Essay Sample on Christian Persecutions Under Roman Emperors

Many Roman emperors tried to eradicate Christianity by persecuting those who practiced it. Countless Christians gave their lives for their faith in the beginning of the church. In the persecutions under the Roman emperors Nero, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, and Diocletian, the Catholic Church gained many martyrs. Instead of abolishing Christianity, their courage and faithfulness helped the church to grow throughout the Roman Empire and the world.

The first persecution started with the emperor Nero, the son of an awful woman named Agrippina. He became emperor in the year 54 A.D. Nero himself was an atrocious and wicked man. He put poison in his step-brother’s drink to kill him out of fear that he would become emperor instead. Nero also tried to drown his mother, and when she escaped, he sent men to her house to assassinate her. In the year 64, a fire broke out in Rome which lasted a week. Nero had been in a watchtower during that time observing the fire, singing songs, and playing on his harp. When the citizens became suspicious that Nero had started the fire, he blamed the Christians. Accusing them of crimes and of being enemies of the state, many were tortured in public. Additionally, the Romans wrapped them in animal skins and threw them to the dogs; at the feasts of the emperor they covered them in tar and burnt them as torches. Saints In the year 67 A.D., Peter and Paul were arrested in Corinth and condemned to death. St. Peter was crucified upside down because he thought himself unworthy to die the same way as Christ did. St. Paul, being a Roman citizen, was beheaded with the sword. 

Marcus Aurelius was emperor from the years 161-180 A.D. He was a wise ruler and learned philosopher. He was pagan as most of the emperors were, although his Christian soldiers tried to convert him. He had a hatred for Christianity because the Christians rejoiced in suffering and humility. Marcus Aurelius issued a decree ordering that new sects or religions must not be introduced. If they insisted on becoming Christians, persons of noble birth were banished while persons of the lower class were threatened with death by the sword.  St. Cecilia, a noble Roman woman suffered martyrdom under Marcus Aurelius. She was forced to hide the fact that she was a Christian, even from her own family. Cecilia was condemned to be suffocated by steam in her bathroom but was miraculously preserved. She was then killed by the sword. 

Septimius Severus became emperor in the year 193 A.D. He prohibited by law Baptism and Circumcision, hoping to end Judaism and Christianity. The persecution was at its worst in Egypt and Africa. In Carthage, Saints Perpetua and Felicitas and their companions were martyred. Perpetua, a Roman noblewoman, was cast into prison with several servants of her household among them, Felicitas. Perpetua’s father tried to persuade her to offer a little incense to the gods, but she refused. On the day of their execution, the prisoners were led to the arena where they were scourged and tormented by wild beasts such as leopards, bears, and bulls. Miraculously, Perpetua and Felicitas survived but were eventually stabbed to death.

Diocletian was a successful general who became the commander of the imperial bodyguard and consul. He became emperor in the year 285 A.D. Diocletian was a deeply religious pagan. He allowed his apprentice emperor, Caesar Galerius, to initiate a brutal persecution of the Christians. When a fire began in Nicomedia, the Christians were blamed and tortured. When a rebellion broke out in Armenia and Syria, the Christians were also accused. Diocletian issued a decree ordering all Christians to offer sacrifices to the gods. When the Christians fiercely opposed, whole towns were burnt to the ground, and they were cruelly butchered. St. Sebastian, a Roman Christian soldier, was pierced with arrows and left for dead, but God miraculously raised him up. He was condemned again, this time beaten to death by clubs.

In the persecutions under the Roman emperors Nero, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, and Diocletian, the Catholic Church gained many martyrs. Although these emperors tried to extinguish Christianity, the martyrs’ faith and courage helped the church to spread throughout the world.