Christian Life Under Two Roman Rulers: Diocletian and Constantine

Diocletian succeeded in preserving the Roman Empire during his reign. However, it came at a price to all of us Christians. As a worshipper of Roman Gods, (and claimed son), he sought to achieve peaceful rule, because if someone were to assassinate him, the act would be considered an act against the gods. However, all of us who follow Jesus Christ do not believe in such folly, and thus will not receive any consequences for our actions towards Diocletian. It was probably for this reason that we were persecuted so heavily. Diocletian even passed a “holiday”, called “The Saviour’s Passion”, where churches were brought to the ground, holy literatures were thrown into flames, and where Christian’s would have to face a choice: To stay Christian, and be deprived of all liberty that a normal citizen of Rome would have, or to join the king in his support of the Roman Gods. While some transferred their faith, I stayed behind, and sacrificed my liberty, just as Jesus sacrificed his life. I would not experience liberty again for another 8 years, when Diocletian rested on Death’s front door.

However, the same year, on February 23, 303 A.D., the “holiday” Terminalia was to be celebrated. The real purpose behind this celebration was to terminate the few remaining faithful Christians. However, they were unsuccessful, but still retained their oppressive hold on us. Many martyrs tried to gather enough people to start a revolt, but as soon as Rome found out about the rebellion, they took the leader away, tortured him vigorously, and eventually burned him alive.

Describe life as a Christian under: Constantine.

Constantine, in 312, sought to end the constant persecution the previous ruler had bestowed upon the Christians. At first, his religious belief stayed constant with that of Diocletian. We had feared another era of prejudice. However, during a very desperate war, Constantine feared defeat. That is, until he saw a revelation, which told him to dress every soldier with a cross. Constantine’s army claimed victory shortly after that. After returning home, Constantine converted, and lifted all types of persecution against us, by placing the Edict of Milan. People were free to become Christian again, without any loss of life or liberty. After the laws were lifted, Roman Christians prospered in trade, farming, and in government positions.

His blessed reign continued for some while, and many laws were passed that helped us as Christians. For example, he outlawed crucifixion, instead replacing it with hanging, which was less gruesome and mocking to our lord. In 331, Constantine made it a point to deliver at least 50 bibles for his church, introducing written words of religious worship.

Constantine, however, in spite of his current religious belief, did not outlaw Paganism. He allowed religious tolerance, so long as the Christians were not forced to take part in their events. Soon, he outlawed animal/human sacrifices, and the burning of their carcass. Finally, while building his capital city, he made sure that there were no pagan temples of the sort. However, individual Pagan’s did not feel any ridiculous amount of pressure, and there were no death-cries in revolt. Thus, the empire, under rule of Constantine, flourished.