Episode 2 – The Persecution of Diocletian

* They were not only happy to be punished for their beliefs, some of them even welcomed it. * There’s a strong tradition of martyrdom in Christianity, which goes back, of course, to the idea that Jesus was the ultimate human sacrifice, and to follow in his footsteps was the ultimate show of devotion. * The historical sources tend to blame this persecution on Galerius. * He was very anti-Christian and his mother was a pagan priestess who hated the Christians for not attending her festivals. * But how much of his is just propaganda, it’s hard to say. * A few years later, in 302, Diocletian went after the Manicheans, followers of the prophet Mani. * It was a gnostic religion. * Mani declared himself to be an “apostle of Jesus Christ”, and his teaching was intended to succeed and surpass the teachings of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. * Diocletian took offense that the Manicheans were apparently criticizing the old religions. * He wrote: * “The gods,” he says, “have determined what is just and true; the wisest of mankind, by counsel and by deed, have proved and firmly established their principles. It is not, therefore, lawful to oppose their divine and human wisdom, or to pretend that a new religion can correct the old one. To wish to change the institutions of our ancestors is the greatest of crimes.” * Nothing could be clearer. * It is the old official defence of the State religion * Men are not wiser than their fathers, and innovation in worship going to bring down the wrath of the gods. * Moreover, as the edict points out, this Manichaeanism came from Persia, the traditional enemy of Rome, and threatened to corrupt the “modest and tranquil Roman people” with the detestable manners and infamous laws of the Orient. * Diocletian’s point is obvious. * Manichasanism was a device of the enemy; it must be poison, therefore, to the good Roman. * Diocletian ordered that the leading Manicheans be burnt alive along with their scriptures. * This was the first time the destruction of scriptures was ordered. * Low-status Manicheans were to be executed; high-status Manicheans were to be sent to work in the mines. * All Manichean property was to be seized and deposited in the imperial treasury. * While Diocletian was in Antioch in the autumn of 302, the Christian deacon Romanus visited a court while preliminary sacrifices were taking place and interrupted the ceremonies, denouncing the act in a loud voice. * He was arrested and sentenced to be set on fire, but Diocletian overruled the decision, and decided that Romanus should have his tongue removed instead. * Because he’s a nice guy. * According to the Christian historian Lactantius, while at Nicomedia in 302, Diocletian and Galerius then entered into an argument over what imperial policy towards Christians should be. * Diocletian argued that forbidding Christians from the bureaucracy and military would be sufficient to appease the gods, while Galerius pushed for their extermination. * The two men sought to resolve their dispute by sending a messenger to consult the oracle of Apollo at Didyma. * The oracle said Apollo couldn’t talk, because “just men” – aka the Christians – were preventing him from talking. * Not much of a god then. * But of course we only find this in Eusebius. * Anyway, that was that. * On February 23, 303, Diocletian ordered that the newly built Christian church at Nicomedia be razed, its scriptures burned, and its treasures seized. * The next day, Diocletian’s first “Edict against the Christians” was published. * The key targets of this piece of legislation were Christian property and senior clerics. * The edict prohibited Christians from assembling for worship, and ordered the destruction of their scriptures,