for the Lord Jesirs Christ: for this gies us salvation and joyfnlncssrnbefore his dreadful judgment seat, at whieh all the woddrnmust appear.”rnSeptimius Sexerus (A.O. 193-211) restored order after the folliesrnof Marens’s son Commodus and the civil wars that followedrnhis murder. Seerus issued the first ediet that aetualh forbaderneonersion to Christianih”. Leonidas, the father of Origen, wasrnbeheaded as a result of the dissemination of the edict inrnAlexandria. “I’ertidlian wrote his Defense of Christianih’ inrnC^arthage at about tliis time, in whicli he lamented: “If thernTiller rises to the walls or if the Nile fails to rise, straighhvay therner arises: “I’he Christians to the lions!'”rnA c|uarter-eentur of peace under Alexander Severus (\ hosernmother «as taught b- Origen) and Philip the Arab had on]rnbeen interrupted by the brief reign of Maximin the ‘I’hracian,rnwho in a frcn/’ liad executed a handfid of clerg}inen in tliernicinitA of Rome. During this calm, thousands throughout thernempire converted, and popular nnihs about cannibalistic, sedihousrnChristians l)egan to fode. However, the great tribulationrnw as at hand, as barbarians from the north and Persians from therneast would force the emperors in Rome to make exery effortrnimaginable to prescre unih’. This included a vigorous returnrnto the Roman pagan religion — an attempt to mend the ideologicalrnseams of the once-great empire. The result, nltimateh-, wasrndie triumph of Christianih’ as the miifying ideolog}’ that wouldrnreplace paganism.rnThe great tribulahon came in three waves under three soldier-rnemperors: Decius, Valerian, and Dioclehan. Despiterntheir /eal for empire, they were not megalomaniacal, as wasrnDomitian, or eriminalK insane, as was Nero. They were simplyrntring to recover the glorv that was once Rome.rnUnder Decius, die first vxave poured out of Rome like a torrentrnin the vear 2SO, when he issued his ediet to the governorsrnto persecute all who would not burn incense to the Romanrngods. He ordered the bishops killed and peasants placed on trials.rnStanding before die magistrate, these fearful converts couldrnsign cerhfieates called lihelli that eerfified their renuneiafion ofrn)esus Christ and bore witness to an act of idolatry—Hie burningrnof incense to Decius. The Church was faced with die challengernof e.xcouimunieatiug these lapsi, dien dealing vvidi diosernwho later repented and souglit reinstatement.rnilie political dimension of the persecution came even morernpronounced in die reign of Valerian (2S3-260), who was persuadedrnthat the Christians were treasonous conspirators inrnleague with the Persians. In 257, upon news of the Persian invasionrnof Svriaii .•nhocli (long a stronghold of the Church), hernissued an ediet forbidding Chrishans to meet for worship or visitrndieir cemeteries tliroughont the empire. Many Christians inrnRome fled “to the hollows” {ad catacumhas) near the church ofrnSt. Sebastian on the Appian Wav. Here, thev buried their deadrnin die famous underground hinnels.rnAnother ediet of Valerian, issued in 258, demanded the execuhonrnof anv man convicted of being a Christian priest, degradedrna Christian .senator or .soldier from his rank, and forcedrnodiers into exile —often to die war-torn fringes of die empire.rnC’vprian of C^arthage and Pope Sixtus II were executed immcdiatelv.rnThe impri.sonnient of Valerian on die Persian battlcfront inrn259 marked die beginning of four decades of peace and prosperity’rnfor the Church, during whieh a few great houses of worshiprnwere built and nianv more came to the taith. But the increasedrnthreat of massive foreign invasion led to the greatest ofrnall persecuhons, the last of die Age of Martvrs, under Dioclehan.rnDiocletian spent his reign defending the empire from foreignrnenemies and attemphng to reestablish units’ wifiiin its borders.rnChristianih’, which was boUi divisive and transnational,rnappeared an obstacle to his efforts. For 20 v’ears, there had beenrnno need to carrv out die policies of Decius-—unhl 503, whenrnwar wirii the Persians threatened afresh. Galerius had becomernviolently anti-Christian, believing his wife’s Christianitv’ (as wellrnas diat of Diocletian’s wife) to be a stain of dishonor on die imperialrnfamily. On Februar 25, 305 (the feast olTenniiialia], hernconvinced his father-in-law to order the de.struction of all Christianrnmeetinghouses throughout the empire. The clerg’ werernarrested, and die Scriptures were burned. Then, in 304, thernpolicv of Decius was reinstated: All throughout die empire — includingrnDiocletian’s wife and daughter—would have to burnrnincense to the Roman gods or be put to dcadi.rnThe most severe persecution was enacted under the auspicesrnof Galerius and Maximin, and soldiers were instructed to forcerndie children of those on trial for Christianih’ to eat sacrificesrnmade to Diocletian. Thousands were crucified, put to the rack,rnthrown before beasts, or beheaded. Eusebius described widirnhorror his presbv ters being “torn to pieces” in the amphitheaterrnin Caesarea. Toward the end of the great tribulation, he observedrnthe weariness of the Romans: “The bloodv .swords becamerndull and shattered; the executioners grew wearv’, and hadrnto relieve each other; but the Christians sang liynins of praisernand thanksgiving in honor of Almiglih God, even to their lastrnbreath.”rnThe /Vge of Mart’rs came to an end under the sign of thernCross in 311. Many downplay the era, saying no more thanrn3,000 wore die crown of life during dicse 300 bitter years. Gibbon,rnfor one, mocks the austerih’ of the Christians of whom St.rnJohn said, “They loved not dieir lives unto death.” Others brisdernat the legendary embellishments of some of the marhrologies.rnModern historians sympathize with the sanity of Trajan,rnMarcus Aurelius, Decius, and Diocletian: These were noblernRomans who sought to preserve their kingdom.rnSo what are we to make of the marh’rs and their age? Thev,rntoo, have a kingdom —an unshakable kingdom that is “not ofrnriiis world.” Theirs is the crown of life, and though tiiev cry out,rn”How long, O Lord, before you avenge us,” theirs is the beatificrnvision.rnStill, one might ask, would burning some incense and recitingrna meaningless oath have jeopardized that? Would it not bernbetter to live longer, to remain with one’s familv instead of deprivingrnthem of a father, a niodier, a son, or a daughter? Thernpossibility’ of personal glorv’ and the promise of perpehial memoryrnaside, the niartvTS were singularly focused on die word ofrntheir Savior and die promise of eternal life:rnVho.soevcr dierefore shall confess me before men, himrnwill I confess also before my Fadier which is in heaven.rnBut whosoever shall deny nie before men, him w ill I alsorndeny before my Fadicr which is in heaven.rnThey knew die word of their Lord, and for them, there was nornother option but to confess His Name in the hour of trial.rnWhen the persecutions are renewed, hov’ many of us will followrntheir example?rnMAY 2001/19rnrnrn