Chapter 3: Persecution of

1
Chapter 3 Persecution of The Way

• HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

2
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• ANTICIPATORY SET
•  
• Read aloud the section Mad Caligula (p. 98),
  and then discuss Emperor Nero.

3
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• BASIC QUESTIONS
• What was the nature of the first Roman
  persecutions?
• What persecutions did Christians face under
  Domitian?
• KEY IDEAS
• Emperor Nero launched a brutal persecution of
  Christians, scapegoating them for the burning of
  Rome, for which he himself was rumored to have
  been responsible.
• Emperor Domitian persecuted Christians, and Roman
  officials permitted mobs to attack them.

4
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• In the beginning, what did the Roman rulers
  consider the Christians to be?
• They considered the Christians to be a small sect
  of schismatic Jews.
•  
• What actions show Neros evil character even
  before his persecution of the Christians?
• He murdered his mother renounced and slandered
  his wife before having her beheaded and forced
  Seneca, the noble statesman, to commit suicide.
•  
• How is Emperor Nero depicted in his sculpture
  with Seneca (cf. p. 96)?
• Nero is portrayed as a youth, strong physically,
  handsome, and dressed elegantly. At the same time
  he is slouching in his throne and looking down
  arrogantly at Seneca, his teacher.

5
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• GUIDED EXERCISE
•  
• Complete a Think/Pair/Share on the two paragraphs
  Early on the night and The middle and lower
  (p. 96) using the following question
• Why was Rome, and ancient cities in general,
  particularly susceptible to fire?

6
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• Why is it thought that Nero had set the fire that
  destroyed much of Rome?
• Nero intended to seize private property in the
  center of Rome to build himself a new palace.
  Nero was rumored to have set the fire to clear
  the buildings.
•  
• Why did Nero blame the Christians of Rome for the
  fire?
• Nero wanted to remove suspicion from himself. He
  arrested and tortured several Christians,
  extracted forced confessions from them, and then
  ordered a large number of Christians arrested.

7
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• What did Nero do to Christians during the first
  persecution?
• This first persecution, which took place in the
  City of Rome, was brutal. Christians were sewn
  into animal skins so huge that hungry dogs would
  devour them. He had hundreds of live Christians
  coated with pitch and resin and burned as human
  torches to light his way as he passed through his
  gardens and along the streets at night.

8
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
•  
• Work with a partner to complete the following
  table about the Jewish and Roman persecutions of
  Christians.

9
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)
10
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• Describe Caligulas family life.
• Caligulas mother and brothers were butchered
  when he was a teenager. He committed incest with
  three of his sisters.
•  
• How could Caligula be described as sadistic?
• Caligula sexually abused men, women, children,
  and babies. He delighted in watching torture and
  executions.
•  
• What was Caligulas fate?
• Caligula was murdered by two of his guards, who
  then killed the rest of his family.

11
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• What was Neros principle for dealing with
  Christians?
• Neros principle was Christiani non sunt Let the
  Christians be exterminated.
•  
• How is it known that Nero persecuted Christians?
• It was reported by the Roman historian Tacitus
  and the Church historian Eusebius.

12
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• What was Neros fate?
• The aristocracy in Rome was alienated by Neros
  murders of his mother and wife. After revolts
  against Roman rule broke out in Judea, Gaul,
  Africa, and Spain, the army turned against Nero,
  and he committed suicide.

13
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• Why was it a good idea for dictators like
  Domitian to make friends with the army?
• In a dictatorship, the armed forces have the
  ultimate power over life and death. He who
  controls the army controls the nation.
•  
• What is the significance of the title Dominus et
  Deus with respect to Emperor Domitian?
• Lord and God indicates Domitian considered
  himselfor wanted others to consider hima god.

14
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• Why did Domitian see the spread of Christianity
  as a problem, and what steps did he take to stop
  it?
• Christianity was spreading from the lower classes
  to the aristocracy, Domitians own class. He
  murdered his cousin, an office-holding Christian,
  and levied a special tax on Christians and Jews
  to pay for a pagan temple.

15
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• What does vox populi mean?
• The voice of the people during the time of the
  early Church often meant ignorant, mob actions,
  especially those taken against Christians.
•  
• What was the result of the power of the vox
  populi?
• Mobs looted and destroyed Christian churches,
  cemeteries, and homes. Civil authorities tortured
  and killed Christians to provide an outlet for
  the peoples anger.

16
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• Of what were Christians accused by the common
  people?
• Because Christians would not sacrifice to the
  pagan gods, common people accused Christians of
  being irreligious and atheistic. All kinds of
  wild practices were attributed to Christians
  including the sacrifice of babies, drinking their
  blood, and casting evil spells. Christians also
  became scapegoats for natural calamities such as
  floods and famines.

17
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• CLOSURE
•  
• Free write for five minutes about why Nero
  persecuted Christians.

18
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
•  
• Study Questions 13 (p. 125)
• Practical Exercise 1 (p. 125)
• Workbook Questions 121
• Read The Five Good Emperors through
  Ad Metalla (pp. 101107)

19
1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94100)

• ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
•  
• Use the completed Graphic Organizer on page 97 to
  write a paragraph comparing the first Jewish and
  Roman persecutions of Christians.

20
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• ANTICIPATORY SET
•  
• Analyze the mosaic on page 100, and then discuss
  the following questions
• What does the mosaic depict?
• What does this mosaic reveal about the character
  of the Roman people?
• Is the depiction in this mosaic similar to
  anything in contemporary culture?

21
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• BASIC QUESTION
• How did the persecutions of the Christians
  develop after Domitian?
•  
• KEY IDEA
• Trajans Rescript declared it a capital crime to
  profess Christianity. Hadrians Rescript advised
  that Christians should not be prosecuted solely
  for professing Christ, which was reversed under
  Marcus Aurelius. St. Justin Martyr defended
  Christianity to the Roman senate and emperor.

22
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• Why were the Five Good Emperors called good?
• The five emperors following Domitian were good
  because they were skillful leaders of the empire.
  They were relatively stable persons who secured
  the empires borders.
•  
• Were the Five Good Emperors good for Christians?
• The first four were more moderate toward
  Christians than Domitian had been, but they still
  persecuted them. Extension Hadrian eradicated
  the Jews in the Holy Land.

23
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• Why was Trajan a successful emperor from the
  Roman point of view?
• Trajan treated abandoned children and the poor
  humanely, achieved military glory for himself and
  Rome, undertook many public works projects,
  extended the territory of the empire, and ruled
  nearly twenty years.

24
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
•  
• Work with a partner to complete the following
  table about the content of Trajans Rescript.

25
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)
26
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• What was the origin of Trajans Rescript
  (AD 112)?
• Pliny the Younger, one of Trajans governors,
  asked his advice concerning the persecution and
  punishment of Christians. Trajans Rescript is
  his reply.
•  
• What did Plinys letter reveal about the spread
  of Christianity?
• By his time Christians existed across all strata
  of society and lived in rural areas as well as
  urban centers.
•  
• What choices did denounced Christians have?
• They could have renounced the Faith or have been
  sentenced to death.

27
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• Why was St. Ignatius of Antioch an important
  writer?
• His direct contact with the Apostles Sts. Peter
  and John give his writings special authority.
•  
• Who persecuted St. Ignatius of Antioch, and why?
• He was arrested under Emperor Trajan for being
  the Bishop of Antioch.

28
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• Why did St. Ignatius of Antioch ask Christians
  not to intervene with the pagan officials when he
  was on his way to Rome?
• St. Ignatius was afraid the Christians of Rome
  might persuade the pagan officials to spare his
  life. He wanted to be Gods wheat, ground by the
  teeth of wild beasts, so he could be Christs
  pure bread.

29
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• GUIDED EXERCISE
•  
• Review the concept of bread and circuses (cf. p.
  15). Perform a Focused Reading of the sidebar
  The Coliseum (p. 103) using the following two
  questions
• Is it moral to attend entertainments like the
  ones described?
• Are there legal forms of entertainment today that
  followers of Christ ought to avoid?

30
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• How does Hadrians reign reveal the Pax Romana
  did not manifest peace for everyone?
• The Jews were decimated in the Holy Land and were
  banned from entering Jerusalem.
•  
• How did the plight of Christians improve somewhat
  after Hadrians Rescript?
• Hadrian ruled that mobs should not be able to
  take the law in their own hands to murder
  Christians and that Christians should only be
  prosecuted for actual violations of the common
  law instead of solely for being Christian.

31
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• Why did Hadrians ban on circumcision and his
  plan to turn Jerusalem into a Roman colony
  infuriate the Jews?
• Circumcision is essential to the identity of
  Jews, the sign of the covenant between God and
  Abraham. Jerusalem had been the Jews most
  important city for a millennium they had hoped
  to rebuild the Temple there so they could again
  offer ritual sacrifice. Extension Hadrian could
  not have attacked the Jews more personally than
  this.

32
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• Under whose peaceful reign was St. Polycarp
  martyred?
• He was martyred under Emperor Antoninus Pius.
•  
• What was the nature of St. Polycarps writings?
• He defended orthodox Catholic beliefs against
  several early heresies.
•  
• What merciful offer did the governor of Smyrna
  make to St. Polycarp?
• If St. Polycarp would have cursed Christ
  publicly, his life would have been spared.

33
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• GUIDED EXERCISE
•  
• Search the Internet for the entire Martyrium
  Polycarpi (The Martyrdom of Polycarp), and then
  read it.

34
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• Of what philosophy was Emperor Marcus Aurelius an
  adherent?
• He was a Stoic, which encourages a person to live
  free of passion and be unmoved by joy or grief,
  submitting fully to fate.
•  
• What practice did Marcus Aurelius reinstate that
  made things worse for Christians?
• He reinstituted anonymous denunciations of
  Christians.
•  
• Why did provincial governors tolerate mob attacks
  on Christians?
• For Roman governors serving in unruly provinces,
  allowing mob attacks on Christians was a way they
  could let people defuse their anger on something
  other than the empire itself.

35
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• What did St. Justin Martyr have in common with
  Emperor Marcus Aurelius?
• Both loved philosophy, although St. Justin came
  to believe that the teachings of Christ were far
  superior to philosophy alone.
•  
• To whom did St. Justin Martyr address his two
  defenses of the Faith?
• He addressed them audaciously to the Roman
  emperor and the senate.
•  
• What did the judicial sentence Ad Metalla mean?
• This dreaded punishment sent a prisoner to the
  metal mines, where the prisoner endured brutal
  conditions and certain death.

36
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
•  
• Work with a partner to complete the following
  table on evidence for three beliefs held by early
  Christians (cf. p. 123).

37
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)
38
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
•  
• Study Questions 48 (p. 125)
• Workbook Questions 2243
• Read Later Persecutions and the Edict of Milan
  through Pope St. Sixtus II and Deacon St.
  Lawrence (pp. 108114)

39
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• CLOSURE
•  
• Free write for five minutes summarizing the
  persecutions experienced by Christians in the
  period of time after Emperor Domitian through
  Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

40
2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101107)

• ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
•  
• Free write for five minutes on what was most
  surprising about this period in the history of
  the Church.

41
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• ANTICIPATORY SET
•  
• Imagine you are the bishop of an Italian diocese
  AD 202 and have received word Emperor Severus has
  outlawed circumcision and Baptism. Write a brief
  letter to the Christians under your care,
  advising them how to respond to this decree.

42
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• BASIC QUESTION
• Why did the Roman government attack Christianity
  with such vehemence?
• KEY IDEA
• With the aim of reinvigorating the Roman Empire
  by reviving the ancient pagan religion, Emperor
  Decius unleashed the first empire-wide
  persecution of Christians AD 250, creating new
  martyrs as well as lapsi. Decius was afraid of
  the Christians fidelity to Christ and his
  Church.

43
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• What was the relationship between Sts. Perpetua
  and Felicity?
• St. Perpetua was a wealthy noblewoman, and St.
  Felicity was one of her slaves.
•  
• How did Sts. Perpetua and Felicity show their
  faith?
• They had to endure entreaties from their families
  to abandon the Faith, taunts from their jailers,
  the heartbreak of raising their children in jail,
  scourging, attacks by wild animals, and finally
  the sword. The worst was seeing their children
  slain.

44
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• What decree of Emperor Septimus Severus
  threatened both Christians and Jews?
• His decree (AD 202) forbade both Baptism and
  circumcision.

45
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• Even though St. Irenæus was from Asia Minor,
  where did he serve as bishop?
• He served in Lyons in Gaul (modern-day France).
  Extension This indicates the catholic
  (universal) nature of the Church.
•  
• What key elements of the nature of the Church did
  St. Irenæus emphasize to defend the Faith against
  Gnostic heretics?
• He emphasized the episcopacy, Scripture, and
  Tradition.
•  
• What method did St. Irenæus use to combat heresy?
  
• He described systematically the origin and
  history of each heresy, contrasting its false
  claims against the true Faith.

46
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• GUIDED EXERCISE
•  
• Work with a partner to identify what St. Irenæus
  claimed that the early Church held with respect
  to (1) Apostolic Succession, (2) the authority of
  the Church hierarchy, and (3) Scripture and
  Tradition.

47
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• How did Decius attack Christians to a new degree?
  
• Before his reign attacks on Christians were
  local, either limited to the city of Rome or
  directed toward specific provinces. The Edict of
  Decius (AD 250) was empire-wide.
•  
• Why did Decius order a return to the ancient
  religious practices?
• He intended to reinvigorate the empires strength
  by unity.

48
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• How numerous were Christians by AD 250, and why
  did Decius see them as a threat?
• About one-third of the empire was Christian.
  Decius assumed, because Christians ultimate
  allegiance is to Christ and not the state, that
  they might prove an obstacle to unify the empire.
  Extension It may seem strange to a modern
  student a ruler would be willing to kill as many
  as one-third of his subjects, but similar events
  occurred in the twentieth century. Pol Pot of
  Cambodia, Mao of China, Lenin and Stalin of the
  Soviet Union, and many others killed large
  percentages of their populations for political
  ends.

49
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• Who were the sacrificanti, the thurificati and
  the libellatici?
• These were Christians who had apostatized under
  Deciuss persecution. The sacrificanti were those
  who made a sacrifice. The thurificati were those
  who burned incense. The libellatici did not
  sacrifice but purchased certificates of sacrifice.

50
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• What strategy did Decius employ to identify
  Christians?
• Anyone who refused to offer a sacrifice would be
  sent into exile or put to death and lose all of
  his or her property.
•  
• What double loss did the Church suffer because of
  Deciuss persecution?
• The Church lost both those faithful who became
  martyrs and those who apostatized.

51
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• What is the difference between a heretic and an
  apostate?
• A heretic denies one or more articles of the
  Faith after his or her Baptism. An apostate
  denies the Faith altogether after his or her
  Baptism.
•  
• Who are the lapsi?
• These are Christians whose faith had lapsed, that
  is, formally renounced the Faith by offering
  sacrifices to pagan gods.
•  
• Into what error did Novatian fall regarding
  apostasy?
• He taught that the lapsi could never be
  readmitted into the Church, which caused the
  Novatianist schism. Extension Essentially,
  Novatian denied Gods power to forgive certain
  sins.

52
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• Where was the first Catholic university founded?
• What might be called the first Catholic
  university was the Catechetical School in
  Alexandria, Egypt, in which instruction in
  Catholic doctrine was combined with an
  investigation into the sciences and philosophy.

53
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• How was Origen distinguished?
• Origen was a prolific writer and scholar who
  headed the Catechetical School. He was faithful
  despite two years of imprisonment and torture. He
  initiated the use of the homily.
•  
• How do Origens writings illustrate that
  individual theologians are not infallible?
• Despite being one the greatest theologians of the
  early Church, he held erroneous positions on the
  relationship between God the Father and God the
  Son and on the final salvation of the damned.

54
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• GUIDED EXERCISE
•  
• Think/Pair/Share using the following questions
  (cf. p. 114)
• According to St. Lawrence the deacon, what is the
  Churchs greatest treasure?
• Why might he have thought this?

55
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
•  
• Work with a partner to complete the following
  table about Valerians Rescripts.

56
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)
57
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• CLOSURE
•  
• Free write for five minutes framing an answer to
  the Basic Question of this lesson
• Why did the Roman government attack Christianity
  with such vehemence?

58
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
•  
• Study Questions 913 (p. 125)
• Practical Exercise 2 (p. 125)
• Workbook Questions 4468
• Read Persecutions under Diocletian through
  Conclusion (pp. 114122)

59
3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp.
108114)

• ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
•  
• Work with a partner to complete Practical
  Exercise 3 (p. 125) about the Christian values
  most important to the early Christian martyrs.

60
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• ANTICIPATORY SET
•  
• Review the map Diocletians Tetrarchy (pp.
  116117), focusing on geographic divisions.

61
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• BASIC QUESTIONS
• How were persecutions under Diocletian the worst
  that Christians had suffered under Roman
  emperors?
• Why was the Edict of Milan (AD 313) issued, and
  what change did it make in the lives of
  Christians?
• KEY IDEAS
• Persecutions under Diocletian were the worst that
  Christians had endured because they were the most
  widespread and inclusive Christians throughout
  the empire had either to renounce the Faith or to
  face death.
• Constantine attributed his victory at the Milvian
  Bridge to the intervention of the Christian God.
  To stay in his good graces, he issued the Edict
  of Milan, which gave the Christians freedom to
  worship.

62
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• How did Diocletian become emperor?
• Diocletian was named emperor by the army after
  Numerian had been murdered.
•  
• Why did the Church historian Eusebius praise
  Diocletian initially?
• Diocletian left Christians alone initially, but
  this was only because he was distracted by
  fighting the Persians and Germanic tribes.

63
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• Why did Diocletian form the tetrarchy?
• He thought that the empire was too large for one
  man to govern. He divided the empire into four
  regions, ruled one himself, retained full
  leadership over all, and appointed three
  co-emperors to administer the other regions this
  secured twenty years of peaceful prosperity.

64
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• Why did Diocletian decide to eradicate
  Christianity?
• Though he admired some of its adherents, he
  decided to eradicate Christianity at the urging
  of two of his co-emperors, who argued it would be
  good for the empire.
•  
• Why was Diocletians persecution the worst the
  early Christians had suffered?
• It was the most widespread and targeted all
  Christians, including in the eastern half of the
  empire, which had not been targeted often.
•  
• What was the effect of Diocletians edicts?
• Thousands of faithful Christians were martyred.

65
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
•  
• Complete the following table about the effects of
  Diocletians edicts on Christians in the Roman
  Empire.

66
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)
67
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
•  
• Work with a partner to complete the following
  table according to the map Diocletians
  Tetrarchy (pp. 116117).

68
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)
69
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• When was St. Agnes martyred?
• She was martyred about AD 304, when she was
  twelve or thirteen years old.
•  
• Why was St. Agnes denounced as a Christian?
• Because she was very beautiful, a number of young
  Roman men wanted to marry her. However, she had
  consecrated herself a virgin, which enraged them.

70
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• What was the fate of St. Agnes?
• She refused to renounce the Faith, even after
  torture by fire. The judge sentenced her to
  prostitution, but when a young man approached her
  thusly, he was blinded. Hearing of this, the
  judge had her beheaded.

71
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• GUIDED EXERCISE
•  
• Search the Internet to research the life of St.
  Maria Goretti. Write a paragraph comparing Sts.
  Agnes and Maria Goretti.

72
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• To what did Emperor Galerius attribute his
  leprosy?
• He believed it was a divine punishment from the
  Christian God for persecuting Christians.
•  
• How did Galerius improve the situation of
  Christians?
• His Edict (AD 311), which was adopted all over
  the empire, gave Christians free exercise of
  their religion as long as they obeyed the civil
  law and promised to pray for the emperor and
  empire.
•  
• Do you think the early Christians objected to
  Galeriuss demands?
• No they had been praying for the emperor and the
  empire from the beginning.

73
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• What vision did Constantine have just before the
  Battle of Saxa Rubra?
• He saw in the sky a cross with the inscription In
  hoc signo vinces (In this sign you will
  conquer).
•  
• What action did Constantine take based on his
  vision?
• He had his soldiers etch a cross on each shield.
•  
• What was Constantines attitude toward
  Christianity after his victory?
• He declared the Christian God had favored him,
  so, to stay in his good graces, he restored the
  property of the Church and aided the construction
  of church buildings.

74
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• What was the effect of the Edict of Milan?
• It restored all property taken from the Church by
  the empire and granted Christians the right to
  worship in freedom. It legitimized the Church for
  the first time since Neros decree had outlawed
  her AD 64.

75
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• What might have been the political motives for
  issuing the Edict of Milan?
• Constantine might have seen Christianity as a way
  to unify his empire.
•  
• What did Constantine do at the end of his life?
• He was baptized (though by an Arian bishop) on
  his deathbed.

76
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• GUIDED EXERCISE
•  
• Read silently the selection from The Edict of
  Milan (p. 123), and then discuss the following
  questions
• What rights were granted by the Edict of Milan?
• Why might the only religion named be
  Christianity?
• What is the significance of a reference to the
  Supreme Deity in this edict, issued by an
  officially polytheistic state?

77
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTION
•  
• What role did St. Helen play to turn the Roman
  Empire toward Christianity?
• St. Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine,
  converted to Christianity in her sixties. When
  she was in her eighties, she traveled to the Holy
  Land and believed she had found Mount Calvary,
  the Holy Sepulcher (tomb of Christ), and the true
  Cross.

78
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• FOCUS QUESTIONS
•  
• How did St. Helen determine which of the three
  crosses she had found was the true one?
• She had a sick woman touch each. When the woman
  touched the true Cross, she was healed.
•  
• What is the Titulus Crucis?
• Literally title, or inscription, of the
  Cross, it is an ancient piece of walnut believed
  to be part of the sentence nailed to the Cross of
  Christ.

79
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• GUIDED EXERCISE
•  
• Read an article explaining and defending the
  Catholic veneration of relics.

80
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
•  
• Study Questions 1418 (p. 125)
• Practical Exercises 34 (p. 125)
• Workbook Questions 6988

81
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• CLOSURE
•  
• Free write for five minutes in response to the
  following question
• How did the relationship between the Church and
  the Roman Empire change between AD 300 and 313?

82
4. The Triumph of the Church (pp. 114122)

• ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
•  
• Write a paragraph on the episcopacy and Tradition
  in the early Church.

83
THE END