There are many different opinions about the reasons for the persecution of Christians in ancient Rome. The majority in one way or another approach the point of view of Gibbon, who connected persecution with the departure of Christians from public life and their rejection of the imperial cult. The ancient state, despite its religious tolerance, demanded loyalty to the state religion and agreed to an exception only for the Jews, whose religion was based on an ancient national tradition. Theodor Mommsen believes that Roman religious tolerance extended only to persons who did not enjoy the rights of citizenship, while citizens were required to renounce foreign cults; however, the state went to meet the religious feelings of the population, as the rights of citizenship were expanded. Mommsen finds no article in Roman law under which Christians could be held liable as such; they were accused of either blasphemy or lèse-majesté, and the central government punished Christians only as a concession to the fanaticism of the masses. Only in the III century. some emperors themselves fell under the influence of this fanaticism and organized a massive persecution of Christians. Mommsen believes that it was not only the central government that opposed the transition of citizens to foreign cults, the municipalities acted in the same way in relation to their citizens.

With the prohibition of not foreign, but secret cults and mysteries, Reizenstein connects the persecution of Christians, attributing this prohibition to the fear of the Roman government of all sorts of secret alliances that could become a convenient form for organizing all kinds of anti-state conspiracies.

But there is also a point of view that denies any religious restrictions at all in Rome. Some historians argue that the known cases of the prohibition of certain cults were caused only by the fact that their participants were suspected of crimes (prohibition of bacchanalia), immorality or fraud (expulsion of Isis worshipers and Jews under Tiberius). Christians were persecuted not for apostasy from the national religion, but on suspicion of diverting citizens from loyalty to the state.

The Christians themselves, as is clear from Tertullian's "Apology", tried to prove that they were persecuted for one "name", although Tertullian notes that Christians, in addition to the "name", were accused of unwillingness to honor the emperor, refusal of public life, debauchery , ritual murders, etc.

It should be noted that the persecution of the first two centuries differed significantly in character from the persecution of the third century. If in the III century. they undeniably came from the central government, were formalized by appropriate decrees and were supposed to be massive, then until the end of the 2nd century. they were more or less random. This is indicated by the well-known testimony of Origen about the insignificance of the number of those who suffered for their faith. Eusebius also mentions only a small number of martyrs in the time of the Antonines. Lactantius in his work "De mortibus persecutorum" of the persecutors before Decius mentions only Nero and Domitian. Eusebius was even inclined to attribute to Antoninus Pius, Adrian and M. Aurelius special edicts in defense of Christians. The emergence of the concept of such edicts, of course, could only be explained by the absence of major persecutions from the central government. The same persecution of Christians that took place arose spontaneously, and the representatives of power rather yielded to external influence than played an active role. This is also indicated by Trajan's answer to Pliny: Christians should be punished only when it was necessary so as not to cause a sharp explosion of discontent. A clear illustration of this policy is the story given by Eusebius about the death of the Bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp, whose death was demanded from the prefect by the people gathered in the circus.

Often the initiators of the persecution of Christians were the priests of various Eastern cults, magicians, soothsayers, who saw Christians as dangerous competitors. The "Acts of the Apostles" speaks of the Ephesian artisans who worked for the temple and feared that success Christian preaching affect their income. Eusebius tells about the death of the famous Christian figure Justin through the fault of the cynic philosopher Crescent, who, suffering defeat in public disputes with Justin, convinced the people that Christians were atheists and impious. The well-known Christian pogrom in Alexandria under Philip the Arab began, according to the testimony of Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria, due to the instigation of some magician or poet. Also interesting is the more objective testimony of Lucian, who in his "Alexander, or the False Prophet" shows how the charlatan Alexander, embarking on his mysteries, drives out the Epicureans and Christians with the help of a crowd of his admirers. When one of his tricks failed, he set the people against the Epicureans, which he certainly could have done against the Christians.

Indignation against Christians often flared up during various natural disasters, crop failures, epidemics, since they, as "godless", were considered guilty, having brought the wrath and punishment of the gods on the people.

Causes of persecution in the 3rd century lay deeper. Christianity arose as a movement of slaves and the poor, powerless and oppressed, conquered and scattered by Rome peoples. And although in the II-III centuries. the official church began to "forget" the "naivety" of early Christianity, it continued to remain in opposition to the "pagan" empire and the hostile "pagan" ideology.

Christianity spread most rapidly in the Asian provinces, where the New Testament literature developed and from where in the 2nd century. were mostly Christian writers.

Christianity spread the more rapidly in the province, the more its decline was brought by Roman rule. Even under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, the provinces apparently maintained a visible prosperity. But under M. Aurelius, the situation begins to change. True, his biographer speaks of his meekness towards the provincials, but the war and the plague could not but affect the position of the provinces. This is indicated by such objective data as the movement of the Bucols in Egypt, unrest in the province of the Sequans and in Spain, the rebellion of Avidius Cassius in the eastern provinces.

If under M. Aurelius the symptoms of an impending crisis are already clearly felt, then under him the persecution of Christians begins, much closer in type to the persecutions of the 3rd century than the 2nd century.

This persecution was already started at the initiative of the government. Christians were forbidden access to baths, public buildings and the forum. This was followed by beatings and persecution of Christians. They were tried both in Lyon and in Smyrna, but the number of victims was small. For Asia Minor, Eusebius names 5 - 7 people. For Lugudun, he speaks of 10 fallen back and 5 especially staunch martyrs. There were martyrs in Egypt too. About the Gallic Christians, the proconsul asked the emperor and received an order to cut off the heads of the stubborn ones. This means that the emperor began to attach great importance to the Christian danger, seeing in Christians not just ignorant people infected with gross superstition. Most likely, this new attitude towards Christians can be associated with the beginning of the movement in the provinces. Lugudun was just the most important city of that province of the Sequans, the unrest in which Marcus Aurelius suppressed. Persecution took place in the eastern provinces, where Avidius Cassius was active, and in Egypt, where the uprising of the Bukols took place.

There is no indication that Christians took any part in any of these disturbances. Roman sources rarely mention Christians at all, and Christian sources would keep silent about such facts if they did occur, since they usually aimed to prove the loyalty of Christians. But even if we assume that Christians did not take an active part in the anti-imperial movements, it is quite natural that the government, worried about the recalcitrance of the provinces, could not continue to tolerate Christians, opposition-minded elements began to adjoin the latter more and more.

Just like Marcus Aurelius, behaved towards Christians and Septimius Severus. After defeating Niger and Albina, he dealt with their supporters, as well as with the cities of Neapolis and Antioch that supported Niger, depriving them of all rights and privileges. In connection with the suppression of the uprising in Syria and Palestine, the conversion to Judaism was prohibited. At the same time, the adoption of Christianity was also prohibited. This testimony (very important given the rarity of mention in pagan sources about the policy of emperors towards Christians) is confirmed by Eusebius' reference to the martyrdom of a number of bishops under Septimius Severus, as well as many catechumens from the catechetical school in Alexandria. The deaths of bishops indicate that converts and leaders of Christian communities were persecuted. Again, as under M. Aurelius, the persecution of Christians breaks out after the suppression of the movement in the provinces and the uprising of the usurpers.

True, Christian sources directly deny any connection between Christians and elements actively fighting against the empire. Tertullian repeatedly makes it appear that Christians do not conspire, that they do not take revenge, despite the fact that, due to their large numbers, they could “repay evil for evil in one night with several torches.” Finally, he says directly that among Christians there are no Cassians, Nigers and Albines, who appear only among pagans. But, firstly, Tertullian is not objective, since he wants to prove the complete loyalty of the Christians, and, secondly, even if the Christians did not take an active part in the struggle, their passive opposition could not have been more tolerated by the government when provincial uprisings threatened the integrity of the empire. . Moreover, Christians did not always, apparently, stand completely aloof from any political and anti-imperial struggle. This is indicated by the alliance of Bishop Paul of Samosata with the Empress Zenobia of Palmyra in her struggle with Rome. Adjoining Paul was a group of Syrian heretic Christians - anti-Trinitarians, who, apparently, benefited from Zenobia's separatist aspirations. As you know, after defeating the latter, Aurelian also dealt with Paul, supporting the candidacy of an orthodox bishop.

From Septimius Severus to Decius there is no reliable news of persecution. Eusebius briefly mentions that "Maximin persecuted the faithful", but does not give any details. Lactantius does not mention the persecutions of Maximinus at all. This may be a strong argument in favor of the fact that these persecutions did not take place at all, since, otherwise, Lactantius, of course, would have used the death of Maximinus as another example of the heavenly punishment that befalls the persecutors.

It should be noted that if in relation to the majority of emperors of the 1st and 2nd centuries. Christians could with some right to assert that only tyrants and villains were their persecutors, then at the end of the 2nd century. and, most importantly, in the III century. the picture is changing. Without going into a detailed analysis of this extremely obscure source, we note, however, that its orientation was mainly senatorial. The authors always credit the emperors with the fact that they respected the senate and did not execute senators for no reason. High respect for the Senate is attributed in particular to two persecutors - M. Aurelius and Valerian. Decius also came from the senators, whose biography, unfortunately, has not been preserved, and scarce information about which can be gleaned only from the biography of Valerian.

Under most of the anti-Senatorial emperors, Christians enjoyed more or less significant freedom and security. The attitude of the Roman Senate towards Christians has always been hostile. This can be seen in the example of the ideologists of this class - Tacitus, Suetonius, and others. In the middle of the III century. this attitude has not changed, as can be seen from the speech of Maecenas written by Dio Cassius to Augustus, in which advice is definitely given to fight foreign cults in every possible way. The antagonism between the senatorial party and the Christians especially increased by the middle of the 3rd century. If under Marcus Aurelius one can only vaguely assume a connection between the growth of opposition in the provinces, the spread of Christianity there and its persecution by the government, then in the middle of the 3rd century. this connection becomes much more tangible. Christianity becomes one of the manifestations of the discontent of the provincial middle landowners, the municipal nobility against the "destructive draining of funds" from Rome. The composition of the Christian community itself is rapidly changing in the direction of shifting the center of gravity from the "working and burdened" to representatives of the more prosperous strata. The number of the latter is growing, they are beginning to push back the former democratic members of the Christian church and, accepting the Christian teaching, change it in a direction more acceptable to themselves.

One of the main moments of the crisis of the III century. - aggravation of relations between Rome and the provinces. This is a fight against usurpers and unrest in the provinces. Hints of a connection between persecution of Christians and conflicts in the provinces are already visible under M. Aurelius and S. Severus, this connection appears more clearly under Decius.

Decius was a senatorial emperor who succeeded various anti-senatorial emperors, often from the provinces. As such, he expressed the interests of the party of which he was a protege. Decius tried to ensure the loyalty of the provinces and to eradicate Christianity, which provided the ideological justification for the ever-increasing desire of the provincials to evade state duties.

Despite the determined intention to fight the Christians, the persecution was far from being of the frightening form that Catholic historiography usually ascribes to them. So, from a letter from Cornelius to Bishop Fabius of Antioch, we learn that at the very height of the persecution of Decius in Rome, there were 7 deacons, 7 subdeacons, 46 presbyters, 42 acoluths, 52 exorcists and readers who supported 1500 indigents, buried the dead, exhorted Christians not to renounce , standing near the very temples, etc. The same picture, judging by the letter of Dionysius of Alexandria, took place in Alexandria. A large clergy also remained in Carthage, maintaining a lively correspondence with Rome and with Cyprian; confessors in prisons were constantly visited by Christians, sometimes gathering even in whole crowds; presbyters and deacons were allowed into the dungeon, who prayed with the prisoners. The number of martyrs was also small. So, Dionysius of Alexandria names 17 people, the same number of martyrs is also given by Lucian in a letter to Celerian for the Carthaginian church. At the same time, 14 of these 17 people died in prison, one in a quarry, and only two actually died under torture. And yet, despite this, the persecution seemed at first to have been a decisive success.

Sources point to big number those who renounced Christianity - "lapsi". Dionysius of Alexandria and Cyprian describe at length how the Christians themselves hastened to offer sacrifice to the gods, without waiting to be seized and forcibly taken to the temple. Cyprian repeatedly mourns the significant masses of those who have fallen away and even speaks of the "death of a people, once so numerous." The number of "lapsi" is also evidenced by the fact that subsequently confessors issued up to 1000 peace letters a day. But, despite this apparent defeat, the victory remained with Christianity. A very vivid illustration is given by the history of the Carthaginian church during the persecution, in the illumination of Cyprian (letters and treatises).

Persecution strengthened Christianity, contributing to its centralization, which went so far that the question of the primacy of one bishop in all Christianity could already arise. In essence, the question of who would be the head of the church was reduced, however, in a disguised form, the struggle between Cyprian and the Roman bishop Stephen.

Another indicator of the strengthening of the church was the fact that soon the persecution of Valerian broke out, of which Cyprian himself fell victim, did not lead to a massive apostasy, as did the persecution of Decius.

Christianity, in which the “working and burdened” now receded into the background, became in the orthodox church only obedient admirers and an obedient herd of clergy, was losing its original democratic revolutionary spirit. This spirit must now seek its expression in various heresies. But the Christian community still remained an organization in opposition to the empire and Rome. The hostility of the state to it took on more and more active forms as the share of provincial opposition in Christianity increased. The church needed a strong, centralized organization capable of repulsing the attack of the enemy, and persecution not only did not interfere with creating such, but, on the contrary, helped. Therefore, the victory remained on the side of Christianity, preparing in the near future for peace and an alliance with the empire.

The Roman Empire

Throughout the history of the Church, Christians were persecuted, there were so-called. "persecution". If there was no persecution in one country, then it was somewhere else. Persecution could be of a very different nature, they could despise, excite the people against Christians, pass laws that make Christians third-class citizens, complicate liturgical life, kill and torture Christians themselves. A strong character, with mass state executions, persecution took place in attempts to build materialistic societies in the 20th century and at the very beginning of the history of the Church, in the Roman Empire. And if the recent persecution is the result of a rabid atheism that considers only itself to be the right form of belief, and all other beliefs are harmful to people, why any form of religion was persecuted, then from the outside it is not entirely clear why there were persecutions in Rome, which is distinguished by high religious tolerance.

Empire is the universe. Church too

The state, according to ancient people, was the most important part of human life. Philosophers Plato and Aristotle developed the concept of an ideal state. People connected their life and happiness with the life and happiness of the state. What can I say, even the term "Universe" (oecumene) meant primarily an inhabited world, and not just inhabited by some people, but known and, in the case of Rome, included or potentially should be included in the Empire.

"Empires, starting with Persia, are guided by the idea of ​​the" common good "and perform the function of a universal arbitrator. Therefore, the universality of empires is justified. Apostle Paul's allusion to the" Restraining One" since the time of Chrysostom has been considered that even the pagan Empire has the function of an arbiter in the face of God and holds world evil .... Rome felt like a universal universality, "says Prof. Makhnach V.L., which seems to be true, even the atheistic USSR, apparently, to some extent held back evil, like the weakened Empire of today's Russia.

Accordingly, all interests and hopes had to be connected with the state. Including religion had to be useful and approved by the state, loyal to the primacy of the state's power over its subjects.

The Church, similarly, said that faith, the beliefs of people relate to her, one should believe the way Christ taught, and nothing else. That all other forms of doctrine are delusions, and the gods of other religions are at best delusions of people, and even demons. That is, the Church, just like the state, encroached on power over people, albeit only in its own area.

"When the universalities of the Empire and the Church collide, there is a natural competition." The result of such a conflict - Christianity and the state of the Roman Empire, and was that the latter used its power and administrative resources for protection by various methods. But "we must abandon the idea that Christians were persecuted by some villainous emperors, in fact, the best of the emperors were the persecutors, they fulfilled their duty to the universality of the Empire, they guarded the only universality without understanding Christianity.". For example, Mark Ulpius Trajan, nicknamed the best, about whom there is a Western tradition that he was prayed for by Pope Gregory the Great from hell, even though he was an obvious persecutor of Christians. And only St. The Great One was able to reconcile these two universalities - by churching the Empire. However, such interpenetration has both positive and negative aspects for the development of Christianity, but this is no longer the topic of this work. Let us consider in more detail the causes of persecution.

Dissatisfaction with Christians from various circles of society.

Christianity came to the Roman Empire at an interesting time in terms of religiosity. The educated circles of the Empire already practically did not believe in the usual traditional religion, many shared the views of any of the philosophical schools that had their own ideas about the deity and man in the world. The most popular school of skeptics generally said that there is no objective truth, so it is impossible to be sure of the correctness of a certain creed. Against this background, all kinds of teachings of the conquered peoples came to the Empire, for example, the Greek cult of Zeus merges with the cult of the Roman Jupiter. But at the same time, as always and everywhere, the common people were the custodians of the usual faith of their ancestors. After all, even later, Christianity first became the religion of the cities, and the farmers - poganus were still pagans. Therefore, different sections of the people had somewhat different reasons for dislike for Christians.

For the pagan common people, Christians were some kind of incomprehensible people who refused to properly perform the cult of local gods, were themselves from the local population by blood, and at the same time lived with the pagans in the same city. And if the deity is angry with the Christians, of course, the whole city or people will suffer. Accordingly, during any epidemic, storm, crop failure, etc. popular discontent could and did fall upon the "not like that", primarily on Christians. In addition, indistinct rumors about Christian Liturgies aroused disgust and hatred in the pagans. So, prof. Jupiter, invited him to slaughter his own son. This is a popular idea of ​​​​the sacrament of the Eucharist. It was said that Christians feed on some kind of blood, therefore, they slaughter babies. If they talk about some kind of bread, it only means that they they sprinkle flour on babies in order to kill them with a bolder hand.The third is the most heinous accusation - in "edip and p in x and x displacements"... The term is based on the well-known legend of Oedipus and his dishonorable marriage to his mother. The basis for accusing the Christians of this crime was the Love Supper." Given the closed nature of worship, it was not difficult to believe in the bloody feasts of incomprehensible sectarians who rejected the revered deities, knowing the habit of bloody human sacrifices among neighboring peoples, but also among the Romans, albeit in an indirect form, for example, gladiators: "So, gladiators - sacrifices to the dead, that is, the real dead... In short: the gladiators are already "THERE", in the "other" world. I emphasize: not sentenced to death, but those that have ALREADY died. The gladiator will go "there" in an hour or ten years later, it's not so important, he is already "theirs", so to speak, with the seal of Death on his forehead. As the Christian Tertullian wrote: "What was sacrificed to the dead was considered a service to the dead." As well as believing that the supper of love is just a depraved orgy, especially since it was a familiar form of some cults. Well, what kind of love if there is no orgy, to put it bluntly, in a simple understanding of the simpleton. But at the same time, the participation in the "suppers of love" was caused by shock not just some kind of harlots, but worthy family women, which the morality of Rome, which values ​​the family, did not perceive. Atheists (do not honor the gods of Rome), sacrifice children, fornicate ... It is not difficult to understand the hostility of the Romans.

As we can see, the reasons for hatred of Christians among the pagan common people were quite weighty, albeit based on incorrect information. What did educated people think? For them, brought up at the heights of philosophical thought, who studied Plato with his crystal clear ideas about the deity and a negative attitude towards the material world, Christianity seemed like a step backwards, something perverting the constructions of the Platonists and other philosophers. “Educated people, or so-called philosophers, revered, out of their learned pride, as superstition the holy faith in the Lord, who suffered for the human race on the cross out of inexpressible love. And seeing with what firmness Christians endure their sufferings, they said that it was blind and harmful fanaticism Even scholars such as Tacitus and Pliny the Younger called Christianity a superstition: the first? pernicious, the second - "gross and immeasurable." Indeed, even today Christians are accused of the "earthiness" of the ideal, of unwillingness to talk about absolutes and spirits in isolation from reality. But this earthiness is one of the signs of the truth of Christ's teaching and of Himself. Only a real God, and not a fictitious ideal one, could incarnate out of love for people.

Sometimes Christians, by their fanatical deeds, directly aroused the hatred of the rest of the population. Sometimes fanatics destroyed statues in temples or other objects of reverence. "Hatred of paganism among many Christians did not stop there. It extended to the ban on studying music, painting and even maintaining schools, since each of these activities could be related to pagan religion, since the school teacher, willy-nilly, had to explain the names , genealogy, the adventures of pagan gods... For example, they considered war to be something inconsistent with the dignity of Christian love and shied away from military service.". How could the educated Romans who value civil courage, including the warrior, and their civilization built on education and philosophy above all else, react? Only a cruel condemnation of Christianity.

As a result, we see that Christians seemed alien and hated by both the common people and the educated elite of Roman society for quite objective reasons. And saved Christians from popular lynching in the first place the Law of Rome.

The power of the state extends to everything in the life of citizens, the conflict of religions is a conflict with the state.

Everything in Rome aspired to happen according to the law. Rome in general was an extremely legal state, not just because the idea of ​​law was inherited by modern civilization from Rome. But laws can be different... And if the law protected everyone, including Christians, from lynching of the mob, then there were objective reasons why the same law persecuted Christians. There were two directions. There were laws and government directives of old times, under which Christians fell simply because of their peculiarity, and there were others designed specifically to organize the persecution of Christians in an orderly manner. However, sometimes the persecution was caused by the tyranny of the emperor, such are the persecutions under Nero.

In Rome, the affairs of religion, worship were a matter of state. And the law, not judging personal convictions, was very strict about actions, including participation in a public cult. Thus, if it was supposed to participate in some state cult, everyone who did not participate in it was legally accused of opposing the state. And the Christians, of course, did not participate. But, you can ask a question, because there were many cults in Rome! Why did Christians suffer? There were indeed many cults, but there were restrictions on their existence in Rome itself. In addition, cults were considered legitimate to recognize those that had ancient history and some people having such a cult. Thus, for example, Judaism, for all its trouble for the Romans, was fully recognized, since it was ancient and had a carrier people. And the cult in any case would have to allow the Senate of Rome by an appropriate act on the basis of this kind of reasoning. And Christianity was new, did not have its own people, but was replenished at the expense of the mission. And, of course, the administration of an unauthorized cult is disobedience to the authorities. Those. state crime is akin to treason. Thus, conservative Rome recognized Christianity not as one of the legitimate religions, but as a harmful NEW sect of Judaism. Which is useful to destroy.

An example demonstrates this logic: “No matter how little Judaism was sympathetic, for example, to Celsus, but when compared with Christianity, it gives the Jews an advantage. “The Jews constitute a special nationality and, having established their local laws, they still adhere to them. They keep a religion, whatever it may be, but still their native one, and in this respect they act like all other people; because everyone keeps to their national customs. Yes, it should be so: it’s impossible for everyone to reason in his own way, as it came to his mind, but you need to observe the laws established for the whole society. All countries in the world have long been subject to their rulers and must be guided by their institutions; to destroy local primordial institutions would be lawlessness" (Orig. c. Cels, U, 25)). In Christianity, Celsus sees a party that has separated from its national root (Judaism) and inherited from it a tendency to contention. If only, Celsus thinks, all people wanted to become Christians, then the Christians themselves would not have wanted this. With such views, the Roman state could only support the Jews in their struggle against Christians, seeing in the latter renegades of Judaism."

In addition, in the process of the development of the Roman Empire, the cult of the genius (guardian spirit, if you can call it) of the Emperor arose. It was supposed to give him certain ritual signs of attention. And it was a matter of state loyalty, akin to the modern attitude to the flag and other symbols. It was necessary in certain cases to burn incense to the image of the emperor, and if this is not done, disobedience to the emperor comes out - an insult to the state. And this is punishable. Everything is logical again. And what was needed was not prayers for the emperor, which Christians were ready to offer, no, what was needed was a formal worship of the emperor as a deity. Even if few people seriously believed in divinity. But if the form of the rite is not observed, the offender will be punished precisely for non-compliance with the form, and not for what he thought at the same time.

To all this, one can add economic issues, for example, in places where there were many Christians, manufacturers of idols, idols, and sacrificial animals suffered losses. And all this is a serious part of the economy, and the authorities, protecting it, fell upon the Christians.

Why, then, since Christianity was clearly an illegal religion in relation to the law of Rome, the persecution was not so terrible as to destroy all Christians in the Empire? The fact is that, after all, the issue of Christians was not considered, as a rule, important. And what happened was very familiar to us - there is a law, but to observe it or not is a matter of the situation and the will of the authorities. And, for reasons of humanism, it is better not to observe too much. In addition, the accusation had to be personal from person to person. Those. someone had to be found who accused the Christian and proved his guilt in court. Then justice worked.

The special decrees of the emperors, which were already specifically directed against Christians, did not seek the total destruction of people. There were edicts against converts, and those brought up in Christianity from childhood were allowed to live on. They were against the leaders, the bishops and priests suffered, but not the laity. They were against books, again those in charge in the communities and bookworms suffered. So, there was a moment when it was quite possible to gather for worship: “So, some people think that Gallianus declared the Christian religion permitted: it didn’t happen at all. Christian meetings were looked upon as legal. There was no need to make any laws regarding Christian meetings....". And Emperor Trajan ordered to execute Christians only because those Christians (for one name) ordered them not to be searched for in any case. Those. the accusation had to be from a private person and only then did the authorities react. And they could take the accused Christian directly from the community, but not touch anyone else - after all, no one made accusations against them.

The most developed state of the ancient world was the Roman Civilization. At the height of its power, the Roman Empire covered all the coastal territories of the Mediterranean Sea, and all the time expanded its borders in mainland Europe. The conquered territories became Roman provinces, but this did not mean at all that the provinces should abandon their way of life, religion, culture, in favor of Roman culture. The emperor was at the head of the Roman Empire, the Senate was an advisory body under him, and order in the country was maintained by invincible legions. The country was huge and roads were built for relations with the provinces, the governors were the main ones in the provinces, they carried out the will of the emperor. Rome tolerated the religions of the conquered peoples and legalized most of the religions preached in its territory. In Rome itself, polytheism reigned, there were many eastern deities. Religion in Rome was considered the lot of the state, and, accordingly, the holidays dedicated to the gods were public, mass in nature and were accompanied by festivities and debauchery. The Roman Empire was influenced by Greek culture. For a long time the official languages ​​in Rome were Greek and Latin.
The Roman state was considered the most legal in the ancient world and, with the help of laws, respected the will of the conquered peoples. The pagan Romans divided the religions of the provinces into permitted and not permitted, the latter included Christianity. The reasons for the emergence of Christianity in the Roman Empire were partly due to the huge communities of Jews who inhabited it. The main preachers of Christ in Rome were the apostles Peter and Paul. The meetings of Christians were secret, took place in caves, in catacombs, away from prying eyes, and for a long time the Romans considered them Jews. Over time, there were more supporters of Christ, people dissatisfied with the imperial power began to join the faith, so the imperial apposition began to emerge. In ancient Rome, the emperor, equal to God, they made sacrifices to him, worshiped him, they were afraid of him. Religion in Rome was a matter of state, and not the right of one person. Assemblies of Christians taught that God is one and has no flesh, that people are equal before each other, undermined the political structure of imperial power and could cause popular unrest. The first mass persecution of Christians was under the emperor Neuron 65-68 AD. The mad emperor Neuron set fire to half of Rome and, in order to divert suspicion from himself, blamed the Christians for everything. The Romans considered Christians to be cannibals, misanthropes, and easily believed in the burning of Rome by Christians. Mass persecutions and brutal murders of Christians began, they were crucified on crosses, and then they were doused with oil and set on fire in the gardens of Neuron, hunted down by wild animals. These atrocities ceased only with the death of the emperor. The second stage of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire was during the reign of Emperor Domitian (81-96). The emperor proclaimed himself a god and everyone should honor him, those who refused to bow to him were considered traitors.
During the reign of Troyan (98-117), an edict was issued officially recognizing the preachers of Christ as illegal, this was considered a legal basis for the murder of Christians. The edict was legally binding throughout the Roman Empire, which made it possible to fight against Christians outside the eternal city. The wise emperor Marcus Aurelius simply hated Christians, he saw them as a threat to the entire established way of the country.
Since the death of Marcus Aurelius, the persecution of Christians has decreased, people got used to them and practically stopped paying attention to them.
Meanwhile, the Great Empire was in decline, tribes and states began to appear along its borders, threatening the power of the empire, the Gallic tribes in the north, the Persians in the east. The only way to keep the dominance of Rome was to return to tradition, including the respect and fear of the Roman gods. To achieve results, all means were good. Any non-believers were subjected to terrible torture and persecution. More and more Romans became Christians, they did not pray to the Roman gods and even shied away from military service. This state of affairs caused enormous damage to the state, whose power rested mainly on military force.
Christians were subjected to the most terrible persecution under Emperor Decius (249-251), he sought to retain power at any cost, and the murder of Gentiles was his main policy. So the persecution of Christians continued until the division of the Roman Empire into East and West.

Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire - The causes and motives of the three-century G. against Christians by the Roman Empire are complex and varied. From the point of view of the Roman state, Christians were offenders to majesty (majestatis rei), apostates from state deities (άθεοι, sacrilegi), followers of magic forbidden by law (magi, malefici), confessors of religion forbidden by law (religio nova, peregrina et illicita). Christians were accused of lèse majesté, both because they gathered secretly and at night for their worship, constituting unlawful meetings (participation in the "collegium illicitum" or "coetus nocturni" was equated with rebellion), and because they refused to honor the imperial images with libations and smoking. Apostasy from state deities (sacrilegium) was also considered a form of lèse majesté. Miraculous healings and the institute of exorcists that existed in the primitive Church were considered by the pagans to be the work of magic forbidden by law. They thought that Jesus left his followers with magical books that contained the secret of exorcism and healing. Therefore, the holy the books of Christians were the subject of careful searches by the pagan authorities, especially during the time of G. Diocletian. Magical writings and magicians themselves were legally condemned to be burned, and accomplices in crime were crucified or died in the circus. As for religiones peregrinae, they were already prohibited by the laws of the XII tables: according to the laws of the empire, people of the upper class were subject to exile for belonging to an alien religion, and the lower class to death. Christianity was, moreover, a complete negation of the entire pagan system: religion, state, way of life, customs, social and family life. A Christian for a pagan was an "enemy" in the broadest sense of the word: hostis publicus deorum, imperatorum, legum, morum, naturae totius inimicus, etc. Emperors, rulers and legislators saw Christians as conspirators and rebels, shaking all the foundations of state and public life. Priests and other ministers of the pagan religion naturally had to be at enmity against Christians and incite enmity towards them. Educated people who do not believe in the ancient gods, but who revere science, art, the entire Greco-Roman culture, saw the spread of Christianity - this, from their point of view, wild oriental superstition - as a great danger to civilization. The uneducated mob, blindly attached to idols, pagan holidays and rituals, pursued the "godless" with fanaticism. In such a mood of pagan society, the most absurd rumors could spread about Christians, find faith and arouse new enmity towards Christians. All pagan society, with particular zeal, helped to carry out the punishment of the law on those whom it considered enemies of society and even accused of hatred for the entire human race.

It has been customary since ancient times to count ten G. for Christians, namely from the side of the emperors: Nero, Domitian, Trajan, M. Aurelius, S. Severus, Maximinus, Decius, Vale p Ian, Aurelian and Diocletian. Such an account is artificial, based on the number of Egyptian plagues or horns fighting against the lamb in the Apocalypse (Rev. 17, 12). It does not correspond to the facts and does not explain events well. There were less than ten general, ubiquitous systematic G., and incomparably more private, local and random. G. did not have the same ferocity always and in all places. The very crimes brought against Christians, for example. sacrilegium, could be punished more severely or softer, at the discretion of the judge. The best emperors, like Trajan, M. Aurelius, Decius and Diocletian, persecuted Christians, because it was important for them to protect the foundations of state and public life. Unworthy emperors, like Commodus, Caracalla and Heliogabalus, were indulgent towards Christians, of course, not out of sympathy, but out of complete negligence about state affairs. Often the society itself began the persecution against Christians and encouraged the rulers to do so. This was especially evident during public calamities. In North Africa, a proverb was formed: "there is no rain, therefore the Christians are to blame." As soon as there was a flood, a drought or an epidemic, the fanatical crowd shouted: "chri stianos ad leones"! In the persecution, the initiative of which belonged to the emperors, sometimes political motives were in the foreground - disrespect for the emperors and anti-state aspirations, sometimes purely religious motives - the denial of the gods and belonging to an unlawful religion. However, politics and religion could never be completely separated, because religion was considered in Rome as a matter of state.

The Roman government at first did not know Christians: it considered them a Jewish sect. In this capacity the Christians enjoyed tolerance and at the same time were as despised as the Jews. The first G. is considered to be undertaken by Nero (64); but it was not actually persecution for the faith, and does not seem to have extended beyond Rome. The tyrant wanted to punish those who, in the eyes of the people, were capable of a shameful deed for the fire of Rome, in which popular opinion accused him. As a result, the well-known inhuman extermination of Christians in Rome took place. Since then, Christians have felt a complete disgust for the Roman state, as can be seen from the apocalyptic description of the great Babylon, a woman drunk with the blood of martyrs. Nero in the eyes of Christians was the Antichrist, who would once again appear to fight against the people of God, and the Roman Empire was the kingdom of demons, which would soon be completely destroyed with the coming of Christ and the foundation of the blessed kingdom of the Messiah. Under Nero in Rome, according to ancient church tradition, the apostles Paul and Peter suffered. The second persecution is attributed to the emperor. Domitian (81-96); but it was not systematic and ubiquitous. There were several executions in Rome, for reasons little known; from Palestine were presented to Rome the relatives of Christ in the flesh, the descendants of David, in whose innocence, however, the emperor himself was convinced and allowed them to return unhindered to their homeland. - For the first time, the Roman state began to act against Christians as against a certain society, politically suspicious, under the emperor. Trajan (98-117), who, at the request of Pliny the Younger, the ruler of Bithynia, indicated how the authorities should deal with Christians. According to Pliny's report, no political crimes were noticed for Christians, except perhaps for rude superstition and invincible stubbornness (they did not want to make libations and incense in front of the imperial images). In view of this, the emperor decided not to look for Christians and not to accept anonymous denunciations against them; but, if they are legally accused, and, upon investigation, prove stubborn in their superstition, put them to death. Trajan's immediate successors also adhered to this definition regarding Christians. But the number of Christians quickly multiplied, and already in some places pagan temples began to empty. The numerous and widespread secret society of Christ could no longer be tolerated by the government, like the Jewish sect: it was, in his eyes, dangerous not only for the state religion, but also for civil order. Imperial is unfairly attributed. Adrian (117-138) and Antoninus Pius (138-160) edicts favorable to Christians. With them, the decree of Trajan remained in full force. But the persecution of their time might seem insignificant compared to what the Christians experienced in the last years of the reign of M. Aurelius (161-180). M. Aurelius despised Christians, as a Stoic philosopher, and hated them, as a ruler who cares about the welfare of the state. Therefore, he ordered to search for Christians and decided to torture and torment them in order to turn them away from superstition and stubbornness; those who remained firm were subject to the death penalty. Persecution simultaneously raged in various parts of the empire: in Gaul, Greece, in the East. We have detailed information about the persecution of Christians at this time in the Gallic cities of Lyons and Vienne. Under M. Aurelius in Rome, St. suffered. Justin the philosopher, an apologist for Christianity, in Lyon - Pofin, a 90-year-old elder, a bishop; the maiden Blondina and the 15-year-old young man Pontik became famous for their firmness in enduring torment and heroic death. The bodies of the martyrs lay in heaps along the streets of Lyon, which they then burned and threw the ashes into the Rhone. The successor of M. Aurelius, Commodus (180-192), restored Trajan's legislation, which was more merciful for Christians. S. Sever until 202 was relatively favorable to Christians, but since that year severe persecutions broke out in various parts of the empire; with particular force they raged in Egypt and Africa; here, two young women, Perepetua and Felicitata, became famous for the special heroism of martyrdom. Religious syncretism imp. Heliogabalus (218-222) and Al. Severus (222-235) urged them to treat Christians favorably. In the short reign of Maximinus (235-238), both the emperor's dislike and the fanaticism of the mob, stirred up against Christians by various disasters, were the cause of severe persecution in many provinces. Under the successors of Maximin, and especially under Philip the Arabian (244-249), Christians enjoyed such indulgence that the latter was even considered a Christian himself. With the accession to the throne of Decius (249-251), such a persecution broke out over Christians, which, in systematicity and cruelty, surpassed all previous ones, even the persecution of M. Aurelius. The emperor, taking care of the old religion and the preservation of all ancient state orders, himself led the persecution; detailed instructions were given to the provincial chiefs in this respect. Serious attention was paid to the fact that none of the Christians took refuge from the search; the number of executions was extremely high. The Church was adorned with many glorious martyrs; but there were many who fell away, especially because the long period of tranquility that had preceded had lulled some of the heroism of martyrdom. Under Valerian (253-260), at the beginning of his reign, indulgent towards Christians, they again had to endure severe persecution. In order to upset Christian society, the government now paid special attention to Christians from the privileged classes, and above all to the primates and leaders of the Christian society, the bishops. Bishop suffered in Carthage. Cyprian, Pope Sixtus II in Rome, and his deacon Laurentius, a hero among the martyrs. Valerian's son Gallienus (260-268) stopped the persecution, and Christians enjoyed religious freedom for about 40 years - until the edict issued in 303 by Emperor Diocletian. Diocletian (284-305) did nothing at first against the Christians; some Christians even occupied prominent positions in the army and government. Some attributed the change in the mood of the emperor to his co-ruler Galerius (see). At their congress in Nicomedia, an edict was issued in which Christian meetings were ordered to be banned, churches to be destroyed, sacred books to be taken away and burned, and Christians to be deprived of all positions and rights. The persecution began with the destruction of the magnificent temple of the Nicomedia Christians. Shortly thereafter, a fire broke out in the imperial palace. This was blamed on the Christians; the second edict appeared, the persecution flared with particular force in different areas of the empire, except for Gaul, Britain and Spain, where Constantius Chlorus, who was favorable to Christians, ruled. In 305, when Diocletian renounced his rule, Galerius became co-ruler with Maximinus, an ardent enemy of the Christians. The suffering of Christians and numerous examples of martyrdom found an eloquent description in Eusebius, Bishop. Caesarea. In 311, shortly before his death, Galerius stopped the persecution and demanded prayers from Christians for the empire and the emperor. Maximin, who ruled the Asian East, and after the death of Galerius continued to persecute Christians. Little by little, however, the conviction grew stronger that it was impossible to achieve the destruction of Christianity. The first edict of religious tolerance, issued under Galerius, was followed in 312 and 313. the second and third edicts in the same spirit, issued by Constantine together with Licinius. According to the Edict of Milan in 313, Christians received complete freedom in the profession of their faith; their temples and all previously confiscated property were returned to them. Since the time of Constantine, Christianity has enjoyed the rights and privileges of the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, with the exception of a brief pagan reaction under the emperor Julian (361-363).

Literature: Le Blant, "Les bases juridiques des poursuites dirigées contre les martyrs" (in "Comptes rendus de l" academ. des inscript.", P., 1868); Keim, "Rom u. d. Christenthum" (1881); Aubé, "Hist. des persec. de l "église" (some articles from here were translated in the "Orthodox Review" and in the "Wanderer"); Uhlhorn, "Der Kampf des Christenthums mit dem Heidenthum" (1886); Berdnikov, "State position of religion in the Roman Empire" (1881, Kazan); Lashkarev, "The attitude of the Roman state to religion before Constantine the Great" (Kyiv, 1876); A. Lebedev, "The era of persecution of Christians and so on." (Moscow, 1885).

Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - St. Petersburg: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907 .

See what "Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire" is in other dictionaries:

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE- the persecution of the early Christs. Churches in the 14th century as an "illegal" community, organized by the Roman state. G. periodically resumed and stopped for various reasons. The history of the relationship between the Roman Empire and Christ. communities on its ... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

In the Roman Empire. The causes and motives of the three-century G. against Christians by the Roman Empire are complex and varied. From the point of view of the Roman state, Christians were offenders to majesty (majestatis rei), apostates from state deities ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Persecution of Christians in Rome and the Roman Empire- persecutions of all count 10, divided into 3 groups: 1st group: under imperial. Nero (54 68) and Domitian (81 96) had 2 persecutions: 1) Nero set fire to Rome for the sake of his cruel megalomania and blamed the Christians. Among the martyrs of Nero ... Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary

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THE FIRST CHRISTIANS WAS GOOD AND GOOD PEOPLE, BUT THEY WAS SERIOUSLY PERSECUTED. NEVER THERE, IT WAS THE PERSECUTIONS CONTRIBUTING TO A MORE INTENSE DISTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY UP TO OUR LANDS AND FURTHER.

Reason for persecution

Through the Holy Scriptures everyday life The first Christians were distinguished by piety, unhypocritical love for the people around them, equality and virtue. They, like no one else, understood the value of human life. Not only in words, but also in deeds, they testified of God's love, which changed their lives and their whole being. With all their hearts they loved Jesus, who died for sinners, therefore, with joy and zeal, they fulfilled His great commission - they proclaimed the Saving Gospel to all nations, calling people to do everything that the Lord commanded. Why, then, were they so mercilessly persecuted and destroyed?

It is worth emphasizing that the apostles and their disciples adhered to the biblical principles of faith, set forth in the scriptures and today called the Old Testament, and the writings of the New Testament had not yet been formed by that time. The apostle Paul wrote about the Old Testament Scriptures: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that god man prepared for every good work" (Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Christian loyalty God's Word, which calls for a pious life following the example of Jesus Christ, gave rise to persecution against them. As paradoxical as it may seem, this is a historical fact. The same apostle Paul wrote to his ward servant Timothy: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted… Moreover, from childhood you know the sacred scriptures, which can make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Bible. 2 Timothy 3:12, 15).

Jewish persecution (30-70 CE)

During this period, Christians did not separate from Judaism. J. Gonzalez in the book "History of Christianity" writes: "Early Christians did not consider themselves followers of a new religion. They were Jews, and the main thing that distinguished them from the rest of the adherents of Judaism was their confidence in the already accomplished coming of the Messiah - while other Jews still continued to expect this coming. Therefore, the Christian message to the Jews did not call them to renounce Judaism. On the contrary, with the advent of the Messianic era, they were to become even more perfect Jews... For the early Christians, Judaism was not a rival of Christianity, but the same old faith. For those Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah, Christianity was also not a new religion, they saw it as just another religious Jewish offshoot. Therefore, the followers of Jesus Christ are initially persecuted by the Jewish authorities and their supporters, and the Roman authorities sometimes even protect Christians from their persecutors. The Romans themselves considered the persecution of Jews against Christians as a purely internal religious conflict among the Jewish faith.

Religious leaders and radical Jews were not going to put up with the fact that faith in Jesus as the Messiah of the Savior was spreading at a colossal pace in the territory of Jerusalem and Judea. Persecution on their part dispersed Christian refugees to other territories, which only contributed to an even more intensive spread of Christianity in other territories of the Roman Empire. “The persecution of the Jerusalem church gave a strong impetus to evangelistic work. The sermons were a great success here, and there was a danger that the disciples would linger in this city for a long time and would not fulfill the commissions of the Savior to proclaim the Gospel to the world. In order to scatter His representatives throughout the earth, where they could serve people, God allowed persecution of His Church. The believers expelled from Jerusalem “went and preached the word.”

Pagan persecution (70-313)

Later, as a result of the Judeo-Roman war and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. e. and especially after the suppressed Jewish uprising led by Bar Kokhba in 135 AD. e. throughout the empire began the persecution of the Jews by the Roman authorities. Jewish and non-Jewish Christians, who were absolutely not on the side of the Jewish uprisings, also suffered from these persecutions. The Romans, not particularly understanding, ranked Christians among the Jews because of the similarities in the confessions of their faith. It was not difficult to distinguish a Jew and a Christian from a Gentile. Christians and Jews revered the same Holy Scripture and the Law of God. This apparently manifested itself in the refusal to eat unclean food and the meat of unclean animals, in observing the holiness of the Sabbath day as the day of the Lord according to the Scriptures, and in a categorical refusal to worship idols and in general any objects and images, or anyone as a god. And since Rome strictly demanded the observance of the state cult of the emperor, the refusal of Christians to make sacrifices to the emperor led to accusations of political disloyalty. It is authentically known that the most common test for Christians was the requirement to recognize the emperor as divine and offer incense on the altar in front of his statue.

Those Christians who unhypocritically worshiped the One God remained faithful to Him in these fundamental matters. They refused under the threat of death to sacrifice to the emperor, because otherwise, they would violate the commandment of the One whom they loved more than their lives. The first two of God's ten commandments are: “I am the Lord your God…you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or any image of what is in heaven above, and what is on the earth below, and what is in the water below the earth; do not worship them and do not serve them, for I am the Lord your God." (Bible. Exodus 20:2-5).

According to the Bible, true observance of God's Law is based on love for God and people and is its practical expression: “That we love the children of God, we learn from this, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” (1 John 5:2, 3). Christian love is a response to the great love of the Most High for fallen mankind: “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Bible. Gospel of John 3:16).

First concessions

Thanks to the successful preaching of the gospel at that time, many Gentiles joined the church. But the persecution of the Jews by the Roman authorities prompted some Christians, especially from among the former pagans, to dissociate themselves from Judaism once and for all, so that the Romans would not confuse them with Jews. They managed to do this by rejecting some of the principles of the Holy Scriptures, the observance of which, in the eyes of the Romans, was a sign of belonging to the Jewish ethnic group. Therefore, already somewhere from the middle of the II century AD. e. some Christians who were not established in the faith began to observe Sunday instead of the weekly Sabbath of the Lord - the day on which the pagans worshiped their sun god. Although they explained this change in their own way by the remembrance of the resurrection of Christ on this day of the week, nevertheless, the refusal to observe the weekly Sabbath was directly contrary to Scripture and was a violation of the fourth commandment of God's law.

There were also cases when individual Christians, and sometimes entire communities led by bishops, not only deviated from God's law, but also gave their scrolls of Holy Scripture for destruction and the whole world went to offer sacrifices to the emperor in order only to save their lives. And they motivated it in the same way as many Christians do today: “The law of the Ten Commandments was given to the Jews”, or: “The Ten Commandments were abolished by the Savior at Calvary”, etc.

But if we are consistent and assume that they were right and that it is possible to violate the Sabbath commandment and worship idols in certain cramped circumstances, then it turns out that other commandments can also be violated in similar situations: do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery, honor father and mother... In fact, these were cases when Christians publicly renounced their faith, fearing threats and persecution. Their practical faith had nothing in common with genuine Christianity and with those Christians who consciously died at the hands of persecutors without compromising a single principle of Holy Scripture.

Persecution of Christians who did not submit to the state church (380-1800)

No matter how hard the pagans tried to eradicate the spread of the Good News, the shed blood of Christians became the holy seed, thanks to which thousands were converted to Christianity. The well-known early Christian writer and theologian Tertullian correctly said, referring to the persecutors of the Church in the book "Apology": "The more you destroy us, the more we will become: the blood of Christians is a seed." The way Christians met death with dignity, sometimes even with singing, shocked the minds of many sincere and thinking people who later became Christians themselves. So persecution only increased the number of witnesses to the truth. Eventually, by the 4th century, Christianity became the most influential religion in the empire and spread even beyond its borders. But this was not the victorious end of Christianity, since the now state Christian church began to use power to forcibly impose its faith on dissidents.

Since the days of the emperor Constantine, the Roman state has desired to have one single church under its control, and those communities and ideological currents that did not obey it were declared heretical and persecuted. Thus began an era of brutal persecution of Christians who did not obey the state church. Of these, Nestorians, Arians, Paulicians and others are known .... Those who did not obey, in fact, were not necessarily heretics. Among them were many Christians who, in contrast to the official teachings of the church of that time, tried to preserve the purity of the teachings of Christ. As a result, persecuted Christians moved outside the empire. Therefore, the spread of Christianity outside the empire took place precisely through the so-called "heretical movements" that established themselves in Eurasia and Africa. These churches are known under different names: "Celtic Church" - in Northern Europe, from Gaul to Finland and Novgorod; "Arians" - in Eastern and Central Europe among the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Lombards, Heruli, Vandals; "Nestorians" - from the Caucasus to China and India, and others.

Christians outside the empire

"At the beginning of the second century. n. e. Rome evicted especially zealous followers of the Christian faith to the outskirts of the empire (the territory of modern Romania and Ukraine. - Auth.). This is known, for example, the emperor Trajan (98-117). During the persecution, Christians found shelter among the peoples of the Black Sea region. In this way, Christianity spread outside the empire, including in the lands of Ukraine, then known as Gothia or Scythia.

We have many examples of heroes of the faith who lived in our lands and kept their faith in Jesus Christ by keeping God's commandments. But more on that in the next issues of the newspaper.

Under conditions of persecution, the Apostle Paul wrote on behalf of sincere and courageous Christians: “We are considered deceivers, but we are faithful; we are unknown, but we are recognized; we are reckoned dead, but behold, we are alive; we are punished, but we do not die; we are grieved, but we always rejoice; we are poor, but we enrich many; we have nothing, but we have everything" (Bible. 2 Corinthians 6:8-10).