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Ancient Rome's Christian Persecution

Christianity faced significant persecution in ancient Rome, particularly during the 1st century AD, as it was viewed as a threat to the polytheistic beliefs of the time. Notable emperors like Nero scapegoated Christians for events such as the Great Fire of Rome, leading to brutal punishments including crucifixion and execution in the amphitheater. Despite these challenges, the number of Christian followers continued to grow as the Roman Empire weakened and faith in traditional gods diminished.

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52 views1 page

Ancient Rome's Christian Persecution

Christianity faced significant persecution in ancient Rome, particularly during the 1st century AD, as it was viewed as a threat to the polytheistic beliefs of the time. Notable emperors like Nero scapegoated Christians for events such as the Great Fire of Rome, leading to brutal punishments including crucifixion and execution in the amphitheater. Despite these challenges, the number of Christian followers continued to grow as the Roman Empire weakened and faith in traditional gods diminished.

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Arthur Gonzaga
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Keyword: �Christian persecution in ancient Rome�

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Christian Persecution in Ancient Rome

Christianity developed rapidly in Rome and other parts of the world during the 1st
century. In the first century AD, the Christian community in Rome was still
diminutive with perhaps having as few as some hundreds or thousands of followers.
Being a new religion with a different idea from the established Roman religion, it
was not surprising that Christians were persecuted on several occasions. One
apparent problem was that Christianity�s being a monotheist religion, one God and
no other, was prone to being called traitor to the polytheistic religion of Rome.

During the time of Claudius, Christian religion was regarded as illegal and this
meant that it was unlawful for them to hold public meetings and reunions thus
implying that their probable meeting places were their private homes. This
negative outlook which Romans had at that time was most evident in the tyrannical
emperors of Rome who may have considered themselves gods on earth and to whom
Christians were not in a position to display disrespect, paving way to Christian
persecution in ancient Rome.

One such emperor was Nero, who used the Christians as an alibi during the �Great
Fire of Rome� that swept and destroyed vast portions of the city. Nero was rumored
to be behind the incident, and so in defense he used the Christians as a scapegoat
inflicting persecution. Christian persecution in ancient Rome during the time of
Nero was so severe that even Romans felt sorry for them, it included crucifixion (a
punishment usually reserved for salves), other being dressed in skins for the dogs
to attack, and perhaps the most dreadful were the many being drenched in oil and
burned alive.

During the mid-second century, the crowd could be found throwing stones at
Christians, preceded by crowd violence, assaults, robberies and stonings of
Christians in Lyons. Desultory persecutions in Rome happened until the third
century, and it was during this century under Maxim that the first Empire-wide
persecution (though only the clergy was sought out) occurred.

The Christian persecution in ancient Rome is remembered throughout history and is


often closely associated with the Amphitheater, where Christian martyrdom was more
likely remembered. Christians were thrown into the lion�s den to be eaten, and
Gladiatorial fights or �damnatio ad bestia� (thrown to the wild beasts) often took
place. The first Christian martyred in the Colisseum amphitheater, is said to have
been St. Ignatius who was apparently thrown to the lions with the last words of �I
am as the grain of the field and must be ground by the teeth of the lions, that I
may be fit for His table�.

In spite of the irregular periods of tolerance and Christian persecution in ancient


Rome, the number of followers for Christianity still grew, particularly as the
integrity and power of the Roman Empire weakened and the people of Rome lost faith
in the old gods.

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