The early Christian church experienced widespread persecution from Roman authorities from around 100-313 AD. Christianity was illegal during this period and Christians who refused to worship Roman gods faced punishments such as imprisonment, exile, forced labor, and public execution. Many early Christian martyrs such as St. Stephen, St. Agnes, and St. Cecilia were killed for their faith. The persecution intensified during the reign of Roman emperors like Nero, Decius, and Diocletian who directly targeted Christians. However, Christianity continued to grow due to its message of hope and dignity.

1. EARLY CHRISTIAN
PERSECUTION

2. Story Overview:
The growth and spread of the
early Church was not easily
accomplished. The apostles and
their followers experienced
persecution, trials, imprisonment,
and even death. The narrative
from the Acts of the Apostles
presents the persecution of the
apostles perpetrated by Herod.

3. Martyrs
• Christianity was illegal from AD
100-313.
• Romans citizens were expected to
honor the Roman emperor as a god.
• Christians who refused to
acknowledge false gods were
thrown into dungeons, sent into
exile, or forced to work in mines.
• If Christians didn’t break under
these conditions they were executed
in a public arena.
Martyr means “witness” in Greek. Martyrs
witnessed their faith

4. Early Christian Martyrs
Early Christian Martyrs How they suffered for their faith
St. Stephen Stoned to death
St. Agnes Beheaded
St. Agatha Placed on hot coals
St. Cecelia Suffocated and beheaded
St. Timothy and Maura Nailed to a wall and perished after nine
days
Early Christian Martyrs

5. Nero’s Fire
• In 64 AD a fire swept through Rome.
• Nero blamed this on the Christians who were small in
number and could not properly defend themselves.
• Nero started the fire, according to the historian, Tacitus.
• Intense Christian persecution ensued from 64-67 AD.
• Christianity was outlawed for around the next 250 years
• Paul was beheaded.
• Peter was crucified upside down.

6. Romans Christians
Accused Christians of partaking in secret
meetings.
Christian’s celebrated the Sacrament of Holy
Eucharist.
Roman culture celebrated prostitution,
fornication, adultery, and homosexual acts.
Christians supported family life and spoke out against
societal instability.
Roman had a wealthy, elite upper class. Christians supported the marginalized: the poor,
orphans, widows, and abandoned children.
Romans had a rich heritage of classical
writings—considered themselves
intellectuals.
Christian writings were still in formation.
Romans lauded rational thought. Christians professed beliefs in transcendent events
and the miracles of Jesus’ unexplained by rational
thought.
A selfish brutal and vengeful society. Christianity preached loving your neighbor.
Polytheistic society expected to worship
emperor.
Christianity believed in the one, true God and refused
to worship the Roman emperor.

7. First was the problem of
identity.
Christianity was identified at first
with Judaism, but people quickly
came to see it as a different
religion. Jews were left alone for
the most part; it seemed best to
Rome to just confine them and
leave them alone. Christianity,
however, was a strange, new cult,
and it began to spread across
people groups and geographical
boundaries. People felt threatened
by this oddball new religion.

8. In the days of the Roman empire, the worship of
pagan gods and the emperor, was a part of everyone’s
life. Two problems arose because of this.
First, because they didn’t participate in pagan
rituals, but tended to keep to themselves, Christians
were considered anti-social. When the imperial police
took an interest in them, they became more secretive
which added fuel to the fire. They became associated
with the collegia—clubs or secret societies— and
leaders were suspicious of these groups because of the
threat of sedition

9. Second : The Christians are to blame for every
public disaster and every misfortune that befalls
the people.
Since Christians wouldn’t join in with the religious
activities which were believed to placate the gods, they
became a threat to the very well-being of the community.
Writing in about A.D. 196, Tertullian said, “The
Christians are to blame for every public disaster and
every misfortune that befalls the people. If the Tiber
rises to the walls, if the Nile fails to rise and flood the
fields, if the sky withholds its rain, if there is earthquake
or famine or plague, straightway the cry arises: ‘The
Christians to the lions!’”

11. The third problem was the nature or
content of Christians’ beliefs.
•The historian Tacitus spoke of
Christians as a “class hated for their
abominations” who held to a “deadly
superstition.” A drawing found in
Rome of a man with a donkey’s head
hanging on a cross gives an idea of
what pagans thought of Christian
beliefs.

12. Finally, Christians’ reluctance to offer worship to the
emperor and the gods was considered madness,
considering what would happen to them if they
didn’t. Why not just offer a pinch of incense to the
image of the emperor? In a pluralistic society, the
narrowness of Christian beliefs seemed absurd,
especially considering what would happen to
Christians who wouldn’t go along. In the opinion of
the general populace, says F. F. Bruce, “Such a crowd
of wretches were plainly worthy of extermination,
and any repressive measures that were taken against
them by authority could be sure of popular approval.”

14. Emperor Year(s) Reasons for Persecutions Outcome
Domitian 81-86 Christians failed to address
him as “master and god.”
Book of Revelation is
written to seven local
churches.
Trajan 98 Christians should not be
driven out but if reported
and later convicted should
be punished.
Any Christians who
denounced their faith
would be spared.
Decius 249-
251
(began
in 250)
Every Roman (including
Christians) must have a
paper certificate evidencing
they publicly worshiped
Roman gods.
Anyone without certificate
could be tortured and or
killed.
Diocletian/
Galerius
303-
313
Christians were not allowed
to have property.
Christians were forced
into hard labor.

15. How Christianity Survived While It Was
Illegal
• Christianity offered hope to those who had lost faith in
material things.
• Christianity promised eternal life.
• Christianity emphasized human dignity.
• Christianity offered the witness of those willing to die for
their faith.
• Christianity prospered in outlying areas of the Roman
Empire that did not experience the same level of
persecution or harassment as areas closer to the capital
city of Rome.