Jesus are described by historians: Jesus in Manichaeism possessed three separate identities: (1) Jesus the Luminous, (2) Jesus the Messiah and (3) Jesus patibilis (the suffering Jesus). (1) As Jesus
1660-657: A report that the proclamation of Manichaeism as the state religion was met with enthusiasm in Ordu-Baliq. In an inscription in which the Kaghan speaks for himself, he promised the Manichaen high priests (the "Elect") that if they gave orders, he would promptly follow them and respond to their requests. An incomplete manuscript found in the Turfan Oasis gives Boku Tekin the title of zahag-i Mani ("Emanation of Mani" or "Descendant of Mani"),
1826-558: A revelation as a youth from a spirit, whom he would later call his "Twin" ( Imperial Aramaic : תאומא tɑʔwmɑ , from which is also derived the Greek name of Thomas the Apostle , Didymus; the "twin"), Syzygos ( Koinē Greek : σύζυγος "spouse, partner", in the Cologne Mani-Codex ), "Double," "Protective Angel," or "Divine Self." This spirit taught him wisdom that he then developed into
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#17328480628801992-773: A sacred forest in Otuken . The conversion to Manichaeism led to an explosion of manuscript production in the Tarim Basin and Gansu (the region between the Tibetan and the Huangtu plateaus), which lasted well into the early 11th century. In 840, the Uyghur Khaganate collapsed under the attacks of the Yenisei Kyrgyz , and the new Uyghur state of Qocho was established with a capital in the city of Qocho . Al-Jahiz (776–868 or 869) believed that
2158-467: A saintly individual, a "humble" man. Christ's followers, however, he damned as "arrogant". Around 290, Porphyry wrote a fifteen-volume work entitled Against the Christians . In the work, Porphyry expressed his shock at the rapid expansion of Christianity. He also revised his earlier opinions of Jesus, questioning Jesus' exclusion of the rich from the Kingdom of Heaven, and his permissiveness in regards to
2324-411: A show of support for the faith, proclaimed that all inhabitants of the empire must sacrifice to the gods, eat sacrificial meat, and testify to these acts. Christians were obstinate in their non-compliance. Church leaders, like Fabian , bishop of Rome , and Babylas , bishop of Antioch , were arrested, tried and executed, as were certain members of the Christian laity, like Pionius of Smyrna. Origen
2490-672: A title of majestic prestige among the Manichaeans of Central Asia. Nonetheless, and despite the apparently willing conversion of the Uyghurs to Manichaeanism, traces and signs of the previous shamanistic practices persisted. For instance, in 765, only two years after the official conversion, during a military campaign in China, the Uyghur troops called forth magicians to perform a number of specific rituals. Manichaean Uyghurs continued to treat with great respect
2656-474: A whole. The very capriciousness of official action, however, made the threat of state coercion loom large in the Christian imagination. In the 3rd century, the pattern changed. Emperors became more active, and government officials began to actively pursue Christians rather than merely to respond to the will of the crowd. Christianity also changed. No longer were its practitioners merely "the lower orders fomenting discontent"; some Christians were now rich or from
2822-589: Is called a Manichaean , Manichean , or Manichee , the last especially in older sources. Mani was an Iranian born in 216 CE in or near Ctesiphon (now al-Mada'in , Iraq) in the Parthian Empire . According to the Cologne Mani-Codex , Mani's parents were members of the Jewish Christian Gnostic sect known as the Elcesaites . Mani composed seven works, six of which were written in
2988-437: Is increased by the example you set, of veneration for the gods. Surely, men will now understand what power resides in the gods, when you worship them so fervently." Diocletian associated himself with the head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter ; his co-emperor, Maximian, associated himself with Hercules . This connection between god and emperor helped to legitimize the emperors' claims to power and tied imperial government closer to
3154-559: Is known about Manichaeism comes from later 10th- and 11th-century Muslim historians like al-Biruni and ibn al-Nadim in his al-Fihrist ; the latter "ascribed to Mani the claim to be the Seal of the Prophets." However, given the Islamic milieu of Arabia and Persia at the time, it stands to reason that Manichaens would regularly assert in their evangelism that Mani, not Muhammad , was the "Seal of
3320-635: Is noteworthy that Mani, who was brought up and spent most of his life in a province of the Persian empire, and whose mother belonged to a famous Parthian family, did not make any use of the Iranian mythological tradition. There can no longer be any doubt that the Iranian names of Sām , Narīmān , etc., that appear in the Persian and Sogdian versions of the Book of the Giants, did not figure in the original edition, written by Mani in
3486-535: The Babylonian Talmud ), Mandaean (the language of Mandaeism ), and Syriac, which was the language of Mani as well as the Syriac Christians . While Manichaeism was spreading, existing religions such as Zoroastrianism were still prevalent, and Christianity was gaining social and political influence. Although having fewer adherents, Manichaeism won the support of many high-ranking political figures. With
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#17328480628803652-663: The Book of Enoch literature), and by the Syriac dualist -Gnostic writer Bardaisan (who lived a generation before Mani). With the discovery of the Mani-Codex, it also became clear that he was raised in the Jewish Christian sect of the Elcasaites and possibly influenced by their writings. According to biographies preserved by ibn al-Nadim and the Persian polymath al-Biruni , Mani received
3818-565: The Collatio Legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum and addressed to the proconsul of Africa, Diocletian wrote: We have heard that the Manichaens […] have set up new and hitherto unheard-of sects in opposition to the older creeds so that they might cast out the doctrines vouchsafed to us in the past by the divine favour for the benefit of their own depraved doctrine. They have sprung forth very recently like new and unexpected monstrosities among
3984-661: The Donatists in North Africa and the Melitians in Egypt, persisted long after the persecutions. The Donatists would not be reconciled to the Church until after 411. Some historians consider that, in the centuries that followed the persecutory era, Christians created a "cult of the martyrs" and exaggerated the barbarity of the persecutions. Other historians using texts and archeological evidence from
4150-624: The Greco-Roman world because of it. Mani taught how the soul of a righteous individual returns to Paradise upon dying, but "the soul of the person who persisted in things of the flesh – fornication, procreation, possessions, cultivation, harvesting, eating of meat, drinking of wine – is condemned to rebirth in a succession of bodies." Mani began preaching at an early age and was possibly influenced by contemporary Babylonian-Aramaic movements such as Mandaeism , Aramaic translations of Jewish apocalyptic works similar to those found at Qumran (e.g.,
4316-661: The Manichaean alphabet that was used in all of the Manichaean works written within the Sasanian Empire , whether they were in Syriac or Middle Persian , as well as most of the works written within the Uyghur Khaganate . The primary language of Babylon (and the administrative and cultural language of the Empire) at that time was Eastern Middle Aramaic , which included three main dialects: Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (the language of
4482-550: The Martyrs of Abitinae , another group martyred on February 12, 304 in Carthage, and the martyrs of Milevis ( Mila , Algeria). The persecution in Africa encouraged the development of Donatism , a schismatic movement that forbade any compromise with Roman government or traditor bishops (those who had handed scriptures over to secular authorities). One of the key moments in the break with
4648-480: The Parthian prophet Mani (216–274 CE), in the Sasanian Empire . Manichaeism teaches an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good , spiritual world of light , and an evil , material world of darkness . Through an ongoing process that takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light, whence it came. Mani's teaching
4814-457: The entire world , calling his teachings the "Religion of Light". Manichaean writings indicate that Mani received revelations when he was twelve years old and again when he was 24, and over this period, he grew dissatisfied with the Elcesaites , the Jewish Christian Gnostic sect he was born into. Some researchers also point to an important Jain influence on Mani as extreme degrees of asceticism and some specific features of Jain doctrine made
4980-606: The fideism of Islam and other monotheistic religions. The Manichaeans had sufficient structure to have a head of their community. Tolerance toward Manichaeism decreased after the death of Sabuhr I. His son, Ohrmazd , who became king, still allowed for Manichaeism in the empire, but he also greatly trusted the Zoroastrian priest, Kirdir. After Ohrmazd's short reign, his oldest brother, Wahram I , became king. Wahram I held Kirdir in high esteem, and he also had many different religious ideals than Ohrmazd and his father, Sabuhr I. Due to
5146-472: The imperial cult , avoided public office, and publicly criticized ancient traditions. Conversions tore families apart: Justin Martyr tells of a pagan husband who denounced his Christian wife, and Tertullian tells of children disinherited for becoming Christians. Traditional Roman religion was inextricably interwoven into the fabric of Roman society and state, but Christians refused to observe its practices. In
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5312-528: The late-Aramaic Syriac language . The seventh, the Shabuhragan , was written by Mani in Middle Persian and presented by him to Sasanian emperor Shapur I . Although there is no proof Shapur I was a Manichaean, he tolerated the spread of Manichaeism and refrained from persecuting it within his empire's boundaries. According to one tradition, Mani invented the unique version of the Syriac script known as
5478-503: The sign of the cross during the ceremonies and were alleged to have disrupted the haruspices ' divination. Diocletian, enraged by this turn of events, declared that all members of the court must make a sacrifice. Diocletian and Galerius also sent letters to the military command, demanding that the entire army perform the sacrifices or else face discharge. Since there are no reports of bloodshed in Lactantius's narrative, Christians in
5644-612: The upper classes . Origen , writing at about 248, tells of "the multitude of people coming in to the faith, even rich men and persons in positions of honour and ladies of high refinement and birth." Official reaction grew firmer. In 202, according to the Historia Augusta , a 4th-century history of dubious reliability, Septimius Severus ( r . 193–211) issued a general rescript forbidding conversion to either Judaism or Christianity. Maximin ( r . 235–238) targeted Christian leaders. Decius ( r . 249–251), demanding
5810-477: The Book of Enoch entitled The Book of Giants . Mani quoted the latter directly and expanded upon it, becoming one of the six original Syriac writings of the Manichaean Church. Besides short references by non-Manichaean authors through the centuries, no original sources of The Book of Giants (which is actually part six of the Book of Enoch) were available until the 20th century. Scattered fragments of both
5976-656: The Buddha of Infinite Light, does not appear in Chinese Manichaeism and seems to have been replaced by another deity. Manichaeism reached Rome through the apostle Psattiq in 280, who was also in Egypt in 244 and 251. It flourished in the Faiyum in 290. Manichaean monasteries existed in Rome in 312 during the time of Pope Miltiades . In 291, persecution arose in the Sasanian Empire with
6142-561: The Buddhist sangha . The Kushan monk Lokakṣema began translating Pure Land Buddhist texts into Chinese in the century prior to Mani arriving there. The Chinese texts of Manichaeism are full of uniquely Buddhist terms taken directly from these Chinese Pure Land scriptures, including the term " pure land " ( Chinese : 淨土 ; pinyin : jìngtǔ ) itself. However, the central object of veneration in Pure Land Buddhism, Amitābha ,
6308-434: The Church. There were many individuals willing to be martyrs and many provincials willing to ignore any persecutory edicts from the emperors as well. Even Constantius was known to have disapproved of persecutory policies. The lower classes demonstrated little of the enthusiasm they had shown for earlier persecutions. They no longer believed the slanderous accusations that were popular in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Perhaps, as
6474-517: The East rights Christians already possessed in Italy and Africa. In Gaul, Spain, and Britain, moreover, Christians already had far more than Galerius was offering to Eastern Christians. Other late 20th-century historians, like Graeme Clark and David S. Potter, assert that for all its hedging, Galerius's issuance of the edict was a landmark event in the histories of Christianity and the Roman empire. Galerius's law
6640-498: The Establishment". Hierocles thought Christian beliefs absurd. If Christians applied their principles consistently, he argued, they would pray to Apollonius of Tyana instead of Jesus. Hierocles considered that Apollonius's miracles had been far more impressive and Apollonius never had the temerity to call himself "God". He thought the scriptures were full of "lies and contradictions" and Peter and Paul had peddled falsehoods. In
6806-596: The Luminous ;... his primary role was as supreme revealer and guide and it was he who woke Adam from his slumber and revealed to him the divine origins of his soul and its painful captivity by the body and mixture with matter. (2) Jesus the Messiah was an historical being who was the prophet of the Jews and the forerunner of Mani. However, the Manichaeans believed he was wholly divine, and that he never experienced human birth, as
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6972-524: The Manichaeans [...] have set up new and hitherto unheard-of sects in opposition to the older creeds so that they might cast out the doctrines vouchsafed to us in the past by the divine favour for the benefit of their own depraved doctrine. They have sprung forth very recently like new and unexpected monstrosities among the race of the Persians – a nation still hostile to us – and have made their way into our empire, where they are committing many outrages, disturbing
7138-515: The Persian war, Galerius might have wished to compensate for a previous humiliation at Antioch, when Diocletian had forced him to walk at the front of the imperial caravan, rather than inside it. His resentment fed his discontent with official policies of tolerance; from 302 on, he probably urged Diocletian to enact a general law against the Christians. Since Diocletian was already surrounded by an anti-Christian clique of counsellors, these suggestions must have carried great force. Affairs quieted after
7304-472: The Persians as with the poison of a malignant (serpent) … We order that the authors and leaders of these sects be subjected to severe punishment, and, together with their abominable writings, burnt in the flames. We direct their followers, if they continue recalcitrant, shall suffer capital punishment, and their goods be forfeited to the imperial treasury. And if those who have gone over to that hitherto unheard-of, scandalous and wholly infamous creed, or to that of
7470-416: The Persians, are persons who hold public office, or are of any rank or of superior social status, you will see to it that their estates are confiscated and the offenders sent to the (quarry) at Phaeno or the mines at Proconnesus. And in order that this plague of iniquity shall be completely extirpated from this our most happy age, let your devotion hasten to carry out our orders and commands. The Christians of
7636-498: The Prophets". In reality, for Mani the metaphorical expression "Seal of Prophets" is not a reference to his finality in a long succession of prophets as it is used in Islam, but rather as final to his followers (who testify or attest to his message as a "seal"). Other sources of Mani's scripture were the Aramaic originals of the Book of Enoch , 2 Enoch , and an otherwise unknown section of
7802-1125: The Roman state and was eventually stamped out in the Roman Empire. Manichaeism survived longer in the east than it did in the west. Although it was thought to have finally faded away after the 14th century in South China , contemporary to the decline of the Church of the East in Ming China , there is a growing corpus of evidence that shows Manichaeism persists in some areas of China, especially in Fujian , where numerous Manichaean relics have been discovered over time. The currently known sects are notably secretive and protective of their belief system, in an effort to remain undetected. This stems from fears relating to persecution and suppression during various periods of Chinese history. While most of Manichaeism's original writings have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived. An adherent of Manichaeism
7968-409: The Song dynasty, the Manichaeans were derogatorily referred by the Chinese as Chīcài shìmó ( Chinese : 吃菜事魔 , meaning that they "abstain from meat and worship demons"). An account in Fozu Tongji , an important historiography of Buddhism in China compiled by Buddhist scholars during 1258–1269, says that the Manichaeans worshipped the "White Buddha" and their leader wore a violet headgear, while
8134-417: The Syriac language. By comparing the cosmology of the books of Enoch to the Book of Giants, as well as the description of the Manichaean myth, scholars have observed that the Manichaean cosmology can be described as being based, in part, on the description of the cosmology developed in detail within the Enochic literature. This literature describes the being that the prophets saw in their ascent to Heaven as
8300-447: The Tetrarchy as a system of government. Constantine, son of Constantius, and Maxentius , son of Maximian, had been overlooked in the Diocletianic succession, offending the parents and angering the sons. Constantine, against Galerius's will, succeeded his father on July 25, 306. He immediately ended any ongoing persecutions and offered Christians full restitution of what they had lost under the persecution. This declaration gave Constantine
8466-403: The Uyghur Khaganate in 840. In the east it spread along trade routes as far as Chang'an , the capital of Tang China . After the Tang dynasty, some Manichaean groups participated in peasant movements . Many rebel leaders used religion to mobilize followers. In Song and Yuan China, remnants of Manichaeism continued to leave a legacy contributing to sects such as the Red Turbans . During
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#17328480628808632-401: The Uyghurs in Turfan may be detected in fragments of Uyghur Manichaean manuscripts. In fact, Manicheism continued to rival the influence of Buddhism among the Uyghurs until the 13th century. The Mongols gave the final blow to the Manichaeism among the Uyghurs. Manichaeism spread to Tibet during the Tibetan Empire . There was a serious attempt made to introduce the religion to the Tibetans as
8798-602: The Zoroastrians. Due to the appeal of its teachings, many Sasanians adopted the ideas of its theology and some even became dualists. Not only were the citizens of the Sasanian Empire intrigued by Manichaeism, but so was the ruler at the time of its introduction, Sabuhr l . As the Denkard reports, Sabuhr, the first King of Kings , was very well-known for gaining and seeking knowledge of any kind. Because of this, Mani knew that Sabuhr would lend an ear to his teachings and accept him. Mani had explicitly stated while introducing his teachings to Sabuhr, that his religion should be seen as
8964-467: The assistance of the Sasanian Empire, Mani began missionary expeditions. After failing to win the favour of the next generation of Persian royalty and incurring the disapproval of the Zoroastrian clergy, Mani is reported to have died in prison awaiting execution by the Persian emperor Bahram I . The date of his death is estimated at 276–277 CE. Mani believed that the teachings of Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus were incomplete, and that his revelations were for
9130-545: The authority of local government officials. At Bithynia–Pontus in 111, it was Pliny; at Smyrna in 156 and Scilli near Carthage in 180, it was the proconsul ; at Lyon in 177, it was the provincial governor . When Emperor Nero executed Christians for their alleged involvement in the fire of 64 , it was a purely local affair; it did not spread beyond the city limits of Rome. These early persecutions were certainly violent, but they were sporadic, brief and limited in extent. They were of limited threat to Christianity as
9296-444: The beginning of his proselytizing career, Richard Foltz postulates Buddhist influences in Manichaeism: Buddhist influences were significant in the formation of Mani's religious thought. The transmigration of souls became a Manichaean belief, and the quadripartite structure of the Manichaean community, divided between male and female monks (the "elect") and lay followers (the "hearers") who supported them, appears to be based on that of
9462-402: The beginnings of the army purge in Palestine, while Lactantius describes events at court. Woods asserts that the relevant passage in Eusebius's Chronicon was corrupted in the translation to Latin and that Eusebius's text originally located the beginnings of the army persecution at a fort in Betthorus (El-Lejjun, Jordan). Eusebius, Lactantius, and Constantine each allege that Galerius was
9628-420: The bureaucracy and military would be sufficient to appease the gods, while Galerius pushed for their extermination. The two men sought to resolve their dispute by sending a messenger to consult the oracle of Apollo at Didyma . Porphyry may also have been present at this meeting. Upon returning, the messenger told the court that "the just on earth" hindered Apollo's ability to speak. These "just", Diocletian
9794-413: The captive soul is exquisitely expressed in one of the Coptic Manichaean psalms. Augustine of Hippo also noted that Mani declared himself to be an "apostle of Jesus Christ". Manichaean tradition is also noted to have claimed that Mani was the reincarnation of religious figures from previous eras such as the Buddha, Krishna , and Zoroaster in addition to Jesus himself. Academics note that much of what
9960-425: The city, and Caecilian , his deacon, for reasons that remain obscure. In 311, Caecilian was elected bishop of Carthage. His opponents charged that his traditio made him unworthy of the office and declared itself for another candidate, Majorinus . Many others in Africa, including the Abitinians, also supported Majorinus against Caecilian. Majorinus's successor Donatus would give the dissident movement its name. By
10126-478: The clergy sacrificed willingly; others did so on pain of torture. Wardens were eager to be rid of the clergy in their midst. Eusebius, in his Martyrs of Palestine , records the case of one man who after being brought to an altar, had his hands seized and made to complete a sacrificial offering. The clergyman was told that his act of sacrifice had been recognized and was summarily dismissed. Others were told they had sacrificed even when they had done nothing. In 304,
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#173284806288010292-461: The conditions they ought to observe. Consequently, in accord with our indulgence, they ought to pray to their god for our health and the safety of the state, so that the state may be kept safe on all sides, and they may be able to live safely and securely in their own homes. Galerius's words reinforce the Tetrarchy's theological basis for the persecution; the acts did nothing more than attempt to enforce traditional civic and religious practices, even if
10458-485: The cost of their own lives, and there were some cases where the scriptures were not in the end destroyed. Christians were also deprived of the right to petition the courts, making them potential subjects for judicial torture; Christians could not respond to actions brought against them in court; Christian senators , equestrians , decurions , veterans, and soldiers were deprived of their ranks; and Christian imperial freedmen were re-enslaved. Diocletian requested that
10624-540: The demons residing in pigs' bodies . Like Hierocles, he unfavorably compared Jesus to Apollonius of Tyana. Porphyry held that Christians blasphemed by worshiping a human being rather than the Supreme God and behaved treasonably in forsaking the traditional Roman cult. "To what sort of penalties might we not justly subject people," Porphyry asked, "who are fugitives from their fathers' customs?" Pagan priests, too, were interested in suppressing any threat to traditional religion. They believed their ceremonies were hindered by
10790-498: The devotees, now few and infrequent, cry aloud, 'The gods are neglected, and in the temples there is now a very thin attendance. Former ceremonies are exposed to derision, and the time-honoured rites of institutions once sacred have sunk before the superstitions of new religions.' At the conclusion of the Persian wars in 299, co-emperors Diocletian and Galerius traveled from Persia to Syrian Antioch ( Antakya ). The Christian rhetor Lactantius records that at Antioch some time in 299,
10956-401: The document the " Edict of Milan ". We thought it fit to commend these things most fully to your care that you may know that we have given to those Christians free and unrestricted opportunity of religious worship. When you see that this has been granted to them by us, your Worship will know that we have also conceded to other religions the right of open and free observance of their worship for
11122-487: The early 4th century, an unidentified philosopher published a pamphlet attacking the Christians. This philosopher, who might have been a pupil of the Neoplatonist Iamblichus , dined repeatedly at the imperial court. Diocletian was surrounded by an anti-Christian clique. Porphyry was somewhat restrained in his criticism of Christianity, at least in his early works, On the Return of the Soul and Philosophy from Oracles . He had few complaints about Jesus, whom he praised as
11288-401: The edict be pursued "without bloodshed", against Galerius's demands that all those refusing to sacrifice be burned alive. In spite of Diocletian's request, local judges often enforced executions during the persecution, as capital punishment was among their discretionary powers. Galerius's recommendation—burning alive—became a common method of executing Christians in the East. After
11454-412: The edict in Africa. Africa's political elite were insistent that the persecution be fulfilled, and Africa's Christians, especially in Numidia, were equally insistent on resisting them. For the Numidians, to hand over scriptures was an act of terrible apostasy. Africa had long been home to the Church of the Martyrs —in Africa, martyrs held more religious authority than the clergy —and harbored
11620-453: The edict was posted in Nicomedia, a man named Eutius tore it down and ripped it up, shouting "Here are your Gothic and Sarmatian triumphs!" He was arrested for treason, tortured, and burned alive soon after, becoming the edict's first martyr. The provisions of the edict were known and enforced in Palestine by March or April (just before Easter), and it was in use by local officials in North Africa by May or June. The earliest martyr at Caesarea
11786-450: The edict, deciding that in addition to the destruction of the Christians' scriptures and churches the government should compel Christians to sacrifice to the gods. Governor Valerius Florus enforced the same policy in Numidia during the summer or autumn of 303, when he called for "days of incense burning"; Christians would sacrifice or they would lose their lives. In addition to those already listed, African martyrs also include Saturninus and
11952-418: The edicts were thoroughly nontraditional. Galerius does nothing to violate the spirit of the persecution—Christians are still admonished for their nonconformity and foolish practices—Galerius never admits that he did anything wrong. Certain early 20th-century historians have declared that Galerius's edict definitively nullified the old "legal formula" non licet esse Christianos , made Christianity
12118-403: The emperor issued a series of edicts to suppress Manichaeism and punish its followers. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) converted to Christianity from Manichaeism in the year 387. This was shortly after the Roman emperor Theodosius I issued a decree of death for all Manichaean monks in 382 and shortly before he declared Christianity the only legitimate religion for the Roman Empire in 391. Due to
12284-441: The emperors were engaged in sacrifice and divination in an attempt to predict the future. The haruspices , diviners of omens from sacrificed animals, were unable to read the sacrificed animals and failed to do so after repeated trials. The master haruspex eventually declared that this failure was the result of interruptions in the process caused by profane men. Certain Christians in the imperial household had been observed making
12450-478: The empire (and especially in the East) after 260, when Gallienus brought peace to the Church. The data to calculate the figures are nearly non-existent, but historian and sociologist Keith Hopkins has given crude and tentative estimates for the Christian population in the 3rd century. Hopkins estimates that the Christian community grew from a population of 1.1 million in 250 to a population of 6 million by 300, about 10% of
12616-518: The empire were vulnerable to the same line of thinking. Diocletian was in Antioch in the autumn of 302, when the next instance of persecution occurred. The deacon Romanus visited a court while preliminary sacrifices were taking place and interrupted the ceremonies, denouncing the act in a loud voice. He was arrested and sentenced to be set aflame, but Diocletian overruled the decision and decided that Romanus should have his tongue removed instead. Romanus
12782-453: The empire's "moral fabric"—and the elimination of religious minorities—was simply one step in that process. The unique position of the Christians and Jews of the empire became increasingly apparent. The Jews had earned imperial toleration on account of the great antiquity of their faith. They had been exempted from Decius's persecution and continued to enjoy freedom from persecution under Tetrarchic government. Because their faith
12948-538: The empire's total population. Christians even expanded into the countryside, where they had never been numerous before. Churches in the later 3rd century were no longer as inconspicuous as they had been in the first and second. Large churches were prominent in certain major cities throughout the empire. The church in Nicomedia even sat on a hill overlooking the imperial palace. These new churches probably represented not only absolute growth in Christian population, but also
13114-582: The empire, but emperors prior to Diocletian were reluctant to issue general laws against the religious group. In the 250s, under the reigns of Decius and Valerian , Roman subjects including Christians were compelled to sacrifice to Roman gods or face imprisonment and execution, but there is no evidence that these edicts were specifically intended to attack Christianity. After Gallienus 's accession in 260, these laws went into abeyance. Diocletian's assumption of power in 284 did not mark an immediate reversal of imperial inattention to Christianity, but it did herald
13280-510: The empire. But Christians tried to retain the scriptures as far as possible, though, according to de Ste Croix, "it appears that giving them up...was not regarded as a sin" in the East; sufficient numbers of them must have been successfully saved, as is evident from the representative findings of "early biblical papyri" in the stream of the transmission of the text during this period. Christians might have given up apocryphal or pseudepigraphal works, or even refused to surrender their scriptures at
13446-520: The extent of the persecution in Constantius's domain, though all portray it as quite limited. Lactantius states that the destruction of church buildings was the worst thing that came to pass. Eusebius explicitly denies that any churches were destroyed in both his Ecclesiastical History and his Life of Constantine , but lists Gaul as an area suffering from the effects of the persecution in his Martyrs of Palestine . A group of bishops declared that "Gaul
13612-454: The faith were "countless" (μυρίοι) in number. At first, the new Tetrarchy seemed even more vigorous than the first. Maximinus in particular was eager to persecute. In 306 and 309, he published his own edicts demanding universal sacrifice. Eusebius accuses Galerius of pressing on with the persecution as well. In the West, however, what remained after the Diocletianic settlement had weakened
13778-403: The figures, although reliant on collections of acta that are incomplete and only partially reliable, point to a heavier persecution under Diocletian than under Galerius. The historian Simon Corcoran , in a passage on the origins of the early persecution edicts, criticizes Davies' over-reliance on these "dubious martyr acts" and dismisses his conclusions. The sources are inconsistent regarding
13944-535: The first time in the history of the empire) to declare himself emperor. On October 28, 306, Maxentius convinced the Praetorian Guard to support him, mutiny, and invest him with the purple robes of the emperor. Maxentius did not permit religious freedom for Christians in the realm or the restitution of confiscated property. The Great Persecution continued until 311 when Constantine arrived at Rome's gates and defeated Maxentius with an army only half as big. Maxentius
14110-571: The flames, Romanus was brought before Emperor Galerius who was then in Antioch. At the emperor's command Romanus' tongue was cut out. Tortured in various ways in prison he was finally strangled . Eusebius speaks of his martyrdom in De martyribus Palaestinae . Prudentius relates other details and gives Romanus a companion in martyrdom, a Christian by name Barulas . On this account several historians, among them Baronius , consider that there were two martyrs named Romanus at Antioch, though more likely there
14276-427: The flames. We direct their followers, if they continue recalcitrant, shall suffer capital punishment, and their goods be forfeited to the imperial treasury. And if those who have gone over to that hitherto unheard-of, scandalous and wholly infamous creed, or to that of the Persians, are persons who hold public office, or are of any rank or of superior social status, you will see to it that their estates are confiscated and
14442-479: The followers wore white costumes. Many Manichaeans took part in rebellions against the Song government and were eventually quelled. After that, all governments were suppressive against Manichaeism and its followers, and the religion was banned in Ming China in 1370. While it had long been thought that Manichaeism arrived in China only at the end of the seventh century, a recent archaeological discovery demonstrated that it
14608-672: The fourth edict ordered all persons, men, women, and children, to gather in a public space and offer a collective sacrifice. If they refused, they were to be executed. The precise date of the edict is unknown, but it was probably issued in either January or February 304 and was being applied in the Balkans in March. The edict was in use in Thessalonica in April 304 and in Palestine soon after. This last edict
14774-433: The gods, or to the god of the Christians. Considering the observation of our own mild clemency and eternal custom, by which we are accustomed to grant clemency to all people, we have decided to extend our most speedy indulgence to these people as well, so that Christians may once more establish their own meeting places, so long as they do not act in a disorderly way. We are about to send another letter to our officials detailing
14940-626: The gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain , where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutory laws were nullified by different emperors (Galerius with the Edict of Serdica in 311) at different times, but Constantine and Licinius ' Edict of Milan in 313 has traditionally marked the end of the persecution. Christians had been subject to intermittent local discrimination in
15106-577: The governor of Bithynia–Pontus , was sent long lists of denunciations of Christians by anonymous citizens, which Emperor Trajan advised him to ignore. In Lyon in 177, it was only the intervention of civil authorities that stopped a pagan mob from dragging Christians from their houses and beating them to death. To the followers of the traditional cults, Christians were odd creatures: not quite Roman but not quite barbarian either. Their practices were deeply threatening to traditional mores . Christians rejected public festivals, refused to take part in
15272-493: The heavy persecution, the religion almost disappeared from Western Europe in the fifth century and from the eastern portion of the empire in the sixth century. According to his Confessions , after nine or ten years of adhering to the Manichaean faith as a member of the group of "hearers", Augustine of Hippo became a Christian and potent adversary of Manichaeism (which he expressed in writing against his Manichaean opponent Faustus of Mileve ), seeing their beliefs that knowledge
15438-457: The historian Timothy Barnes has suggested, the long-established Church had become another accepted part of their lives. Within the highest ranks of the imperial administration, however, there were men who were ideologically opposed to the toleration of Christians, like the philosopher Porphyry of Tyre and Sossianus Hierocles , governor of Bithynia . To E.R. Dodds , the works of these men demonstrated "the alliance of pagan intellectuals with
15604-516: The hostility to the flesh and sexual activity, and his dualistic theology. Some Sogdians in Central Asia believed in the religion. Uyghur khagan Boku Tekin (759–780) converted to the religion in 763 after a three-day discussion with its preachers, the Babylonian headquarters sent high-rank clerics to Uyghur, and Manichaeism remained the state religion for about a century before the collapse of
15770-402: The imperial household must have survived the event. Eusebius of Caesarea , a contemporary ecclesiastical historian, tells a similar story: commanders were told to give their troops the choice of sacrifice or loss of rank. These terms were strong—a soldier would lose his career in the military, his state pension and his personal savings—but not fatal. According to Eusebius, the purge
15936-471: The imperial mantle in 253. Though he was at first thought of as "exceptionally friendly" towards the Christians, his actions soon showed otherwise. In July 257, he issued a persecutory edict. As punishment for following the Christian faith, Christians were to face exile or condemnation to the mines. In August 258, he issued a second edict, making the punishment death. This persecution stalled in June 260, when Valerian
16102-462: The increasing affluence of the Christian community. In some areas where Christians were influential, such as North Africa and Egypt, traditional deities were losing credibility. It is unknown how much support there was for persecution within the aristocracy. After Gallienus's peace, Christians reached high ranks in Roman government. Diocletian even appointed several Christians to those positions, and his wife and daughter may have been sympathetic to
16268-452: The influence of Mahāvīra's religious community more plausible than even the Buddha. Fynes (1996) argues that various Jain influences, particularly ideas on the existence of plant souls, were transmitted from Western Kshatrapa territories to Mesopotamia and then integrated into Manichaean beliefs. Mani wore colorful clothing abnormal for the time that reminded some Romans of a stereotypical Persian magus or warlord , earning him ire from
16434-438: The influence of Kirdir, Zoroastrianism was strengthened throughout the empire, which in turn caused Manichaeism to be diminished. Wahram sentenced Mani to prison, and he died there. Under the eighth-century Abbasid Caliphate , Arabic zindīq and the adjectival term zandaqa could denote many different things, but it seems to have primarily—or at least initially—signified a follower of Manichaeism; however its true meaning
16600-510: The initial persecution. Diocletian remained in Antioch for the following three years. He visited Egypt once, over the winter of 301–302, where he began the grain dole in Alexandria. In Egypt, some Manicheans , followers of the prophet Mani , were denounced in the presence of the proconsul of Africa. On March 31, 302, in an official edict called the De Maleficiis et Manichaeis compiled in
16766-403: The lapsed (Christians who had complied with the edicts to ensure their own safety) and the rigorists (those who would not compromise with secular authority). These two groups clashed in street fights and riots, eventually leading to murders. It is said that Marcellus, a rigorist, purged all mention of Marcellinus from church records and removed his name from the official list of bishops. Marcellus
16932-514: The lowest-ranking emperor, Galerius was always listed last in imperial documents. Until the end of the Persian war in 299, he had not even had a major palace. Lactantius states that Galerius hungered for a higher position in the imperial hierarchy. Galerius's mother, Romula, was bitterly anti-Christian, for she had been a pagan priestess in Dacia , and loathed the Christians for avoiding her festivals. Newly prestigious and influential after his victories in
17098-401: The mainline Church occurred in Carthage in 304. The Christians from Abitinae had been brought to the city and imprisoned. Friends and relatives of the prisoners came to visit but encountered resistance from a local mob. The group was harassed, beaten, and whipped; the food they had brought for their imprisoned friends was scattered on the ground. The mob had been sent by Mensurius , the bishop of
17264-477: The matter and secured the appointment of loyal friends to the imperial office. In this "Second Tetrarchy", it seems that only the Eastern emperors, Galerius and Maximinus, continued with the persecution. As they left office, Diocletian and Maximian probably imagined Christianity to be in its last throes. Churches had been destroyed, the Church leadership and hierarchy had been snapped, and the army and civil service had been purged. Eusebius declares that apostates from
17430-425: The murder of the apostle Sisin by Emperor Bahram II and the slaughter of many Manichaeans. Then, in 302, the first official reaction and legislation against Manichaeism from the Roman state was issued under Diocletian . In an official edict called the De Maleficiis et Manichaeis compiled in the Collatio Legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum and addressed to the proconsul of Africa , Diocletian wrote: We have heard that
17596-497: The offenders sent to the (quarry) at Phaeno or the mines at Proconnesus . And in order that this plague of iniquity shall be completely extirpated from this our most happy age, let your devotion hasten to carry out our orders and commands. By 354, Hilary of Poitiers wrote that Manichaeism was a significant force in Roman Gaul . In 381, Christians requested Theodosius I to strip Manichaeans of their civil rights . Starting in 382,
17762-478: The opinion of historian John Curran. Within forty years, Donatists began spreading rumors that Marcellinus had been a traditor and that he had even sacrificed to the pagan gods. The tale was embroidered in the 5th-century forgery the " Council of Sinuessa ", and the vita Marcelli of the Liber Pontificalis . The latter work states that the bishop had indeed apostatized but redeemed himself through martyrdom
17928-406: The opportunity to portray himself as a possible liberator of oppressed Christians everywhere. Maxentius, meanwhile, had seized power in Rome on October 28, 306, and soon brought toleration to all Christians within his realm. Galerius made two attempts to unseat Maxentius but failed both times. During the first campaign against Maxentius, Severus was captured, imprisoned, and executed. In the East,
18094-629: The original Aramaic Book of Giants (which were analyzed and published by Józef Milik in 1976) and the Manichaean version of the same name (analyzed and published by Walter Bruno Henning in 1943) were discovered along with the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Judaean desert in the 20th century and the Manichaean writings of the Uyghur Manichaean kingdom in Turpan . Henning wrote in his analysis of them: It
18260-495: The other arrangements that we are always making for the benefit and utility of the state, we have heretofore wished to repair all things in accordance with the laws and public discipline of the Romans, and to ensure that even the Christians, who abandoned the practice of their ancestors, should return to good sense. Indeed, for some reason or other, such self-indulgence assailed and idiocy possessed those Christians, that they did not follow
18426-531: The other hand, was real and immanent. This was symbolized by the mystic placing of the Cross whereby the wounds of the passion of our souls are set forth. On this mystical Cross of Light was suspended the Suffering Jesus (Jesus patibilis) who was the life and salvation of Man. This mystica crucifixio was present in every tree, herb, fruit, vegetable and even stones and the soil. This constant and universal suffering of
18592-412: The peaceful lifestyle that Manicheism brought to the Uyghurs was responsible for their later lack of military skills and eventual decline. This, however, is contradicted by the political and military consequences of the conversion. After the migration of the Uyghurs to Turfan in the ninth century, the nobility maintained Manichaean beliefs for a while before converting to Buddhism. Traces of Manicheism among
18758-576: The period assert that this position is in error. Christian accounts were criticized during the Enlightenment and afterwards, most notably by Edward Gibbon . This can be attributed to the political anticlerical and secular tenor of that period. Modern historians, such as G. E. M. de Ste. Croix , have attempted to determine whether Christian sources exaggerated the scope of the Diocletianic persecution, but disagreements continue. From its first appearance to its legalization under Constantine , Christianity
18924-420: The persecution in the East in 311, but it was resumed in Egypt , Palestine , and Asia Minor by his successor, Maximinus . Constantine and Licinius, Severus's successor, signed the Edict of Milan in 313, which offered a more comprehensive acceptance of Christianity than Galerius's edict had provided. Licinius ousted Maximinus in 313, bringing an end to persecution in the East. The persecution failed to check
19090-513: The persecution was officially discontinued on April 30, 311, although martyrdoms in Gaza continued until May 4. The Edict of Serdica , also called Edict of Toleration by Galerius, was issued in 311 in Serdica ( Sofia , Bulgaria) Galerius, officially ending the Diocletianic persecution of Christianity in the East. Galerius issued this proclamation to end hostilities while on his deathbed, which gave Christians
19256-603: The persecution was only lightly enforced; in Maximian's realm (Italy, Spain, and Africa), it was firmly enforced; and in the East, under Diocletian (Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine and Egypt) and Galerius (Greece and the Balkans), its provisions were pursued with more fervor than anywhere else. For the Eastern provinces, Peter Davies tabulated the total number of martyrdoms for an article in the Journal of Theological Studies . Davies argues that
19422-593: The persecution, after all, had been the project of the Eastern emperors, not the Western ones. After Constantine succeeded his father in 306, he urged the recovery of Church property lost in the persecution and legislated full freedom for all Christians in his domain. While the persecution under Constantius was relatively light, there is no doubt about the force of the persecution in Maximian's domain. Its effects are recorded at Rome, Sicily, Spain, and in Africa —indeed, Maximian encouraged particularly strict enforcement of
19588-521: The persecution, but how he died is disputed among historians: Eusebius wrote in his Historia Ecclesiastica that Marcellinus was "brought away by the persecution", an obscure phrase that may refer to his martyrdom or to the fact that he fled the city. Others assert that Marcellinus was a traditor . Marcellinus appears in the 4th-century Church's depositio episcoporum but not its feriale , or calendar of feasts, where all Marcellinus's predecessors from Fabian had been listed—a "glaring" absence, in
19754-448: The physical realities surrounding the notions of his conception and his birth filled the Manichaeans with horror. However, the Christian doctrine of virgin birth was also regarded as obscene. Since Jesus the Messiah was the light of the world, where was this light, they reasoned, when Jesus was in the womb of the Virgin? Jesus the Messiah, they believed, was truly born only at his baptism, as it
19920-527: The power of central government to effect major change in morals and society made him unusual. Most earlier emperors tended to be quite cautious in their administrative policies, preferring to work within existing structures rather than overhauling them. Diocletian, by contrast, was willing to reform every aspect of public life to satisfy his goals. Under his rule, coinage, taxation, architecture, law and history were all radically reconstructed to reflect his authoritarian and traditionalist ideology. The reformation of
20086-507: The practices of the ancients, which their own ancestors had, perhaps, instituted, but according to their own will and as it pleased them, they made laws for themselves that they observed, and gathered various peoples in diverse areas. Then when our order was issued stating that they should return themselves to the practices of the ancients, many were subjected to peril, and many were even killed. Many more persevered in their way of life, and we saw that they neither offered proper worship and cult to
20252-461: The presence of Christians, who were thought to cloud the sight of oracles and stall the gods' recognition of their sacrifices. The Christian Arnobius , writing during Diocletian's reign, attributes financial concerns to provisioners of pagan services: The augurs, the dream interpreters, the soothsayers, the prophets, and the priestlings, ever vain...fearing that their own arts be brought to nought, and that they may extort but scanty contributions from
20418-399: The prime impetus for the military purge, and its prime beneficiary. Diocletian, for all his religious conservatism, still had tendencies towards religious tolerance. Galerius, by contrast, was a devoted and passionate pagan. According to Christian sources, he was consistently the main advocate of such persecution. He was also eager to exploit this position to his own political advantage. As
20584-452: The privileged discussion at the emperor's private religion ceremony that Lactantius had access to. Since it was Galerius's army that would have been purged—Diocletian had left his in Egypt to quell continuing unrest—Antiochenes would understandably have believed Galerius to be its instigator. The historian David Woods argues instead that Eusebius and Lactantius are referring to different events. Eusebius, according to Woods, describes
20750-484: The race of the Persians—a nation still hostile to us—and have made their way into our empire, where they are committing many outrages, disturbing the tranquility of our people and even inflicting grave damage to the civic communities. We have cause to fear that with the passage of time they will endeavour, as usually happens, to infect the modest and tranquil of an innocent nature with the damnable customs and perverse laws of
20916-692: The religion during the first century of Islamic rule. During the early caliphates, Manichaeism attracted many followers. It had a significant appeal among Muslim society, especially among the elites. A part of Manichaeism that specifically appealed to the Sasanians was the Manichaean gods' names. The names Mani had assigned to the gods of his religion show identification with those of the Zoroastrian pantheon, even though some divine beings he incorporates are non-Iranian. For example, Jesus, Adam, and Eve were named Xradesahr, Gehmurd, and Murdiyanag. Because of these familiar names, Manichaeism did not feel completely foreign to
21082-573: The rights to exist freely under the law and to peaceable assembly. Persecution was everywhere at an end. Lactantius preserves the Latin text of this pronouncement, describing it as an edict. Eusebius provides a Greek translation of the pronouncement. His version includes imperial titles and an address to provincials, suggesting that the proclamation is, in fact, an imperial letter. The document seems to have been promulgated only in Galerius's provinces. Among all
21248-480: The rise of the Church. By 324, Constantine was sole ruler of the empire, and Christianity had become his favored religion. Although the persecution resulted in death, torture, imprisonment, or dislocation for many Christians, most of the empire's Christians avoided punishment. The persecution did, however, cause many churches to split between those who had complied with imperial authority (the traditores ), and those who had remained "pure". Certain schisms, like those of
21414-479: The sake of the peace of our times, that each one may have the free opportunity to worship as he pleases; this regulation is made that we may not seem to detract from any dignity or any religion. The enforcement of the persecutory edicts was inconsistent. Since the Tetrarchs were more or less sovereign in their own realms, they had a good deal of control over persecutory policy. In Constantius's realm (Britain and Gaul)
21580-459: The summer of 303, following a series of rebellions in Melitene ( Malatya , Turkey) and Syria, a second edict was published, ordering the arrest and imprisonment of all bishops and priests. In the judgment of historian Roger Rees, there was no logical necessity for this second edict; that Diocletian issued one indicates that he was either unaware the first edict was being carried out, or that he felt it
21746-535: The supremacy of Roman law over local law. Its preamble insists that it is every emperor's duty to enforce the sacred precepts of Roman law, for "the immortal gods themselves will favour and be at peace with the Roman name...if we have seen to it that all subject to our rule entirely lead a pious, religious, peaceable and chaste life in every respect". These principles, if given their full extension, would logically require Roman emperors to enforce conformity in religion. Christian communities grew quickly in many parts of
21912-633: The text Criteria of the Authentic Scriptures (a text attributed to the Tibetan Emperor Trisong Detsen ) makes a great effort to attack Manichaeism by stating that Mani was a heretic who engaged in religious syncretism into a deviating and inauthentic form. Manichaeans in Iran tried to assimilate their religion along with Islam in the Muslim caliphates . Relatively little is known about
22078-515: The third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as China and as far west as the Roman Empire . It was briefly the main rival to early Christianity in the competition to replace classical polytheism before the spread of Islam . Under the Roman Dominate , Manichaeism was persecuted by
22244-560: The time Constantine took over the province, the African Church was deeply divided. The Donatists would not be reconciled to the Catholic Church until after 411. Maximian probably seized the Christian property in Rome quite easily—Roman cemeteries were noticeable, and Christian meeting places could have been easily found out. Senior churchmen would have been similarly prominent. The bishop of Rome Marcellinus died in 304, during
22410-423: The traditional Roman cult. Unlike Aurelian ( r . 270–275), Diocletian did not foster any new cult of his own. He preferred the older Olympian gods . Nonetheless, Diocletian did wish to inspire a general religious revival. As the panegyrist to Maximian declared: "You have heaped the gods with altars and statues, temples and offerings, which you dedicated with your own name and your own image, whose sanctity
22576-410: The traditional cult. Diocletian did not insist on exclusive worship of Jupiter and Hercules, which would have been a drastic change in the pagan tradition. For example, Elagabalus had tried fostering his own god and no others and had failed dramatically. Diocletian built temples for Isis and Sarapis at Rome and a temple to Sol in Italy. He did, however, favor gods who provided for the safety of
22742-488: The tranquility of our people and even inflicting grave damage to the civic communities. We have cause to fear that with the passage of time they will endeavour, as usually happens, to infect the modest and tranquil of an innocent nature with the damnable customs and perverse laws of the Persians as with the poison of a malignant (serpent) ... We order that the authors and leaders of these sects be subjected to severe punishment, and, together with their abominable writings, burnt in
22908-513: The whole empire instead of the local deities of the provinces. In Africa, Diocletian's revival focused on Jupiter, Hercules, Mercury, Apollo and the imperial cult. The cult of Saturn, the Romanized Baal-hamon , was neglected. In imperial iconography Jupiter and Hercules were pervasive. The same pattern of favoritism affected Egypt as well. Native Egyptian deities saw no revival, nor was the sacred hieroglyphic script used. Unity in worship
23074-420: The winter of 302, Galerius urged Diocletian to begin a general persecution of the Christians. Diocletian was wary and asked the oracle at Didyma for guidance. The oracle's reply was read as an endorsement of Galerius's position, and a general persecution was called on February 23, 303. Persecutory policies varied in intensity across the empire. Whereas Galerius and Diocletian were avid persecutors, Constantius
23240-414: The words of Tacitus , Christians showed "hatred of the human race" ( odium generis humani ). Among the more credulous, Christians were thought to use black magic in pursuit of revolutionary aims and to practise incest and cannibalism . Nonetheless, for the first two centuries of the Christian era, no emperor issued general laws against the faith or its Church. These persecutions were carried out under
23406-556: Was a seven year old boy who was martyred along with Romanus of Caesarea by Emperor Galerius by being whipped and beheaded for their Christian beliefs. Barulas, like Quiricus , is venerated as a child-martyr . His feast day is on November 18. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Sts. Romanus ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. Diocletianic Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution
23572-563: Was already known there in the second half of the 6th century. The nomadic Uyghur Khaganate lasted for less than a century (744–840) in the southern Siberian steppe, with the fortified city of Ordu-Baliq on the Upper Orkhon River as its capital. Before the end of the year (763), Manichaeism was declared the official religion of the Uyghur state. Boku Tekin banned all the shamanistic rituals that had previously been in use. His subjects likely accepted his decision. That much results from
23738-515: Was also influenced by writings of the gnostic Bardaisan (154–222 CE), who, like Mani, wrote in Syriac and presented a dualistic interpretation of the world in terms of light and darkness in combination with elements from Christianity. Mani was heavily inspired by Iranian Zoroastrian theology. Noting Mani's travels to the Kushan Empire (several religious paintings in Bamyan are attributed to him) at
23904-466: Was an illegal religion in the eyes of the Roman state. For the first two centuries of its existence, Christianity and its practitioners were unpopular with the people at large. Christians were always suspect, members of a "secret society" who communicated with a private code and who shied away from the public sphere. It was popular hostility—the anger of the crowd—which drove the earliest persecutions, not official action. Around 112, Pliny ,
24070-410: Was banished from the city and died in exile on January 16, 309. The persecution was firmly enforced until Maximian's abdication in 305 but started to wane when Constantius (who seemed not to have been enthusiast about it) succeeded as august. After Constantius's death, Maxentius took advantage of Galerius's unpopularity in Italy (Galerius had introduced taxation for the city and countryside of Rome for
24236-427: Was broadly successful, but Eusebius is confused about the technicalities of the event, and his characterization of the overall size of the apostasy is ambiguous. Eusebius also attributes the initiative for the purge to Galerius, rather than Diocletian. Modern scholar Peter Davies surmises that Eusebius is referring to the same event as Lactantius, but that he heard of the event through public rumors and knew nothing of
24402-560: Was but the one whom Eusebius mentions. Prudentius has introduced legendary features into his account, and his connection of the martyrdom of Barulas with that of Romanus is probably arbitrary. The feast day of Saint Romanus is observed on 18 November. The church of San Román in Seville is dedicated to Romanus. Prudentius wrote a 1140 line hymn to Romanus, the Romane Christi fortis , the tenth hymn in his Peristephanon . Barulas (died 303)
24568-416: Was captured in battle. His son Gallienus ( r . 260–268), ended the persecution and inaugurated nearly 40 years of freedom from official sanctions, praised by Eusebius as the " little peace of the Church ". The peace was undisturbed, save for occasional, isolated persecutions, until Diocletian became emperor. Diocletian, acclaimed emperor on November 20, 284, was a religious conservative, faithful to
24734-615: Was central to Diocletian's religious policies. Diocletian, like Augustus and Trajan before him, styled himself a "restorer". He urged the public to see his reign and his governing system, the Tetrarchy (rule by four emperors), as a renewal of traditional Roman values and, after the anarchic third century , a return to the "Golden Age of Rome". As such, he reinforced the long-standing Roman preference for ancient customs and Imperial opposition to independent societies. The Diocletianic regime's activist stance, however, and Diocletian's belief in
24900-419: Was executed on June 7, and the edict was in force at Cirta from May 19. In Gaul and Britain Constantius did not enforce this edict, but in the East progressively harsher legislation was devised; the edict was firmly enforced in Maximian's domain until his abdication in 305, but persecutions later began to wane when Constantius succeeded Maximian and were officially halted when Maxentius took power in 306. In
25066-546: Was executed on November 18, 303. The boldness of this Christian displeased Diocletian, and he left the city and made for Nicomedia to spend the winter, accompanied by Galerius. Throughout these years the moral and religious didacticism of the emperors was reaching a fevered pitch; at the behest of an oracle, it was to hit its peak. According to Lactantius, Diocletian and Galerius entered into an argument over what imperial policy towards Christians should be while at Nicomedia in 302. Diocletian argued that forbidding Christians from
25232-422: Was immune" ( immunis est Gallia ) from the persecutions under Constantius. The death of Saint Alban , the first British Christian martyr, was once dated to this era, but most now assign it to the reign of Septimius Severus . The second, third and fourth edicts seem not to have been enforced in the West at all. It is possible that Constantius's relatively tolerant policies were the result of Tetrarchic jealousies;
25398-471: Was informed by members of the court, could only refer to the Christians of the empire. At the behest of his court, Diocletian acceded to demands for a universal persecution. On February 23, 303, Diocletian ordered that the newly built Christian church at Nicomedia be razed, its scriptures burned , and its treasures seized. February 23 was the feast of the Terminalia , for Terminus , the god of boundaries. It
25564-489: Was intended to "combine", succeed, and surpass the teachings of Platonism , Christianity , Zoroastrianism , Buddhism , Marcionism , Hellenistic and Rabbinic Judaism , Gnostic movements , Ancient Greek religion , Babylonian and other Mesopotamian religions , and mystery cults . It reveres Mani as the final prophet after Zoroaster , the Buddha and Jesus . Manichaeism was quickly successful and spread far through Aramaic -speaking regions. It thrived between
25730-492: Was new and unfamiliar and not typically identified with Judaism by this time, Christians had no such excuse. Moreover, Christians had been distancing themselves from their Jewish heritage for their entire history. Persecution was not the only outlet of the Tetrarchy's moral fervor. In 295, either Diocletian or his caesar (subordinate emperor) Galerius issued an edict from Damascus forbidding incestuous marriages and affirming
25896-592: Was not effective for long in Maximinus's district. Within seven months of Galerius's proclamation, Maximinus resumed persecution, which continued until 313, shortly before his death. At a meeting between Licinius and Constantine in Milan in February 313, the two emperors drafted the terms of a universal peace. The terms of this peace were posted by the victorious Licinius at Nicomedia on June 13, 313. Later ages have taken to calling
26062-507: Was not enforced at all in the domains of Constantius and was applied in the domains of Maximian until his abdication in 305. In the East, it remained applicable until the issue of the Edict of Milan by Constantine and Licinius in 313. Diocletian and Maximian resigned on May 1, 305. Constantius and Galerius became augusti (senior emperors), while two new emperors, Severus and Maximinus , became caesars (junior emperors). According to Lactantius, Galerius had forced Diocletian's hand in
26228-486: Was not working as quickly as he wanted it to. Following the publication of the second edict, prisons began to fill—the underdeveloped prison system of the time could not handle the deacons, lectors, priests, bishops, and exorcists forced upon it. Eusebius writes that the edict netted so many priests that ordinary criminals were crowded out and had to be released. In anticipation of the upcoming twentieth anniversary of his reign on November 20, 303, Diocletian declared
26394-451: Was on that occasion that the Father openly acknowledged his sonship. The suffering, death and resurrection of this Jesus were in appearance only as they had no salvific value but were an exemplum of the suffering and eventual deliverance of the human soul and a prefiguration of Mani's own martyrdom. (3) The pain suffered by the imprisoned Light-Particles in the whole of the visible universe, on
26560-459: Was such a tyrant that the Romans would not open the gates for his defeated, retreating army, but opened them only for the conqueror Constantine. Manichaeism Manichaeism ( / ˌ m æ n ɪ ˈ k iː ɪ z əm / ; in Persian : آئین مانی Āʾīn-ī Mānī ; Chinese : 摩尼教 ; pinyin : Móníjiào ) is a Gnostic former major world religion , founded in the 3rd century CE by
26726-403: Was that it was all my own self, and my own impiety had divided me against myself. My sin was all the more incurable because I did not think myself a sinner. Some modern scholars have suggested that Manichaean ways of thinking influenced the development of some of Augustine's ideas, such as the nature of good and evil, the idea of hell, the separation of groups into elect, hearers, and sinners, and
26892-440: Was the day they would terminate Christianity. The next day, Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published. The key targets of this piece of legislation were senior Christian clerics and Christians' property, just as they had been during Valerian's persecution. The edict prohibited Christians from assembling for worship and ordered the destruction of their scriptures, liturgical books, and places of worship across
27058-400: Was the key to salvation as too passive and unable to affect any change in one's life. I still thought that it is not we who sin but some other nature that sins within us. It flattered my pride to think that I incurred no guilt and, when I did wrong, not to confess it ... I preferred to excuse myself and blame this unknown thing which was in me but was not part of me. The truth, of course,
27224-400: Was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire . In 303, the emperors Diocletian , Maximian , Galerius , and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding that they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to
27390-653: Was tortured during the persecution and died about a year after from the resulting injuries. The Decian persecution was a grave blow to the Church. At Carthage, there was mass apostasy (renunciation of the faith). At Smyrna, the bishop Euctemon sacrificed and encouraged others to do the same. Because the Church was largely urban, it should have been easy to identify, isolate and destroy the Church hierarchy. This did not happen. In June 251, Decius died in battle, leaving his persecution incomplete. His persecutions were not followed up for another six years, allowing some Church functions to resume. Valerian , Decius's friend, took up
27556-429: Was unenthusiastic. Later persecutory edicts, including the calls for universal sacrifice, were not applied in his domain. His son, Constantine, on taking the imperial office in 306, restored Christians to full legal equality and returned property that had been confiscated during the persecution. In Italy in 306, the usurper Maxentius ousted Maximian's successor Severus , promising full religious toleration. Galerius ended
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