Not long after the turn of the millennium, the empire of Imperial Rome grew to vast proportions. Soon no piece of land bordering the Mediterranean was independent from the State and every wild barbarian from Gall to the very top of Britannia had been brought under imperialistic control, or so it was told. The Roman territory constituted numerous and varied religions and, aside from Judaism, for which the Emperor Claudius had granted tolerance, the majority were polytheistic. The people of Ancient Rome were a tolerant and adaptable sort, indeed their own religion tended to change each time they conquered a race whose ideas they rather liked, therefore imposing a ban on unfamiliar religions would not have occurred to them. Only when a religion was seen to subvert the Roman ideal and diminish her power, such as the view taken regarding the cults of Bacchus and Isis, would the protectors of the state use terrifying force to ensure Rome’s continued success.
State Religion & The Might Of Rome
For it was to “the faith of our fathers”, the gods and rites developed over the centuries which modern scholars term the Roman State Religion, that the achievement and might of Rome was attributed. Priests were state officials, charged with the state’s protection and temples and festivals were funded by the government. The city worshiped as one to maintain and further Rome’s dominance of the known world and one household neglecting their religious responsibilities to the state was equivalent to treason.
The Romans would have therefore been deeply worried upon discovering that the troublesome young man they had had crucified many years ago, was still causing quite a stir among the Emperor’s subjects.
The First Christians
The first Christians were Jews who had decided to leave the religion after a quarrel over the topic of accepting converts into the faith. The Romans had eventually let the Jews be because they had no desire to allow outsiders to join the religion and quietly kept to themselves. Followers of Chrestus, however, felt it was their divine duty to spread the “good news”, hence quickly drawing attention to themselves.
Christianity was soon identified as a cult separate from Judaism, as within the doctrine, myths and rites of this new religion, were found many close similarities to those of other eastern cults. Roman officials viewed the cult in the same suspicious light as with others similar to it. It was feared to cause political instability for it attracted large numbers of the lower classes, encouraging them to partake in secret rites and emotional outbursts.
Persecution
Persecution of early Christians was, mostly, not a personal vendetta or war fought on behalf of the Roman gods. It was political, and to a people whose Empire was built on political unison and obedience a cult which appeared to encourage selfish prayer and neglect to one’s state was strategically dangerous. There was also a fear among the upper classes that it would undermine their authority over the lower orders. The cult was known as "secret and light fearing" and tales of child sacrifice, cannibalism and incest were quick to haunt the Romans.
Where the Jews had been humble and unassuming about their monotheism, Christians were aggressively so and their arrogance succeeded in angering one of the most tolerant societies history would present. This self-impressed segregation made the early Christians very appealing scapegoats upon whom could be placed the blame for any misfortune that afflicted the state. One such example is the fire of A.D. 64 which destroyed half of Rome. Rumour had it that Emperor Nero himself had set the city alight and he quickly claimed that is was the fault of the Christians who had refused to pray to the state gods and thereby keep the city safe. The Christians were convicted of hating mankind as well as arson and were either crucified, burned alive or torn apart by dogs.
This was not the start of widespread persecution and incidents like this were few and far between. The policy regarding how to deal with these Christians began with the principle; treat every case as unique and examine each one carefully. As the cult increased irritation within the officials this was raised to execution to those who confessed to being a member. Rome saw their unwillingness to preserve the state, arrogance and general unruliness as civil disobedience, and the reaction as maintaining law and order just. Christians, on the other hand, believed that they were completely innocent and were being persecuted on religious grounds.
Tolerance
The late third and early forth centuries A.D. saw the most systematic and brutal examples of persecution of Christians, most instigated by the emperor Galerius. However, while on his deathbed in A.D. 311, Galerius repented and issued an edict of toleration allowing Christians freedom of worship. Later, in A.D. 312, Constantine won the position of emperor over Maxentius in battle. Having appealed to the Christian god for assistance and then received it, he launched a new policy towards Christians; they were free to worship and were released from state religious requirements.
Intolerance
Unfortunately, the legislation which provided tolerance towards Christians then suppressed the freedom of others. This is what the followers of Chrestus had been waiting for. With no intention of coexisting peacefully with those of other faiths, and becoming fanatically intolerant, they used their new power to ruthlessly and methodically destroy every cult and religion they encountered. This Christians continued to do for centuries, leading the world further away from the comparatively tolerant societies of the ancients.
It is reasonable to assume that whatever each of us worships can be considered one and the same. We look up at the same stars, the same sky is above us all, and the same universe encompasses us. What difference does it make which system each of us uses to find the truth? It is not by just one route that man can arrive at so great a mystery.
Symmachus - Dispatches to the Emperor
Sources
Eusebius - Ecclesiastical History
Minucius Felix - Octavius
Pliny the Younger - Letters
Tacitus - Annals
Claudia J. Beresford - Born in England, Claudia has spent most of her life as an expatriate, travelling and living around the world. She currently resides in ...
