The Spread of the Church and Persecutions of the Christians

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• The Spread of the Church and Persecutions of the
  Christians

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Sacred Scripture Romans 2 35

• 35Who will separate us from the love of Christ?
  Trial, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or
  nakedness, or danger, or the sword? \

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• This letter must have been addressed to the
  Christians facing persecution in Rome, who were
  exhorted to remain firm in their faith in the
  Risen Lord and to withstand suffering and pain
  for his sake.

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Church Teaching Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church in the Modern World (Lumen Gentium), 8
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• The Church, like a pilgrim in a foreign land,
  presses forward amid persecution of the world and
  the consolations of God, announcing the cross and
  death of the Lord until he comes. By the power of
  the Risen Lord, she is given strength to overcome
  patiently and lovingly the afflictions

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• and hardships which assail her from within and
  without and to show forth in the world the
  mystery of the Lord in a faithful though shadowed
  way, until at last it will be revealed in total
  splendor.

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The challenge

• In one meaningful sentence explain the Church
  Teaching using these highlighted words Church,
  persecution, power of the Risen Lord, strength,
  patiently and lovingly

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• The Church continues the tasks of evangelization,
  bringing Christ and his Gospel to those who have
  not known him and to continually preach
  conversion to all for the salvation of the world

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Brief sketch of the persecution of the Church

• In the first three centuries after Christ, the
  church faced periods of severe persecution.
  Christians
• were ordered to sacrifice to the Roman gods
• Scriptures were confiscated
• some believers were beheaded or sent to work and
  die in the mines.

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• During persecution, not everyone was as faithful
  as Perpetua and Polycarp. Some denied their
  faith.
• After a persecution ended, many of those who had
  denied the faith sought forgiveness and
  re-admittance in the church. Some church members
  opposed and some favored their re-admittance.
• At stake was the nature of the church. Was the
  church a society of people who obeyed Christs
  teachings or a home for forgiven sinners?

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We will examine the persecution early Christians
faced. Well also look at how the church dealt
with the aftermath (result, outcome).
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Persecution in the Early Centuries

• The first major outbreak of Christian persecution
  began with Stephens martyrdom around a.d. 35

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Other conditions which made Christianity become
widely spread were

• 1) People were tired of the old pagan religions,
  those which required the worship of many gods and
  goddesses.
• 2) People were drawn to the teachings of
  Christianity one God, selfless love and eternal
  deliverance.
• 3) Christian missionaries were free to travel
  and preach the religion throughout the Roman
  Empire.

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• 4) The fundamental worth and dignity of the
  person
• equality was practiced all persons are equal in
  their intrinsic worth and are entitled
• to equal rights and privileges.
• The dignity of women was exalted. The glorious
  status of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother
  of God and the first disciple of Christ elevated
  the dignity of women.

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• 5) The spirit of Christian compassion for the
  poor, the sick and the abandoned. Christian
  charity was impressive force in the care of the
  afflicted
• 6) The thirst for power and wealth was confronted
  by the Christians respect for the rights of
  others to the goods of the earth and by the
  belief in the everlasting treasures for the next
  life.

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• 7) Early Christian leaders were men of courage,
  dedication and capability.

They even face persecution courageously.
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Basis of persecution

• Christians were accused of being atheists
  because, unlike their neighbors, they were
  irreligiousthey refused to worship Roman
  deities or emperors.
• Christians separated themselves from the rest of
  the society. They were believed to engage in some
  form of cannibalism in their Eucharistic rites
  which were celebrated in secret.

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• Christians condemned bloody games like the
  gladiatorial contests.
• Natural disasters and catastrophes were
  attributed to their refusal to participate in the
  worship of pagan gods.
• Christians showed disloyalty to the state by not
  paying the imposed temple tax.

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• Persecution was instigated by (1) Roman
  officials, (2) Jewish leaders of the first
  century who saw Christians as heretics, and (3)
  sometimes by angry locals who thought Christians
  were odd or dangerous.
• Much of the time, official persecution was
  regional and sporadic. Under certain emperors
  there were long periods of tolerance.
• Some emperors, however, led systematic and at
  times empire-wide persecution of Christians,
  trying to exterminate this illicit sect.

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Group reporting of the ROMAN EMPERORS

• Group 1 Emperor Nero and Domitian
• Group 2 Emperor Trajan and Hadrian
• Group 3 Emperor Antonius Pius and Marcus
  Aurelius
• Group 4 Septimus Severus and Decius
• Group 5 Emperor Valerian and Diocletian
• Group 6 Emperor Galerius and Maximinus Daia
• Group 7 Emperor Constantine and Theodosius

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Questions

• When did he reign, and how did he die?
• On what basis did he persecute the Christians?
• How did Christians respond, and who were notable
  Christians or martyrs under his reign?

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• Persecution Refers to afflictions imposed on
  people by their own fellow beings especially
  those who differ in origin, religion, or social
  outlook with intention to injure or distress.

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THE ROMAN EMPERORS
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Claudius Nero was named emperor at age 16 and
reigned from A.D. 54-68. He had about five good
years under the guidance of Seneca, the Roman
poet and philosopher.
He had his mother killed in A.D. 59 He had his
wife killed in 64 AD He later killed a brother
and his teacher, Seneca.
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• He accused the Christians of burning Rome in 64
  A.D. and ordered their execution. A narrative
  account of TACITUS, the greatest Roman historian,
  included the rumor that Nero himself was
  responsible for the fire to gain the glory of
  rebuilding the city.
• The Christians were persecuted and turned into
  living torches in the garden of Nero. They became
  the object of his
• fury/anger following the Great Fire of Rome
  in A.D. 64.
• .

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Martyrs Peter and Paul
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Persecution under Domitian AD 81-96

• Was a bad emperor whose rule was marked by cruel
  severity. Like Nero, he persecuted the
  Christians. One of his victims was his own niece
  Domitilla, a pretty Christian maid.
• Because of his cruelty, he was murdered in his
  palace and the senate ordered that his men be
  cursed and his name stricken from all public
  monuments.
• Martyrs Clement of Rome and John (exiled to
  Patmos)

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Emperor Trajan ruled from A.D. 98-117
He began sentencing Christians who refused to
honor the gods and the emperor to death
In 107 he went to Antioch and demanded that
everyone should give sacrifices to the gods.
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Martyr Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch and pupil
of the apostle John, refused and was martyred
by being thrown to wild animals.
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EMPEROR HADRIAN (II7-138)

• He issued a decree that governors should not
• follow the desires of the mob. Christians who
  were accused of a crime must be judged according
  to the nature of their crimes.
• The decree gave some relief
• to the suffering Christians
• Martyr Telesphorus

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Antonius Pius ruled from A.D. 138-161
He accused the Christians of being ATHEIST (one
who denies the existence god) for not
worshipping the emperor.
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During Antonius' reign, Polycarp, an 86 year old
man, a pupil of the apostle John, was martyred in
Asia that took place in the year 156.
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In A.D. 161 Marcus Aurelius took power and
reigned until 180.
He didnt directly lead persecutions against
Christians. He had no sympathy for them because
he saw them as being disgustingly superstitious.
For Aurelius, it was good to die for something
significant, but not for something as silly as
what the Christians believed
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• He regarded the Christians as a threat to the
  state. His successors started empire-wide
  actions on the Christians.
• Bent on eradicating Christianity completely.
• This gave rise to a systematic and cruel
  persecution of Christians throughout the empire.
• MARTYRS Justin, the Philosopher and the martyrs
  of Lyon, Blandina.

35
Septimus Severus who ruled from 193-211
-allowed the enforcement of policies already
long-established, which meant that Roman
authorities did not intentionally seek out
Christians, but when people were accused of being
Christians they could either curse Jesus and make
an offering to Roman gods, or be executed
36
"Many martyrs are daily burned, confined, or
beheaded, before our eyes. -Clement of Alexandria
Clement is counted as one of the early Church
Fathers

• Martyrs
• Leonides, the father of Origen,
• a Christian defender, was beheaded
• Perpetua, a young noblewoman, and
• Felicitas, a slave girl, held hands and exchanged
  a kiss before being
• thrown to wild animals at a public festival.

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Emperor Decius (249-251). He saw Christianity as
a terrible poison. He ordered that all
Christians must make a public act of homage to
the Roman gods. His role was to eradicate
Christianity completely. Martyrs Fabianus,
Alexander of Jerusalem
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Emperor Valerian (257 AD). He decreed that all
bishops, presbyters and deacons were to offer
sacrifice to gods.

• Cyprian of Carthage
• Pope Sixtus II of Rome
• Origen

MARTYRS
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Emperor Diocletian (284-305 AD) The last and
bloodiest persecution. He decreed that all
Christians churches be destroyed and bibles
burned. He divided Roman Empire into a
tetrarchy Martyrs Mauricius Alban
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• EMPEROR GALERIUS
• The persecution of the Christians only came to
  end when Galerius admitted their uselessness
• He realized that the persecutions only made the
  Christians more firm in their faith and attracted
  more pagans top become Christians.
• He issued the Edict of Tolerance-granting
  Christianity the right to exist.

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MAXIMINUS DAIA

• Once again demanded Christian blood. But suddenly
  ordered persecutions to cease. ..because the
  pressure to stop had been put on Maximinus by the
  new conqueror of Italy and Africa, who was now
  the sole master of the Western world.

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Constantine The persecution of Christians ended
in 313 when Constantine of the West proclaimed
the Edict of Milan, which established a policy of
religious freedom for all.
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CONSTANTINE, the first Christian Emperor of the
Roman Empire

• On his way to fight against a rival emperor,
  Galerius, he saw in the sky a flaming cross with
  the inscribed words In hoc signo vinces(in
  this sign, you shall conquer)
• He used a cross and won over his rival. In
  gratitude, he issued Edict of Milan-granted the
  religious tolerance of Christians.
• He himself became a convert to Christianity.

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THEODOSIUS

• During his reign, worship of old gods was
  declared illegal and Christianity was encouraged.
• Thus after 3 centuries of persecution,
  Christianity became the religion of the Roman
  Empire

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Guide Questions

• Have you ever been misjudged, disliked, or
  mistreated because of your faith? How did you
  respond? In what ways are Christians today
  pressured to compromise their faith?
• Some Christians (for example, Clement of
  Alexandria) fled persecution, while others (such
  as Ignatius of Antioch) seemed to look forward to
  martyrdom. What reasons might people give for
  avoiding or embracing martyrdom?

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• What does it mean to rejoice in persecution? (See
  Matthew 511-12 Colossians 124 James 11-18
  and 1 Peter 412-19.)
• Which beliefs of the early Christians, such as
  those of Perpetua, helped them withstand
  persecution and accept martyrdom? To what degree
  do Christians today hold those beliefs? Why

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• What reasons did Roman authorities use to justify
  persecuting the Christians? What reasons does our
  culture give for the mistreatment of religious or
  ethnic minorities?
• Is it possible to be a faithful Christian and not
  experience persecution?

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• The persecutions involved
• a. confiscation of property
• b. banishment (expulsion, exile)
• c. imprisonment
• d. labor in the mines
• e. torture
• f. execution by fire and wild beasts
• g. Roman citizens were executed by the sword.

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The responses of Christians to the persecution
earned them the following designations

• a. Martyrs those who died for their faith.
  They were honored and eventually venerated by the
  church. (The Greek word martyr means witness.)
• b. Confessors those who stood firm under
  torture and imprisonment but were not killed.
• c. Avoiders those who went into hiding.
• d. Lapsed those who renounced Christ while
  under persecution and sacrificed to Roman gods.

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The Church during and after the Period of
Persecution
1. MARTYRDOM for Christ was a driving force that
urged people to face death fearlessly. -Total
self-giving 2. Liturgy and creed of the Church
was developed
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• 3. Central of Christian worship is the Eucharist
• 4. Wednesdays and Fridays were days of fasting
• 5. Easter the central feast day celebrated on a
  Sunday
• 6. The Sacrament of Baptism was celebrated with a
  complete immersion

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7. Veneration of the saints developed 8. The
Christians celebrated the feast of the martyrs
catacombs
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The catacombs are the ancient underground
cemeteries, used by the Christian and the Jewish
communities, above all at Rome.
During the persecutions, in exceptional cases,
the catacombs were used as places of momentary
refuge for the celebration of the Eucharist
After the persecutions they became real shrines
of the martyrs, centers of devotion and of
pilgrimage for Christians from every part of the
empire
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• 9. Use of arts and symbols
• 10. Christian signs and symbols were carved on
  the walls of the tombs of the martyrs
• Persecution of the Church lasted for more than
  three hundred years

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Christian Symbols A to Z (SEE PPT 2)
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THE DISSENSIONS WITHIN THE CHURCH

• The newly acquired freedom and recognition of
  Christianity led to the extension of its
  boundaries and growth in the number of converts.
• But Christianity grew, certain controversies
  regarding the mysteries of the Trinity and the
  Incarnation of Christ arose within the Church.

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• These controversies gave rise to false teachings
  or beliefs contrary to the revealed truths of the
  Catholic faith. The false teachings are referred
  to as HERESIES (caused confusion and dissension
  among Christians) So the Church convened several
  ecumenical councils to take firm position against
  heresies.

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ECUMENICAL COUNCILS

• It refers to general meetings of the Church in
  which important matters of faith and Christian
  living are discussed.

These are the better-known heresies and the
ecumenical councils convened against them.
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HERESY ECUMENICAL COUNCIL AND YEAR
Arianism Heresy Arius-founder, taught that Christ being a Son of God was not fully divine as God the Father. St. Athanasius defended that Christ, the Son of God was as divine as God the Father. 1st Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (AD 325) assembled in Constantinople. It condemned Arianism as a heresy and adopted the Nicaean Creed which confirms the divinity of Christ. In AD 381, the 2nd Ecumenical Council in Constantinople condemned Arianism
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HERESY ECUMENICAL COUNCIL AND YEAR
Nestorianism Heresy Its founder, Nestorious, a patriarch of Constantinople denied the real unity of the divine and human natures in the Divine Person of Christ. He also taught that Mary was only the mother of Christ, the human person hence she was not the mother of God. This doctrine of Nestorious was condemned by the Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus in AD 431.
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HERESY ECUMENICAL COUNCIL AND YEAR
Monophysitism Heresy claimed that Christ has only one nature the divine Pope Leo I denounced it. The 4th Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon in AD 451 condemned it.
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• The heresies did not die easily. During the same
  period, many churchmen noted for their
  intellectual gifts and saintly virtues became
  famous as brilliant defenders of Christian Faith.
• The Church honored them by conferring on them the
  title of CHURCH FATHER or DOCTORS OF THE
  CHURCH.

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The outstanding Doctors of the Church

• St. Jerome-translated the Bible into Latin
• St. Athanasius- fought Arianism and defended the
  Holy Trinity
• St. Ambrose of Milan-defended the Church
  liberties against Emperor Valentinian II
• St. John Chrysostom-denounced Monophysitism

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• St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, who was the
  greatest of all Church Fathers
• - became the foremost defender of the Church
  against all heretics.
• St. Augustine of Canterbury-carried out
  Evangelization in England as envisioned by Pope
  St. Gregory the Great.
• -He became the first Archbishop of England

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• Lumen Gentium 8
• The Church is the living sign of Christs
  presence in the world
• In her effort to fulfill the mission- the Church
  withstand the great suffering and persecution in
  the hands of those who reject the message of the
  gospel

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The apostle Paul noted in (Phil. 114).
Through all the terrible persecutions of the
early centuries the church continued to grow.
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Are we prepared to truly suffer for our faith?
Are ready to defend your faith?
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Answer the ff

• Why were the early Christians persecuted
  severely?
• What is the effect of persecution on the early
  Christians and on the whole Church?
• What problem arose as the number of Christians
  increased after the persecution of the Church?
  How did the Church face this problem?

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Lord God, If persecution ever comes, God grant us
the faithfulness to stand firm. And lets not
forget to pray and work to help our brothers and
sisters who are suffering for the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
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Sw1 20 pointsSECOND GRADING5 points each by
pair
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• 1. What made the early Christians ever more firm
  and alive in their faith and their number
  increased despite persecution? Explain.
• 2. In our contemporary times, there are many
  people in our society who are classified as
  Modern Lapsed (those who renounced Christ while
  under persecution). What can you do to help them
  remain firm and faithful to Christ? Cite concrete
  actions.

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• 3. Jesus Himself experienced humiliation, insult,
  persecutions, and trials from people. Write a
  prayer of thanksgiving for Jesus sacrifices
  because of His love for you, as you yourself up
  from you own pains and sufferings.

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• 4. Are we prepared to truly suffer for our faith?
  
• Are ready to defend your faith? If yes, in what
  way? Or how will you defend it?
• If not yet, what will you do in order to stand
  firm with your faith?