Roman Persecution of Christians:
The Cause, Reason, and Details of 10 Great Persecutions

Roman persecution of Christians began in the reign of Emperor Nero in AD 64 and continued for about 250 years until the recognition of Christianity by Constantine in 313. The Romans rejected Christians as an eyesore, who believed in God only and did not yield to idolatry and emperor worship. The emperors considered Christianity illegal, and severely suppressed it on the excuse of unifying the empire and making it prosper under the protection of gods.

Cause of Roman Persecution of Christians

In the early days of the Apostolic Age, Christianity was persecuted by the Jews who did not recognize Jesus as the Christ. Later, as Christianity spread not only to Jerusalem but also to Asia Minor and Rome, it was oppressed by the Roman Empire. At that time, the Roman Empire implemented a moderate tolerance policy for the politics and religions of its subordinate states, that is, the conquered people, for the stability of the empire. However, Christianity was an exception. It was because they considered that Christians would damage the stability of the empire.

Christians worshiped only their own God, and did not participate in social ritual or religious ceremonies of those days. They did not even mingle with the pagans in the temple or in the theater. This was considered to harm the stability and unity of the empire. In particular, the Christians’ refusal to worship the Roman gods was regarded as a threat to the peace and prosperity that gods brought to the empire.

In addition, the Christians refused to worship the emperor because they could not worship anyone other than God. For the Romans, emperor worship was the most powerful means to unify the empire and the standard of loyalty to the empire. The Roman government regarded the attitude of Christians as disloyal and rebellious against the emperor and the empire, and so Christianity was persecuted as an illegal religion.

Ten Great Roman Persecutions of Christians

Roman persecutions of Christians proceeded for various reasons and methods, depending on the rulers and the situations of the times, and the ten major persecutions led by the emperors are representative. Nero blamed the Christians for the great fire of Rome that occurred in AD 64 and persecuted them severely. This continued until his death in AD 68. He threw Christians into amphitheaters to be torn to pieces by wild beasts or tied them to hay and burned them as “human torches” to light up the outdoors. At that time, the persecution was limited to the city of Rome, not the entire Roman Empire.

Domitian was the next emperor who persecuted Christianity after Nero. Domitian declared himself the living god and forced people to worship him. When the Christians refused to follow this, he persecuted them with the charge of that “all gods were angry because Christians did not obey to worship the emperor.” He confiscated their properties and let them fight with wild beasts. During this time, Apostle John was exiled to the island of Patmos, and wrote the book of Revelation after receiving a revelation. Christians fled Rome, seeking for the freedom of faith, or went underground; from this time, the worship began in the underground tombs, Catacombs, to escape persecution.

Diocletian was the emperor who persecuted Christians most severely throughout the Roman Empire. Diocletian issued an edict in 303, condemning Christians who did not pay homage to the emperor’s statue as traitors, and confiscated their properties. He banned Christian gatherings, destroyed all the church buildings, and ordered to burn Christian books and Bibles. If they did not obey the command to sacrifice to the pagan gods, he cruelly tortured and killed them. During this period, Christians were fired from government and military and were deprived of their social rights. All priests were exiled or executed.

1. Nero’s Persecution (64-68)

• Persecuted Christians by pointing them as arsonists of the great fire of Rome.
• Executed Christians as food for beasts or as torches to light up outdoor party venues.
• Most of the persecutions took place within the city of Rome.

2. Domitian’s Persecution (90–96)

• Oppressed under the accusation that all gods were angry because of Christians.
• Attacked the non-Roman religions and even those who are sympathize with them, on the charge of treason.
• Exiled Apostle John to the island of Patmos.
• Christians worshiped in underground tombs, Catacombs to escape persecution.

3. Trajan’s Persecution (98–117)

• Persecuted Christians as felons for refusing to worship the emperor.
• Ignatius, the bishop of the church in Antioch, was martyred.

4. Hadrian’s Persecution (117–138)

• Set up the statues of the emperor and other statues and forced to worship them; if Christians refused, they were executed.
• Even those who protected Christians were punished.

5. Marcus Aurelius’s Persecution (161–180)

• Persecuted the Christians by blaming them for all natural disasters such as pestilence, famine, and drought.
• Gave the corpses of the Christians as food for hungry dogs.

6. Septimius Severus’ Persecution (202–211)

• Forced the Christians to worship the sun god, and prohibited conversion to Christianity.
• Proclaimed a decree stating that conversion to Christianity is punishable by death.

7. Maximinus’ Persecution (235–236)

• Persecuted the Christians for supporting the ex-emperor who was assassinated.
• Executed the Christian clergy.

8. Decius’ Persecution (249–251)

• Issued an edict to spread persecution throughout the Roman Empire.
• Commanded all citizens to worship the Roman gods, and those who disobeyed were executed for refusing to obey the edict.
• Conciliated the Christians to become apostates in order to eradicate Christianity.
• Martyrs and apostates occurred the most during this period.

9. Valerian’s Persecution (259–260)

• Prohibited Christians gatherings and confiscated their land and properties.
• Executed the clergy and exiled them.

10. Diocletian’s Persecution (303–311)

• The worst persecution that deprived the Christians of all their rights.
• Declared the four edicts against Christianity.
• Forced the Christian soldiers to forsake their faith and executed them if they disobeyed.
• Destroyed church buildings, burned the Bible, banned worship, and expelled the Christians from public office.

• The order of systematic persecution was withdrawn in 311, but the persecution against the Christians did not cease until the edict of Milan was issued in 313.

Although the Roman Empire persecuted Christianity for a long time, it could not break the faith of Christians. Christians preached the gospel without fear or hesitation even though they were burned at the stake, eaten by wild beasts in the amphitheaters, and killed by terrible torture. Their faith was like a myrrh tree that emits a more beautiful fragrance when it is cut. Despite severe persecution, the number of Christians increased and the gospel spread more vigorously throughout the Roman Empire and the entire Mediterranean coast.

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