Persecution of Christians

            How did the church respond to persecution in 325AD how did the Christian movement develop in theology and practice as a result of persecution? Christians were persecuted in Rome for various reasons for example in 64 AD, Christians were accused of burning Rome, in order to punish them Nero used them as torches to light his garden. Persecutions in Rome stopped in 325 AD. The last one was terribly bad because the scraps the body remains of the Christians were chopped and sold for home pet. My main focus in this paper will be on church’s response to persecution and on how the Christian movement developed in theology and practice[1]

            Though death was very central in their religion, Christians were somehow reluctant to respond to the victimization they received. But slowly this trend changed, handling of dead bodies started being done without fear of polluting it. They believed a body once purified by baptism would remain pure eternally unless soiled by the mortal sin. These bodies symbolized the body that will ascend to heaven and will eternally live.

            Christians attended their funerals and buried their dead with a lot of ease something that angered the non-Christians. Ambrose (374-397) of Milan preached that baptismal font resembled the tomb as it was a ritual of death and resurrection. Christians started showing more anxiousness to die a thing that demanded an apostle explanation. They also practiced death bed communion in the 4^th century that was a defender as well as an advocate of the resurrection of the believers.[2]

            In as much as understanding death became complex, the more they cemented their beliefs as far as soul passage was concerned. This was portrayed when they started revering the martyrs. They started seeing the dead as the link between the living and the dead. Their cemeteries became worshipping shrines and living places. People started burying their dead near them something that made urban and rural areas to be full of graves. They held the belief that the dead and the living formed a community. After persecution was outlawed in 325AD by Constantine, the Christian’s life changed. The emperor started funding the churches that needed building funds and buying and buying bibles, those who were persecuted in the past became persecutors for example the non-orthodox such as Arians were killed and also this period witnessed transition from martyrdom to monasticism after Christianity was recognized.[3] It started after monks took upon themselves the role of keeping alive the notion than God’s kingdom was not like the earthy one. They gathered slowly and went into the deserts.

            The church after persecutions became influential and many bishops emerged. Christian life changed from being forced externally to denounce your faith to that of self denial. After sometime, the church started to collude with the state in employment. Constantinople wanted to create a strong empire with one region but this never worked as Catholics and Orthodox differed in their views. The Arianism’s popularity started increasing because of the support they received from Constantius II and Valens. After Valen died Arianism ceased to be a threat with Theodosius coming to power. Athanasius (290-373) was a strong advocate for Nicaea (beliefs in God) and strongly resisted Arianism. Nicaea was basically concerned with matters of Jesus Christ and the almighty God. Sometimes later, there arose the question about the closeness of the Holy Spirit and God. It was agreed that the Holy Spirit should follow God in the creed. The final revision was done in 589AD when the word ‘filioque’ meaning son was added. From henceforth, Christians were to profess it after it was declared by the council of Toledo.[4]

            To conclude we can say that persecution greatly changed the lives of the Christians. They started seeing death in a different light. In the past many feared death than anything else but due to constant victimization by the Roman Empire, their faith hardened and became very strong believers. They started revering the dead and valuing the martyrs. After the persecutions, many movements emerged like Arianism and Niceasim. The holy creed was severally reviewed to be what it is today.

Reference:

Bruce F.F. The Spreading Flame: The Rise and Progress of Christianity from Its First     Beginnings to the Conversation of the English, Grand Rapids. Eerdmans.1973;         166-178.

Everett F. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2^nd Edition.      1993: 558- 560

George P. F. History of the Christian Church. New York. 1945, 331-32.

Paxton, F.S. Christianizing Death: The Creation of a Ritual Process in Early Medieval    Europe. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1990; 102.

[1] Bruce F.F. The Spreading Flame: The Rise and Progress of Christianity from Its First    Beginnings to the Conversation of the English, Grand Rapids. Eerdmans.1973

[2] Paxton, F.S. Christianizing Death: The Creation of a Ritual Process in Early Medieval                 Europe. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1990.

[3] George P. F. History of the Christian Church. New York. 1945.

[4] Everett F. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2^nd Edition. 1993.