Chapter 9
From Commodus Till
The Accession Of Constantine
A.D. 180-313
Christianity
under the successors of Aurelius
enjoyed a season of comparative repose and tranquillity. The depravity
of Commodus
was
overruled to subserve the
interests of the Christians after their long sufferings under his
father, and the brief reign of many of the emperors left them no leisure
to war against the aggressions of Christianity. "During little more than
a century," says Milman, "from the accession of Commodus to that of
Diocletian, more than twenty emperors flitted like shadows along the
tragic scene of the imperial palace. The empire of the world became the
prize af bold adventure, or the precarious gift of a lawless soldiery. A
long line of military adventurers, often strangers to the name, to the
race, to the language of Rome — Africans, Pyreans, Arabs and Goths —
seized the quickly shifting sceptre of the world. The change of
sovereign was almost always a change of dynasty, or, by some strange
fatality, every attempt to re-establish a hereditary succession was
thwarted by the vices
or imbecility of the second
generation."
Thus the Christians had about a hundred
years of comparative rest and peace. There were, no doubt, many cases of
persecution and martyrdom during that period, but such cases were more
the result of personal hostility in some individual than from any
systematic policy pursued by the government against Christianity. The
first and commanding object of each succeeding emperor was to secure his
contested throne. They had no time to devote to the suppression of
Christianity, or to the social and religious changes within the empire.
Thus the great Head of the church — who is also "head over all things to
the church" — made the weakness and insecurity of the throne the
indirect means of the strength and prosperity of the church.
But although the reign of Commodus was
generally favourable to the progress of Christianity, there was one
remarkable instance of persecution which we must note.
Apollonius,
a Roman senator, renowned for learning and philosophy, was a sincere
Christian. Many of the nobility of Rome, with their whole families,
embraced Christianity about this time. The dignity of the Roman senate
felt itself lowered by such innovations. This led, it is supposed, to
the accusation of Apollonius before the magistrate. His accuser, under
an old and unrepealed law of Antoninus Pius, which enacted grievous
punishments against the accusers of Christians, was sentenced to death
and executed. The magistrate asked the prisoner, Apollonius, to give an
account of his faith before the senate and the court. He complied, and
boldly confessed his faith in Christ; in consequence of which, by a
decree of the senate, he was beheaded. It is said by some to be the only
trial recorded in history where both the accused and the accuser
suffered judicially. But the Lord's hand was in it, and high above both
the accuser and the magistrate, Perennius, who condemned them both. From
this period many families of distinction and opulence in Rome professed
Christianity, and sometimes we meet with Christians in the imperial
family.
After a reign of about twelve years the
unworthy son of Aurelius died from the effects of a poisoned cup of
wine.
Pertinax,
immediately upon the death of Commodus,
was elected by the senate to the throne; but after a brief reign of
sixty-six days, he was killed in an insurrection. A civil war followed,
and Septimius Severus ultimately obtained the sovereign power in Rome.
Christianity under
the Reign of Severus
A.D. 194-210
In the early part of the reign of
Severus he was rather favourable to the Christians. A christian slave,
named Proculus, was the means of restoring the Emperor to health, by
anointing him with oil. This remarkable cure — no doubt in answer to
prayer — gave the Christians great favour in the eyes of Severus.
Proculus received an honourable position in the imperial family, and a
christian nurse and a christian tutor were engaged to form the character
of the young prince. He also protected from the popular indignation men
and women of the highest rank in Rome — senators, their wives and
families — who had embraced Christianity. But alas! all this favour
towards the Christians was merely the result of local circumstances. The
laws remained the same, and violent persecutions broke out against them
in particular provinces.
Persecutions under
Severus
A.D. 202
It was not till about the tenth year of
his reign that the native ferocity of his dark and relentless mind was
manifested against the Christians. In 202, after his return from the
East, where he had gained great victories, and no doubt lifted up with
pride, he put forth his hand, and impiously dared to arrest the progress
of Christianity — the chariot of the gospel. He passed a law, which
forbade, under severe penalties, that any of his subjects should become
either Jews or Christians. This law, as a matter of course, kindled a
severe persecution against young converts and Christians in general. It
stimulated their enemies to all kinds of violence. Large sums of money
were extorted from timid Christians by some of the venal governors as
the price of peace. This practice, though yielded to by some for the
sake of life and liberty, was strongly denounced by others. It was
considered by the more zealous as degrading to Christianity, and an
ignominious barter of the hopes and glories of martyrdom. Still the
persecution does not appear to have been general. It left its deepest
traces in Egypt and Africa.
At Alexandria, Leonides, father of the
famous Origen, suffered martyrdom. Young people at schools, who were
receiving a christian education, were subjected to severe tortures and
some of their teachers were seized and burned. The young Origen
distinguished himself at this time by his active and fearless labours in
the now almost deserted schools. He longed to follow in his father's
footsteps, and rather sought than shunned the crown of martyrdom. But it
was in Africa a place we only think of now as a dark, miserable, and
thinly peopled desert — that the
silver line
of God's marvellous grace was most
distinctly marked in the heavenly patience and fortitude of the holy
sufferers. We must indulge our readers with a few brief details.
The Persecution in
Africa
Historians say that in no part of the
Roman Empire had Christianity taken more deep and permanent root than in
the province of Africa. Then it was crowded with rich and populous
cities. The African type of Christianity was entirely different from
what has been called the Egyptian. The former was earnest and
impassioned, the latter dreamy and speculative through the evil
influence of
Platonism. Tertullian belongs to
this period, and is a true type of the difference we have referred to;
but more of this farther on. We will now notice some of the African
martyrs.
Perpetua and Her
Companions
Amongst others who were apprehended and
martyred in Africa during this persecution,
Perpetua and her
companions, in all histories,
hold a distinguished place. The history of their martyrdom not only
bears throughout the stamp of circumstantial truth, but abounds with the
most exquisite touches of natural feeling and affection. Here we see the
beautiful combination of the tenderest feelings and the strongest
affections, which Christianity recognises in all their rights, and makes
even more profound and tender, but yet causes all to be sacrificed on
the altar of entire devotedness to Him who died entirely devoted to us.
"Who loved me," as appropriating faith says, "and gave Himself for me."
(Gal. 2: 20)
At Carthage, in the year 202,
three young men,
Revocatus, Saturnius, and
Secundulus, and two young women, Perpetua and Felicitas, were arrested,
all of them being still catechumens, or candidates for baptism and
communion. Perpetua was of a good family, wealthy and noble, of liberal
education, and honourably married. She was about twenty-two years of
age, and was a mother, with her child at the breast. Her whole family
seem to have been Christians except her aged father who was still a
pagan. Nothing is said of her husband. Her father was passionately fond
of her, and greatly dreaded the disgrace that her sufferings for Christ
would bring on his family. So that she had not only death in its most
frightful form to struggle with, but every sacred tie of nature.
When she was first brought before her
persecutors, her aged father came and urged her to recant and say she
was not a Christian. "Father," she calmly replied, pointing to a vessel
that lay on the ground, "can I call this vessel anything else than what
it is?" "No," he replied. "Neither can I say to you anything else than
that I am a Christian." A few days after this the young Christians were
baptized. Though they were under guard, they were not yet committed to
prison. But shortly after this, they were thrown into the dungeon.
"Then," she says, "I was tempted, I was terrified, for I had never been
in such darkness before. Oh what a dreadful day! The excessive heat
occasioned by the number of persons, the rough treatment of the
soldiers, and, finally, anxiety for my child, made me miserable." The
deacons, however, succeeded in purchasing for the christian prisoners a
better apartment, where they were separated from the common criminals.
Such advantages could usually be purchased from the venal overseers of
prisons. Perpetua was now cheered by having her child brought to her.
She placed it at her breast, and exclaimed, "Now, this prison has become
a palace to me!"
After a few days there was a rumour
that the prisoners were to be examined. The father hastened to his
daughter in great distress of mind. "My daughter," he said, "pity my
grey hairs, pity thy father, if I am still worthy to be called thy
father. If I have brought thee up to this bloom of thy age, if I have
preferred thee above all thy brothers, expose me not to such shame among
men. Look upon thy child — thy son who, if thou diest, cannot long
survive thee. Let thy lofty spirit give way, lest thou plunge us all
into ruin. For if thou diest thus, not one of us will ever have courage
again to speak a free word." Whilst saying this, he kissed her hands,
threw himself at her feet, entreating her with terms of endearment, and
many tears. But, though greatly moved and pained by the sight of her
father, and his strong and tender affection for her, she was calm and
firm, and felt chiefly concerned for the good of his soul. "My father's
grey hairs," she said, "pained me, when I considered that he alone of my
family would not rejoice in my martyrdom." "What shall happen," she said
to him, "when I come before the tribunal depends on the will of God; for
we stand not in our own strength, but only by the power of God."
On the arrival of the decisive hour —
the last day
of their trial — an immense
multitude was assembled. The aged father again appeared, that he might
for the last time try his utmost to overcome the resolution of his
daughter. On this occasion he brought her infant son in his arms, and
stood before her. What a moment! what a spectacle! Her aged father, his
grey hairs, her tender infant; to say nothing of his agonising
importunities: what an appeal to a daughter — to a young mother's heart!
"Have pity on thy father's grey hairs," said the governor, "have pity on
thy helpless child, offer sacrifice for the welfare of the Emperor."
Thus she stood before the tribunal, before the assembled multitude,
before the admiring myriads of heaven, before the frowning hosts of
hell. But Perpetua was calm and firm. Like Abraham of old the father of
the faithful, her eye was not now on her son but on the God of
resurrection. Having commended her child to her mother and her brother,
she answered the governor, and said, "That I cannot do." "Art thou a
Christian?" he asked. "Yes," she replied, "I am a Christian." Her fate
was now decided. They were all condemned to serve as a cruel sport for
the people and the soldiers, in a fight with wild beasts, on the
anniversary of young Geta's birthday. They returned to their dungeon,
rejoicing that they were thus enabled to witness and suffer for Jesus'
sake. The jailer, Pudas, was converted by means of the tranquil behavior
of his prisoners
When led forth into the amphitheatre,
the martyrs were observed to have a peaceful and joyful appearance.
According to a custom which prevailed in Carthage, the men should have
been clothed in scarlet like the priests of Saturn, and the women in
yellow as the priestesses of Ceres, but the prisoners protested against
such a proceeding. "We have come here," they said, "of our own choice,
that we may not suffer our freedom to be taken from us; we have given up
our lives that we may not be forced to such abominations." The pagans
acknowledged the justice of their demand, and yielded. After taking
leave of each other with the
mutual kiss of
christian love, in the certain
hope of soon meeting again, as "absent from the body and present with
the Lord," they came forward to the scene of death in their simple
attire. The voice of praise to God was heard by the spectators. Perpetua
was singing a psalm. The men were exposed to lions, bears, and leopards;
the women were tossed by a furious cow. But all were speedily released
from their sufferings by the sword of the gladiator, and entered into
the
joy of their Lord.
The interesting narrative, which is
here abridged, and said to have been written by Perpetua's own hand,
breathes such an air of truth and reality as to have commanded the
respect and confidence of all ages. But our main object in writing it
for our readers is to present to them a living picture, in which many of
the finest features of christian faith are beautifully blended with the
warmest and tenderest christian feelings, and that we may learn, not to
be complainers, but to endure all things for Christ's sake, that so His
grace may shine, our faith triumph, and God be glorified.
A few years after these events, Severus
turned his attention to
Britain,
where the Romans had been losing
ground. The Emperor, being at the head of a very powerful army, drove
back the independent natives of Caledonia, and regained the country
south of the wall of Antoninus, but lost so many troops in the
successive battles which he was obliged to fight, that he did not think
proper to push his conquests beyond that boundary. Feeling at length his
end approaching, he retired to York, where he soon expired, in the
eighteenth year of his reign, A.D. 211.
The Altered Position
of Christianity
After the death of Septimius Severus —
except during the short reign of
Maximin —
the church enjoyed a season of
comparative peace till the reign of Decius, A.D. 249. But during the
favourable reign of Alexander Severus, a considerable change took place
in the relation of Christianity to society. He was through life under
the influence of his mother, Mammaea, who is described by Eusebius as "a
woman distinguished for her piety and religion." She sent for Origen, of
whose fame she had heard much, and learnt from him something of the
doctrines of the gospel. She was afterwards favourable to the
Christians, but there is not much evidence that she was one herself.
Alexander
was of a religious disposition. He had
many Christians in his household; and bishops were admitted even at the
court in a recognised official character. He frequently used the words
of our Saviour, "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to
them likewise." (Luke 6: 31) He had them inscribed on the walls of his
palace and on other public buildings. But all religions were nearly the
same to him, and on this principle he gave Christianity a place in his
eclectic system.
The First Public
Buildings for Christian Assemblies
An important point in the history of
the church, and one that proves its altered position in the Roman
Empire, now comes before us for the first time. It was during the reign
of this excellent prince that public buildings were first erected for
the assemblies of Christians. A little circumstance connected with a
piece of land in Rome shows the true spirit of the Emperor and the
growing power and influence of Christians. This piece of land, which had
been considered as a common, was selected by a congregation as a site
for a church; but the Company of Victuallers contended that they had a
prior claim. The case was judged by the Emperor. He awarded the land to
the Christians, on the ground that it was better to devote it to the
worship of God in any form than apply it to a profane and unworthy use.
Public buildings —
christian churches,
so-called — now begun to rise in
different parts of the empire, and to possess endowments in land. The
heathen had never been able to understand why the Christians had neither
temples nor altars. Their religious assemblies, up till this time, had
been held in private. Even the Jew had his public synagogue, but where
the Christians met was indicated by no separate and distinguished
building. The private house, the catacombs, the cemetery of their dead,
contained their peaceful congregations. Their privacy, which had often
been in those troublous times their security, was now passing away. On
the other hand, it must also be observed that their secrecy was often
used against them. We have seen from the first, that the pagans could
not understand a religion without a temple and were easily persuaded
that these private and mysterious meetings, which seemed to shun the
light of day, were only for the worst of purposes.
The outward condition of Christianity
was now changed wonderfully changed — but alas! not in favour of
spiritual health
and growth, as we shall soon
see. There were now well-known edifices in which the Christians met, and
the doors of which they could throw wide open to all mankind.
Christianity was now recognised as one of the various forms of worship
which the government did not prohibit. But the toleration of the
Christians during this period rested only on the favourable disposition
of Alexander. No change was made in the laws of the empire in favour of
Christians, so that their time of peace was brought to a close by his
death. A conspiracy was formed against him by the demoralised soldiery,
who could not endure the discipline which he sought to restore; and the
youthful Emperor was slain in his tent, in the twenty-ninth year of his
age and the thirteenth of his reign.
The Lord's Dealings
with the Clergy
Scarcely had the new churches been
built, and the bishops received at court, when the hand of the Lord was
turned against them. It happened in this way.
Maximin,
a rude Thracian peasant, raised himself
to the imperial throne. He had been the chief instigator, if not the
actual murderer of the virtuous Alexander. He began his reign by seizing
and putting to death all the friends of the late Emperor. Those who had
been his
friends he reckoned as his own
enemies. He ordered the bishops, and particularly those who had been the
intimate friends of Alexander, to be put to death. His vengeance fell
more or less on all classes of Christians, but chiefly on the clergy. It
was not, however, for their Christianity that they suffered on this
occasion, for Maximin was utterly regardless of all religions, but
because of the position they had reached in the world. What can be more
sorrowful than this reflection?
About the same time destructive
earthquakes
in several provinces rekindled the
popular hatred against the Christians in general. The fury of the people
under such an emperor was unrestrained, and, encouraged by hostile
governors, they burnt the newly-built churches and persecuted the
Christians. But happily the reign of the savage was of short duration.
He became intolerable to mankind. The army mutinied and slew him in the
third year of his reign and a more favourable season for the Christians
returned.
The reign of
Gordian,
A.D. 238-244, and that of
Philip,
A.D. 244-249, were friendly to the
church. But we have repeatedly found that a government favourable to the
Christians was immediately followed by another which oppressed them. It
was particularly the case at this time. Under the smiles and patronage
of Philip the Arabian the church enjoyed great outward prosperity, but
she was on the eve of a persecution more terrible and more general than
any she had yet passed through.
One of the causes which may have
contributed to this was the absence of the Christians from the national
ceremonies which commemorated the
thousandth year of
Rome, A.D. 247. The secular
games were celebrated with unexampled magnificence by Philip, but as he
was favourable to the Christians, they escaped the fury of the pagan
priests and populace. The Christians were now a recognised body in the
State, and however carefully they might avoid mingling in the political
factions or the popular festivities of the empire, they were considered
the enemies of its prosperity and the cause of all its calamities. We
now come to a complete change of government — a government that afflicts
the whole church of God.
The General
Persecution under Decius
Decius,
in
the year 249, conquered Philip
and placed himself on the throne. His reign is remarkable in church
history for the first
general
persecution. The new Emperor was
unfavourable to Christianity and zealously devoted to the pagan
religion. He resolved to attempt the complete extermination of the
former, and to restore the latter to its ancient glory. One of the first
measures of his reign was to issue edicts to the governors, to enforce
the ancient laws against the Christians. They were commanded, on pain of
forfeiting their own lives, to exterminate all Christians utterly, or
bring them back by pains and tortures to the religion of their fathers.
From the time of Trajan there had been
an imperial order to the effect, that
the Christians were
not to be sought for; and there
was also a law against private accusations being brought against them,
especially by their own servants, as we have seen in the case of
Apollonius, and these laws had been usually observed by the enemies of
the church, but now they were wholly neglected. The authorities sought
out the Christians, the accusers ran no risk, and popular clamour was
admitted in place of formal evidence. During the two succeeding years a
great multitude of Christians in all the Roman provinces were banished,
imprisoned, or tortured to death by various kinds of punishments and
sufferings. This persecution was more cruel and terrible than any that
preceded it. But the most painful part of those heart-rending scenes was
the enfeebled state of the Christians themselves the sad effect of
worldly ease and prosperity.
The Effects of
Worldliness in the Church
The student of church history now meets
with the manifest and appalling effect of the world in the church. It is
a most sorrowful sight, but it ought to be a profitable lesson to the
christian reader. What then was, is now, and ever must be. The Holy
Spirit, who dwells in us, is not now less sensitive to the foul and
withering breath of the world than He was then.
What the enemy could not do by bloody
edicts and cruel tyrants, he accomplished by the friendship of the
world. This is an
old stratagem of
Satan. The wily serpent proved
more dangerous than the roaring lion. By means of the favour of great
men, and especially of emperors, he threw the clergy off their guard,
led them to join hands with the world, and deceived them by his
flatteries. The Christians could now erect temples as well as the
heathen, and their bishops were received at the imperial court on equal
terms with the idolatrous priests. This unhallowed intercourse with the
world sapped the very foundations of their Christianity. This became
painfully manifest when the violent storm of persecution succeeded the
long calm of their worldly prosperity.
In many parts of the empire the
Christians had enjoyed undisturbed peace for a period of thirty years.
This had told unfavourably on the church as a whole. With many it was
not now the faith of an ardent conviction, such as we had in the first
and second centuries, but of truth instilled into the mind by means of
christian education — just what prevails in the present day to an
alarming extent. A persecution breaking out with great violence, after
so many years of tranquillity, could not fail to prove a sifting process
for the churches. The atmosphere of Christianity had become corrupted.
Cyprian in the West, and Origen in the East, speak of the secular spirit
which had crept in — of the pride, the luxury the covetousness of the
clergy — of the careless and irreligious lives of the people.
"If," says
Cyprian,
bishop of Carthage, "the cause of the
disease is understood, the cure of the affected part is already found.
The Lord would prove His people; and because the divinely-prescribed
regimen of life had become disturbed in the long season of peace, a
divine judgment was sent to reestablish our fallen, and, I might almost
say, slumbering faith. Our sins deserve more, but our gracious Lord has
so ordered it that all which has occurred seems rather like a trial than
a persecution. Forgetting what believers did in the times of the
apostles, and what they should always be doing Christians laboured with
insatiable desire to increase their earthly possessions. Many of the
bishops who, by precept and example, should have guided others,
neglected their divine calling, to engage in the management of worldly
concerns." Such being the condition of things in many of the churches,
we need not wonder at what took place.
The Emperor ordered rigorous search to
be made for all suspected of refusing compliance with the national
worship. Christians were required to conform to the ceremonies of the
pagan religion. In case they declined, threats, and afterwards tortures,
were to be employed to compel submission. If they remained firm, the
punishment of death was to be inflicted especially on the bishops, whom
Decius hated most bitterly. The custom was, wherever the dreadful edict
was carried into execution, to appoint a day when all the Christians in
the place were to present themselves before the magistrate, renounce
their religion, and offer incense at the idol's altar. Many, before the
dreadful day arrived, had fled into voluntary banishment. The goods of
such were confiscated and themselves forbidden to return, under penalty
of death. Those who remained firm, after repeated tortures, were cast
into prison, when the additional sufferings of hunger and thirst were
employed to overcome their resolution. Many who were less firm and
faithful were let off without sacrificing, by purchasing themselves, or
allowing their friends to purchase, a certificate from the magistrate.
But this unworthy practice was condemned by the church as a tacit
abjuration.
Dionysius,
bishop
of Alexandria, in describing the
effect of this terrible decree, says, "that many citizens of repute
complied with the edict. Some were impelled by their fears, and some
were forced by their friends. Many stood pale and trembling, neither
ready to submit to the idolatrous ceremony, nor prepared to resist even
unto death. Others endured their tortures to a certain point, but
finally gave in." Such were some of the painful and disgraceful effects
of the general relaxation through tampering with this present evil
world. Still it would ill become us, who live in a time of great civil
and religious liberty, to say hard things of the weakness of those who
lived in such sanguinary times. Rather let us feel the disgrace as our
own, and pray that we may be kept from yielding to the attractions of
the world in every form. But all was not defective, thank the Lord. Let
us look for a moment at the bright side.
The Power of Faith
and Christian Devotedness
The same Dionysius tells us that many
were as pillars of the Lord, who through Him were made strong, and
became wonderful witnesses of His grace. Among these he mentions a boy
of fifteen,
Dioscurus by name, who answered
in the wisest manner all questions, and displayed such constancy under
torture, that he commanded the admiration of the governor himself, who
dismissed him, in the hope that riper years would lead him to see his
error. A woman, who had been brought to the altar by her husband, was
forced to offer incense by some one holding her hand; but she exclaimed,
"I did it not: it was you that did it;" and she was thereupon condemned
to exile. In the dungeon at Carthage the Christians were exposed to
heat, hunger, and thirst, in order to force them to comply with the
decree; but although they saw death by starvation staring them in the
face, they continued stedfast in their confession of Christ. And from
the prison in Rome, where certain confessors had been confined for about
a year, the following noble confession was sent to Cyprian: "What more
glorious and blessed lot can, by God's grace fall to man than, amidst
tortures and the fear of death itself, to confess God the Lord — than,
with lacerated bodies and a spirit departing but yet free, to confess
Christ, the Son of God — than to become fellow-sufferers with Christ in
the name of Christ? If we have not yet shed our blood, we are ready to
shed it. Pray then, beloved Cyprian, that the Lord would daily confirm
and strengthen each one of us, more and more, with the power of His
might; and that He, as the best of leaders, would finally conduct His
soldiers, whom He has disciplined and proved in the dangerous camp, to
the field of battle which is before us, armed with those divine weapons
which never can be conquered."
Among the victims of this terrible
persecution were Fabian, bishop of Rome, Babylas of Antioch, and
Alexander of Jerusalem. Cyprian, Origen, Gregory, Dionysius, and other
eminent men, were exposed to cruel tortures and exile, but escaped with
their lives. The hatred of the Emperor was particularly directed against
the bishops. But in the Lord's mercy the reign of Decius was a short
one, he was killed in battle with the Goths, about the end of 251.*
{* See Neander, vol. 1, p. 177;
Mosheim, vol. 1, p. 217; Milner, vol. 1, p. 332.}
The Martyrdom of
Cyprian under Valerian
As the name of Cyprian must be familiar
to all our readers and a name most famous in connection with the
government and discipline of the church, it may be well to notice
particularly the serene fortitude of this Father in the prospect of
martyrdom.
He was born at Carthage about the year
200; but he was not converted till about 246. Though in mature age, he
possessed all the freshness and ardour of youth. He had been
distinguished as a teacher of rhetoric, he was now distinguished as an
earnest devoted Christian. He was early promoted to the offices of
deacon and presbyter, and in 248 he was elected bishop by the general
desire of the people. His labours were interrupted by the persecution
under Decius; but his life was preserved till the year 258. On the
morning of the 13th of September, an officer with soldiers was sent by
the proconsul to bring him into his presence. Cyprian then knew his end
was near. With a ready mind and a cheerful countenance he went without
delay. His trial was postponed for a day. The intelligence of his
apprehension drew together the whole city. His own people lay all night
in front of the officer's house with whom he was lodged.
In the morning he was led to the
proconsul's palace surrounded by a great multitude of people and a
strong guard of soldiers. After a short delay the proconsul appeared.
"Art thou Thascius Cyprian, the bishop of so many impious men?" said the
proconsul. "I am," answered Cyprian. "The most sacred Emperor commands
thee to sacrifice." "I do not sacrifice," he replied. "Consider well,"
rejoined the proconsul. "Execute thy orders," answered Cyprian, "the
case admits of no consideration."
The governor consulted with his
council, and then delivered his sentence. "Thascius Cyprian, thou hast
lived long in thy impiety, and assembled around thee many men involved
in the same wicked conspiracy. Thou hast shown thyself an enemy alike to
the gods and to the laws of the empire; the pious and sacred emperors
have in vain endeavoured to recall thee to the worship of thy ancestors.
Since then thou hast been the chief author and leader of these guilty
practices, thou shalt be an example to those whom thou hast deluded to
thy unlawful assemblies. Thou must expiate thy crime with thy blood."
"God be praised!" answered Cyprian, and the crowd of his brethren
exclaimed "Let us too be martyred with him." The bishop was carried into
a neighbouring field and beheaded. It was remarkable that but a few days
afterwards the proconsul died. And the Emperor Valerian, the following
year, was defeated and taken prisoner by the Persians, who treated him
with great and contemptuous cruelty — a calamity and disgrace without
example in the annals of Rome.
The miserable death of many of the
persecutors made a great impression on the public mind, and forced on
many the conviction that the enemies of Christianity were the enemies of
heaven. For about forty years after this outrage, the peace and
prosperity of the church were not seriously interrupted; so that we may
pass over these years for the present, and come to the final contest
between paganism and Christianity.
The General State of
Christianity
Before attempting a brief account of
the persecution under Diocletian, it may be well to review the history
and condition of the church as the final struggle drew near. But in
order to form a correct judgment of the progress and state of
Christianity at the end of three hundred years, we must consider the
power of the enemies with which it had to contend.
1.
Judaism.
We have seen at some length, and
especially in the life of St. Paul, that
Judaism
was the first great enemy of
Christianity. It had to contend from its infancy with the strong
prejudices of the believing, and with the bitter malice of the
unbelieving, Jews. In its native region, and wherever it travelled, it
was pursued by its unrelenting foe. And after the death of the apostles
the church suffered much from yielding to Jewish pressure, and
ultimately remodelling Christianity on the system of Judaism. The new
wine was put into old bottles.
2.
Orientalism.
Towards the close of the first and the
beginning of the second century, Christianity had to wend its way
through the many and conflicting elements of eastern philosophy. Its
first conflict was with
Simon Magus,
as recorded in the Acts of the
Apostles. Though a Samaritan by birth, he is supposed to have studied
the various religions of the East at Alexandria. On returning to his
native country he advanced very high pretensions to superior knowledge
and power; and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself
was some great one: to whom they all gave heed from the least to the
greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God." From this notice
of Simon we may learn what influence such men had over the minds of the
ignorant and the superstitious, and also what a dreadful power of Satan
the early church had to contend with in these evil workers. He assumed
not merely the lofty title of "the great power of God," but that he
combined in himself the other perfections of Deity. He is spoken of by
writers generally as the head and father of the whole host of impostors
and heretics.
After being so openly and shamefully
defeated by Peter he is said to have left Samaria, and travelled through
various countries, choosing especially those which the gospel had not
reached. From this time he introduced the name of Christ into his
system, and thus endeavoured to confound the gospel with his
blasphemies, and confuse the minds of the people. As to his miracle and
magic working, his marvellous theories about his own descent from
heaven, and other emanations, we say nothing, only that they proved,
especially in the East, a mighty hindrance to the progress of the
gospel.
The successors of Simon, such as
Cerinthus and Valentinus so systematised his theories as to become the
founders of that form of
gnosticism
with which the church had to contend in
the second century. The name implies
pretensions to some
superior knowledge. It is
generally thought that St. Paul refers to this meaning of the word when
warning his son Timothy against "science," or
knowledge,
"falsely so called."
Although it would be out of place in
these "Short Papers" to attempt anything like an outline of this
wide-spread
orientalism or gnosticism, yet
we must give our readers some idea of what it was. It proved for a time
the most formidable opponent of Christianity. But as the facts and
doctrines of the gospel prevailed, gnosticism declined.
Under the head of the gnostics may be
included all those in the first ages of the church who incorporated into
their philosophical systems the most obvious and suitable doctrines of
both Judaism and Christianity. Thus gnosticism became a mixture of
oriental philosophy, Judaism, and Christianity. By means of this Satanic
confusion the beautiful simplicity of the gospel was destroyed, and for
a long time, in many places, its real character was obscured. It was a
deep-laid plan and a mighty effort of the enemy, not only to corrupt,
but to undermine and subvert, the
gospel
altogether. No sooner had Christianity
appeared than the gnostics began to adopt into their systems some of its
sublimest doctrines. Judaism was deeply tinged with it before the
christian era, probably from the captivity.
But gnosticism, we must remember, was
not a corruption of Christianity, though the whole school of gnostics
are called
heretics by ecclesiastical
writers. As to its origin, we must go back to the many religions of the
East, such as Chaldean, Persian, Egyptian, and others. In our own day
such philosophers would be viewed as infidels and utter aliens from the
gospel of Christ; but in early times the title
heretic
was given to all who in any way
whatever introduced the name of Christ into their philosophical systems.
Hence it has been said, "If Mahomet had appeared in the second century,
Justin Martyr or Irenaeus would have spoken of him as a heretic." At the
same time we must own that the principles of the Greek philosophy,
especially the Platonic, forced their way at a very early period into
the church, corrupted the pure stream of truth, and threatened for a
time to change the design and the effects of the gospel upon mankind.
Origen,
who was born at Alexandria — the cradle of gnosticism — about the year
185, was the Father who gave form and completeness to the Alexandrian
method of interpreting scripture. He distinguished in it a threefold
sense — the literal, the moral, and the mystical — answering
respectively to the body soul, and spirit in man. The literal sense, he
held, might be understood by any attentive reader; the moral required
higher intelligence; the mystical was only to be apprehended through the
grace of the Holy Spirit, which was to be obtained by prayer.
It was the great object of this eminent
teacher to harmonise Christianity with philosophy, this was the leaven
of the Alexandrian school. He sought to gather up the fragments of truth
scattered throughout other systems, and unite them in a christian
scheme, so as to present the gospel in a form that would not offend the
prejudices, but insure the conversion, of Jews, gnostics, and of
cultivated heathen. These principles of interpretation, and this
combination of Christianity with philosophy, led Origen and his
followers into many grave and serious errors, both practical and
doctrinal. He was a devoted, earnest, zealous Christian himself, and
truly loved the Lord Jesus, but the tendency of his principles has been,
from that day to this, to weaken faith in the definite character of
truth, if not to pervert it altogether by means of spiritualizing and
allegorising, which his system taught and allowed.
The Malignity of
Matter was a first principle in
all the sects of the gnostics, it pervaded all the religious systems of
the East. This led to the wildest theories as to the formation and
character of the material universe, and all corporeal substances. Thus
it was, that persons believing their bodies to be intrinsically evil
recommended abstinence and severe bodily mortifications, in order that
the mind or spirit which was viewed as pure and divine, might enjoy
greater liberty, and be able the better to contemplate heavenly things.
Without saying more on this subject — which we do not much enjoy — the
reader will see that the celibacy of the clergy in later years, and the
whole system of asceticism and monasticism, had their origin, not in the
scriptures, but in oriental philosophy.*
{*For minute details of the different
sects, see
Dictionary of Christian Churches and Sects,
by Marsden. Robertson, vol. 1. 94.
Neander, vol. 2, 387. Milman, vol. 2, 80. Mosheim, vol. 1,117.}
Paganism.
Not only had the church to contend with
Judaism and Orientalism, it also suffered from the outward hostility of
Paganism.
These were the three formidable
powers of Satan with which he assailed the church during the first three
hundred years of her history. In carrying out her Lord's high commission
— "Teach all nations" .... "preach the gospel to every creature" — she
had these enemies to face and overcome. But these could not have
hindered her course, had she only walked in separation from the world
and remained true and faithful to her heavenly and exalted Saviour. But
alas! alas! what Judaism, Orientalism, and Paganism could not do, the
allurements of the world accomplished. And this leads us to a close
survey of the condition of the church when the great persecution broke
out.
A Survey of the
Condition of the Church
A.D. 303
Diocletian
ascended the throne in 284. In 286 he
associated with himself Maximian, as Augustus, and in 292 Galerius and
Constantius were added to the number of the princes with the inferior
title of Caesar. Thus, when the fourth century began, the Roman empire
had four sovereigns. Two bore the title of Augustus; and two, the title
of Caesar. Diocletian, though superstitious, indulged no hatred towards
Christians. Constantius, the father of Constantine the Great was
friendly to them. At first the face of christian affairs looked
tolerably bright and happy, but the pagan priests were angry, and
plotting mischief against the Christians. They saw in the wide-spreading
triumphs of Christianity their own downfall. For fully fifty years the
church had been very little disturbed by the secular power. During this
period Christians had attained an unexampled degree of prosperity; but
it was only outward: they had deeply declined from the purity and
simplicity of the gospel of Christ.
Churches had arisen in most of the
cities of the empire, and with some display of architectural splendour.
Vestments and sacred vessels of silver and gold began to be used.
Converts flocked in from all ranks of society; even the wife of the
Emperor, and his daughter Valeria, married to Galerius, appear to have
been among the number. Christians held high offices in the state, and in
the imperial household. They occupied positions of distinction, and even
of supreme authority, in the provinces and in the army. But alas! this
long period of outward prosperity had produced its usual consequences.
Faith and love decayed; pride and ambition crept in. Priestly domination
began to exercise its usurped powers, and the bishop to assume the
language and the authority of the vicegerent of God. Jealousies and
dissensions distracted the peaceful communities, and disputes sometimes
proceeded to open violence. The peace of fifty years had corrupted the
whole Christian atmosphere: the lightning of Diocletian's rage was
permitted of God to refine and purify it.
Such is the melancholy confession of
the Christians themselves, who, according to the spirit of the times,
considered the dangers and the afflictions to which they were exposed in
the light of divine judgments.*
{*Milman, vol. 2. 261.}
The Acts of
Diocletian and the Close of the Smyrnean Period
Already the church has passed through
nine systematic persecutions. The first was under Nero, then Domitian
Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Severus, Maximin, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian.
And now the fearful moment has arrived when she must undergo the
Tenth,
according to the prophetic word of the
Lord: "Ye shall have tribulation Ten days." And it is not a little
remarkable that not only should there be exactly ten government
persecutions, but that the last should have continued exactly Ten years.
And, as we saw at an earlier part of the Smyrnean period, exactly Ten
years elapsed from the beginning of the persecution, under Aurelius, in
the East, till its close in the West. The christian student may trace
other features of resemblance: we would rather suggest such features
than press their acceptance upon others, though we surely believe they
are foreshadowed in the Epistle to Smyrna.
The reign of
Diocletian
is one of great historical importance.
First, it was rendered conspicuous by the introduction of a new system
of imperial government. He virtually removed the capital from ancient
Rome to Nicomedia, which he made the seat of his residence. There he
maintained a court of eastern splendour, to which he invited men of
learning and philosophy. But the philosophers who frequented his court,
being all animated with extreme hatred against Christianity, used their
influence with the Emperor to exterminate a religion too pure to suit
their polluted minds. This led to the last and greatest persecution of
the Christians. It is only with the latter we have to do. And as all
histories of this period are gathered chiefly from the records of
Eusebius and Lactantius, who wrote at this time, and witnessed many
executions, we can do little more than select and transcribe from what
has been already written, consulting the various authors already named.
The pagan priests and philosophers
above referred to, not succeeding well in their artifices with
Diocletian to make war against the Christians, made use of the other
Emperor, Galerius, his son-in-law, to accomplish their purpose. This
cruel man, impelled partly by his own inclination, partly by his mother,
a most superstitious pagan, and partly by the priests, gave his
father-in-law no rest until he had gained his point.
During the winter of the year 302-303
Galerius paid a visit to
Diocletian at Nicomedia. His great object was to excite the old Emperor
against the Christians. Diocletian for a time withstood his importunity.
He was averse, from whatever motive, to the sanguinary measures proposed
by his partner. But the mother of Galerius, the implacable enemy of the
Christians, employed all her influence over her son to inflame his mind
to immediate and active hostilities. Diocletian at length gave way, and
a persecution was agreed to. but the lives of the Christians were to be
spared. Previously to this, Galerius had taken care to remove from the
army all who refused to sacrifice. Some were discharged, and some were
sentenced to death.
The First Edict
About the 24th of February the first
edict was issued. It ordained that all who refused to sacrifice should
lose their offices, their property, their rank, and civil privileges;
that slaves persisting in the profession of the gospel should be
excluded from the hope of liberty, that Christians of all ranks should
be destroyed, that religious meetings should be suppressed, and that the
scriptures should be burnt. The attempt to
exterminate the
scriptures was a new feature in
this persecution, and, no doubt, was suggested by the philosophers who
frequented the palace. They were well aware that their own writings
would have but little hold on the public mind if the scriptures and
other sacred books were circulated. Immediately these measures were
resolved upon the church of Nicomedia was attacked, the sacred books
were burnt, and the building entirely demolished in a few hours.
Throughout the empire the churches of the Christians were to be levelled
to the ground, and the sacred books were to be delivered to the imperial
officers. Many Christians who refused to give up the scriptures were put
to death, while those who gave them up to be burnt were considered by
the church as traitors to Christ, and afterwards caused great trouble in
the exercise of discipline towards them.*
{*It may interest the reader to know
that no MSS of the New Testament are extant older than the middle of the
fourth century. One fact which accounts for this in great measure is the
destruction of the christian writings, the scriptures especially, in the
reign of Diocletian during the earlier part of that century. Under
Constantine it is known that special efforts were made to have correct
copies made, of which the celebrated critic Tischendorf believes the
Sinai MS to be one.}
No sooner had this cruel edict been
affixed in the accustomed place than a Christian of noble rank tore it
down. His indignation at injustice so flagrant hurried him into an act
of inconsiderate zeal — into a violation of that precept of the gospel
which enjoins respect towards all in authority. Welcome was the occasion
thus furnished to condemn a Christian of high station to death. He was
burnt alive at a slow fire, and bore his sufferings with a dignified
composure which astonished and mortified his executioners. The
persecution was now begun. The first step against the Christians having
been taken, the second did not linger.
Not long after the publication of the
edict, a fire broke out in the palace of Nicomedia, which spread almost
to the chamber of the Emperor. The origin of the fire appears to be
unknown, but of course, the guilt was charged on the Christians.
Diocletian believed it. He was alarmed and incensed. Multitudes were
thrown into prison, without discrimination of those who were or were not
liable to suspicion, the most cruel tortures were resorted to for the
purpose of extorting a confession; but in vain. Many were burnt to
death, beheaded and drowned. About fourteen days after, a second fire
broke out in the palace. It now became evident that it was the work of
an incendiary. The heathen again accused the Christians, and loudly
cried for vengeance, but as no proof could ever be found that the
Christians had any hand in any way with these fatal conflagrations, a
strong, and, we believe, truthful suspicion rested on the Emperor
Galerius himself. His great object from the first was to incriminate the
Christians, and alarm Diocletian by his own more violent measures. As if
fully aware of the effect of these events on the dark, timid, and
superstitious mind of the old Emperor, he immediately left Nicomedia,
pretending that he could not consider his person safe within the city.
But the end was gained, and that to the
utmost extent which even Galerius or his pagan mother could have
desired. Diocletian, now thoroughly aroused, raged ferociously against
all sorts of men and women who bore the christian name. He compelled his
wife Prisca, and his daughter Valeria, to offer sacrifice. Officers of
the household, of the highest rank and nobility, and all the inmates of
the palace, were exposed to the most cruel tortures, by the order, and
even in the presence, of Diocletian himself. The names of some of his
ministers of state have been handed down who preferred the riches of
Christ to all the grandeur of his palace. One of the chamberlains was
brought before the Emperor and was tortured with great severity, because
he refused to sacrifice. As if to make an example of him to the others,
a mixture of salt and vinegar was poured on his open wounds, but it was
all to no purpose. He confessed his faith in Christ as the only Saviour,
and would own no other God. He was then gradually burnt to death.
Dorotheus, Gorgonius, and Andreas, eunuchs who served in the palace were
put to death. Anthimus, the bishop of Nicomedia, was beheaded. Many were
executed, many were burnt alive, but it became tedious to destroy men
singly, and large fires were made to burn many together, others were
rowed into the midst of the lake, and thrown into the water with stones
fastened to their necks.
From
Nicomedia,
the centre of the persecution, the
imperial orders were despatched, requiring the cooperation of the other
emperors in the restoration of the dignity of the ancient religion, and
the entire suppression of Christianity. Thus the persecution raged
throughout the whole Roman world, excepting Gaul. There the mild
Constantius ruled, and, though he made a show of concurring in the
measure of his colleagues, by the demolition of the churches, he
abstained from all violence against the persons of the Christians.
Though not himself a decided Christian, he was naturally humane, and
evidently a friend to Christianity and its professors. He presided over
the government of Gaul, Britain, and Spain. But the fierce temper of
Maximian, and the savage cruelty of Galerius, only awaited the signal to
carry into affect the orders from Nicomedia. And now the three monsters
raged, in the full force of the civil power against the defenceless and
inoffending followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
"Grace begun shall end in glory;
Jesus, He the victory won
In His own triumphant story
Is the record of our own."
The Second Edict
Not long after the first edict had been
carried into execution throughout the empire, rumours of insurrections
in Armenia and Syria, regions densely peopled with Christians, reached
the Emperor's ears. These troubles were falsely attributed to the
Christians, and afforded a pretext for a second edict. It was intimated
that the clergy, as leaders of the Christians, were particularly liable
to suspicion on this occasion, and the edict directed that all of the
clerical order should be seized and thrown into prison. Thus in a short
time prisons were filled with bishops, presbyters, and deacons.
The Third Edict
A third edict was immediately issued
prohibiting the liberation of any of the clergy, unless they consented
to offer sacrifice. They were declared enemies of the State; and
wherever a hostile prefect chose to exercise his boundless authority,
they were crowded into prisons intended only for the basest criminals.
The edict provided that such of the prisoners as were willing to offer
sacrifice to the gods should be set free, and that the rest should be
compelled by tortures and punishments. Great multitudes of the most
devout godly, and venerable in the church, either suffered capitally or
were sent to the mines. The Emperor vainly thought, that if the bishops
and teachers were once overcome, the churches would soon follow their
example. But finding that the most humiliating defeat was the result of
his measures, he was goaded on by the united influence of Galerius, the
philosophers, and the pagan priesthood, to issue another and a still
more rigorous edict.
The Fourth Edict
By a fourth edict the orders which
applied only to the clergy were now to be extended to the whole body of
Christians. The magistrates were directed to make free use of torture
for forcing
all Christians — men, women, and
children — into the worship of the gods. Diocletian and his colleagues
were now committed to the desperate but unequal contest. The powers of
darkness — the whole Roman empire — stood,
armed,
determined, pledged, to the defence of
ancient polytheism, and to the
complete
extermination of the christian name.
To retreat would be the confession of
weakness, to be successful the adversary must be exterminated; as to
victory there could be none, for the Christians made no resistance,
Historically, it was the final and fearful struggle between paganism and
Christianity; the contest was now at its height, and drawing to a
crisis.
Public proclamation was made through
the streets of the cities, that men, women, and children, were all to
repair to the temples of the gods. All must undergo the fiery ordeal —
sacrifice or die. Every individual was summoned by name from lists
previously made out. At the city gates all were subjected to rigid
examination, and such as were found to be Christians were immediately
secured
Details of the sufferings and
martyrdoms that followed would fill volumes. As edict followed edict, in
rapid succession and in wrathful severity, the spirit of martyrdom
revived; it rose higher and higher, until men and women, in place of
being seized and dragged to the funeral piles, leaped into the burning
flames, as if ascending to heaven in a chariot of fire. Whole families
were put to various kinds of death; some by fire, others by water, after
enduring severe tortures, some perished by famine, others by
crucifixion, and some were fastened with their heads downwards, and
preserved alive, that they might die a lingering death. In some places
as many as ten, twenty, sixty, and even a hundred men and women, with
their little ones, were martyred by various torments in one day.*
{*For the names and particulars of many
of the sufferers, see Milner, vol. 1, pp. 473-506.}
In almost every part of the Roman world
such scenes of pitiless barbarity continued with more or less severity
for the long period of ten years. Constantius alone, of all the
emperors, contrived to shelter the Christians in the west, especially in
Gaul, where he resided. But in all other places they were given up to
all sorts of cruelties and injuries without the liberty to appeal to the
authorities, and without the smallest protection from the State. Free
leave was given to the heathen populace to practise all sorts of
excesses against the Christians. Under these circumstances the reader
may easily imagine what they were constantly exposed to both in their
persons and estates. Each one felt sure of never being called to account
for any violence he might be guilty of towards the Christians. But the
sufferings of the men, however great, seemed little compared with those
of the women. The fear of exposure and violence was more dreaded than
mere death.
Take one example.
"A certain holy and
devout female," says Eusebius,
"admirable for her virtue, and illustrious above all in Antioch for her
wealth, family, and reputation had educated her two daughters — now in
the bloom of life noted for their beauty — in the principles of piety.
Their concealment was traced, and they were caught in the toils of the
soldiery. The mother, being at a loss for herself and her daughters,
knowing what was before them, suggested that it was better to die,
betaking themselves to the aid of Christ, than fall into the hands of
the brutal soldiers. After this, all agreeing to the same thing, and
having requested the guards for a little time, they cast themselves into
the flowing river to escape a greater evil." Although this act cannot be
fully justified, it must be judged with many considerations. They were
driven to despair. And sure we are that the Lord knows how to forgive
all that is wrong in the action, and to give us full credit for all that
is right in our motives.
For a moment the persecutors vainly
imagined that they would triumph over the downfall of Christianity.
Pillars were raised, and
medals were struck,
to the honour of Diocletian and
Galerius, for having extinguished the christian superstition, and for
restoring the worship of the gods. But He who sits in heaven was at that
very moment overruling the very wrath of these men for the complete
deliverance and triumph of His people, and the acknowledged defeat and
downfall of their enemies. They could martyr Christians, demolish
churches, and burn books; but the living springs of Christianity were
beyond their reach.
The Hand of the Lord
in Judgment
Great and important changes began to
take place in the sovereignty of the empire. But the Head of the church
watched over everything. He had limited and defined the period of her
sufferings, and neither the hosts of hell, nor the legions of Rome,
could extend these one hour. The enemies of the Christians were smitten
with the direst calamities. God appeared to be making requisition for
blood. Galerius, the real author of the persecution, in the eighteenth
year of his reign and the eighth of the persecution, lay expiring of a
most loathsome malady. Like Herod Agrippa and Philip II of Spain, he was
"eaten of worms." Physicians were sought for oracles were consulted, but
all in vain, the remedies applied only aggravated the virulence of the
disease. The whole palace was so infected from the nature of his
affliction, that he was deserted by all his friends. The agonies which
he suffered forced from him the cry for mercy, and also an earnest
request to the Christians to intercede for the suffering Emperor in
their supplications to their God.
From his dying bed he issued an edict,
which, while it condescended to apologise for the past severities
against the Christians, under the specious plea of regard for the public
welfare and unity of the state, admitted to the fullest extent the total
failure of the severe measures for the suppression of Christianity; and
provided for the free and public exercise of the christian religion. A
few days after the promulgation of the edict Galerius expired. For about
six months the merciful orders of this edict were acted upon, and great
numbers were liberated from the prisons and the mines; but, alas!
bearing the marks of bodily torture only short of death. This brief
cessation of the persecution showed at once its fearful character and
alarming extent.
But
Maximin,
who succeeded Galerius in the
government of Asia, sought to revive the pagan religion in all its
original splendour, and the suppression of Christianity, with renewed
and relentless cruelty. He commanded that all the officers of his
government, from the highest to the lowest both in the civil and
military service that all free men and women, all slaves, and even
little children, should sacrifice and even partake of what was offered
at heathen altars. All vegetables and provisions in the market were to
be sprinkled with the water or the wine which had been used in the
sacrifices, that the Christians might thus be forced into contact with
idolatrous offerings.
New tortures were invented, and fresh
streams of christian blood flowed in all the provinces of the Roman
empire, with the exception of Gaul. But the hand of the Lord was again
laid heavily both on the empire and on the Emperor. Every kind of
calamity prevailed. Tyranny, war, pestilence, and famine depopulated the
Asiatic provinces. Throughout the dominions of Maximin the summer rains
did not fall; a famine desolated the whole East, many opulent families
were reduced to beggary, and others sold their children as slaves. The
famine produced its usual accompaniment pestilence. Boils broke out all
over the bodies of those who were seized with the malady, but especially
about the eyes, so that multitudes became helplessly and incurably
blind. All hearts failed, and all who were able fled from the infected
houses; so that myriads were left to perish in a state of absolute
desertion. The Christians, moved by the love of God in their hearts, now
came forward to do the kind offices of humanity and mercy. They attended
the living, and decently buried the dead. Fear fell upon all mankind.
The heathen concluded their calamities to be the vengeance of heaven for
persecuting its favoured people.
Maximin was alarmed, and endeavoured,
when too late, to retrace his steps. He issued an edict, avowing the
principles of toleration, and commanding the suspension of all violent
measures against the Christians, and recommending only mild and
persuasive means to win back these apostates to the religion of their
forefathers. Having been defeated in battle by Licinius, he turned his
rage against the pagan priests. He charged them with having deceived him
with false hopes of victory over Licinius, and of universal empire in
the East, and now revenged his disappointment by a promiscuous massacre
of all the pagan priests within his power. His last imperial act was the
promulgation of another edict still more favourable to the Christians,
in which he proclaimed an unrestricted liberty of conscience, and
restored the confiscated property of their churches. But death came and
closed the dark catalogue of his crimes, and the dark line of
persecuting emperors, who died of the most excruciating torments, and
under the visible hand of divine judgment. Many names, of great
celebrity both for station and character, are among the martyrs of this
period, and many thousands, unknown and unnoticed on earth but whose
record is on high, and whose names are written in the Lamb's book of
life.
Thus closed the most memorable of all
the attacks of the powers of darkness on the christian church, and thus
closed the last hope of paganism to maintain itself by the authority of
the government. The account of the most violent, most varied, most
prolonged, and most systematic attempt to exterminate the gospel ever
known, well deserves the space we have given to it, so that we offer no
apology for its length. We have seen the arm of the Lord lifted up in a
gracious but solemn manner to chastise and purify His church, to
demonstrate the imperishable truth of Christianity, and to cover with
everlasting shame and confusion her daring but impotent foes. Like
Moses, we may exclaim, "Behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush
was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this
great sight, why the bush is not burned. And when the Lord saw that he
turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush."
Thus we see why the bush was not burned, or Israel in Egypt not
consumed, or the church in this world not exterminated: God was in the
midst of the bush He is in the midst of His church — it is the
habitation of God through the Spirit. Besides, Christ hath plainly said,
referring to Himself in His risen power and glory, "Upon this rock I
will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." (Ex. 3; Matt. 16)
