The Persecution Of Christians After The Great Fire Of Rome

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The persecution of Christians at the hands of the Romans dates back to the time of Christ. Jesus was crucified under the authority of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. The treatment of Christians did not improve after Jesus' resurrection. It was Emperor Nero that first seriously persecuted Christians, following the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. The true origin of the fire was unknown, but rumours spread in Rome that Emperor Nero had started it himself. To counter this, Nero blamed the Christians for starting the fire. As a result, many Christians were killed and tortured with Nero's permission. He would set them alight as human torches, or force them to fight wild beasts in gladiatorial arenas. After the reign of Nero, Christians were generally disliked by the Romans. They refused to partake in animal sacrifices, or the worship the Emperor. As a relatively new religion, many were suspicious of Christianity. Although the Jewish also did not follow Roman religions, they were recognised as an official religion by the state because of their centuries of tradition. Because Christians had to practice in secret, there were often discrepancies between their beliefs. There was no one orthodox set of beliefs, and instead many different heresies such as Arianism, Gnosticism, etc. …show more content…
Many Church buildings and scriptures were destroyed. When Emperor Galerius took over, It became law that all citizens of Rome must sacrifice animals, on pain of death. The persecution lasted for 8 years , until Galerius decided that appealing to the Christian God it may cure him of a life-threatening illness he contracted. He declared that Christians may again practice their religion, as long as they prayed for
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