Christian History Home > Issue 72 > What a Difference a Reign Makes
What a Difference a Reign Makes
Eusebius traces the Christian saga: from abuse to esteem in less than a decade.
Taken from Eusebius: The Church History © 1999 by Paul L. Maier. Published by Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. | posted 10/01/2001 12:00AM
Near the beginning of Book 8 of Church History, Eusebius describes the Roman Empire, under Diocletian, launching its fiercest attack on Christians:
In March of the nineteenth year of Diocletian's reign, when the festival of the Savior's passion [Easter] was approaching, an imperial edict was announced everywhere ordering that the churches be demolished and the Scriptures destroyed by fire. Any [Christians] who held high places would lose them, while those in households would be imprisoned if they continued to profess Christianity. Such was the first decree against us.
Soon, however, other edicts appeared ordering that the presidents of the churches everywhere be thrown into prison and then forced by every sort of device to offer sacrifice [to the Emperor].
Then it was that many church leaders endured terrible torments heroically, while countless others succumbed to the first assault, cowardice having numbed their souls. As to the rest, each was subjected to a series of various tortures: one ...
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