Persecution in the early church

1 Clement 5.2Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · The greatest pillars of the church were persecuted to death.
1 Clement 6.1Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · A great multitude of Roman Christians also suffered.
1 Clement 6.2Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · Christian women were tortured in cruel spectacles but finished the race of faith.
1 Clement 45.4Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · The righteous were persecuted only by the wicked.
1 Clement 45.5Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · They endured with glory.
1 Clement 45.6Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · Daniel was persecuted by the ungodly.
1 Clement 45.7Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · The three young men were persecuted by the wicked, but God protects his worshipers.
1 Clement 45.8Clement of Rome · ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) · Those who endured were honored by God.
Epistle of Barnabas 7.11Anonymous · ca. 70–135 (often ca. 130) · To gain the kingdom one must pass through thorns and suffering.
Odes of Solomon 28Anonymous · ca. 100–200
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 1.5 (50.5)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Do not deny God's law for the sake of property.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 8.3.7 (69.7)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Those afflicted but not killed, who did not deny, are sealed.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 8.6.4 (72.4)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · The dry, moth-eaten sticks are apostates and traitors who will not repent.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 8.8.2 (74.2)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Some repented; others denied the Lord for business and are lost.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 8.8.4 (74.4)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Two-thirds green sticks are those who denied in various ways.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 9.19.1 (96.1)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · The black mountain: apostates and betrayers, without repentance.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 9.21.3 (98.3)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · In persecution the doubters give way to idolatry.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 9.26.3 (103.3)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Rough stones are deniers who live alone apart from the church.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 9.26.6 (103.6)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Repentance is offered for past denials, not for those who deny now.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 9.28.4 (105.4)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Martyrs who did not hesitate have the greater glory.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 9.28.7 (105.7)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Confess your Lord rather than deny him.
Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 2.2.2 (6.2)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Hermas's children have rejected God and betrayed their parents.
Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 2.2.7 (6.7)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Blessed are those who endure the coming tribulation.
Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 2.2.8 (6.8)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Those who deny Christ in the coming days lose life; earlier deniers find mercy.
Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 3.2.1 (10.1)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · The martyrs sit on the right, but all receive the same gifts.
Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 3.6.5 (14.5)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Round stones are the rich, who deny the Lord in persecution to keep their wealth.
Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 4.2.5 (23.5)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · The beast is a type of the coming great tribulation; repentance and trust will bring escape.
Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 4.3.4 (24.4)Hermas · ca. 100–150 · Gold stands for believers refined by trials.
2 Clement 5.4Anonymous · ca. 100–150 · Jesus: do not fear those who kill the body, but God who judges.
Apocalypse of Peter (Akhmim fragment) 27Anonymous · ca. 100–150 · Persecutors of the righteous burn and are eaten by worms.
To the Romans 3.3Ignatius of Antioch · ca. 110 (range ca. 105–135) · Christianity shows its greatness when the world hates it.
To the Philippians 8.2Polycarp of Smyrna · ca. 110–135 · Believers should imitate Christ's endurance and glorify him when they suffer for his name.
To the Philippians 12.3Polycarp of Smyrna · ca. 110–135 · Pray for all believers, for rulers, for persecutors, and for the enemies of the cross.
To Diognetus 2.6Anonymous · ca. 150–200 (disputed) · Christians are hated for refusing these gods.
To Diognetus 5.11Anonymous · ca. 150–200 (disputed) · They love all and are persecuted by all.
To Diognetus 5.12Anonymous · ca. 150–200 (disputed) · Condemned and killed, yet made alive.
To Diognetus 5.16Anonymous · ca. 150–200 (disputed) · Punished for doing good, they rejoice.
To Diognetus 5.17Anonymous · ca. 150–200 (disputed) · Jews and Greeks oppose them without being able to say why.
To Diognetus 6.5Anonymous · ca. 150–200 (disputed) · As the flesh hates the soul, the world hates Christians.
To Diognetus 6.9Anonymous · ca. 150–200 (disputed) · Persecuted, Christians multiply.
To Diognetus 7.7Anonymous · ca. 150–200 (disputed) · Martyrs thrown to the beasts do not deny the Lord.
To Diognetus 7.8Anonymous · ca. 150–200 (disputed) · The more are punished, the more believe.
Epistle of the Apostles 37Anonymous · ca. 140-170 · Christ foretells wars, upheavals, and persecution in the last days, and false teachers within the church who serve wealth and favour.
Epistle of the Apostles 38Anonymous · ca. 140-170 · Christ blesses those who rebuke sinners without partiality and endure poverty and persecution, and pronounces woe on those who scorn them.
Epistle of the Apostles 50Anonymous · ca. 140-170 · Christ foretells that those who rebuke sinners will be hated and counted with the martyrs, and pronounces woe on false teachers who falsify his word and on those who follow them.
First Apology 1Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Justin addresses his petition to the emperor Antoninus Pius, his sons, the Senate, and the Roman people.
First Apology 2Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Justin asks the rulers, who claim to be philosophers, to judge by reason, not rumor; they can kill Christians but not harm them.
First Apology 3Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Examine the charges; if unproven, do not punish the innocent. Christians will give an account of their life and teaching.
First Apology 4Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Christians are punished for the name alone, not for proven crimes; the rulers should judge conduct, not the name.
First Apology 5Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · The pagan gods are evil demons, exposed by Socrates among the Greeks and by the Word made man, Jesus Christ, among the barbarians.
First Apology 7Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Judge each accused by his deeds; punish wrongdoers as wrongdoers, not as Christians.
First Apology 8Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Christians refuse to lie to save themselves; they expect Christ's judgment, with eternal punishment of body and soul.
First Apology 11Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Christians expect God's kingdom, not a human one; that is why they confess even at the cost of death.
First Apology 24Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Christians alone are persecuted, though every people worships different gods.
First Apology 31Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · The Hebrew prophets foretold Christ's birth, miracles, death, resurrection, and the mission to the Gentiles; the Scriptures were translated into Greek for Ptolemy.
First Apology 45Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Psalm 110 foretells Christ's ascension and the preaching of the apostles from Jerusalem.
First Apology 57Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · The demons can only stir up hatred; Christians do not fear death, and if their persecutors think death is the end, killing Christians only frees them from this life's troubles.
First Apology 68Justin Martyr · ca. 150–155 · Justin closes with a warning of God's judgment and appends Hadrian's letter to Minucius Fundanus requiring proper trials of Christians.
Acts of Andrew (Vatican fragments), chapter 17Anonymous · ca. 150-200 (the Acts); the Martyrdom text is later · Andrew tells the brothers not to be troubled by his coming death, since the devil has always waged a disguised war on mankind under a show of friendship.
Martyrdom of Andrew (first Greek martyrdom), chapter 9Anonymous · ca. 150-200 (the Acts); the Martyrdom text is later · The executioners of Aegeates seize Andrew's host Antiphanes, and the city gathers at his door in protest.
Martyrdom of Andrew (first Greek martyrdom), chapter 11Anonymous · ca. 150-200 (the Acts); the Martyrdom text is later · Aegeates demands to know by whose power Andrew has destroyed the worship of the gods and won Achaia for a crucified man.
Acts of John 1Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Domitian moves to expel the Jews from Rome, and some Jews petition him, denouncing the Christians as a new and lawless nation.
Acts of John 3Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Domitian decrees death for confessing Christians, and the fame of John's teaching reaches him.
Acts of John 10Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · John raises the dead man, and Domitian banishes him to an island instead of executing him.
Martyrdom of Paul 1Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Paul raises Nero's cupbearer Patroclus, who confesses Christ the King of the ages before Nero, and Nero orders all soldiers of Christ to be put to death.
Martyrdom of Paul 3Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Paul, brought bound before Nero, declares that Christ enlists soldiers from the whole world and will judge it by fire.
Martyrdom of Paul 4Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Nero orders the prisoners burned and Paul beheaded, but Paul goes on preaching to the prefect Longus.
Martyrdom of Paul 5Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Nero's slaughter of Christians is checked by the Romans' protest; Paul preaches judgement to Longus and Cestus, refuses their offer of escape, and calls Nero's messengers to faith.
Martyrdom of Paul 6Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · After his death Paul appears to Nero and foretells his punishment, and Nero releases the prisoners.
Acts of Paul and Thecla 16Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Thamyris accuses Paul before the governor of forbidding virgins to marry.
Acts of Paul and Thecla 17Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Paul states his message before the governor, who has him imprisoned until a fuller hearing.
Acts of Paul and Thecla 20Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Paul and Thecla are brought before the governor, and Thecla's mother demands that she be burned.
Acts of Paul and Thecla 21Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Paul is scourged and expelled, Thecla is condemned to burning, and in the theatre she sees the Lord in Paul's form.
Acts of Paul and Thecla 27Anonymous · ca. 150–200 · Thecla is condemned to the beasts, and Queen Tryphaena takes her into protective keeping.
Second Apology 1Justin Martyr · ca. 150–160 · Recent executions under the prefect Urbicus move Justin to write again, since the demons use those rebuked by Christians to have them killed.
Second Apology 2Justin Martyr · ca. 150–160 · A Christian wife who divorced her dissolute husband is denounced by him; her teacher Ptolemaeus and two others are executed under Urbicus simply for confessing the name of Christ.
Second Apology 7Justin Martyr · ca. 150–160 · The demons have always stirred up hatred against those who lived by reason, and much more against Christians, who know the whole Word, Christ.
Second Apology 8Justin Martyr · ca. 150–160 · Justin expects to be killed, perhaps through the Cynic Crescens, whom he has shown in debate to know nothing of Christian teaching.
Second Apology 12Justin Martyr · ca. 150–160 · Justin tells how, as a Platonist, the Christians' fearlessness before death convinced him the slanders against them were false.
Second Apology 14Justin Martyr · ca. 150–160 · Justin asks the emperors to publish his petition so that others may learn the truth; those who condemn Christians condemn themselves.
Sentences of Sextus 363Anonymous · 2nd-early 3rd cent. · A lion and a tyrant alike have power over the body of a man who loves God.
Sentences of Sextus 364Anonymous · 2nd-early 3rd cent. · When a tyrant threatens you, then above all remember whose you are.
Sentences of Sextus 387Anonymous · 2nd-early 3rd cent. · A tyrant will not take away blessedness.
Sentence 363 (Greek)Anonymous · 2nd-early 3rd cent. · You will rule the body of a man dear to God, but you will not be master of his reason. A lion too rules the body of a wise man, and so does a tyrant, but only of that.
Sentence 364 (Greek)Anonymous · 2nd-early 3rd cent. · When a tyrant threatens, then above all remember whose you are.
Sentence 387 (Greek)Anonymous · 2nd-early 3rd cent. · A tyrant does not take away happiness.
Dialogue with Trypho 10.1Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Justin asks whether Trypho objects only to Christians' not keeping the law, or believes the rumors of cannibalism and orgies.
Dialogue with Trypho 16.4Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Justin charges that Christians are cursed in the synagogues.
Dialogue with Trypho 17.1Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Justin accuses the Jewish leaders of spreading slanders against Christians throughout the world.
Dialogue with Trypho 18.3Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Christians who endure death for Christ would readily keep harmless rites if they were required.
Dialogue with Trypho 35.7Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Christ foretold both the heresies and the persecutions of his followers.
Dialogue with Trypho 39.6Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Fear of persecution may keep Jews from confessing Christ.
Dialogue with Trypho 44.1Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Descent from Abraham does not guarantee the promised blessings.
Dialogue with Trypho 47.4Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Apostates to the law and unbelieving Jews who curse Christians will not be saved without repentance.
Dialogue with Trypho 82.2Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Christ foretold persecution and false prophets.
Dialogue with Trypho 93.4Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Justin charges that the Jews have not loved God or neighbor.
Dialogue with Trypho 95.4Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Those who persist in cursing Christ will be held accountable.
Dialogue with Trypho 96.2Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Christians are cursed in synagogues and killed by Gentiles; they call their persecutors brothers and die rather than deny Christ.
Dialogue with Trypho 108.2Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Justin says Jewish leaders spread the story that the disciples stole Jesus' body.
Dialogue with Trypho 110.4Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Persecution only multiplies Christians, as pruning makes a vine more fruitful.
Dialogue with Trypho 110.5Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Christians are the afflicted and driven out, whom God will gather at Christ's return.
Dialogue with Trypho 110.6Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Christians are taken from the earth with the righteous Christ.
Dialogue with Trypho 116.2Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Christians are brands plucked from the fire and promised new garments and an eternal kingdom.
Dialogue with Trypho 122.2Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Proselytes to Judaism are even more hostile to Christians.
Dialogue with Trypho 131.2Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Christians, called through the despised cross, endure death rather than deny Christ,
Dialogue with Trypho 133.6Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Christians pray for their persecutors, as Christ commanded.
Dialogue with Trypho 134.6Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · As Jacob was hated by his brother, so Christ and Christians are hated.
Dialogue with Trypho 136.2Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Isa 3:9–10 (LXX): “Let us take away the righteous one.”
Dialogue with Trypho 137.2Justin Martyr · ca. 155–160 · Do not scoff at the King of Israel, as the synagogue rulers teach after the prayer.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 1.1Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · The church writes about the martyrs and especially Polycarp, whose death ended the persecution and showed what a gospel martyrdom looks like.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 2.2Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · The martyrs endured horrible torture without complaint, because the Lord was present with them.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 2.4Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · Those sentenced to the beasts were tortured further to make them deny the faith, for the devil was at work against them.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 3.1Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · Germanicus encouraged the others by his courage and chose death rather than accept the proconsul's pity.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 3.2Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · Stirred by the martyrs' courage, the crowd demanded Polycarp.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 4.1Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · Quintus, who had volunteered for martyrdom, gave way; so the church does not approve of handing oneself over.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 6.1Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · Polycarp moved again, but his pursuers tortured a young slave into revealing where he was.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 6.2Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · Betrayed by his own household, Polycarp was sought by an official named Herod, in a story that echoes Christ's Passion.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 8.2Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · Officials urged Polycarp to call Caesar “Lord” and sacrifice to save himself; he refused.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 8.3Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · Thrown from the carriage and injured, Polycarp walked calmly into the noisy stadium.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 9.2Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · Told to say “Away with the atheists,” Polycarp said it, but of the pagan crowd.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 10.2Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · Polycarp was willing to explain himself to the governing authority, but not to the mob.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 12.2Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · The crowd called Polycarp the destroyer of their gods and demanded a lion, but the games were over.
Martyrdom of Polycarp 13.1Anonymous · ca. 156–160 · The crowd quickly gathered wood for the fire.
Oration to the Greeks 4Tatian · ca. 165–172 · Christians obey rulers and pay taxes but fear God alone, who is spirit, without beginning, known through creation, and in need of nothing.
Oration to the Greeks 19Tatian · ca. 165–172 · The philosophers' contempt for death is a pose; the Cynic Crescens plotted against Justin and Tatian. Oracles serve human greed; God alone should be followed.
Oration to the Greeks 25Tatian · ca. 165–172 · The Cynics' claim to self-sufficiency is hollow and the schools contradict each other; Christians hold one consistent teaching, and the charge of cannibalism fits the Greek myths, not them.
Oration to the Greeks 27Tatian · ca. 165–172 · Christians are condemned for their name without examination, while pagan atheists and skeptics are read freely; the philosophers' speculations are idle.
Oration to the Greeks 42Tatian · ca. 165–172 · Tatian signs off: an Assyrian by birth, educated in Greek learning, now a Christian ready to be examined but never to deny his faith.
Diatessaron, section 13Tatian · ca. 160-180
Diatessaron, section 41Tatian · ca. 160-180
1Anonymous · ca. 161–180 or 249–251 · Carpus and Papylus are brought before the proconsul at Pergamum.
4Anonymous · ca. 161–180 or 249–251 · The proconsul cites the imperial decrees and orders sacrifice.
Martyrdom of Justin, Chariton and Companions (Acts of Justin, recension B) 1Anonymous · ca. 165 · The Christians are arrested and brought before Rusticus, prefect of Rome.
To Autolycus 1.1Theophilus of Antioch · ca. 180–185 · Theophilus replies to his friend Autolycus, who mocked him as a Christian: he gladly confesses the name.
To Autolycus 1.11Theophilus of Antioch · ca. 180–185 · Christians honor the emperor, obey him, and pray for him, but worship God alone.
To Autolycus 3.4Theophilus of Antioch · ca. 180–185 · Theophilus answers the slanders against Christians (promiscuity, incest, cannibalism) and the charge that their teaching is new.
To Autolycus 3.5Theophilus of Antioch · ca. 180–185 · It is the philosophers (Zeno, Diogenes, Cleanthes) and historians who describe or even recommend cannibalism, not the Christians.
To Autolycus 3.6Theophilus of Antioch · ca. 180–185 · Plato's community of wives and the incest and sodomy taught (so Theophilus says) by Epicurus and the Stoics show that the charges of immorality belong to the philosophers.
To Autolycus 3.8Theophilus of Antioch · ca. 180–185 · The philosophers and poets ascribe incest, lust, and bloodshed to their gods; so the charges of atheism, promiscuity, and cannibalism rebound on them.
To Autolycus 3.15Theophilus of Antioch · ca. 180–185 · Christians, who may not even watch gladiatorial shows or immoral plays, cannot be guilty of promiscuity or cannibalism; their life is marked by chastity, monogamy, righteousness, and the rule of God.
To Autolycus 3.30Theophilus of Antioch · ca. 180–185 · The Greeks ignore the true history because they learned writing late and forgot God; they honor poets who mock God and persecute those who worship him.
Fragment 40Irenaeus of Lyons · ca. 170–200
A Plea for the Christians 1Athenagoras · ca. 176–180 · Every people may worship as it likes under the emperors' tolerant rule, yet Christians alone are persecuted for their name; they do not resist, but ask for a hearing.
A Plea for the Christians 2Athenagoras · ca. 176–180 · Christians ask not to be punished for their name but to be tried on real charges, as philosophers are.
A Plea for the Christians 3Athenagoras · ca. 176–180 · The three charges against Christians are atheism, cannibalism, and incest; if true, destroy us; if false, examine our lives and treat us as others are treated.
A Plea for the Christians 4Athenagoras · ca. 176–180 · Christians are not atheists: unlike Diagoras, they believe in one God, uncreated and distinct from matter, who made all things through his Word.
A Plea for the Christians 31Athenagoras · ca. 176–180 · Answering the charges of cannibalism and incest: virtue has always been slandered; Christians, who expect God's judgment and eternal life, would not even think of such sins.
A Plea for the Christians 34Athenagoras · ca. 176–180 · Those who accuse Christians of vice practice prostitution and pederasty themselves; the real cannibalism is their violence against defenseless Christians.
A Plea for the Christians 37Athenagoras · ca. 176–180 · Athenagoras asks the emperors for their favor: Christians pray for them and their succession, so that they may live quiet and peaceful lives.
Martyrdom of Peter (Greek Acts of Peter) 5Anonymous · ca. 180–200 · Xanthippe and other wives withdraw from their husbands, and Albinus and Agrippa plot Peter's death.
Martyrdom of Peter (Greek Acts of Peter) 12Anonymous · ca. 180–200 · Nero, angry that Peter died without his consent, is warned in a vision to leave Christ's servants alone.
1Anonymous · 180 (17 July) · The Scillitan Christians are tried at Carthage on 17 July 180.
14Anonymous · 180 (17 July) · The proconsul sentences them to death by the sword.
1Anonymous · Greek rendering of the Latin Passion; date uncertain · The martyrs are brought to trial at Carthage on 17 July.
14Anonymous · Greek rendering of the Latin Passion; date uncertain · The proconsul sentences them to death by the sword.
Acts of Peter (Vercelli) 34Anonymous · ca. 180–200 · Xanthippe, wife of Albinus, and many others withdraw from their spouses after Peter's preaching on chastity, and Albinus and Agrippa plot to kill Peter.
Acts of Peter (Vercelli) 35Anonymous · ca. 180–200 · Xanthippe warns Peter of the plot and the brothers urge him to leave Rome; after a gap, Peter, now condemned, tells the brothers not to rage against Agrippa.
Acts of Peter (Vercelli) 41Anonymous · ca. 180–200 · Nero, angry that Peter died without his order, plans to kill Peter's disciples but is restrained by an angel; the Acts end with a blessing.
Fragment 56 (Uncertain origin; catena on Matthew 10:23 (flight in persecution))Clement of Alexandria · late 2nd-early 3rd century · Christ commands flight in persecution to spare the persecutors guilt, so one who refuses to flee is at fault.
The Instructor 3.8.41Clement of Alexandria · ca. 190–200 · Frugality trains Christians to endure persecution, having no fatherland on earth; examples teach virtue, as Penelope's faithfulness and the Spartans' drunken Helots did.
Exhortation to the Greeks 10.104Clement of Alexandria · ca. 190–200 · Human beings, not stones or birds, are sacred; yet people honor ravens as God's messengers while persecuting the Christian who speaks for God.
Against Heresies 2.22.2Irenaeus of Lyons · ca. 180–190 · The acceptable year is the whole time from Christ's coming to the end, and the day of retribution is the judgment that follows.
Against Heresies 3.18.5Irenaeus of Lyons · ca. 180–190 · Christ’s call to take up the cross and his warnings of persecution show that he truly suffered; those who despise the martyrs will be put to shame, and Christ’s prayer for his killers shows his goodness.
Against Heresies 4.33.9Irenaeus of Lyons · ca. 180–190 · The Church alone sends a multitude of martyrs to the Father, enduring persecution as the prophets did, while the heretics deny that martyrdom is necessary.
Against Heresies 4.33.10Irenaeus of Lyons · ca. 180–190 · The prophets, as members of Christ, each foreshadowed part of his work and suffered persecution, as will all on whom the Spirit rests.
Against Heresies 4.33.13Irenaeus of Lyons · ca. 180–190 · The prophets foretold Christ’s resurrection and ascension, the persecution of the Church, the shaking of the earth at his return, and his final exaltation over all his enemies.
Against Heresies 5.28.4Irenaeus of Lyons · ca. 180–190 · Tribulation grinds and bakes the faithful into bread fit for the King’s banquet, as Ignatius said when condemned to the beasts.
1Anonymous · ca. 180–185 · Apollonius is arrested under Commodus and brought before Perennis.
7Anonymous · ca. 180–185 · Perennis orders sacrifice to the gods and the emperor's image.
13Anonymous · ca. 180–185 · Perennis cites the senate's decree.
23Anonymous · ca. 180–185 · The senate has decreed that there shall be no Christians.
24Anonymous · ca. 180–185 · Persecution only multiplies the Christians.
Prophetic Extracts 63.1Clement of Alexandria · ca. 200 · The psalm is read as: unless persecuted like the Lord, one cannot be proved blameless; no one becomes a martyr without persecution.
Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? 4.10Clement of Alexandria · ca. 190–210 · Peter says they have left everything; Jesus promises a hundredfold now, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? 25.1Clement of Alexandria · ca. 190–210 · The saying about having fields and brothers with persecutions has the same meaning.
Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? 25.3Clement of Alexandria · ca. 190–210 · There is outward persecution, from those who harass believers through enmity, envy, greed, or the devil.
Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? 25.4Clement of Alexandria · ca. 190–210 · The hardest persecution comes from within, from a soul tormented by godless desires and passions until it despairs of life and despises God.
Miscellanies 2.20.125Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Zeno would learn more from one Indian enduring fire than from arguments; Christians see martyrs burned and beheaded daily, trained by the law's fear; the “gods” of Psalm 82 are those who rise above pleasure and the flesh.
Miscellanies 4.4.14Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · The true martyr dies not from fear of punishment or hope of reward, but out of love for the Lord, even grateful to his persecutors; martyrdom is called “perfection” because it is the perfect work of love.
Miscellanies 4.6.41Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · The sum of virtue is to despise death for love of God; Christ blesses the persecuted, in the Gospels and in variant forms; we must endure persecutors without hating them, knowing every trial is an occasion for witness.
Miscellanies 4.7.42Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · The one who denies Christ in persecution goes over to the devil and deceives his own hope; denying the Savior is denying one's own life; such people are faithless hypocrites; true self-love is loving the Lord and confessing salvation.
Miscellanies 4.7.46Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · All things work for good to those who love God; martyrdom is taught for love, and even hope of reward is hope for the unseen; Peter blesses those who suffer for righteousness and bids them be ready to give an account of their hope.
Miscellanies 4.7.47Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Weak flesh can resist the spiritual powers by trust in the Almighty, who is at hand; Peter bids Christians rejoice in the fiery trial as sharing Christ's sufferings; in all things we conquer through him who loved us.
Miscellanies 4.7.51Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Christians have crucified the old man; Paul describes the apostles as a spectacle to the world, hungry, beaten, persecuted, and treated as refuse.
Miscellanies 4.7.52Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Plato says the just man is happy even under torture; the one who knows has happiness in himself, not in fortune, and no dishonor, exile, or death can tear him from his love of God.
Miscellanies 4.9.70Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Clement gathers Christ's sayings on martyrdom: whoever confesses him before men he will confess before the angels and the Father; whoever denies or is ashamed of him he will deny; the Spirit will give words before rulers.
Miscellanies 4.10.76Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Christ's command to flee persecution is not because persecution or death is evil, but so that we may not be the cause of the persecutor's sin; the one who disobeys is reckless.
Miscellanies 4.10.77Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · One who hands himself over to the court shares the guilt of his killer and helps the persecutor sin; we should not provoke persecution by conflict or litigation, but yield even our goods, lest we provoke blasphemy of Christ's name.
Miscellanies 4.11.78Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Pagans ask why God lets Christians be persecuted; God did not will persecution but foretold it, to train us for endurance, to which he promised the inheritance.
Miscellanies 4.11.79Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Persecutors unwillingly testify to Christians' innocence; the unjust judge acts freely and so does not implicate God's providence; he condemns from prejudice, simply because we are Christians.
Miscellanies 4.11.80Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Death is no harm to Christians but a release to the Lord, for which we may even thank our persecutors; as Socrates said, the worse cannot harm the better; the Lord is our helper, and the souls of the righteous are in God's hand.
Miscellanies 4.12.86Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · If suffering were God's will, persecution would be good or persecutors innocent; rather, God does not will persecution but does not prevent it, which preserves both his providence and his goodness.
Miscellanies 4.16.99Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Paul describes perfect righteousness as believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth; we must bless persecutors, and our boast is a conscience that has lived in holiness by God's grace.
Miscellanies 4.16.101Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Paul's contentment in plenty and want is the knower's rule; Hebrews recalls believers who, after enlightenment, joyfully endured suffering and loss of goods, and urges endurance and faith.
Miscellanies 4.16.102Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Hebrews lists the faithful who endured mocking, scourging, stoning, and death, of whom the world was not worthy, who did not receive the promise without us.
Miscellanies 4.21.131Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · The perfect Christian relies on God's power, enduring affliction and persecution without despair, commending himself to God by patience, purity, knowledge, and love, cleansing himself and perfecting holiness; godly grief leads to repentance and salvation.
Miscellanies 6.1.1Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Clement introduces books 6 and 7: after the Instructor's elementary training, he will show that the one who knows is not godless but alone truly devout, and then answer objections about Christ's coming.
Miscellanies 6.8.67Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · Philosophy was given by God to the Greeks as a kind of covenant preparing for Christ, but, as in the church, the enemy sowed weeds in it, such as Epicurus' godlessness.
Miscellanies 6.18.167Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · The philosophers persuaded only a few disciples, but Christ's word has spread through the whole world; Greek philosophy vanishes at a magistrate's ban, while Christian teaching, though persecuted by rulers everywhere, only flourishes.
Miscellanies 7.11.66Clement of Alexandria · ca. 198–203 · True courage comes from knowledge, not temperament; the one who knows fights vice with the Lord's armor, and in persecution he does not rush rashly into danger, as some so-called martyrs do, but gives himself gladly when God truly calls.
On Idolatry 23Tertullian · ca. 196–211 · Signing a written oath by the gods to secure a loan is a real denial even if nothing is spoken, since the soul dictates what the hand writes, as Zechariah “spoke” in writing.
Octavius 9.1Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · Caecilius says the Christian sect is spreading everywhere and must be destroyed.
Octavius 12.4Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · Why does God not rescue Christians from torture and execution?
Octavius 27.8Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · Demons stir up hatred of Christians so people will condemn them without knowing them.
Octavius 28.1Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · Octavius, once a persecutor himself, says it is unjust to judge Christians unheard.
Octavius 28.2Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · Octavius once believed the slanders too, though no Christian ever confessed such crimes.
Octavius 28.3Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · As advocates they defended criminals but tortured Christians to make them deny their faith.
Octavius 28.4Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · Those who denied Christ under torture were let off as if cleared of all crimes.
Octavius 28.5Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · If the charges were real, courts would demand confessions of the crimes, not denials of the name.
Octavius 35.6Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · Christians avoid even sinful thoughts, and none are in prison except for their faith.
Octavius 36.9Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · God allows suffering to test and prove his people, as gold is tested by fire.
Octavius 37.1Minucius Felix · ca. 197–250 · A Christian facing torture and death bravely is a beautiful sight to God.
Apology 1Tertullian · ca. 197 · Tertullian appeals in writing to the Roman magistrates, arguing that hatred of the Christian name rests on ignorance and that Christians, unlike real criminals, rejoice when accused.
Apology 2Tertullian · ca. 197 · Christians alone are condemned for confessing the name and tortured to make them deny it; Trajan's reply to Pliny forbids seeking them out yet orders them punished.
Apology 3Tertullian · ca. 197 · People hate the very name “Christian” even in those it has reformed, though the name means “anointed” and schools are commonly named after their founders.
Apology 4Tertullian · ca. 197 · Tertullian challenges the law forbidding Christians to exist: human laws can err and are constantly amended, and no just law refuses examination.
Apology 5Tertullian · ca. 197 · The laws against Christians began with bad emperors like Nero and Domitian, while Tiberius and Marcus Aurelius are said to have favored them.
Apology 7Tertullian · ca. 197 · The charges of ritual infanticide, cannibalism, and incest rest only on rumor, which has never been proved despite constant betrayal and surprise of Christian meetings.
Apology 8Tertullian · ca. 197 · Tertullian mocks the charge of ritual murder and incest by imagining what an initiate would have to do and asking whether anyone could do it.
Apology 9Tertullian · ca. 197 · Tertullian turns the charges back on the pagans: child sacrifice, exposure of infants, drinking of blood, and the risk of incest are found among them, while Christians forbid even abortion and abstain from blood.
Apology 12Tertullian · ca. 197 · The gods are only dead men and their images mere material, which suffer in their making the very tortures inflicted on Christians.
Apology 24Tertullian · ca. 197 · If the gods are not gods, Christians cannot injure religion; even granting them, one may honor the supreme God above subordinates, and to forbid choice of religion is itself irreligion.
Apology 27Tertullian · ca. 197 · Christians refuse to sacrifice even to save their lives, recognizing that the pressure to do so comes from the demons, over whom they triumph when condemned.
Apology 28Tertullian · ca. 197 · Compelling free people to sacrifice is unjust; the second charge, treason against the emperor, shows that the pagans fear Caesar more than their gods.
Apology 30Tertullian · ca. 197 · Christians pray to the true God, from whom the emperors have their power, for the emperor's long life, safe empire, and a quiet world, even while being tortured.
Apology 35Tertullian · ca. 197 · Christians are called public enemies for refusing riotous imperial festivals, yet the conspirators and assassins of emperors have all come from the pagans who kept those festivals.
Apology 37Tertullian · ca. 197 · Christians, commanded to love their enemies, never retaliate, though they are now so numerous everywhere that they could resist, or empty the empire by withdrawing.
Apology 40Tertullian · ca. 197 · Christians are blamed for every disaster, yet worse disasters struck before Christ; the human race has always offended God, and Christians' fasting and prayer now soften his anger.
Apology 44Tertullian · ca. 197 · The real loss to the state is the execution of so many innocent Christians, while the prisons and arenas are filled only with pagan criminals.
Apology 49Tertullian · ca. 197 · Even if Christian beliefs were false, they make people better and harm no one, so they deserve at most ridicule, not death; and Christians suffer only by their own choice.
Apology 50Tertullian · ca. 197 · Christians suffer as soldiers fight, to win; the pagans praise heroes who died for glory but condemn Christians who die for God, yet every persecution makes more Christians: “the blood of Christians is seed.”
To the Martyrs 1Tertullian · ca. 197 · Tertullian encourages Christians imprisoned and awaiting martyrdom to feed their spirits, not to grieve the Holy Spirit, and to keep peace among themselves so that the devil finds no foothold.
To the Martyrs 2Tertullian · ca. 197 · The world is the real prison; for the Christian the prison is a retreat that frees the spirit from idolatry and temptation, as the desert did for the prophets.
To the Martyrs 6Tertullian · ca. 197 · Ordinary life exposes people to fire, beasts, and violence, and many have recently died for the sake of a mere man; Christians should not hesitate to suffer for God.
To the Nations 1.1Tertullian · 197 · Those who come to know Christianity stop hating it and join it, and unlike real wrongdoers, Christians are not ashamed of their way of life but confess it gladly.
To the Nations 1.2Tertullian · 197 · Magistrates torture others to make them confess but torture Christians to make them deny, and never investigate the crimes they claim Christians commit.
To the Nations 1.3Tertullian · 197 · Since Christians are condemned only for confessing the name, the charge is against a name, and the name “Christian” (from “anointed”) is harmless.
To the Nations 1.4Tertullian · 197 · Christians are hated for their name, like Socrates for truth, even when their lives visibly improve, and their true marks are wisdom, self-restraint, chastity, compassion, truth, and freedom.
To the Nations 1.6Tertullian · 197 · Appealing to the laws does not help, because even laws require an inquiry into the deed, and a law that will not be examined is suspect and unjust.
To the Nations 1.7Tertullian · 197 · The charges of ritual murder and incest rest only on rumor, which has never been proved in all the years Christians have been watched and arrested; no one would buy eternal life at such a price.
To the Nations 1.9Tertullian · 197 · Christians are blamed for every disaster, yet disasters came long before Christians, and gods who need men to avenge them are weak.
To the Nations 1.11Tertullian · 197 · The slander that Christians worship an ass's head comes from Tacitus, who contradicts himself, and pagans themselves worship asses and all kinds of animals.
To the Nations 1.14Tertullian · 197 · A renegade Jew paraded a caricature of the Christians' god as a donkey-eared figure, but pagans themselves worship many gods with animal heads.
To the Nations 1.17Tertullian · 197 · Christians are called disloyal because they will not swear by the emperor's genius or call him a god, yet it is pagans who rebel, mock, and curse the emperors.
To the Nations 1.18Tertullian · 197 · Christians are called obstinate for despising death, yet pagans praise the same courage in their heroes and still hire themselves out daily to the sword, the beasts, and the fire.
To the Nations 1.20Tertullian · 197 · Since the pagans are guilty of everything they charge against Christians, they should correct themselves first, and if they did, they would become Christians.
On the Shows 27Tertullian · ca. 197–202 · Christians should shun the shows, where God is blasphemed and persecution is demanded, and should see their pleasant parts as honey on poison.
On the Shows 30Tertullian · ca. 197–202 · The greatest show is still to come: Christ's return, the new Jerusalem, and the judgment, when persecutors, philosophers, and performers will burn and those who mocked Christ will see him.
On Prayer 29Tertullian · ca. 198–206 · Prayer has great power: in the old covenant it worked deliverances and punishments, but Christian prayer brings endurance in suffering, turns away God's wrath, and does only good; all creation prays, and Christ himself prayed.
On Patience 13Tertullian · ca. 198–206 · Patience is also exercised in the body: in fasting and penance, as Nebuchadnezzar showed, in continence and celibacy, and above all in enduring persecution and martyrdom.
To His Wife 2.5Tertullian · ca. 200–206 · Even a tolerant pagan husband knows and can exploit his wife's Christian practices, such as signing herself with the cross, night prayer, and taking the reserved Eucharist.
Acts of Thomas 106Anonymous · ca. 200–250 · Charisius seizes Thomas, who answers that the Lord is greater than the king and his army; Thomas is bound and imprisoned while the king and Charisius plan his death.
Acts of Thomas 107Anonymous · ca. 200–250 · Going to prison, Thomas thanks Jesus that he is counted worthy to suffer and be reviled for his sake.
Acts of Thomas 138Anonymous · ca. 200–250 · Misdaeus blames Charisius, strikes Thomas with a chair, and has him dragged to judgment; the king's son Vazan questions Thomas, who contrasts the temporary kingdom with the eternal King he serves.
Acts of Thomas 140Anonymous · ca. 200–250 · The king has Thomas stand barefoot on red-hot iron plates, but water bursts from the ground and swallows them.
Didascalia 5.2Anonymous · first half of the third century
Didascalia 5.3–4Anonymous · first half of the third century
6 Ezra 15.53Anonymous · 3rd century
6 Ezra 16.69Anonymous · 3rd century
6 Ezra 16.71Anonymous · 3rd century
On Christ and Antichrist 36Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200–215 · John on Patmos is called to tell of Babylon, and his vision of the harlot on the scarlet beast is quoted.
On Christ and Antichrist 47Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200–215 · The two witnesses prophesy for half the week until the beast, Antichrist, kills them and wars against the saints.
On Christ and Antichrist 49Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200–215 · The second beast is Antichrist's kingdom, which will revive Roman rule and force sacrifice on all, as Antiochus Epiphanes did.
On Christ and Antichrist 56Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200–215 · Antichrist, called on by those who reject the saints, will persecute them; the parable of the unjust judge is quoted.
On Christ and Antichrist 58Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200–215 · As Moses foresaw, the people who rejected Christ will seek vengeance on the saints through Antichrist, who will decree their death.
On Christ and Antichrist 60Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200–215 · John's vision of the woman clothed with the sun, pursued by the dragon, is quoted.
On Christ and Antichrist 61Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200–215 · The woman is the Church, always bearing Christ; her flight on eagle's wings is the persecuted Church's refuge in faith in the crucified Christ.
On Christ and Antichrist 62Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200–215 · The Lord's words on the abomination of desolation and the great tribulation are joined to Daniel's numbered days.
Heads against Gaius, fragment III (on Rev 9:2-3)Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200-235 · Against Gaius, Hippolytus explains that the locusts of the Revelation strike only the ungodly persecutors, while the sealed saints have rest, as the Hebrews did in Egypt.
Heads against Gaius, fragment VI (on Matt 24:15-22)Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200-235 · Hippolytus argues that the great tribulation and the abomination of desolation refer not to Vespasian's siege but to the Antichrist, against whom Enoch and Elijah, the two witnesses, will prophesy before they are killed and raised.
Arabic commentary on the Apocalypse, fragment 10 (on Rev 12, 17)Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 200-235 · On Rev 12:17 the commentator praises those who kept God's commandments in deed, and questions Hippolytus's view that some gave way out of concern for their possessions.
Pistis Sophia 109Anonymous · 3rd century
Prescription against Heretics 4Tertullian · ca. 203 · Christ and the apostles foretold heresies as wolves in sheep's clothing; they exist so that the approved may be shown, and “test all things” does not justify changing one's faith.
1.20Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · Fragments on Susanna 22–44: her dilemma and cry as a pattern for Christians tried for Christ's name, and the angel sent in answer to prayer.
Commentary on Daniel 1.23Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · On Susanna 24–25: Susanna's cry to God, the elders' outcry as that of persecutors, and the broad and narrow doors.
Commentary on Daniel 1.25Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · On Susanna 28–35: the trial as a figure of Christians brought to judgment, Susanna's true beauty, the elders' shameless unveiling of her, and her tearful prayer.
Commentary on Daniel 2.19Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · The youths encourage one another from Israel's history to endure; the Maccabean martyrs are adduced; only those who share the Spirit can despise death and follow Christ.
Commentary on Daniel 3.21-23Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · On Daniel 6:10: Daniel prays openly despite the decree rather than hide his faith; Christians obey the authorities by doing no evil, but must die rather than deny God, as the apostles obeyed God rather than men.
Commentary on Daniel 3.24Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · Daniel would not set God's glory below men's; Christians threatened with death for worshipping God must choose to die; the devil persecutes the saints to stop their prayer, which defeats him as Moses' raised hands defeated Amalek.
Commentary on Daniel 4.12-13Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · On Daniel 7:19–28: the little horn is the Antichrist, who will rise from the divided Roman kingdom, kill three kings and war against the saints, until the kingdom is given to the saints of the Most High.
Commentary on Daniel 4.26Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · The ram is Darius, the he-goat Alexander, the four horns his successors, and the little horn Antiochus Epiphanes, who profaned the temple for 1,300 days until Judas Maccabaeus restored it.
Commentary on Daniel 4.41-44Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · On Daniel 11:2–34: the Persian kings, Alexander and his successors, and Antiochus Epiphanes, whose persecution and the revolt of Mattathias and Judas Maccabaeus are told from 1 Maccabees.
4.51Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 202-204 · The great tribulation under the Antichrist, Christ's warnings and his coming in glory; Antiochus's abomination and the Antichrist's; Edom, Moab and Ammon as his first followers; the 1,290 and 1,335 days; and the resurrection of the righteous to life and of the Antichrist's followers to shame.
The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity 2Anonymous · 203 · Perpetua, arrested as a catechumen, resists her father, is baptized and imprisoned, and in a vision climbs a ladder to heaven past a dragon.
The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity 3Anonymous · 203 · Perpetua resists her father's pleading, confesses before Hilarianus and is condemned to the beasts, and in two visions sees her dead brother Dinocrates relieved through her prayer.
The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity 6Anonymous · 203 · The editor records Secundulus's death, Felicity's premature childbirth in prison, Perpetua's rebuke of the tribune, and the martyrs' last meal as an agape.
The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity 7Anonymous · 203 · The editor narrates the martyrs' deaths in the arena: their refusal of pagan costume, the beasts, Saturus's last words to Pudens, and Perpetua's death by the sword.
Antidote for the Scorpion's Sting 1Tertullian · ca. 211–213 · As scorpions strike in the summer heat, heretics such as the Gnostics and Valentinians strike Christians in the heat of persecution, arguing that God does not want martyrdom; Tertullian offers this treatise as an antidote.
Antidote for the Scorpion's Sting 8Tertullian · ca. 211–213 · God honours the deaths of his faithful: from Abel through the prophets to John the Baptist the righteous have suffered, and the three young men and Daniel were ready to die rather than worship idols.
Antidote for the Scorpion's Sting 9Tertullian · ca. 211–213 · Christ too commands martyrdom: he blesses the persecuted, warns that all his disciples will be hated and betrayed, tells them to fear God rather than men, and promises to confess those who confess him and deny those who deny that they are Christians.
Antidote for the Scorpion's Sting 10Tertullian · ca. 211–213 · Against the Valentinians, who put the required confession in heaven before celestial powers, Tertullian argues that confession belongs on earth, before human judges, where persecution, betrayal, and death take place.
Antidote for the Scorpion's Sting 11Tertullian · ca. 211–213 · Christ's sayings about losing one's life, answering before tribunals, and being hated and betrayed describe exactly what persecuted Christians experience, so they cannot be explained away as allegories.
Antidote for the Scorpion's Sting 13Tertullian · ca. 211–213 · Paul, once a persecutor, commends suffering for Christ throughout his letters: to the Thessalonians, Romans, Corinthians, and Philippians, and above all to Timothy as his own martyrdom approaches.
Antidote for the Scorpion's Sting 15Tertullian · ca. 211–213 · Even if the apostles' words could be twisted, their deaths cannot: Acts and the imperial records show Peter, Stephen, James, and Paul suffering, and Paul himself wished to die for Christ, rebuking any who would dissuade him.
Exhortation to Chastity 12Tertullian · ca. 208 · Tertullian answers the excuses for remarrying (running a household, having heirs) and says a widower should rather take a widow as a “spiritual wife,” warning that a second marriage may bring children anyway.
Against Marcion 3.22Tertullian · 207/208 (third edition, completed later) · The apostles' mission, their break with the synagogue, their persecution, the sign of the cross on believers' foreheads, and the church's pure sacrifice of praise were all foretold by the Creator's prophets.
Against Marcion 4.14Tertullian · 207/208 (third edition, completed later) · The Beatitudes on the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the persecuted echo the Creator's constant care for the lowly in the Psalms and Isaiah, and fulfill Isaiah 61, so they belong to the Creator's Christ.
Against Marcion 4.39Tertullian · 207/208 (third edition, completed later) · The false Christs, the signs of the end, the persecutions of the disciples, and the coming of the Son of Man in Luke 21 all follow the prophets, so that both the troubles before his coming and the blessings after it belong to the Creator's Christ.
On Flight in Persecution 1Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · Answering Fabius, who asked whether Christians may flee in persecution, Tertullian first argues that persecution comes by God's will, as the winnowing and testing of his servants, since it makes them better.
On Flight in Persecution 2Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · The devil's iniquity is only the instrument of persecution, not its author: as Job, Peter, the Lord's Prayer, and Paul's thorn show, Satan can do nothing to God's servants except by God's permission.
On Flight in Persecution 3Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · God, who makes peace and creates war, is the author of persecution; those who fear that crowded church gatherings will provoke the heathen should trust that nothing happens without God's will.
On Flight in Persecution 4Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · Because persecution comes from God, it is good in itself, even when it seems evil to those it harms, and so it ought not and cannot be escaped by flight.
On Flight in Persecution 5Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · Whoever flees for fear of denying has already half denied; it is better to stay and trust God to protect, as the martyr Rutilius, who fled repeatedly, was caught and burned all the same.
On Flight in Persecution 6Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · Christ's command to flee from city to city was given to the apostles for their mission to Israel; once the gospel went to the nations the apostles no longer fled, as Paul's refusal to avoid Jerusalem shows, so the command does not bind Christians now.
On Flight in Persecution 7Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · A permanent command to flee would contradict Christ's other sayings on confessing him, enduring to the end, and not fearing those who kill the body; the fearful are threatened with the second death, not offered flight.
On Flight in Persecution 8Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · Christ withdrew from danger only until his teaching was complete; then he faced his Passion, and in Gethsemane, though his flesh was weak, he submitted to the Father's will, as Christians should.
On Flight in Persecution 9Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · The apostles, who wrote from chains and exile, never renewed the command to flee; Paul's armour of God, John's teaching that perfect love casts out fear, and the oracles of the Spirit all call to martyrdom, not flight.
On Flight in Persecution 10Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · The proverb that he who flees lives to fight again is worldly wisdom; a Christian soldier who flees has already been defeated, and like Jonah he cannot escape God anyway, so it is better to stay and trust him.
On Flight in Persecution 11Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · When deacons, presbyters, and bishops flee, the laity lose heart; Scripture condemns the shepherd who abandons his flock to the wolves, so church leaders above all must not flee in persecution.
On Flight in Persecution 12Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · Buying off persecutors with money is only flight by another means and a form of denial; Christ bought Christians with his blood, the apostles never ransomed themselves, and what Christians owe God in persecution is their blood, not coins.
On Flight in Persecution 13Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · The command to give to all who ask concerns alms, not extortion, and the saying about making friends by mammon does not mean paying off persecutors; Tertullian denounces whole churches and their bishops who pay regular protection money to soldiers.
On Flight in Persecution 14Tertullian · ca. 208–213 · Christians can meet safely by faith and prudence, at night or in small groups, rather than by bribery; the teaching is hard, but those who have received the Paraclete neither flee nor buy off persecution.
On Fasting 12Tertullian · ca. 210–220 · Fasting prepares Christians for prison and martyrdom, whereas the psychics feast their imprisoned confessors, as with Pristinus, who died drunk and denying Christ.
On Monogamy 15Tertullian · ca. 210–217 · Refusing second marriage is not heresy, since marriage itself is not forbidden; and those who excommunicate Christians who denied the faith under torture should not excuse remarriage as mere weakness of the flesh.
On Modesty 22Tertullian · ca. 210–220 · Tertullian denies that confessors or martyrs can forgive adultery for others, since martyrdom washes only one's own sins, and protests that adulterers are readmitted more easily than those who denied Christ under torture.
On the Resurrection of the Flesh 8Tertullian · ca. 208–212 · In the Christian life the flesh is washed, anointed, signed, receives the laying on of hands and the body and blood of Christ, fasts, keeps chastity, and suffers martyrdom, so it shares in salvation.
On the Resurrection of the Flesh 40Tertullian · ca. 208–212 · Paul's “outer man” that is being corrupted means the flesh worn down by persecution in this life, not flesh destined to perish; flesh and soul that suffer together will be glorified together.
On the Resurrection of the Flesh 41Tertullian · ca. 208–212 · Paul's promise of a heavenly house when the earthly tent is dissolved rewards the flesh that suffers; the wish to be “clothed over” belongs to those alive at Christ's coming, who will be changed without dying.
On the Crown 1Tertullian · 211 · A Christian soldier refused to wear the laurel crown at a donative, confessed “I am a Christian,” and was imprisoned; Tertullian defends him against Christians who called him reckless and asked where Scripture forbids the crown.
To Scapula 1Tertullian · 212 · Christians do not fear persecution; Tertullian writes out of love for his enemies, as Christ commanded, to warn them of what is coming.
To Scapula 2Tertullian · 212 · Christians worship the one God, hold that religion must not be compelled, pray for the emperor to their God, and are loyal and peaceable subjects who leave vengeance to God.
To Scapula 3Tertullian · 212 · Tertullian points to disasters and to the miserable deaths of persecuting governors as signs of God's wrath and warns Scapula that judgment is coming.
To Scapula 4Tertullian · 212 · Tertullian urges Scapula not to fight against God, citing lenient governors, Christian healings of pagans, the favor of Severus, the rain miracle under Marcus Aurelius, and the blameless life of Christians.
To Scapula 5Tertullian · 212 · Christians gladly offer themselves to death; persecution cannot destroy them but only spreads the faith, so Scapula should spare Carthage and himself.
On First Principles 4.1.1Origen · ca. 220–230 (Rufinus's translation 398) · To prove that the Scriptures are inspired, Origen points first to Moses and Christ, whose laws, unlike those of any other lawgiver, have been embraced by countless people of every nation despite persecution.
On First Principles 4.1.2Origen · ca. 220–230 (Rufinus's translation 398) · The rapid growth of the faith through persecution, spread by unlearned teachers, fulfils Christ's own predictions and shows that he who became man is truly God.
Fragments on Genesis, column 123Origen · ca. 220-254 · Notes on Gen 26–30: Isaac's forbearance; Jacob's voice and the fragrance of virtue; fleeing persecution like Jacob; Leah's opened womb read of the soul and of the synagogue; Laban's omens.
PG 12:1421 (Ps 43 LXX)Origen · ca. 220-254 · Notes on Ps 43 LXX (44):12–20: sheep for food, God’s people sold by their sins, faithfulness to the covenant in persecution, and the body as the place of affliction.
PG 12:1423 (Ps 43–44 LXX)Origen · ca. 220-254 · End of Ps 43 LXX (44):19–26 (sheep for slaughter, the sleeping Christ in the storm of thoughts) and beginning of Ps 44 LXX (45): the “good word” as the account of the Son, not the Son himself.
PG 12:1597 (Ps 118 LXX)Origen · ca. 220-254 · Notes on Psalm 119:70–85 (LXX 118): the demons not wicked from the beginning, the body as a wineskin cooled by the divine word, and the devil as the first persecutor.
PG 12:1617 (Ps 118 LXX)Origen · ca. 220-254 · Notes on Psalm 119:152–157 (LXX 118): the testimonies as a living foundation, humility before God, salvation as the knowledge of God, and the need of even the most righteous for mercy.
PG 12:1619 (Ps 118 LXX)Origen · ca. 220-254 · Notes on Psalm 119:157–165 (LXX 118): the imprints of good works, the rulers of this darkness, seven times a day as a symbol of this world, and the great peace of those who love God's law.
PG 12:1633 (Ps 124–125 LXX)Origen · ca. 220-254 · Notes on Psalm 125:3 (LXX 124) and Psalm 126:1–2 (LXX 125): the rod of sinners and those who deny God in persecution, captivity as the fall of the rational nature, and the mouth filled with joy.
Refutation of All Heresies 7.32.6Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 222–235 · Hippolytus says Satan used such sects to bring the church into disrepute among pagans.
Refutation of All Heresies 9.12.8Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 222–235 · The Jews complained that Callistus, claiming to be a Christian, had disrupted their lawful worship.
Refutation of All Heresies 9.12.9Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 222–235 · Carpophorus said Callistus was no Christian but a debtor; the prefect, pressed by the Jews, had him flogged and sent to the Sardinian mines.
Commentary on John 1.71Origen · ca. 230–248 · Whoever betrays Christ's disciples betrays Christ, as his words to Saul show.
Commentary on John 2.169Origen · ca. 230–248 · The darkness persecuted Christ and his followers, but the more they were oppressed, the more they grew.
Commentary on John 6.8Origen · ca. 230–248 · Origen wrote the first five books amid the Alexandrian storm and began the sixth before leaving Egypt.
Commentary on John 6.9Origen · ca. 230–248 · Attacked in writing by an enemy, Origen paused the work to guard his soul; his scribes were also absent.
Commentary on John 10.229Origen · ca. 230–248 · The church, Christ's body, though scattered by persecution, will be raised on the “third day” of the new creation, as Christ's resurrection foreshadows.
Commentary on John 13.372Origen · ca. 230–248 · The prophets' country was Judea, where they were persecuted and killed.
Commentary on John 13.373Origen · ca. 230–248 · Stephen reproached the Jews for persecuting the prophets, and at last they rejected Christ himself.
Commentary on John 20.136Origen · ca. 230–248 · Paul once hated Jesus when he persecuted the church.
Commentary on John 28.192Origen · ca. 230–248 · Jesus' withdrawal teaches us not to rush rashly into martyrdom.
Commentary on John 28.194Origen · ca. 230–248 · It is also good to avoid persecution when possible, lest we make our persecutors more guilty.
Commentary on John 28.195Origen · ca. 230–248 · One who provokes persecution when he could withdraw shares the guilt of the persecutor, however brave.
Commentary on John 28.198Origen · ca. 230–248 · We must heed Christ's command to flee persecution, and his own example.
Commentary on John 28.235Origen · ca. 230–248 · Christ's prophecy that killers would think they served God was fulfilled first in himself.
Commentary on John 28.248Origen · ca. 230–248 · So too those who study Christianity only to attack it.
On Prayer 29.4Origen · ca. 233–234 · If the petition meant escaping all trials, the apostles, who suffered countless hardships, would have prayed in vain.
Homily on Luke 26Origen · ca. 233–250 · Christ is spirit to those who turn to him and fire to sinners; his winnowing wind is temptation, which does not make but reveals chaff and wheat, so the foundations must be laid before persecution comes.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 1Origen · 235 · Origen opens by applying Isaiah's “affliction upon affliction, hope upon hope” to his friends Ambrose and Protoctetus, mature believers now facing trial.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 4Origen · 235 · Origen urges his friends to rejoice in persecution, to calm a troubled soul with the Psalms, and not to fear mortal men when God is present everywhere.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 5Origen · 235 · Piety toward the one God is a contest only God's people undertake; faith in the heart is not enough without confessing him with the mouth.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 6Origen · 235 · Origen distinguishes outwardly bowing to idols from inwardly serving them, and warns that denying Christ in court, even without belief, is still bowing to idols.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 7Origen · 235 · Denial and an oath by the emperor's Fortune are grave sins; not even the sun, a creature itself, would wish to be worshiped instead of God.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 8Origen · 235 · When false prophets of impiety speak against us, we should be deaf to them, as the psalmist was, when there is no hope of correcting them.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 11Origen · 235 · The measure of confession is full only if one resists every inner temptation, every word of compromise, all mockery, and attachment to family and possessions.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 18Origen · 235 · The whole world and the angels watch the martyrs' contest; those who deny will hear the taunts of Isaiah 14 from the powers of Hades.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 19Origen · 235 · When neighbors mock us, we can pray the words of Psalm 44 and say that we have not forgotten God or turned back.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 23Origen · 235 · The seven Maccabean brothers, tortured one after another before their mother, encouraged each other with the thought that God was watching.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 26Origen · 235 · Antiochus tried bribery on the youngest brother, but his mother urged him to endure, and he went to death pronouncing God's judgment on the tyrant.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 32Origen · 235 · The devil cannot persuade Christians to worship idols, so he tries force; they must not trade Christ's light yoke for the yoke of demons.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 33Origen · 235 · The three youths, Mordecai, Daniel, and Job are models for refusing to worship idols or men, even at the threat of fire or lions.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 34Origen · 235 · Jesus' warnings of persecution and his command not to fear those who kill the body were given to the apostles and apply to martyrs, whom Christ will confess before the Father.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 41Origen · 235 · Those who have passed from death to life should expect the world's hatred, lay down their lives as Jesus did, and boast in their afflictions.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 42Origen · 235 · Those who share Christ's sufferings share his comfort and triumph; the martyr's departure is the true day of salvation, and ministers must commend themselves by endurance.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 44Origen · 235 · Like the Hebrews Paul praised, Christians should accept the loss of their goods with joy, since they have a better and eternal possession.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 48Origen · 235 · The persecution is the storm that will show whether each has built on the rock, Christ; the spiritual powers that beat on such a house will themselves be defeated.
Exhortation to Martyrdom 49Origen · 235 · Persecution tests whether the word fell on rocky ground or good soil; those who endure bear fruit a hundredfold and should despise the cares and riches of this world.
Homily on Isaiah 8Origen · ca. 235–250 · Origen reads the idols of Jerusalem and Samaria as the hidden idols of sin in church members and heretics, and the boastful king of Assyria as the devil, whom Christians resist by standing firm on Christ the rock.
Homilies on Exodus 2.1Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · Since the midwives' disobedience makes no sense literally, Pharaoh's killing of the males and sparing of the females is read as the devil's war on the rational spirit while he fosters the life of the flesh.
Homilies on Exodus 3.3Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · The three days' journey out of Egypt is Christ and the purification of word, deed, and thought; Pharaoh resists and mocks those who leave the world, but the word of God stirs up a war against vice in which believers must stand firm.
Homilies on Exodus 6.2Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · Persecutors are horses ridden by demons, as Judas was once ridden by the Lord and then by Satan; “the God of my father” is the God of Christ, who calls the Father his God to safeguard the oneness of God.
Homilies on Exodus 11.1Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · The Christian, always under attack, must live as a soldier in God's camp; the journey from Sin (“temptation”) to Rephidim (“soundness of judgment”) is the passage of one tested and unwounded in temptation.
Homilies on Ezekiel 10.4Origen · ca. 238–250 (Jerome's translation in the 380s) · Restoration comes only after sins are drained by long punishment, as a quick injury needs a long cure; even when forgiven, the sinner remains ashamed, so believers must stand firm in persecution.
Homilies on Ezekiel 13.1Origen · ca. 238–250 (Jerome's translation in the 380s) · The prince of Tyre lamented by Ezekiel is not a man but one of the angelic princes set over the nations, like the princes in Daniel; these powers, not human persecutors, are the Church’s real enemies.
Homilies on Joshua 9.10Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · The kings who gathered against Joshua figure the Roman authorities who have outlawed Christians, but as they failed then, persecution will not stop the church from spreading.
Homilies on Joshua 11.2Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · Whoever befriends Jesus gains enemies, human and demonic; even the least in the church will be attacked, but Christ and the church’s leaders come to help the weak.
Homilies on Judges 7.2Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · Seeds sown in the spirit cannot be spoiled, but sin and denial in persecution destroy what was gathered; the baptism of blood in martyrdom surpasses that of water.
Homilies on Judges 9.1Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · Gideon's sending home the fearful shows that Christ's soldiers must cast out fear; even women and girls have conquered as martyrs, and flight is allowed, but never denial.
Homilies on Numbers 9.2Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · God's glory appeared to Moses and Aaron only when the people rose against them, showing that persecution brings Christians God's grace and glory.
Homilies on Numbers 10.2Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · Christ takes away sin, and his “sons,” the apostles and martyrs, share in bearing the sins of the holy by offering themselves; Origen fears that in a time without martyrs the church lacks this help.
Homilies on Numbers 12.4Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · Israel's request to pass through Sihon's land figures the baptismal renunciation of the devil, and victory over him comes by keeping Christ's commandments.
Homilies on Psalms 36-38 2.6Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · The promise to the meek in Ps 37:11 shows that Christ’s beatitude was already spoken in the old Scriptures, against the Valentinians; the meek delight in the abundance of peace, while the sinner who gnashes at the righteous awaits his day.
Homilies on Psalms 36-38 5.4Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · The sinner watches the righteous to kill them, as was done to Christ and the martyrs and as the devil does daily, but the Lord will not abandon them; those who wait for him will be exalted to inherit the land above, the “earth” of the higher heaven.
Homilies on Psalms 36-38 7.8Origen · ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) · No one in this life escapes hatred, since even God and Christ are hated; what matters is to be hated unjustly, like the prophets and Christ, and not for one’s own sins.
Homilies on Jeremiah 1.13Origen · ca. 240 · Jeremiah was young in body but mature within; God warned him of persecution, which all who live godly lives must expect, and which is blessed when suffered unjustly.
Homilies on Jeremiah 4.3Origen · ca. 240 · In the age of the martyrs Christians were few but true; now the church is large but has few real believers, as Christ foretold for the end of the age.
Homilies on Jeremiah 14.2Origen · ca. 240 · Jeremiah, a physician sent to a sick people, was constantly accused and dragged to court; hence his lament to his mother and his complaint that no one profited from his words.
Homilies on Jeremiah 14.7Origen · ca. 240 · Christ is “judged in all the earth” whenever Christians are tried or falsely accused for their faith, since he identifies himself with them.
Homilies on Jeremiah 14.13Origen · ca. 240 · The persecuted prophet, and Christ in him, asks God not to be long-suffering toward his persecutors; indeed only forty-two years passed from Christ's ministry to the fall of the temple, a short time allowed for repentance.
Homilies on Jeremiah 14.14Origen · ca. 240 · To pray for a share with the prophets and apostles is to ask to suffer as they did for rebuking sin; Origen alludes to a recent case of church discipline and warns his hearers not to listen to the slanders of the excommunicated.
Homilies on Jeremiah 14.17Origen · ca. 240 · In this world the persecutors prevail, as the martyrs' trials show, because Christ's kingdom is not of this world.
Homilies on Jeremiah 15.2Origen · ca. 240 · Like the prophets, who were stoned and killed for rebuking the people, and like Christ, who denounced the scribes and Pharisees, we should be willing to be judged by many for speaking the truth.
Homilies on Jeremiah 19.12Origen · ca. 240 · Pashhur struck the prophet as Ananias had Paul struck; today the Ebionites strike Paul with blasphemy, and Christ is still scourged and spat upon whenever his teaching is reviled by Jews, pagans, and unbelievers.
Homilies on Jeremiah 20.5Origen · ca. 240 · According to Origen's Jewish teacher, Jeremiah, mocked whenever he said “Thus says the Lord,” began to say “Hear my words,” which is why the Hebrew book begins “The words of Jeremiah”; Christians likewise sometimes present Christian teaching without naming it to win prejudiced hearers.
Homilies on Jeremiah 20.8Origen · ca. 240 · Jeremiah's resolve to stop prophesying was a sin, at once burned away by God's word like fire in his heart; that inner fire of repentance, which Christ kindles, is better than any punishment, and the sinner who grieves long over his sin has hope, unlike the one who does not care.
Lines 789–812Commodian · 3rd century (disputed) · At the end of six thousand years the dead will rise incorrupt and see what was promised; the end will begin with the seventh persecution, the Goths' invasion, and King Apollyon.
Lines 813–836Commodian · 3rd century (disputed) · The barbarian king takes Rome and spares the Christians; then Nero returns from the dead as a new Cyrus, Elijah prophesies, and Nero is worshiped by Romans and Jews.
Lines 837–860Commodian · 3rd century (disputed) · Elijah prophesies, seals the faithful, and brings drought and plagues; the senate, incited, asks Nero to kill the prophets, and at their martyrdom an earthquake strikes the city.
Lines 861–884Commodian · 3rd century (disputed) · The two prophets rise and ascend; Nero with two Caesars then persecutes the Christians throughout the world, demanding sacrifice to the images.
Instructions 2.9Commodian · 3rd century (disputed) · Using the image of war, Commodian says that those who surrender to the enemy in persecution have lost their King, and should rather have hidden or died.
Instructions 2.10Commodian · 3rd century (disputed) · Those who lapsed as children in persecution are not to be blamed, but once grown should return to the church as if newly born.
Instructions 2.24Commodian · 3rd century (disputed) · Alms given from extortion, usury, or profiting from persecution are rejected by God.
Instructions 2.25Commodian · 3rd century (disputed) · The peace after persecution is a hidden war, and leaders who led the people into schism have become soldiers of another than Christ.
Commentary on the Song of Songs 3.202Origen · ca. 240–245 (Rufinus's translation ca. 410) · In the drama the Bridegroom is now present, now absent, as Christ is to the Church in peace and persecution, and to the soul in finding or missing the meaning of Scripture.
Against Celsus, preface 3Origen · ca. 248 · Origen writes his reply reluctantly, since no true believer should be shaken by Celsus; Paul's list of things that cannot separate us from God's love does not even include arguments.
Against Celsus 1.1Origen · ca. 248 · Celsus accuses Christians of illegal secret associations; Origen replies that secret agreements against unjust laws, like a plot against a tyrant, are right.
Against Celsus 1.3Origen · ca. 248 · Unlike the persecution of Socrates or Pythagoras, the persecution of Christians came from every power in the empire, and only divine power let the faith survive and conquer.
Against Celsus 1.27Origen · ca. 248 · The faith spread worldwide against every power; naturally most converts are simple people, but, as Celsus admits, some are educated.
Against Celsus 1.65Origen · ca. 248 · Jesus' avoiding of danger was prudence, like Aristotle's leaving Athens, and his support from grateful women was no more shameful than philosophers' support from their pupils.
Against Celsus 2.13Origen · ca. 248 · Jesus foretold that his followers would be brought before rulers for his name alone—as Christians uniquely are—that the gospel would reach the whole world, and that Jerusalem would be besieged, all of which came true.
Against Celsus 2.40Origen · ca. 248 · Origen says Celsus wrongly thinks greatness means escaping death, whereas Jesus' death became an example for those who die for true piety.
Against Celsus 2.44Origen · ca. 248 · Origen rejects Celsus's comparison of Jesus with condemned sorcerers and robbers: Jesus was indeed crucified among robbers, as foretold, and his martyrs share his unjust condemnation.
Against Celsus 2.45Origen · ca. 248 · Origen answers that the disciples' early failure is balanced by their later bold preaching, suffering, and martyrdom, which Celsus ignores.
Against Celsus 3.3Origen · ca. 248 · Origen argues that Israel's faithfulness under persecution shows it had genuine signs and prophecies from God, since otherwise it would have turned to the pagan oracles and healing gods.
Against Celsus 3.7Origen · ca. 248 · Origen denies that Christianity arose from rebellion, since Christ forbade his followers to kill anyone and they accepted death like sheep; and he suggests the Hebrew language was God's gift at the Exodus.
Against Celsus 3.8Origen · ca. 248 · Origen argues from Hebrew names that the Israelites were not Egyptians, and says that Christians, forbidden to fight, have been protected by God, who has allowed only a few martyrs as examples while preserving the church.
Against Celsus 3.15Origen · ca. 248 · Origen says Christianity is not held together by fear of outsiders, since persecution has ceased for some time and may return, and that Christians openly teach converts to reject idols and worship the Creator.
Against Celsus 4.32Origen · ca. 248 · Providence transferred the dignity of Israel's law to believers from all nations through Jesus, whose word prevailed despite demon-inspired persecution by rulers and peoples; Israel was protected while faithful and forsaken after killing Jesus.
Against Celsus 5.50Origen · ca. 248 · The Jews were once favored and protected by God, as Alexander's homage to the high priest shows; that favor has now passed to Christians, whom Rome cannot destroy because God defends them.
Against Celsus 6.27Origen · ca. 248 · Celsus invents a rite of the Christian “seal” and says Christians call the Creator accursed; Origen rejects this as slander like the old tales of child-eating and orgies spread about Christians.
Against Celsus 6.40Origen · ca. 248 · Celsus's claim to have seen Christian presbyters with magic books is a slander like the old tales of Christian cannibalism, easily disproved by anyone who has lived among Christians.
Against Celsus 7.26Origen · ca. 248 · The law of Moses suited a nation with its own state and wars, while the Gospel suits people from all nations under Roman rule; providence ended the temple worship and has made Christianity grow despite persecution.
Against Celsus 7.40Origen · ca. 248 · Celsus confuses Christians with the Ophite sect, whose magical names for the doorkeepers of the heavens Christians reject; those sectarians do not die for their faith, as Christians do.
Against Celsus 8.6Origen · ca. 248 · Christians refuse to serve anyone but God not to protect God but to avoid harming themselves; like the Spartan envoys who would not bow to the Persian king, Christ's ambassadors bow to no ruler but Christ.
Against Celsus 8.39Origen · ca. 248 · Celsus retorts that Christ's persecutors go unpunished; Origen says the retort fails, since Christians do not mock statues, Christ is God's Word and not a demon, and judgment will come on the incurably wicked in due time.
Against Celsus 8.43Origen · ca. 248 · Since Jesus' death a whole new nation of Christians has arisen; like a grain of wheat his death bore much fruit, and the Father gave his Son willingly for the world, while the demons avenge themselves on Christians who expel them.
Against Celsus 8.44Origen · ca. 248 · The martyrs' deaths break the demons' power, which is why persecution pauses and resumes; the demons and the judges rejoice when a Christian denies under torture, and a Christian who flees does so in obedience to Christ, not from cowardice.
Against Celsus 8.65Origen · ca. 248 · Christians will not win rulers' favour by sin or servility, but neither do they provoke them, obeying Paul's command to be subject to the authorities; yet they will die rather than swear by the emperor's Fortune, which is either nothing or a demon.
Against Celsus 8.69Origen · ca. 248 · Celsus mocks the hope that God would defend a Christian Rome, pointing to the Jews' loss of their land and the persecution of Christians; Origen answers that if all Romans prayed together, God would fight for them as for Moses, and God's promises were conditional.
Against Celsus 8.70Origen · ca. 248 · A Christian Rome would be protected by God, as ten righteous men would have saved Sodom's cities, for Christians are the salt of the earth; persecution comes only when God permits it, and Christ has overcome the world.
Against Celsus 8.71Origen · ca. 248 · Celsus imagines Christians converting one set of rulers after another until some government wipes them out; Origen says no Christian claims this and Celsus has invented it.
Commentary on Matthew, Latin Series 39Origen · ca. 244–249 (Latin translation, 4th–5th century) · Persecutions and the preaching of the Gospel to all nations are still to be fully completed before the end, since many peoples have not yet heard it; figuratively, the one advancing to perfection suffers tribulations and false teachings, and is saved by holding to the apostolic tradition.
Commentary on Matthew, Latin Series 78Origen · ca. 244–249 (Latin translation, 4th–5th century) · The two apostles named Judas figure faithful and faithless confessors; Judas sold Christ for thirty staters, as those who sin for gain betray the Word, and sought a moment without the crowd, as betrayers do in persecution; the Passover is to be kept not bodily, as the Ebionites would, but spiritually, in the large upper room of a purified understanding.
Commentary on Matthew, Latin Series 113Origen · ca. 244–249 (Latin translation, 4th–5th century) · The spitting and blows fulfil Isaiah 50 and are a further humiliation for which God exalted Christ; Peter, who denied in the night before the Spirit was given, could be forgiven, but believers who deny after receiving the Spirit have no excuse; the maidservants figure the synagogue, the Gentiles, and heresies, and Peter wept only once outside the courtyard.
Commentary on Matthew, Latin Series 131Origen · ca. 244–249 (Latin translation, 4th–5th century) · Christ crucified among robbers fulfils Isaiah's prophecy, and his disciples too are counted among the lawless and persecuted, for the world punishes the outstanding in wickedness and in virtue alike.
Commentary on Matthew 10.18Origen · ca. 246–248 · Taken figuratively, the saying that a prophet has no honour in his own country fits all the prophets, persecuted by Israel, and Christians who live righteously and are dishonoured by the world.
Commentary on Matthew 10.23Origen · ca. 246–248 · Jesus’ withdrawal after John’s death teaches flight from avoidable persecution, and spiritually signifies the Word’s departure from the Jews to the Gentiles, whom he pities and heals.
Commentary on Matthew 16.1Origen · ca. 246–248 · Christ went up to Jerusalem knowing what awaited him, and Paul imitated him despite Agabus’s warning; yet wisdom in Christ must discern when to face danger and when to withdraw.
Commentary on Romans 7.11Origen · ca. 244–246 (Rufinus's translation ca. 405–406) · Origen shows how one rooted in God’s love answers each trial—tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword—with Scripture, overcoming not by his own strength but through Christ’s love, which makes bodily pain unfelt.
Commentary on Romans 9.29Origen · ca. 244–246 (Rufinus's translation ca. 405–406) · Christians must be subject and pay taxes so as to live quietly; refusal would make their persecutors excusable and turn their death into a just penalty rather than martyrdom.
That Idols Are Not Gods 7Cyprian of Carthage · ca. 246–250, if by Cyprian · Demons hide in idols, work oracles and diseases to win worship, but flee when Christians adjure them by the true God; they stir up hatred of Christians.
That Idols Are Not Gods 15Cyprian of Carthage · ca. 246–250, if by Cyprian · Christians confirm their confession of Christ by suffering; they follow him as their leader and will become what he is.
To Quirinus 3.6Cyprian of Carthage · ca. 248–250 (book 3 perhaps later) · The righteous suffer more than others, but must endure, since trials prove them, as Job, Paul, and the Psalms show.
To Quirinus 3.16Cyprian of Carthage · ca. 248–250 (book 3 perhaps later) · Scripture praises martyrdom: the death of the saints is precious to God, and those who confess Christ unto death receive the crown of life.
To Quirinus 3.29Cyprian of Carthage · ca. 248–250 (book 3 perhaps later) · Christ foretold that his followers would be hated and persecuted for his name.
To Quirinus 3.37Cyprian of Carthage · ca. 248–250 (book 3 perhaps later) · A Christian should suffer punishment only for bearing Christ's name, never for wrongdoing.
Letter 5.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · From hiding, Cyprian asks his clergy to act in his place and to see that imprisoned confessors and the faithful poor lack nothing.
Letter 5.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Visits to the confessors in prison should be discreet, and the presbyters who celebrate the Eucharist there should take turns with one deacon each, to avoid provoking the authorities.
Letter 6.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian greets the imprisoned confessors, longs to embrace them, and hails their prison as blessed because it sends people of God to heaven.
Letter 7.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian explains that he stays away to avoid provoking the heathen, and asks his clergy to care for widows, the sick, the poor, and needy strangers from his own funds.
Letter 8.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The Roman clergy, writing to the clergy of Carthage, note Cyprian's withdrawal and remind them that shepherds must not act like hirelings who abandon the flock.
Letter 8.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The Roman clergy report that they are exhorting their people to stand firm, and that they urge those who fell into idolatry to do penance rather than abandoning them.
Letter 8.3Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The lapsed who fall sick and repent should receive communion; widows, prisoners, the homeless, and sick catechumens must be cared for, and the dead buried.
Letter 10.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian rejoices over the confessors of Carthage, some already crowned as martyrs, whose courage under torture has overcome their persecutors.
Letter 10.4Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The martyr Mappalicus foretold his own contest and won it; Cyprian urges the other confessors to follow him, while assuring those spared by peace that their faithful will is crowned too.
Letter 11.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian tells his clergy that the persecution came because of the church's sins, even the pride of some confessors, and calls for prayer, fasting, and tears.
Letter 11.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The persecution is God's rod for sin, but he has promised mercy; the church must ask and knock with united, persistent prayer.
Letter 11.4Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Another vision, seen before the persecution, showed Christ grieving over neglected commands and the devil receiving power to catch the careless in his net.
Letter 11.5Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Rebuked in a vision for drowsiness in prayer, the church must pray watchfully as Christ did, trusting in him as advocate, since nothing can separate believers from his love.
Letter 11.6Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian himself, the least of God's servants, received a promise that peace would come after a short delay, and warnings to live soberly.
Letter 11.8Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian asks for united, tearful prayer for peace, the restoration of the church, the repentance of the lapsed, and the glory of those who stand firm.
Letter 14.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian grieves that some clergy have fallen, and explains that on Tertullus's advice he remains in hiding for the safety of all.
Letter 15.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian warns the martyrs that certain presbyters are admitting the lapsed to the Eucharist on the martyrs' recommendation without penance, confession, or the laying on of hands.
Letter 15.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The lapsed are understandably eager, but pastors must not harm them by granting premature peace; the church must first have peace before their cases are decided.
Letter 15.4Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian asks the martyrs to name each person in their certificates of peace, instead of writing vague notes covering someone “with his household”.
Letter 17.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian tells the laity that he shares their grief for the lapsed, but their cases will be examined only when peace returns, in the presence of the people.
Letter 19.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The dying with martyrs' certificates may be reconciled; the rest must wait for a general council after peace returns, or, if impatient, may confess Christ now and win the martyr's crown.
Letter 20.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian writes to the Roman clergy to correct false reports: he withdrew at the start of the persecution for the people's peace, as the Lord commanded, but never stopped caring for them.
Letter 20.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian lists his thirteen letters: counsel to the clergy, encouragement to confessors, rebukes, restraint of the martyrs' flood of certificates, and the curbing of presbyters who readmitted the lapsed.
Letter 20.3Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian explains that he allowed the dying who held martyrs' certificates to be reconciled, in agreement with the Roman clergy's letter, and deferred all other cases to a council.
Letter 21.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Celerinus, a Roman confessor, writes to Lucian, a confessor imprisoned at Carthage, glad of his confession and hoping to embrace him in the world to come.
Letter 21.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Celerinus mourns his sister, who sacrificed under persecution, and asks Lucian and the martyrs to obtain pardon for the lapsed sisters Numeria and Candida.
Letter 21.3Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Celerinus asks that whichever martyr is crowned first should forgive Numeria and Candida, noting that one of them only bribed her way out and did not actually sacrifice.
Letter 21.4Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Celerinus adds that the confessors from Carthage, whom Numeria and Candida cared for at Rome, join his request, and sends greetings.
Letter 22.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Lucian replies to Celerinus, praising his confession before the emperor himself and grieving over the fallen sisters.
Letter 22.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Lucian explains that the martyr Paulus charged him to give peace in his name, and that the martyrs, many starved to death in prison, have granted peace to all; the sisters should receive it after confession before the bishop.
Letter 23.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The confessors tell Cyprian that they have granted peace to the lapsed whose conduct since their fall he has examined, and ask him to make this known to other bishops.
Letter 24.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Bishop Caldonius asks Cyprian whether those who once sacrificed but later confessed Christ and went into exile, losing their property, may be given peace.
Letter 25.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian agrees that the lapsed who later confessed and went into exile have washed away their sin and should be given peace, and sends his other letters on the lapsed to be circulated.
Letter 27.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian tells the Roman clergy that the confessor Lucian, zealous but untaught, has been issuing certificates of peace in bulk in the names of the martyr Paulus and the illiterate Aurelius.
Letter 27.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Lucian then wrote in the name of all the confessors granting peace to all the lapsed, which makes Cyprian's case-by-case examination look like a refusal.
Letter 27.3Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The confessors' letter has already sparked riots against bishops; Lucian presumes to forgive sins in Paulus's name, though sins are remitted in the name of the Trinity and martyrs are made by the gospel, not the gospel by martyrs.
Letter 30.3Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Those who obtained certificates or had themselves registered as having sacrificed have denied Christ just as those who sacrificed; hasty readmission without penance is not healing but killing.
Letter 30.5Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The Roman clergy thank Cyprian for encouraging their imprisoned confessors, and agree that, with Rome still lacking a bishop, the lapsed should be dealt with only after peace, by a broad council.
Letter 30.6Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · All should pray for peace; the lapsed should knock humbly at the church's door, not break it down, and plead with tears rather than agitation.
Letter 30.7Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · God is both merciful and just; until Rome has a bishop, the lapsed must wait, except the truly penitent who are dying, who may be helped with caution.
Letter 31.4Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The Roman confessors gather the gospel's calls to martyrdom: loving Christ above all, the blessing on the persecuted, the promise to those who endure and conquer.
Letter 31.6Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The confessors praise Cyprian for caring for his flock from hiding and for rebuking premature readmissions: penance, humility, and patience, not numbers, heal the sin of the lapsed.
Letter 31.7Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The lapsed must cleanse their defiled hands and mouths with good works, tears, and true penance; a wound healed too quickly reopens.
Letter 31.8Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · If those who denied Christ were readmitted at once, the sufferings of the confessors would be meaningless; the lapsed could have kept communion by confessing.
Letter 33.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Other lapsed have written humbly, waiting for Cyprian's return; the anonymous writers must sign their names before he will answer them.
Letter 34.4Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian will not judge alone the case of three minor clergy who fled and returned; meanwhile they should forgo their monthly allowance until a council decides.
Letter 35.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian tells the Roman clergy that some lapsed are claiming peace as already granted by the martyr Paulus, and sends copies of his replies.
Letter 36.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The Roman clergy share Cyprian's grief at the lapsed who claim peace as already theirs; no privilege can grant communion if it contradicts the gospel.
Letter 39.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Celerinus confessed Christ before the emperor himself at the start of the persecution and endured nineteen days in irons; his scars testify to his victory.
Letter 43.3Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The five presbyters behind Felicissimus are like the five commissioners who enforced the edict of sacrifice: a second persecution that abolishes penance and defies the agreed plan to settle the lapsed in council.
Letter 43.7Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Those who stood must persevere and the lapsed must not desert their bishops; Cyprian will return after Easter to settle matters in council, and those who join Felicissimus cannot return.
Letter 55.3Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian will explain why his early strictness toward the lapsed and his later readiness to reconcile them are consistent and carefully weighed.
Letter 55.4Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · During the persecution Cyprian urged the lapsed to atone by confessing Christ, and deferred any general decision on them to a council of bishops once peace came.
Letter 55.5Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Rome's clergy and confessors, in a letter written by Novatian himself, agreed with Cyprian to defer the lapsed until a council and to reconcile the dying.
Letter 55.6Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The African council after the persecution neither denied the lapsed all hope nor readmitted them lightly, but required prolonged penance and case-by-case examination; Cornelius's Roman council agreed.
Letter 55.9Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cornelius took the Roman see fearlessly under the persecuting emperor Decius and deserves to be counted among the confessors.
Letter 55.13Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Those reconciled when near death are not to be denied peace if they recover; and those who took certificates are not to be ranked with those who sacrificed, whose cases also differ widely.
Letter 55.14Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · One who bought a certificate to avoid sacrificing, now taught that this too was sin, weeps and repents, and should not be treated like one who sacrificed.
Letter 55.17Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The council therefore admitted those with certificates after examination and reconciled those who sacrificed at death, since penance without hope of its fruit would drive them away.
Letter 56.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Bishops ask Cyprian whether three confessors who gave way under prolonged torture, and have done penance for three years, may now be admitted to communion.
Letter 56.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian thinks these confessors, who fell only after long torture and have done three years of penance, should be reconciled even before the dying are.
Letter 57.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The African council tells Cornelius that, with a new persecution approaching, it has decided to reconcile at once all lapsed who have persevered in penance, so that they can be armed for the struggle.
Letter 57.5Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Warned by visions of a coming, harsher persecution, the council has decided to reconcile the lapsed after examination, and hopes Cornelius will agree.
Letter 58.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Unable to visit Thibaris, Cyprian writes to prepare the people for a fiercer persecution at the approaching end of the age: those who drink Christ's cup daily must be ready to shed their blood for him.
Letter 58.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Christ and Peter foretold the persecutions of the last times; they test believers, and Christ promises a great reward to those who suffer for him.
Letter 58.3Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Christians enlisted as soldiers of a Lord who suffered first; since death is certain anyway, they should embrace a death that brings immortality.
Letter 58.4Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Those who flee and die alone in hiding, by robbers, beasts, hunger, or shipwreck, still receive the martyr's reward, for Christ is with them and sees them.
Letter 58.6Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The Maccabean martyrs, prophets, apostles, and the Holy Innocents show the way; since Christ, sinless, suffered and was hated by the world first, his servants should not refuse to suffer.
Letter 58.7Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Antichrist is coming, but Christ follows to avenge his people; fear God, not persecutors, for the worshipers of the beast face eternal punishment.
Letter 58.8Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · In a greater contest than the games, God, his angels, and Christ watch; both the steadfast and the lapsed must put on the whole armor of God.
Letter 58.9Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian applies each piece of the armor of God to the Christian under persecution: ears closed to edicts, eyes to idols, the forehead keeping God's sign, the hand that receives the Lord's body refusing sacrifice.
Letter 59.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · A bishop must not be cowed by threats; from Abel to Christ betrayed by Judas, God's servants have suffered from their own brothers, and such enemies harm only themselves.
Letter 59.6Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian, lawfully elected and proven for four years, proscribed by name and repeatedly demanded for the lions, is attacked by schismatics; the real attacker is the devil, who wants to remove the church's helmsman.
Letter 59.12Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Passing over their other crimes, Cyprian names the chief one: from the start of the persecution they gave communion to the lapsed and so blocked the penance that God's anger demands.
Letter 60.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian rejoices that Cornelius led the whole Roman church in confessing the faith when persecution struck.
Letter 60.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Rome's united confession fulfilled Paul's praise of the Romans' faith; the enemy, hoping to pick off individuals, met a whole army ready to die, and many lapsed redeemed themselves by confessing.
Letter 60.3Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The persecution showed which is the true church: the devil ignored Novatian's followers, already his, and attacked those in whom Christ dwells.
Letter 60.5Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian urges fasting, vigils, and prayer for the coming struggle, and asks that whichever of them dies first continue to pray for the other before the Lord.
Letter 61.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian and his colleagues congratulate Lucius, bishop of Rome, on returning from exile, now both bishop and confessor.
Letter 61.3Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The persecution at Rome showed who was the true church, bishop, and people: the devil attacks only Christ's soldiers and leaves the heretics alone.
Letter 63.15Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Some avoided wine at the morning Eucharist lest the smell betray them in persecution; but those ashamed to drink Christ's blood will not shed their own for him.
Letter 65.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian is grieved that Fortunatianus, bishop of Assuras, who sacrificed in the persecution, now claims his episcopate again instead of doing penance.
Letter 66.4Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The persecution's edict proscribing “Cyprian, bishop of the Christians” confirmed him as bishop; Christ's words to the apostles apply to all bishops who succeed them.
Letter 67.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · An African council answers Spanish churches that bishops Basilides and Martialis, who took certificates of idolatry, cannot hold office; God's law requires priests at the altar to be holy.
Letter 67.6Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Basilides and Martialis, who took certificates, blasphemed, joined pagan guild banquets and burials, and publicly denied Christ, may do penance but, as Cornelius and all bishops decreed, can never again hold priestly office.
Letter 75.10Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Firmilian tells of a woman in Cappadocia about twenty-two years earlier who, possessed by a demon, posed as a prophetess, deceived clergy, celebrated the Eucharist, and baptized with the correct words.
Letter 76.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · From his own exile, Cyprian greets the bishops, clergy, and faithful condemned to the mines, praising their confession and their leadership by example.
Letter 76.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian turns the confessors' beatings, chains, filth, hunger, and shorn heads into marks of glory that Christ will repay.
Letter 76.5Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Christ promises that the Spirit will speak in those who are handed over, which gives believers confidence and condemns those who deny.
Letter 76.6Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Following their leaders, many laypeople, including virgins and boys, have confessed and suffered with them.
Letter 77.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The bishops in the mines thank Cyprian, praising his writings and character and wishing him the crown of confession.
Letter 77.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The confessors praise Cyprian for leading the way by his confession before the proconsul and his exile, which inspired many.
Letter 78.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Lucius and his fellow confessors thank Cyprian for his letter, which strengthened them, and hope to share the crown he won first.
Letter 80.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian reports Valerian's second edict ordering the execution of clergy and penalties for Christian nobles, and the martyrdom of Bishop Xystus of Rome with four deacons.
Letter 80.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian asks Successus to spread the news so that all may prepare to face death with joy.
Letter 81.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian's last letter explains that he has withdrawn briefly so as to be tried and die in Carthage, his own church, and forbids his people to provoke arrest.
Martyrdom of Conon 1Anonymous · ca. 250 · At Magydos the inhabitants flee when the governor summons them.
Acts of Maximus 1Anonymous · ca. 250 · Maximus gives himself up under Decius and refuses to sacrifice.
On the Lord's Prayer 21Cyprian of Carthage · ca. 252 · God provides food for the righteous, as he did for Daniel among the lions and Elijah by the ravens.
Martyrdom of Pionius and Companions 2Anonymous · 250 (the text may be later) · Forewarned in a vision, Pionius and his companions put on chains and are arrested on Polycarp's day.
Martyrdom of Pionius and Companions 3Anonymous · 250 (the text may be later) · Polemon the temple-warden leads them in chains to the crowded marketplace of Smyrna.
Martyrdom of Pionius and Companions 4Anonymous · 250 (the text may be later) · Pionius's speech to the Greeks and Jews of Smyrna on mockery, apostasy, and the coming judgment by fire.
12Anonymous · 250 (the text may be later) · Pionius laments over the Christians who have lapsed.
13Anonymous · 250 (the text may be later) · Pionius warns the lapsed against Jewish invitations and answers the charge that Christ was a mere man who died a violent death.
Martyrdom of Pionius and Companions 15Anonymous · 250 (the text may be later) · After Euctemon lapses, the officials drag Pionius by force toward the temple.
18Anonymous · 250 (the text may be later) · The garlands are torn off; they return to prison; Euctemon's apostasy is described.
Letter 3Anonymous · uncertain · A spurious synodal letter rules that clergy who handed over the Scriptures in persecution (traditores) may not serve at the altar, while those who only pretended to do so are pardoned and those who surrendered them unasked are reduced to lay communion.
In Praise of Martyrdom 3Anonymous · 3rd cent. (disputed) · The martyr, detached from the world, grows stronger under torture, knowing that Christ suffers with him.
In Praise of Martyrdom 4Anonymous · 3rd cent. (disputed) · Martyrdom is defined as the end of sin and the home of life; it bears witness to Christ's name, and the martyr stands against the mob like a breakwater against the sea.
In Praise of Martyrdom 5Anonymous · 3rd cent. (disputed) · The persecutors' mockery is empty talk from blinded hearts, and their persecution only adds to their punishment.
In Praise of Martyrdom 8Anonymous · 3rd cent. (disputed) · Confessing Christ amid the executioners' swords frees the martyr from a dying world, whose daily funerals and plague show how much better a martyr's death is.
In Praise of Martyrdom 12Anonymous · 3rd cent. (disputed) · Daniel among the lions and the three youths in the furnace show that faith overcomes the threats of power, and God rewarded them even in this life.
In Praise of Martyrdom 14Anonymous · 3rd cent. (disputed) · Martyrdom brings the Christian to Christ unstained and spares him the ruin of a world wasted by plague; he should stand firm under torture, prepared as Sirach and Paul teach.
In Praise of Martyrdom 15Anonymous · 3rd cent. (disputed) · Chains and tortures are a test, not a thirst for blood; the writer recalls how bystanders marveled at a martyr who would not yield even for his wife and children.
In Praise of Martyrdom 23Anonymous · 3rd cent. (disputed) · Martyrdom is God's remedy: it crowns the faithful and also restores those who had fallen, washing away their sin in their own blood.
In Praise of Martyrdom 25Anonymous · 3rd cent. (disputed) · The writer pictures the day of a martyr's trial before the raging crowd, when the watching faithful tremble and pray, and the martyr stands unmoved under torture.
On the Lapsed 1Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Cyprian rejoices that peace has returned to the church after persecution and calls for thanksgiving to God.
On the Lapsed 2Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Cyprian welcomes the confessors who resisted sacrifice, and praises equally those who stood firm by refusing to sacrifice even if they were not arrested.
On the Lapsed 3Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Those who withdrew rather than sacrifice by the appointed day are also confessors, in a private rather than public way.
On the Lapsed 4Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Cyprian's joy is clouded by grief for the many who fell in the persecution, whose wound he feels as his own as their shepherd.
On the Lapsed 5Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · The persecution was God's testing and correction of a church whose discipline had been corrupted by long peace, and it was milder than its sins deserved.
On the Lapsed 6Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Cyprian lists the sins that provoked the persecution: greed, vanity, fraud, marriage with unbelievers, perjury, quarreling, and bishops who neglected their people for business and usury.
On the Lapsed 7Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · The persecution had been foretold in Scripture, yet most of the brothers fell at once, voluntarily denying the faith that the prophets, apostles, and Christ had warned them to keep.
On the Lapsed 8Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Many rushed to sacrifice voluntarily, without waiting to be arrested or questioned, and so destroyed their own salvation at the idols' altars.
On the Lapsed 9Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Some lapsed Christians drew others into sacrificing, even their baptized infants, who will accuse their parents at the judgment.
On the Lapsed 10Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Fear of losing home and property is no excuse, for Scripture and Christ command flight in persecution; the one who withdraws keeps the faith, while the one who stays for his property falls.
On the Lapsed 11Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Love of property kept many from fleeing and made them fall; Christ's call to sell all and follow him would have kept them free.
On the Lapsed 12Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Those possessed by their wealth cannot follow Christ; Scripture warns against the love of money and promises great reward to those who lose everything for Christ's sake.
On the Lapsed 13Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Those who gave way only after long torture have a pitiable excuse and can quickly be pardoned, like Castus and Aemilius, who later died as martyrs.
On the Lapsed 14Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Those who sacrificed willingly have no wounds to show; flattery would harm them, and like a good physician the bishop must treat them with stern remedies for their healing.
On the Lapsed 16Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Easy readmission of the lapsed before penance and reconciliation is not peace but a new persecution by the devil, which robs them of true repentance; only the Lord can show mercy.
On the Lapsed 21Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · The persecution came by God's will because of the people's sins, as Scripture shows; the lapsed should examine their consciences.
On the Lapsed 23Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · If the lapsed do not fear future judgment, let them fear the present punishments that have already struck some who denied Christ.
On the Lapsed 24Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Cyprian tells of a man struck dumb after denying Christ and a woman who, possessed after sacrificing, bit her own tongue and died.
On the Lapsed 25Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Cyprian recounts how a little girl, fed idol-offered bread and wine by a nurse without her parents' knowledge, refused and vomited the eucharistic cup.
On the Lapsed 27Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Those who obtained certificates of sacrifice without actually sacrificing (libellatici) have also denied Christ and must do penance, for God sees the heart.
On the Lapsed 28Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Those who only considered sacrificing do well to confess it to the clergy; those with certificates sinned less than those who sacrificed, but are not innocent and must still do penance.
On the Unity of the Catholic Church 1Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Cyprian warns that the devil is most dangerous when he attacks secretly, under the appearance of peace.
On the Unity of the Catholic Church 19Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Schism is worse than lapsing under persecution, since the lapsed repent and harm only themselves, while schismatics mislead many.
On the Unity of the Catholic Church 20Cyprian of Carthage · 251 · Confessors are not immune to sin; like Solomon, they can lose God's grace if they depart from his way.
Against Novatian 5Anonymous · after 251 (disputed) · The ark figures the church and the flood the recent persecution; the dove that found no rest figures the lapsed who fell.
Against Novatian 6Anonymous · after 251 (disputed) · The dove's second, successful flight with the olive leaf figures the lapsed of the Decian persecution who, received back into the church, stood firm as martyrs in the next persecution.
To Demetrian 2Cyprian of Carthage · 252–253 · Since Demetrian and others blame the Christians for wars, plague, famine, and drought, Cyprian will now answer, lest silence seem an admission of guilt.
To Demetrian 12Cyprian of Carthage · 252–253 · Pagans tolerate the worship of animals and idols, yet persecute Christians alone with ever more cruel tortures.
To Demetrian 13Cyprian of Carthage · 252–253 · Christianity is either a crime or not; torture is used to extract confessions from those who deny, so why torture Christians who openly confess? Refute them by reason instead.
To Demetrian 16Cyprian of Carthage · 252–253 · God made humans upright to look to heaven; Demetrian should stop bowing to idols, turn to God, believe in Christ, and cease persecuting Christians.
To Demetrian 17Cyprian of Carthage · 252–253 · Christians do not resist arrest, trusting in God's vengeance, which has recently fallen on the persecutors; the disasters come not because of Christians but on their behalf.
To Demetrian 20Cyprian of Carthage · 252–253 · Like Habakkuk, Christians rejoice in God even when crops fail, awaiting heaven; yet they pray day and night for rain, peace, and the safety of their persecutors.
To Demetrian 21Cyprian of Carthage · 252–253 · Though Christians share earthly hardships, God foretold that his anger would fall on the unrighteous and that he would avenge his persecuted people.
To Demetrian 24Cyprian of Carthage · 252–253 · At the judgment unbelievers will suffer eternal punishment, and their persecutors, seeing the righteous saved, will lament too late, as Isaiah and Wisdom describe.
On Mortality 15Cyprian of Carthage · 252–253 · For Christians the plague is a release: virgins, youths, and matrons escape future dangers, while the fear it brings rouses the lukewarm and wins converts.
On Jealousy and Envy 2Cyprian of Carthage · ca. 256 · The devil probes every weakness, tempting through the senses, greed, and ambition, and, when deceit fails, threatening with persecution.
On Jealousy and Envy 16Cyprian of Carthage · ca. 256 · Scripture reading, prayer, and good works arm the mind, and peace too has its crowns: victories over lust, anger, greed, pride, and envy.
To Fortunatus 0.1Cyprian of Carthage · 253 or 257 · Cyprian explains that Fortunatus asked him for Scripture passages to strengthen believers for persecution as the time of Antichrist approaches.
To Fortunatus 0.2Cyprian of Carthage · 253 or 257 · The devil is an ancient enemy with six thousand years of practice, but a Christian trained in the Lord's precepts and clinging to Christ will defeat him.
To Fortunatus 0.5Cyprian of Carthage · 253 or 257 · Cyprian lists the thirteen headings of the work, from the folly of idols to the rewards awaiting martyrs.
To Fortunatus 5Cyprian of Carthage · 253 or 257 · The Law commanded death for those who lure others to idolatry; since Christ suffered for us, Christians must all the more be ready to confess him and die rather than deny him.
To Fortunatus 9Cyprian of Carthage · 253 or 257 · Scripture teaches that afflictions and persecutions are sent to test and prove believers.
To Fortunatus 10Cyprian of Carthage · 253 or 257 · Persecution is not to be feared, because God, who is greater than the devil, protects his servants and gives them words to speak before their judges.
To Fortunatus 11Cyprian of Carthage · 253 or 257 · Christ foretold that the world would hate and persecute his followers, and the righteous have always suffered, from Abel to the three youths, the seven Maccabean brothers and their mother, and Eleazar.
To Fortunatus 12Cyprian of Carthage · 253 or 257 · Scripture promises the righteous and the martyrs immortality, vindication, and a share in Christ's reign, and the same reward awaits those who stayed faithful without being killed.
To Fortunatus 13Cyprian of Carthage · 253 or 257 · The glory to come far outweighs present suffering, and even those who die in peace with a faith prepared for martyrdom will be rewarded.
Canonical Epistle, canon 1Gregory Thaumaturgus · ca. 254–264 · Captives who ate the barbarians' food are not defiled, since it was not offered to idols; women raped in captivity are not to be blamed unless their earlier life was already immoral.
On the Good of Patience 12Cyprian of Carthage · 256 · Life begins with tears and is full of labor; Christians, facing temptations and persecutions, need patience even more than others.
On the Good of Patience 21Cyprian of Carthage · 256 · Christians should not seek quick revenge on persecutors but wait for God's day of vengeance, as even the martyrs in the Apocalypse are told to wait.
On the Good of Patience 24Cyprian of Carthage · 256 · Christ, worshiped in heaven, is not yet avenged on earth; Christians should imitate his patience, await his coming, and keep his commands.
Acts of Cyprian (Proconsular Acts) 1Anonymous · 258 · At his first hearing, on 30 August 257, Cyprian confesses that he is a Christian and a bishop, refuses to name his presbyters, and is sentenced to exile at Curubis.
Acts of Cyprian (Proconsular Acts) 2Anonymous · 258 · After his exile Cyprian was recalled by the new proconsul, Galerius Maximus, arrested at his gardens on 13 September 258, and held overnight in an officer's house, while the brothers gathered outside.
Acts of Cyprian (Proconsular Acts) 3Anonymous · 258 · At his second hearing, on 14 September 258, Cyprian confirms his identity, admits that he leads the Christians, and refuses to sacrifice.
Acts of Cyprian (Proconsular Acts) 4Anonymous · 258 · The proconsul sentences Cyprian to death; he thanks God, prays, pays his executioner, blindfolds himself, and is beheaded on 14 September 258, and the Christians bury him by night.
Life of Cyprian 7Anonymous · ca. 258–265 · Cyprian was proscribed in the Decian persecution, but his withdrawal into hiding was obedience to God, who preserved him to write and teach for the lapsed, the virgins, and the whole church.
Life of Cyprian 8Anonymous · ca. 258–265 · The author argues that God preserved Cyprian through his withdrawal to heal the lapsed and to steer the church between the schisms.
Life of Cyprian 11Anonymous · ca. 258–265 · Cyprian was exiled after his first examination by the proconsul, but for a Christian, to whom the whole world is one home, exile is glory rather than punishment.
Life of Cyprian 14Anonymous · ca. 258–265 · After the martyrdom of Bishop Xystus of Rome, Cyprian refused his friends' offers of refuge and kept exhorting the faithful, wishing to die while preaching.
Life of Cyprian 15Anonymous · ca. 258–265 · Cyprian was arrested at his gardens, his hearing was postponed a day, and he spent the night in light custody while the people of Carthage kept vigil outside.
Acts of Fructuosus, Augurius and Eulogius 1Anonymous · 259 (21 January) · Fructuosus, bishop of Tarragona, and his deacons Augurius and Eulogius are arrested on a Sunday and taken to prison, where he prays without ceasing.
Acts of Fructuosus, Augurius and Eulogius 2Anonymous · 259 (21 January) · After a baptism in prison, the governor Aemilianus interrogates the bishop and his deacons, who confess one God, and sentences them to be burned alive.
2Anonymous · 259 · Near Cirta, in the persecution of Valerian, the narrator and the two clerics arrive at Muguae.
4Anonymous · 259 · Soldiers raid the villa; Marian and James declare themselves Christians and are imprisoned.
Passion of Marian and James 5Anonymous · 259 · Marian, a reader, is tortured by suspension from his thumbs; James confesses himself a deacon.
Passion of Montanus and Lucius 2Anonymous · 259 · The arrest of the martyrs at Carthage; two catechumens die baptized.
6Anonymous · 259 · The martyrs are brought before the procurator, then tried by hunger and thirst.
Commentary on the Apocalypse 10.3Victorinus of Pettau · late 3rd century · Eating the little book means memorizing the revelation; John, condemned to the mines on Patmos under Domitian, was released and published it.
Commentary on the Apocalypse 14.2Victorinus of Pettau · late 3rd century · The harlot drunk with the blood of the saints is Rome, whose senate decreed the persecutions; Babylon in Isaiah and Tyre in Ezekiel are the same city.
Book 2, chapter 14Macarius Magnes · ca. 400 (disputed) · The pagan philosopher asks why the risen Jesus appeared only to obscure women and a few others rather than to Pilate, Herod, the high priest, or the Roman senate.
Book 3, chapter 29Macarius Magnes · ca. 400 (disputed) · Macarius answers that Peter escaped Herod not from fear but to preach and die in Rome, that Herod alone was guilty of killing the guards, that Peter's conduct at Antioch was a wise accommodation to win both Jews and Gentiles, and that Paul's “false apostles” were the envoys of the Jews.
Book 4, chapter 4Macarius Magnes · ca. 400 (disputed) · The pagan philosopher argues that Christ's promise of protection to Paul failed, since Paul was beheaded, Peter crucified, and many others martyred while the promised resurrection remains uncertain.
Book 4, chapter 14Macarius Magnes · ca. 400 (disputed) · Macarius answers that Peter and Paul were protected until their work was done and then allowed to die as martyrs in Rome, so that their endurance would refute the charge of sorcery and show that faith must be proved by suffering.
Cib. 1Methodius of Olympus · late 3rd cent. (disputed) · Trials, whether from demons or other causes, test and purify believers, as Scripture and the fate of Israel in the desert show.
Cib. 4Methodius of Olympus · late 3rd cent. (disputed) · Methodius tells Kilonia that true wisdom accepts afflictions, which lead by the narrow way to the crown of life, since this life is short.
Canon 73Anonymous · ca. 306 (disputed, ca. 295–314) · An informer whose accusation caused someone's proscription or death is refused communion even at death.
Against the Nations 1.1Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Arnobius states his purpose: to answer the charge that since Christians appeared the world has gone to ruin and the gods have left the earth.
Against the Nations 1.3Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Famine, plague, hail, drought, and earthquake are old evils with old names, so they cannot be caused by the recent arrival of Christians.
Against the Nations 1.4Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Floods, conflagrations, and disasters all happened before Christians existed, and so did wars and invasions.
Against the Nations 1.5Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Great wars of the past, from Atlantis to Alexander and Rome, were not caused by Christians.
Against the Nations 1.13Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · In the roughly three hundred years of Christianity there have been times of peace and plenty, so disasters cannot be blamed on Christians.
Against the Nations 1.16Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Disasters and blessings fall on regions alike where Christians live, so Christians cannot be their cause.
Against the Nations 1.20Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · If the gods are angry, let them defend themselves directly instead of needing human avengers.
Against the Nations 1.22Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Since pagans and Christians fare alike, the claim that the gods hate Christians is mere slander.
Against the Nations 1.24Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · The charge against Christians is spread by soothsayers and diviners who fear the loss of their income.
Against the Nations 1.25Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Granting the gods' anger for argument's sake, Arnobius asks its cause, and the accusation turns out to be that Christians worship the supreme God.
Against the Nations 1.26Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Christians suffer confiscation, exile, torture, and death merely for worshiping the supreme God, which no true god could condemn.
Against the Nations 1.28Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Pagans honor minor deities, deified prostitutes, and sacred animals, yet persecute Christians for worshiping the Father from whom any gods would derive their being and immortality.
Against the Nations 1.31Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Arnobius breaks into a prayer to the supreme, unknowable God, asking pardon for persecutors, and sets aside atheists and atomists as not worth refuting.
Against the Nations 1.35Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · If Jupiter were the supreme God whom Christians also worship, the gods' supposed anger at Christians would make no sense.
Against the Nations 1.54Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · The miracles were attested by eyewitnesses and believed by whole nations, who would not have suffered hatred for a fiction.
Against the Nations 1.55Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · The rapid spread of Christianity and the willingness of believers to die prove that the Gospel events were real.
Against the Nations 1.65Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · People would welcome a physician promising health, yet they persecute Christ, who brought salvation of souls and let his humanity die to confirm that hope.
Against the Nations 2.5Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · The rapid spread of Christianity, the conversion of the learned, and the steadfastness of believers under persecution are evidence of its divine origin.
Against the Nations 2.76Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · The pagan gods do not protect their worshipers from misfortune either; Christians were promised nothing for this life and regard suffering and death as a release.
Against the Nations 2.77Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Persecution frees Christians rather than harming them, as breaking down a prison frees the prisoner.
Against the Nations 3.36Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · The pagans' own allegorizing philosophers abolish the gods more thoroughly than Christians do, so any divine anger should fall on them.
Against the Nations 4.17Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Christians would consider worshiping the gods if shown a single, worthy god for each name, but not multiplied gods under one name.
Against the Nations 4.36Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Pagans reward actors who mock the gods, yet burn Christian books and destroy churches where prayer is made for all, including rulers and enemies.
Against the Nations 5.29Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · The phallic cults show the truth of these myths; such gods, whose incest and lusts are celebrated, set a corrupting example that Christians rightly refuse to worship.
Against the Nations 6.11Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · The pagans mock ancient aniconic cult objects yet worship human-shaped statues, and defend by force what they privately know to be absurd.
Against the Nations 6.27Arnobius of Sicca · ca. 297–303 · Christians refuse to sacrifice, not from contempt of the divine, but because true divinity needs no sacrifices; for this they are called atheists and executed.
Canons of Hippolytus, canon 6Anonymous · 4th century · A confessor who suffered punishment for Christ holds priestly rank by his confession without ordination, unless he is made bishop; one not tortured is to be ordained.
Church History 1.1.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · He will also record the fate of the Jewish nation, the persecutions and martyrdoms down to his own day, and will begin with Christ himself.
Church History 2.1.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · After Stephen's death the Jerusalem church was scattered, and some preached as far as Antioch, but only to Jews.
Church History 2.1.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Paul was then still persecuting the church.
Church History 2.2.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Tertullian (quoted): Tiberius favoured the doctrine and threatened accusers of Christians with death; providence thus let the gospel spread unhindered.
Church History 2.9.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Acts records that Herod Agrippa killed James the brother of John.
Church History 2.9.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Herod then imprisoned Peter, but an angel freed him by night.
Church History 2.22.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Nero was at first mild, but later turned to crimes, including attacks on the apostles.
Church History 2.23.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Foiled with Paul, the Jewish leaders turned against James, bishop of Jerusalem.
Church History 2.25.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Once secure in power, Nero turned to impiety and against the worship of God.
Church History 2.25.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Nero was the first emperor to persecute the worship of God.
Church History 2.25.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Tertullian (quoted): Nero first persecuted the Christians, and his condemnation is a mark of their goodness.
Church History 2.25.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Under Nero, Paul was beheaded and Peter crucified in Rome, as the cemeteries named after them confirm.
Church History 3.5.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · After the Jewish leaders killed Stephen and the two Jameses and drove out the apostles, the apostles went to all nations as Christ had commanded.
Church History 3.17.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Domitian, cruel to many Romans, became the second emperor to persecute Christians.
Church History 3.18.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Under Domitian, John was exiled to Patmos for his witness.
Church History 3.18.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Pagan historians record that under Domitian Flavia Domitilla, niece of the consul Flavius Clemens, was banished for her witness to Christ.
Church History 3.20.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Hegesippus (quoted): Domitian despised them as harmless, freed them, and stopped the persecution.
Church History 3.20.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Tertullian (quoted): Domitian briefly imitated Nero's persecution, then stopped and recalled the exiles.
Church History 3.32.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Under Trajan local persecutions broke out, and Simeon son of Clopas, bishop of Jerusalem, was martyred.
Church History 3.33.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Pliny, alarmed by the number of martyrs, told Trajan that Christians only sang to Christ at dawn and forbade adultery and murder.
Church History 3.33.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Trajan ruled that Christians should not be hunted but punished if accused; local persecutions and martyrdoms continued.
Church History 3.33.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Tertullian (quoted) reports Pliny's letter and Trajan's reply forbidding a search for Christians.
Church History 4.3.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Quadratus presented an apology for the Christians to Hadrian, still extant in Eusebius's time.
Church History 4.7.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · As the church flourished, the devil, who had first used persecution, turned to new schemes.
Church History 4.7.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Agrippa Castor reports that Basilides wrote 24 books on the gospel, invented prophets, allowed eating idol food and denying the faith under persecution, and imposed five years' silence.
Church History 4.7.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Through them the devil ruined their followers and gave pagans material to slander all Christians.
Church History 4.7.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Pagans came to accuse Christians of incest and cannibal feasts.
Church History 4.8.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Justin (quoted): Bar Kokhba punished Christians who would not deny Christ.
Church History 4.8.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Justin reports that Hadrian, prompted by Granianus, ordered Fundanus to execute no Christian without a proper charge.
Church History 4.8.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Justin (quoted) introduces the copy of Hadrian's letter, asking for just trials.
Church History 4.9.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Hadrian's rescript (quoted): the matter of the Christians must be investigated so that informers cannot exploit it.
Church History 4.9.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Hadrian (quoted): accusers must bring formal charges in court, not petitions or popular outcry.
Church History 4.9.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Hadrian (quoted): punish proven crimes, but punish false accusers too.
Church History 4.12.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Justin (quoted) addresses his apology to the emperor and his sons as a native of Flavia Neapolis; the emperor also issued an ordinance to the Council of Asia.
Church History 4.13.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The imperial ordinance (quoted) to the Council of Asia begins.
Church History 4.13.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The ordinance (quoted): persecution only strengthens Christians, who prefer death to obeying.
Church History 4.13.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The ordinance (quoted): the Christians grow bolder toward God while the Asians neglect worship and persecute them.
Church History 4.13.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The ordinance (quoted): as the emperor's father ruled, Christians are not to be troubled unless they plot against Rome.
Church History 4.13.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The ordinance (quoted): accused Christians are to be acquitted and their accusers punished.
Church History 4.15.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · During great persecutions in Asia Polycarp was martyred; Eusebius will record the account.
Church History 4.15.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The Martyrdom of Polycarp (quoted) opens with Smyrna's greeting and says Polycarp's martyrdom ended the persecution.
Church History 4.15.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Amazed at Germanicus's courage, the crowd cried, “Away with the atheists! Find Polycarp!”
Church History 4.15.15Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The Martyrdom (quoted): after his prayer he was taken to the city on a great sabbath, and Herod and Nicetes urged him to call Caesar lord and sacrifice.
Church History 4.15.26Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The Martyrdom (quoted): the crowd raged against Polycarp as the teacher of Asia and destroyer of their gods.
Church History 4.16.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Justin (quoted) expects to be plotted against by Crescens, no philosopher but a slanderer courting popularity.
Church History 4.17.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Justin (quoted): the husband, instead of rejoicing at her reform, denounced her as a Christian.
Church History 4.17.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Justin (quoted): the husband then turned on Ptolemaeus, her Christian teacher.
Church History 4.17.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Justin (quoted): Ptolemaeus confessed he was a Christian and was long imprisoned.
Church History 4.17.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Justin (quoted): Lucius protested that Ptolemaeus was condemned for no crime but the name of Christian.
Church History 4.18.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Justin (quoted) accuses the Jewish leaders of sending envoys everywhere to slander Christians.
Church History 4.23.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius (quoted): Rome has always sent aid to churches and to Christians in the mines, a custom Soter has increased.
Church History 4.26.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Melito (quoted): new decrees in Asia let informers plunder innocent Christians day and night.
Church History 4.26.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Melito (quoted) asks the emperor to judge the case himself, and not to abandon Christians to plunder under a decree unfit even for enemies.
Church History 4.26.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Melito (quoted): only Nero and Domitian, misled by the malicious, slandered the faith.
Church History 4.26.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Melito (quoted): Hadrian and Antoninus wrote to governors and cities forbidding action against Christians.
Church History 4.30.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · His works include a dialogue On Fate addressed to Antoninus.
Church History, Book 5, preface 1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius dates Book 5 by the succession of Eleutherus at Rome and the renewed popular persecution under Marcus Aurelius, which produced countless martyrs.
Church History 5.1.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The letter says that the persecution in Gaul was too great to describe fully.
Church History 5.1.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Satan's attack began with Christians being barred from homes, baths, the market, and every public place.
Church History 5.1.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · God's grace raised up steadfast believers who endured every abuse and hurried to Christ.
Church History 5.1.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The Christians first suffered mob violence of every kind.
Church History 5.1.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · After public examination and confession, they were imprisoned to await the governor.
Church History 5.1.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Vettius Epagathus, a young man of exemplary life, demanded to be heard in defence of the accused Christians.
Church History 5.1.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Some were ready for martyrdom, but about ten fell away, grieving the church and discouraging others.
Church History 5.1.13Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Daily arrests brought in the leading members of both churches.
Church History 5.1.14Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Pagan slaves, under pressure, falsely accused the Christians of cannibalism and incest.
Church History 5.1.15Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The slanders turned everyone against the Christians, fulfilling Christ's prediction in John 16:2.
Church History 5.1.25Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Biblis, who had denied Christ, was tortured to make her slander the Christians.
Church History 5.1.27Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The devil next used dark, cruel imprisonment, and many died of suffocation in prison.
Church History 5.1.28Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Some badly tortured prisoners survived by God's strength, while newly arrested ones died in the prison.
Church History 5.1.33Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Those who had denied Christ gained nothing: they were held as murderers and suffered more than the confessors.
Church History 5.1.37Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maturus, Sanctus, Blandina, and Attalus were brought to the beasts in the amphitheatre.
Church History 5.1.44Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Attalus was paraded with a placard, but as a Roman citizen he was returned to prison pending the emperor's decision.
Church History 5.1.47Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Following the emperor's rescript, the governor re-examined the prisoners at the great festival, beheading citizens and sending the rest to the beasts.
Church History 5.1.57Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Even then the persecutors' rage turned against the martyrs' bodies.
Church History 5.1.58Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Defeat only enraged the persecutors, fulfilling Rev 22:11.
Church History 5.1.59Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The martyrs' remains were left unburied and guarded so that the Christians could not bury them.
Church History 5.1.60Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Onlookers raged, mocked, or asked where the Christians' God was.
Church History 5.1.61Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The Christians grieved that neither bribes nor pleas allowed them to bury the martyrs.
Church History 5.1.62Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · After six days the martyrs' bodies were burned and their ashes thrown into the Rhône.
Church History 5.1.63Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The pagans destroyed the bodies to mock the Christian hope of resurrection.
Church History 5.5.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · According to Tertullian, a letter of Marcus Aurelius credited the Christians' prayers and threatened their accusers.
Church History 5.5.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Tertullian protests that the laws against Christians were not enforced by earlier emperors.
Church History 5.16.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The writer answers the charge of killing prophets: none of the Montanist prophets suffered as the true prophets did.
Church History 5.21.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The devil had Apollonius, a learned Roman Christian, accused before a court.
Church History 5.21.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The informer was himself punished by having his legs broken.
Church History 5.21.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Apollonius defended the faith before the senate and was beheaded.
Church History 6.1.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Under Severus many were martyred at Alexandria, among them Leonides, father of the young Origen.
Church History 6.3.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · With the catechists driven out by persecution, pagans came to Origen for instruction.
Church History 6.3.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At eighteen Origen headed the catechetical school and became famous for supporting the martyrs.
Church History 6.3.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Origen boldly accompanied and kissed the martyrs on their way to death, narrowly escaping stoning.
Church History 6.3.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · God protected Origen from repeated plots; soldiers were even posted around his house.
Church History 6.3.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Hunted from house to house, Origen still drew many by his teaching and his holy life.
Church History 6.5.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Threatened with rape by gladiators, Potamiaena gave an answer the judge took as impious.
Church History 6.7.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · A writer named Jude, commenting on Daniel's seventy weeks, thought the Antichrist was near.
Church History 6.8.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Caracalla succeeded Severus; the confessor Alexander became bishop of Jerusalem while Narcissus still lived.
Church History 6.11.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Asclepiades, a confessor, succeeded Serapion at Antioch.
Church History 6.11.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · From prison Alexander rejoiced to hear of Asclepiades's appointment at Antioch.
Church History 6.12.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Serapion's surviving works include letters to Domninus, who lapsed into Judaism, and to Pontius and Caricus.
Church History 6.28.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin persecuted church leaders; Origen wrote his Exhortation to Martyrdom for Ambrose and Protoctetus.
Church History 6.38.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Origen warned against the Elkesaites, who rejected Paul, allowed outward denial under persecution, and offered forgiveness through a heavenly book.
Church History 6.39.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Decius began a persecution (250); Fabian of Rome was martyred and succeeded by Cornelius.
Church History 6.39.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Alexander of Jerusalem, now very old, confessed again and was imprisoned.
Church History 6.39.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Origen endured chains, the iron collar, and the stocks under Decius, the judge deliberately keeping him alive; his letters record it.
Church History 6.40.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius of Alexandria: his flight in the persecution was by God's direction.
Church History 6.40.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The prefect's agent searched everywhere for Dionysius except his own house.
Church History 6.40.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · On the fourth day God led Dionysius and his companions out safely.
Church History 6.40.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius was captured and taken to Taposiris; Timothy escaped.
Church History 6.40.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · A countryman met the fleeing Timothy and asked why he hurried.
Church History 6.40.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The wedding guests rushed to the place, the guards fled, and the villagers stood over the prisoners.
Church History 6.40.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Thinking them robbers, Dionysius offered them his clothes, but they told him to leave quickly.
Church History 6.40.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · His companions carried him out of the town on a donkey.
Church History 6.41.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius: at Alexandria persecution began a year before Decius's edict, stirred up by a pagan prophet.
Church History 6.41.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The mob made murdering Christians their form of worship.
Church History 6.41.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Mobs looted Christian homes and burned their goods like a sacked city.
Church History 6.41.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The Christians accepted the loss of their goods with joy, and scarcely any denied the Lord.
Church History 6.41.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Serapion was tortured and thrown from his roof; the streets were unsafe for Christians.
Church History 6.41.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Civil strife gave a brief respite, until news of a new, hostile reign arrived.
Church History 6.41.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The edict arrived, terrible enough to make even the elect stumble.
Church History 6.41.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Many prominent Christians came forward to sacrifice, some trembling as if they were the victims.
Church History 6.41.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Others eagerly sacrificed, denying they had ever been Christians; the rest fled or were arrested.
Church History 6.41.13Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Some arrested Christians denied after imprisonment or partial torture.
Church History 6.42.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Many were killed in towns and villages, such as Ischyrion, impaled by his employer.
Church History 6.42.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Many fugitives died in deserts and mountains from hunger, exposure, robbers, and beasts.
Church History 6.42.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The aged bishop Chaeremon fled with his wife to the Arabian mountains and was never found.
Church History 6.42.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Others were enslaved by Saracens; Dionysius tells this so the extent of the sufferings may be known.
Church History 6.43.16Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Cornelius: in the persecution Novatian refused to help the brethren, saying he no longer wished to be a presbyter.
Church History 6.44.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius: Serapion, an old believer who had sacrificed, often asked for pardon in vain and then fell gravely ill.
Church History 7.1.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Decius died and Gallus succeeded; Origen died at sixty-nine; Dionysius says Gallus repeated Decius's error by persecuting those who prayed for him.
Church History 7.10.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius applies the beast of Revelation 13 to Valerian.
Church History 7.10.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At first Valerian was exceptionally friendly to Christians, and his household was full of believers.
Church History 7.10.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · An Egyptian chief magician turned Valerian against the Christians and toward human sacrifice.
Church History 7.10.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius mocks Macrianus, the finance minister who hoped to be emperor, as one who did not see the “catholic” good.
Church History 7.10.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Macrianus made himself an enemy of the catholic church and fled far from salvation, as his name suggests.
Church History 7.10.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Valerian was given over to disgrace, as Isaiah foretold.
Church History 7.11.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius describes his own sufferings under Valerian in reply to the slanders of Bishop Germanus.
Church History 7.11.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius reluctantly tells of God's care for him, to answer Germanus.
Church History 7.11.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius appeared before the prefect Aemilianus with presbyters and deacons.
Church History 7.11.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Aemilianus demanded that Dionysius himself cease being a Christian, hoping others would follow.
Church History 7.11.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius refused, quoting Acts 5:29, and was banished to Cephro.
Church History 7.11.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The court record: Aemilianus reminds Dionysius and his clergy of the emperors' kindness.
Church History 7.11.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Aemilianus offers safety if they will worship the gods who protect the empire.
Church History 7.11.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius: Christians worship the one Creator God, who gave the emperors their rule, and pray for their empire.
Church History 7.11.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Asked to worship their God alongside the others, Dionysius refuses.
Church History 7.11.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Aemilianus banishes them to Cephro and forbids assemblies and visits to the cemeteries.
Church History 7.11.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Anyone disobeying would be punished; Dionysius was sent off at once though ill.
Church History 7.11.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius kept gathering the church, in spirit at Alexandria and in person at Cephro.
Church History 7.11.13Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At Cephro many pagans converted after first stoning them.
Church History 7.11.14Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Aemilianus then moved them to the Mareotis, placing Dionysius where he could be seized first.
Church History 7.11.15Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius went calmly to Cephro but was dismayed at the move to Colluthion.
Church History 7.11.16Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · He resented the new place, said to lack Christians and to be troubled by travellers and robbers.
Church History 7.11.17Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · He was consoled that the new place was nearer Alexandria, so friends could visit and assemble.
Church History 7.11.18Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius lists his many sufferings, mocking Germanus's boasts of confession.
Church History 7.11.19Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius asks what Germanus ever suffered, then stops his boasting.
Church History 7.11.20Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius: Christians of every age and condition won the martyr's crown under Valerian.
Church History 7.11.22Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius and his companions were snatched from their guards by people of the Mareotis.
Church History 7.11.23Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius, Gaius, and Peter are now confined in the Libyan desert.
Church History 7.11.25Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The governor still kills, tortures, and imprisons Christians, but the brethren relieve them.
Church History 7.13.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Gallienus ended the persecution and by rescript restored the churches' places of worship and cemeteries.
Church History 7.15.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · When Marinus was due for promotion to centurion, a rival accused him of being a Christian.
Church History 7.15.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The judge gave Marinus three hours to reconsider.
Church History 7.22.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Even in persecution Christians kept the feast everywhere, and the martyrs kept the brightest feast in heaven.
Church History 7.22.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · In his letter to Hermammon Dionysius describes the peace under Gallienus.
Church History 7.30.20Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Later Aurelian planned a persecution.
Church History 7.30.21Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Aurelian died before signing his edicts, showing that persecution comes only by God's permission.
Church History 7.30.22Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Emperors from Probus to Diocletian, under whom the Great Persecution took place.
Church History 7.32.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At Rome Eutychian, Gaius, and Marcellinus succeeded Felix.
Church History 7.32.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius heard Dorotheus preach; Tyrannus succeeded Cyril at the height of the persecution.
Church History 7.32.22Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Stephen, a learned but faithless bishop, proved a coward in the persecution.
Church History 7.32.28Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Meletius was a fugitive in Palestine for seven years of the persecution.
Church History 8.1.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The emperors showed Christians favor, even appointing them provincial governors and excusing them from sacrifice.
Church History 8.1.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · When freedom bred pride, envy, and quarrels among Christians and their leaders, God's judgment began gently, with persecution of Christian soldiers.
Church History 8.1.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Because Christians and their pastors did not repent but quarreled and sought power, God brought on them the judgment described in Lamentations.
Church History 8.1.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius applies a lament from the Psalms to the destruction of the churches in the persecution.
Church History 8.2.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius saw churches demolished, Scriptures burned in public, and church leaders hiding or captured, as the psalm foretold.
Church History 8.2.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius will pass over those who fell away and record only what is useful: the contests of the martyrs.
Church History 8.2.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · In March 303, near Easter, Diocletian's first edict ordered churches razed, Scriptures burned, and Christians stripped of rank and freedom.
Church History 8.2.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · A second edict ordered all church leaders imprisoned and then forced to sacrifice.
Church History 8.3.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Many church leaders endured torture bravely, many others gave way at once, and some died under the rack and scourge.
Church History 8.3.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Some were dragged to sacrifice and released as if they had sacrificed; others were falsely reported to have done so; others were thrown out half dead.
Church History 8.3.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Some were counted as having sacrificed against their will, while others loudly refused and confessed themselves Christians.
Church History 8.3.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Those who confessed were beaten and driven out, for the persecutors cared only to seem successful; but the true martyrs could not be overcome.
Church History 8.4.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Countless Christians showed their devotion to God even before the general persecution began.
Church History 8.4.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · When persecution began quietly in the army, many Christian soldiers gladly left the service rather than deny God.
Church History 8.4.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Offered the choice between their rank and their faith, many Christian soldiers chose to confess Christ.
Church History 8.4.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · A few soldiers were even put to death, though the persecutor, fearing the number of believers, did not yet dare a general attack.
Church History 8.4.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · When the persecution became open, the martyrs were beyond counting.
Church History 8.5.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At Nicomedia a prominent Christian tore down the posted edict in the presence of two emperors and died for it calmly.
Church History 8.6.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dorotheus and the Christian servants of the palace preferred suffering for God to honor and luxury; Eusebius tells one of their deaths as an example.
Church History 8.6.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · One palace servant who refused to sacrifice was hung up naked and scourged.
Church History 8.6.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Salt and vinegar were poured into his wounds, and he was slowly roasted on a gridiron to force him to yield.
Church History 8.6.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Bishop Anthimus of Nicomedia was beheaded, and after a palace fire was falsely blamed on Christians, many were killed by sword, fire, and drowning.
Church History 8.6.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The emperors had the buried palace martyrs dug up and thrown into the sea so that no one would venerate their graves.
Church History 8.6.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · After uprisings in Melitene and Syria, an imperial order had church leaders everywhere imprisoned.
Church History 8.6.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The prisons filled with bishops, presbyters, deacons, readers, and exorcists until there was no room for criminals.
Church History 8.6.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · A further edict freed prisoners who sacrificed and tortured those who refused; the martyrs of Africa, Mauretania, and Egypt were countless.
Church History 8.7.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius knew the Egyptian martyrs in Palestine and Tyre, who endured scourging and were exposed to leopards, bears, boars, and bulls.
Church History 8.7.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius himself saw the beasts refuse to touch the martyrs, turning instead on those who goaded them.
Church History 8.8.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · In Egypt itself countless men, women, and children died by fire, drowning, beheading, torture, starvation, and crucifixion, some head downward.
Church History 8.9.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · In the Thebaid martyrs were torn with potsherds, and women were hung naked, head downward, in public view.
Church History 8.9.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Some were tied between bent branches and torn apart when the branches sprang back.
Church History 8.9.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The killings went on for years, sometimes ten, twenty, thirty, sixty, or even a hundred in a day.
Church History 8.9.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius himself saw so many executed in a day that the swords grew blunt and the executioners took turns.
Church History 8.10.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Anyone who wished could abuse the martyrs, beating them with clubs, rods, whips, and ropes.
Church History 8.10.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Phileas describes martyrs stretched on the rack, torn all over, hung by one hand, or tied to pillars with their feet off the ground.
Church History 8.10.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The governor kept the martyrs under torture all day, ordering them dragged away when near death.
Church History 8.10.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The persecutors treated the Christians as though they no longer existed.
Church History 8.10.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Some martyrs lay in the stocks with their legs stretched apart; others lay on the ground covered with wounds.
Church History 8.10.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius turns to martyrs who were attacked not by legal process but as in war.
Church History 8.11.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · In Phrygia soldiers burned a whole Christian town with its people because all of them, officials included, refused to worship idols.
Church History 8.12.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius lists tortures in Arabia, Cappadocia, Mesopotamia, and Alexandria: axes, broken legs, suffocation by smoke, and mutilation.
Church History 8.12.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At Antioch Christians were roasted on gridirons; some put their hands in the fire rather than sacrifice, and some leapt to their deaths to escape capture.
Church History 8.12.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · A noble Christian woman of Antioch and her two virgin daughters, arrested and threatened with forced prostitution, resolved to escape by death rather than be defiled or deny God.
Church History 8.12.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · In Pontus martyrs had reeds driven under their nails and molten lead poured over them.
Church History 8.12.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Judges competed to invent new and unspeakable tortures of the private parts.
Church History 8.12.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At last, tired of killing, the persecutors turned to what they called kindness.
Church History 8.12.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The authorities announced that, out of imperial humanity, Christians would no longer be put to death.
Church History 8.12.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The “humane” penalty was to put out an eye, cripple a foot, and send Christians to the copper mines.
Church History 8.13.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius announces that he will next tell of the rulers' recantation and the course of the persecution.
Church History 8.13.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Before the persecution the empire prospered in peace, and the emperors celebrated their ten- and twenty-year jubilees in festivity.
Church History 8.13.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At the height of their power the emperors suddenly made war on the Christians, and within two years the government itself was overturned.
Church History 8.13.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Diocletian fell ill, lost his reason, and abdicated with Maximian, after which the empire was divided in two.
Church History 8.13.13Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Constantius alone ruled worthily, did not persecute or tear down churches, and died honored with his son succeeding him.
Church History 8.14.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maxentius, tyrant at Rome, at first pretended favor to the Christian faith and halted persecution to win popularity.
Church History 8.14.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin persecuted more harshly, rebuilt temples, organized a pagan priesthood with provincial high priests, and rewarded sorcerers.
Church History 8.14.13Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Only the Christians resisted Maximin: the men endured every torture rather than trade God's worship for idols.
Church History 8.14.15Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · A noble Christian woman of Alexandria resisted Maximin's advances; unwilling to kill her, he exiled her and seized her property.
Church History 8.14.16Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Many women endured torture rather than be violated, but the most admirable was a noble woman at Rome whom Maxentius tried to abuse.
Church History 8.14.17Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The Roman woman, whose husband the prefect let the tyrant's agents take her, killed herself with a sword rather than submit.
Church History 8.14.18Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius traces the evils of the two tyrants to the persecution, which ended only when the Christians regained their freedom.
Church History 8.15.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · During the ten years of persecution the rulers fought each other; seafarers were tortured as suspected spies and killed.
Church History 8.16.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The persecution eased after eight years and ended in the tenth, when the rulers reversed themselves by kindly edicts.
Church History 8.16.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Not the rulers' mercy but divine providence ended the persecution, reconciled to God's people and angry at its chief author.
Church History 8.16.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Though persecution came by God's judgment, woe fell on its author: divine punishment seized Galerius in body and soul.
Church History 8.17.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · In his agony Galerius confessed to God and ordered the persecution stopped and the Christians allowed to rebuild churches and pray for the emperor.
Church History 8.17.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Imperial edicts reversing the persecution were published in the cities, as follows.
Church History 8.17.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The edict opens with the titles of the emperor Galerius.
Church History 8.17.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The edict explains that the emperors had wished to restore the ancient Roman order and bring the Christians back to their ancestors' ways.
Church History 8.17.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The Christians, the edict says, had willfully abandoned ancestral institutions and made their own laws and assemblies.
Church History 8.17.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · When ordered back to the old religion, many Christians were endangered and suffered death.
Church History 8.17.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Since the Christians still would not worship the gods, the emperors pardon them, allowing them to be Christians and rebuild their meeting houses, provided they keep order.
Church History 8.17.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The edict ends by asking the Christians to pray to their God for the emperors, the state, and themselves.
Church History 9.1.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin suppressed Galerius's edict in his territories but orally ordered his governors to ease the persecution.
Church History 9.1.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Sabinus's letter says the emperors had sought to lead all, including those of foreign custom, to worship the gods.
Church History 9.1.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Some, the letter says, would neither be persuaded nor frightened from their purpose.
Church History 9.1.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The emperors now order that Christians practicing their religion are not to be harassed or punished, since they cannot be persuaded.
Church History 9.1.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The governors are to tell local officials to take no further action against Christians.
Church History 9.1.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The governors, believing the order sincere, freed imprisoned confessors and those condemned to the mines.
Church History 9.1.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Faithful confessors regained their freedom, while those who had lapsed sought healing, begging the steadfast for help and God for mercy.
Church History 9.2.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Within six months Maximin undermined the peace, banning meetings in cemeteries and prompting Antioch, led by Theotecnus, to petition for the Christians' expulsion.
Church History 9.3.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Theotecnus set up a cult image of Zeus Philios at Antioch and claimed its oracle ordered the Christians expelled.
Church History 9.4.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Other cities, prompted by the governors, followed Antioch in petitioning against the Christians.
Church History 9.4.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin approved the petitions, renewed persecution, and appointed prominent men as pagan priests and high priests.
Church History 9.4.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · To win Maximin's favor, officials and subjects vied in cruelty toward the Christians.
Church History 9.5.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Forged, blasphemous Acts of Pilate were published everywhere and made required memorization in schools.
Church History 9.5.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At Damascus a military commander forced prostitutes to testify falsely to Christian immorality, and the testimony was published everywhere.
Church History 9.6.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The commander killed himself, but persecution resumed; at Emesa the aged bishop Silvanus and two others were thrown to beasts.
Church History 9.6.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin's renewed persecution seemed worse than the first.
Church History 9.7.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Petitions and imperial replies against Christians were engraved on bronze in the cities; Eusebius copies Maximin's rescript from the tablet at Tyre.
Church History 9.7.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin's rescript praises Tyre for recognizing, after long error, that the world is governed by the immortal gods.
Church History 9.7.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Tyre, seeing the Christians spreading again like a rekindled fire, turned at once to the emperor for help.
Church History 9.7.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The rescript blames these disasters on the Christians' error.
Church History 9.7.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Christians who persist are to be expelled from Tyre and its territory, as the city asked.
Church History 9.7.15Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · These decrees, posted everywhere, cut off all human hope, so that even the elect might have fallen away.
Church History 9.7.16Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Just as hope was failing, God intervened to silence the tyrant's boasts.
Church History 9.8.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin also provoked war with the Christian Armenians, old Roman allies, by trying to force them to sacrifice.
Church History 9.8.15Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Having shown his anger at the persecutors, God again gave the Christians peace, showing that he disciplines his people and then shows mercy.
Church History 9.9.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Constantine and Licinius issued a full law for the Christians and sent it, with news of the victory, to Maximin.
Church History 9.9.13Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin, unwilling to appear to yield, issued a letter for the Christians as if on his own authority, full of falsehoods.
Church History 9.9.14Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin's letter recalls that Diocletian and Maximian had ordered those who had left the gods for Christianity to be forced back by punishment.
Church History 9.9.15Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin claims that on arriving in the East he ordered judges to stop banishing people and to win them back to the gods by persuasion.
Church History 9.9.16Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · He claims that under his orders no one was banished or abused, and many returned to the gods.
Church History 9.9.17Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At Nicomedia citizens came with their gods' images asking that Christians not be allowed to live in their city.
Church History 9.9.18Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin says he thanked Nicomedia but left each person free, since not all had asked it.
Church History 9.9.19Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Still, he says, he had to grant the cities' requests to expel Christians, as the gods and former emperors approved.
Church History 9.9.20Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · He reminds Sabinus that Christians are to be treated gently and protected from abuse by officials, and won over by persuasion.
Church History 9.9.21Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Converts to paganism should be welcomed, but those who keep their religion should be left free.
Church History 9.9.22Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Sabinus is to prevent abuses and publish the order by edict.
Church History 9.9.24Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Christians still did not dare to assemble, since the letter gave only freedom from harassment, not freedom to meet or build churches.
Church History 9.9.25Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Though Constantine and Licinius had granted full freedom, Maximin yielded only when forced by divine justice.
Church History 9.10.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Back home, Maximin killed his priests and prophets, gave glory to the Christians' God, issued a law granting them freedom, and soon died painfully.
Church History 9.10.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin says that, seeing officials abuse the old ban on Christian meetings, he had already decreed that anyone could practice this religion freely.
Church History 9.10.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Some judges, he complains, misread his orders and made people afraid to practice their religion.
Church History 9.10.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The edict grants everyone freedom to practice the Christian religion and to build churches.
Church History 9.10.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Confiscated Christian houses and lands are to be restored to them.
Church History 9.10.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Within a year the same tyrant who had outlawed and killed Christians acknowledged their religion and restored their rights.
Church History 9.11.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Maximin's supporters, especially officials who had persecuted Christians, were stripped of honors and executed.
Church History 9.11.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Among them were Peucetius, his finance minister, and Culcianus, who had shed much Christian blood in Egypt.
Church History 10.4.14Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The devil, enraged at Christ's grace, attacked the church like a mad dog, tearing down church buildings, issuing threats through tyrants, and poisoning souls with idolatry.
Church History 10.4.15Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Christ, the Angel of Great Counsel and God's commander, suddenly destroyed the persecutors and glorified his faithful before heaven and earth.
Church History 10.4.27Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Paulinus rallied the people so that the church that had suffered persecution might share in God's generosity.
Church History 10.4.28Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Christ the Shepherd, having driven off the persecutors, gathered his flock again and rebuilt its fold to shame his enemies.
Church History 10.4.29Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The persecutors have vanished, destroyed with their families, confirming Scripture's predictions.
Church History 10.4.30Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The psalms foretold that the wicked would perish by their own sword, their names be blotted out, and their images be destroyed, as has now happened.
Church History 10.4.31Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The persecutors fell like the giants who fought the gods, while the despised church's endurance is rewarded, as Isaiah foretold.
Church History 10.4.33Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The church, ravaged like the vineyard and sanctuary of the psalms, with her books burned and gates hewn down, has by Christ's power blossomed again, for God disciplines those he loves.
Church History 10.4.35Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Christ does not neglect those who faltered under persecution but heals and comforts them.
Church History 10.4.50Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · God tells the church he has taken from her the cup of his wrath and will give it to her oppressors.
Church History 10.5.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The emperors state that they had already allowed everyone, including Christians, to keep their own religion.
Church History 10.5.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Because the earlier rescript had many restrictive conditions, some Christians had been deterred.
Church History 10.5.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Meeting at Milan, Constantine and Licinius decided to give Christians and everyone freedom to follow the religion of their choice.
Church History 10.5.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · No one is to be denied the freedom to choose Christianity or any religion he thinks fitting.
Church History 10.5.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The harsh conditions of earlier letters are withdrawn, and Christians may practice freely.
Church History 10.5.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The governor is informed that the Christians have full freedom of worship.
Church History 10.5.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The same freedom is given to all others, so that no religion is diminished.
Church History 10.5.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Christian meeting places, whether bought from the treasury or others or received as gifts, are to be returned to the Christians without payment.
Church History 10.5.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Those who lose property may seek compensation from the emperor through the local prefect, but the property must be returned at once.
Church History 10.5.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Other property owned by the Christian community as a body must also be returned, with compensation from the emperor for those who give it back.
Church History 10.8.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Envious of the church's peace, the devil found an instrument in Licinius, who, despite his honors and marriage into Constantine's family, imitated the fallen tyrants.
Church History 10.8.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Warring against Constantine meant warring against his God, so Licinius began quietly to attack the Christians in his realm.
Church History 10.8.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Forgetting the persecutors' fate, which he himself had inflicted, Licinius madly chose to fight God, Constantine's helper.
Church History 10.8.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Licinius expelled Christians from his household, depriving himself of their prayers, and dismissed Christian soldiers who would not sacrifice.
Church History 10.8.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Licinius forbade anyone to feed or pity prisoners, on pain of sharing their punishment.
Church History 10.8.14Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Licinius finally turned against the bishops, secretly having the most respected of them killed through his governors in unheard-of ways.
Church History 10.8.15Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · At Amasea and elsewhere in Pontus churches were demolished or closed to prevent worship.
Church History 10.8.16Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Licinius, with a bad conscience, believed Christians prayed only for Constantine and so turned his anger on them.
Church History 10.8.18Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Christians again fled to the countryside and mountains, and Licinius planned a general persecution.
Church History 10.8.19Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Before Licinius could carry out a general persecution, God sent Constantine like a great light to save his people.
Martyrdom of Ignatius 1Anonymous · 4th–5th century (disputed) · The Martyrdom of Ignatius: his trial before Trajan at Antioch, his journey through Smyrna and Troas to Rome, and his death in the amphitheatre.
Martyrdom of Ignatius 6.4Anonymous · 4th–5th century (disputed) · Ignatius is thrown to the beasts on a festival day at the close of the games, and his wish, stated in his letter, not to leave remains that would burden the brothers is fulfilled.
Homilies 11.20Anonymous · 4th century (reworking earlier material) · Believers separated from their families do not hate them but, following Jesus' prayer from the cross, pray for and love even their persecutors.
Homilies 12.29Anonymous · 4th century (reworking earlier material) · Peter quotes the true Prophet's saying that good and evil must come, with blessing and woe on those through whom they come, and explains that the righteous are tested by the wicked.
Homilies 12.30Anonymous · 4th century (reworking earlier material) · Peter teaches that the wicked who afflict the righteous should be pitied and prayed for, not resisted, since suffering comes by God's providence.
Homilies 12.31Anonymous · 4th century (reworking earlier material) · Peter explains that God uses unrepentant sinners to punish the repentant for their former sins, while the persecutors fill up their own punishment.
Recognitions 1.70Anonymous · Greek original 3rd–4th century; Rufinus's Latin translation before 407 · As the people are about to be baptized, a hostile man stirs up a riot in the temple and throws James down the steps.
Recognitions 1.71Anonymous · Greek original 3rd–4th century; Rufinus's Latin translation before 407 · The believers flee to Jericho, and Gamaliel warns them that the hostile man has letters from Caiaphas to persecute them at Damascus.
Recognitions 6.5Anonymous · Greek original 3rd–4th century; Rufinus's Latin translation before 407 · The separation from unbelieving family comes from the side of ignorance, while believers, following Christ's prayer on the cross, pray for those who persecute them.
Recognitions 10.54Anonymous · Greek original 3rd–4th century; Rufinus's Latin translation before 407 · A messenger from Antioch reports that Simon has turned the city against Peter by calling him a magician and murderer.
Acts of Felix of Tibiuca 1Anonymous · 303 (15 June, per the Acts) · Under Diocletian's edict (303) the curator of Thibiuca demands the Scriptures; the clergy say the bishop has them.
Acts of Felix of Tibiuca 4Anonymous · 303 (15 June, per the Acts) · Felix is imprisoned at Carthage and sent to the praetorian prefect.
Acts of Julius the Veteran 1Anonymous · ca. 304 (27 May) · Julius, a veteran of twenty-six years' service, refuses the governor Maximus's offers and pleas to sacrifice and is sentenced to death.
Kayser p. 372Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 303-312 · Eusebius lists the proofs of Christ's superiority, prophecy, disciples, teaching, the conversion of the world, triumph over persecution and the expulsion of demons, which he will not even seek in Apollonius.
Prophetic Extracts 1.8Eusebius of Caesarea · before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) · Eusebius applies Jacob's blessing of Judah to Christ: the lion's whelp, the end of Jewish rulers with Herod, and the church's leaders, who will not fail even in the present persecution.
Prophetic Extracts 1.20Eusebius of Caesarea · before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) · Eusebius argues that Nathan's oracle of an eternal throne for David's offspring cannot fit David or Solomon and is fulfilled in Christ, while its threatened rods refer to the persecutions of Christ's people.
Divine Institutes 1.4.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The prophets lived without provision, trusting God for daily food, and suffered torture and death.
Divine Institutes 1.4.7Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The prophets were killed by sinners they rebuked, and without greed they had no motive to deceive.
Divine Institutes 3.29.15Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Believers he attacks with temptation or violence.
Divine Institutes 4.18.2Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Christ foretold his death and betrayal, and withdrew as an example in persecution.
Divine Institutes 4.26.18Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The gall and vinegar foretold hardships for followers of truth.
Divine Institutes 4.27.3Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · A Christian present at pagan sacrifice spoils the omens, which provoked persecution.
Divine Institutes 4.27.4Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Christian attendants with the sign of the cross disrupted sacrifices.
Divine Institutes 4.27.5Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The soothsayers stirred the rulers to persecute, for which the persecutors were punished.
Divine Institutes 4.27.8Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Demons, unable to touch those sealed with the cross, persecute them through men.
Divine Institutes 5.1.5Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Refusing discussion, they rule by force and condemn the innocent unheard.
Divine Institutes 5.1.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecutors torture and kill the righteous without being able to say why.
Divine Institutes 5.1.7Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Those in error rage against the followers of truth with cruelty.
Divine Institutes 5.2.2Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · In Bithynia, when the church was destroyed, two men attacked the faith.
Divine Institutes 5.2.4Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · During the persecution he wrote three books against the Christians.
Divine Institutes 5.2.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · He urged Christians to return to the gods and escape torture.
Divine Institutes 5.2.7Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · He flattered the emperors for suppressing Christianity.
Divine Institutes 5.2.10Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · All blamed him for writing during the persecution.
Divine Institutes 5.2.12Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · A second critic, a judge and instigator of persecution, also wrote.
Divine Institutes 5.5.11Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecutors act like the serpents and wolves of the poem.
Divine Institutes 5.7.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · God lets the wicked be strong and many so virtue is tested and rare.
Divine Institutes 5.8.5Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Evils multiply because God is abandoned and his worship forbidden.
Divine Institutes 5.9.1Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · People lament justice's absence but persecute it when present.
Divine Institutes 5.9.2Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · They kill those who do good, yet expect justice to come.
Divine Institutes 5.9.3Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Christians are treated worse than enemies in war.
Divine Institutes 5.9.4Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecutors are like wolves ravaging God's flock.
Divine Institutes 5.9.5Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · They openly prey on the innocent while speaking of justice.
Divine Institutes 5.9.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Truth is hated because sinners want freedom to sin unrebuked.
Divine Institutes 5.9.7Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · They try to eliminate the righteous as witnesses against them.
Divine Institutes 5.9.8Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The good are resented because their lives rebuke the wicked.
Divine Institutes 5.9.9Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The just suffer the fate of Christ, the author of justice.
Divine Institutes 5.9.10Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecutors torture before killing.
Divine Institutes 5.9.11Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Apostates are honored to lure others.
Divine Institutes 5.9.12Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Faithful confessors are tortured and called desperate.
Divine Institutes 5.9.13Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecutors hurl at the righteous the insults they deserve.
Divine Institutes 5.9.14Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Those who call Christians impious are themselves guilty.
Divine Institutes 5.11.1Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Idolaters rage against the just and are rightly called beasts.
Divine Institutes 5.11.4Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Wild beasts stop when fed; persecutors do not.
Divine Institutes 5.11.5Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The true beast is the ruler whose command sheds blood everywhere.
Divine Institutes 5.11.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The persecutor destroys even the bodies and ashes of Christians.
Divine Institutes 5.11.7Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Those who carry out the persecution are most wretched.
Divine Institutes 5.11.8Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Their office is a sentence to eternal punishment.
Divine Institutes 5.11.9Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Officials' cruelty was countless and varied.
Divine Institutes 5.11.10Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Motives varied; one governor in Phrygia burned a whole congregation.
Divine Institutes 5.11.11Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The worst persecutor tortures without killing.
Divine Institutes 5.11.12Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Judges devised countless tortures.
Divine Institutes 5.11.13Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · They avoid killing to boast and to deny martyrs glory.
Divine Institutes 5.11.14Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Torture is a contest they seek to win.
Divine Institutes 5.11.15Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · A Bithynian governor rejoiced when one Christian yielded after two years.
Divine Institutes 5.11.16Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · They keep victims alive, not knowing torture adds to their glory.
Divine Institutes 5.11.17Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Victims are healed only to be tortured again.
Divine Institutes 5.11.18Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Impious laws and legal writings were made against Christians.
Divine Institutes 5.11.19Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Ulpian collected imperial rulings on punishing Christians.
Divine Institutes 5.12.1Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Jurists call tyrants' butchery law.
Divine Institutes 5.12.2Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Innocence is punished more harshly than crime.
Divine Institutes 5.12.3Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Christians only ask to be allowed to do good.
Divine Institutes 5.12.7Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Cicero's example foretells what Christians suffer.
Divine Institutes 5.12.8Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The world persecutes the just as wicked.
Divine Institutes 5.12.12Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecution concedes that Christians are not fools.
Divine Institutes 5.12.13Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Their fear shows they know the faith is winning.
Divine Institutes 5.13.1Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The church grows even in persecution, showing where wisdom lies.
Divine Institutes 5.13.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Those who lapse can make satisfaction and return more devoted.
Divine Institutes 5.13.8Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · God is not implacable toward those forced to sacrifice.
Divine Institutes 5.13.9Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The tortured come to hate the gods more.
Divine Institutes 5.13.10Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · When peace comes, the lapsed return and new converts join.
Divine Institutes 5.13.18Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · No one may compel worship.
Divine Institutes 5.13.19Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Worship must be voluntary; Christians do what philosophers praise.
Divine Institutes 5.14.14Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Socrates' fate foreshadowed the Christians'.
Divine Institutes 5.18.12Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Refusing a pinch of incense seems as foolish as sparing another at one's own cost.
Divine Institutes 5.19.1Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecutors destroy their own souls and try to destroy others'.
Divine Institutes 5.19.5Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecutors pretend to help those they persecute.
Divine Institutes 5.19.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · They use torture, not argument.
Divine Institutes 5.19.7Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The torturers, not the victims, have evil minds.
Divine Institutes 5.19.9Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Force fails, since the faith grows under oppression.
Divine Institutes 5.19.11Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Religion cannot be compelled; persuade with words, not blows.
Divine Institutes 5.19.17Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Force and cruelty cannot serve truth.
Divine Institutes 5.19.22Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Religion is defended by dying, not killing.
Divine Institutes 5.19.23Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Nothing is so voluntary as religion.
Divine Institutes 5.20.2Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Defending the gods by force shows distrust of their power.
Divine Institutes 5.20.5Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Forced benefit is no benefit.
Divine Institutes 5.20.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Torture cannot be for the victims' good.
Divine Institutes 5.20.7Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Forced sacrifice is a curse, not worship.
Divine Institutes 5.20.8Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Gods who want forced worship deserve loathing.
Divine Institutes 5.20.10Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Christians leave vengeance to God.
Divine Institutes 5.21.1Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · They hate Christians because truth breeds hatred.
Divine Institutes 5.21.2Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecutors do not know what drives them.
Divine Institutes 5.21.3Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Demons drive the persecutors.
Divine Institutes 5.21.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Demons, hating exorcists, stir up persecution.
Divine Institutes 5.22.10Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The just are necessarily subject to the unjust.
Divine Institutes 5.22.13Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Christians thank God for correcting them through suffering.
Divine Institutes 5.22.16Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Oppression strengthens, restores, and tests believers.
Divine Institutes 5.22.17Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · God raises up adversaries to test his soldiers.
Divine Institutes 5.22.18Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecution makes the church grow.
Divine Institutes 5.22.19Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Cruelty repels, and martyrs' courage attracts.
Divine Institutes 5.23.1Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecutors will not escape though God permits them.
Divine Institutes 5.23.2Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Abusers of power will be punished by God.
Divine Institutes 5.23.3Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · God will avenge his people and judge each by his deeds.
Divine Institutes 5.23.4Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The persecuting wolves will receive their due.
Divine Institutes 5.23.5Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Christians should be punished only for justice.
Divine Institutes 6.4.10Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The just are despised by those driven by greed and pleasure.
Divine Institutes 6.17.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The martyrs' sufferings prove it.
Divine Institutes 6.17.7Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Martyrs endured horrific tortures without a groan.
Divine Institutes 6.20.14Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The arena destroys humanity.
Divine Institutes 7.11.4Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Those who suffer for justice will be happy forever.
Divine Institutes 7.15.5Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · At the end the whole world will be struck to free God's people.
Divine Institutes 7.15.18Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The Sibyls foretell Rome's fall for persecuting God's people.
Divine Institutes 7.16.14Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Few will survive; a tested third of believers will remain.
Divine Institutes 7.17.6Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · He will persecute the just in unprecedented tribulation.
Divine Institutes 7.17.7Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · His followers receive his mark; refusers flee or die.
Divine Institutes 7.17.8Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · He will burn the just with the Scriptures and rule forty-two months.
Divine Institutes 7.17.10Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The just flee; the Antichrist besieges them.
Divine Institutes 7.22.12Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · The just are persecuted in this age.
Divine Institutes 7.22.14Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Persecutors would silence any risen witness.
Divine Institutes 7.26.10Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Christian reticence gives rise to slanders.
On the Workmanship of God 1.1Lactantius · ca. 303–305 · Lactantius dedicates the book to his former pupil Demetrianus as proof that he keeps studying even in hard times.
On the Workmanship of God 1.7Lactantius · ca. 303–305 · The devil, cunning and now violent, uses earthly allurements as invisible snares.
On the Workmanship of God 20.1Lactantius · ca. 303–305 · Lactantius tells Demetrianus this brief work must suffice until he can write more fully of the true philosophy.
Letter of the Egyptian bishops to MeletiusAnonymous · ca. 306 · Four imprisoned Egyptian bishops rebuke Meletius for ordaining clergy in parishes not his own, against the ancient law, the honour of their bishop Peter, and Paul's warning to Timothy, while they and Peter suffered persecution.
Narrative of the Meletian schism (anonymous fragment)Anonymous · ca. 306 · An anonymous narrative: Meletius ignored the letter, entered Alexandria after the bishops' martyrdom, and with the help of Isidore and Arius set aside Peter's presbyters and ordained his own, so that Peter wrote to the people.
Appendix of Ten Documents on the Donatist Controversy 1Anonymous · documents of 303–330 · The court record of 320 before the governor Zenophilus at Thamugadi, where witnesses and the record of a search of the Cirta church in 303 show that Silvanus, later bishop of Cirta and one of Maiorinus's ordainers, had handed over church property, and that money from Lucilla and fees for ordination went to the bishops.
Appendix of Ten Documents on the Donatist Controversy 2Anonymous · documents of 303–330 · The record of the proconsul Aelianus's inquiry (315) at Carthage, which showed that the Donatists' evidence against Felix of Abthugni, Caecilian's ordainer, rested on a letter of the former magistrate Alfius Caecilianus to which Ingentius had added a forged passage, and cleared Felix.
Appendix of Ten Documents on the Donatist Controversy 9Anonymous · documents of 303–330 · Constantine, abandoning coercion, urges the African Catholics to bear Donatist injuries patiently, leave vengeance to God, and count their sufferings as martyrdom.
Acts of the Abitinian Martyrs 1Anonymous · 304 (12 February) · The narrator introduces the persecution of Diocletian, which demanded the surrender of the Scriptures, and says the martyrs sealed with their blood the exclusion of the traitors from the church.
Acts of the Abitinian Martyrs 2Anonymous · 304 (12 February) · Saturninus the presbyter, his children, and dozens of other Christians are arrested at Abitina while celebrating the Lord's service in the house of Octavius Felix.
Acts of the Abitinian Martyrs 3Anonymous · 304 (12 February) · The martyrs are led to the forum of Abitina, where heaven had earlier quenched with a storm the fire in which the traitor bishop Fundanus's surrendered Scriptures were being burned.
Acts of the Abitinian Martyrs 4Anonymous · 304 (12 February) · The prisoners are taken singing to Carthage before the proconsul Anulinus, and the author says he will tell their contests chiefly in their own words.
Acts of the Abitinian Martyrs 5Anonymous · 304 (12 February) · Before the proconsul Dativus confesses that he was at the assembly; as he is about to be tortured Thelica throws himself forward, declares that they all held the assembly, and is tortured, praying with thanksgiving.
Acts of the Abitinian Martyrs 15Anonymous · 304 (12 February) · As night falls the torturers tire; the proconsul offers pardon to any who will recant, but all the confessors answer together, “We are Christians,” and are sent to prison.
Acts of Crispina 1Anonymous · 304 (5 December) · Crispina of Thagara, brought before the proconsul Anulinus at Theveste, refuses again and again to sacrifice to the gods, confessing the one God and Christ, and is threatened with shaving and death.
Acts of Crispina 2Anonymous · 304 (5 December) · Anulinus sentences Crispina to death by the sword, and she gives thanks to Christ for her deliverance.
1Anonymous · 304 (1 April) · Three women of Thessalonica flee persecution to a mountain to pray.
3Anonymous · 304 (1 April) · The first hearing: seven Christians refuse sacrificial meat; Eutychia, pregnant, is remanded.
4Anonymous · 304 (1 April) · Agape and Chione are sentenced to be burned; the others are imprisoned.
5Anonymous · 304 (1 April) · Irene, who hid the Scriptures, is questioned and condemned to a brothel.
Passion of Irenaeus of Sirmium 1Anonymous · 304 (6 April) · Introduction: Irenaeus, bishop of Sirmium, under Diocletian.
Passion of Irenaeus of Sirmium 4Anonymous · 304 (6 April) · At a night hearing Irenaeus disowns all ties for Christ and is condemned to the river.
Acts of Phileas and Philoromus 1.1Anonymous · ca. 306-311 · Before the governor Culcianus, Phileas refuses to sacrifice, citing Scripture.
Canonical Epistle, canon 1Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · Those who lapsed only after long imprisonment and torture, and have already done penance for some time, are to be readmitted after a further forty days.
Canonical Epistle, canon 2Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · Those who lapsed after imprisonment but without torture are to do penance for a year beyond the time already spent.
Canonical Epistle, canon 3Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · Those who lapsed without imprisonment or torture, out of fear, are to do penance for a longer period, after the pattern of the barren fig tree.
Canonical Epistle, canon 4Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · For those who lapsed and refuse to repent, the curse on the barren fig tree and Isaiah's undying worm and fire are set out.
Canonical Epistle, canon 5Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · Those who evaded sacrifice by trickery (passing the altars, written certificates, or sending pagans in their place) are to do six months of penance.
Canonical Epistle, canon 7Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · Free masters who compelled their Christian slaves to sacrifice in their place are to do penance for three years.
Canonical Epistle, canon 8Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · Those who lapsed but then returned to confess Christ and suffered imprisonment and torture are to be received into full communion, including the Eucharist.
Canonical Epistle, canon 9Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · Those who rushed forward to martyrdom of their own accord are to be in communion, but the canon warns against provoking persecution, citing Christ's withdrawals and the apostles who fled.
Canonical Epistle, canon 10Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · Clergy who gave themselves up, lapsed, and then confessed again are not to resume their ministry, but may be admitted to lay communion.
Canonical Epistle, canon 11Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · The first to rush forward to martyrdom are praised; and the requests of the faithful to pray for those who lapsed after torture, and for their reconciliation, are to be granted.
Canonical Epistle, canon 12Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · Those who paid money to escape persecution are not to be blamed, since they lost money to save their souls.
Canonical Epistle, canon 13Peter of Alexandria · AD 306 · Those who fled and left everything are not to be blamed if others were arrested in their place, as the cases of Paul at Ephesus, Peter's escape, and the flight of the infant Jesus show.
Apology for Origen 4.1Pamphilus of Caesarea · ca. 308–310 (Rufinus's Latin about 397) · Pamphilus quotes Origen on the Holy Spirit as unchangeable, never a creature, and always known within the Trinity; on the limits of every creature's knowledge of God; and on the spread of the faith as proof of Christ's divinity.
Apology for Origen 8.1Pamphilus of Caesarea · ca. 308–310 (Rufinus's Latin about 397) · Pamphilus answers the charge that Origen denied the punishment of sinners with his teaching on the fire of judgment as a remedy and on the pains of the risen body, and begins his defence of Origen's views on the soul.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension), inscriptionEusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Eusebius dates the first edict of the Great Persecution (303) and states its provisions.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension), inscriptionEusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · A second edict ordered the arrest of all church leaders and their forced sacrifice.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 1.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Procopius, the first Palestinian martyr, refused to sacrifice to the gods or the four emperors and was beheaded.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 1.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Many clergy at Caesarea endured tortures; some gave way at once; others suffered scourging, racking, and crippling bonds.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 1.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Officials forced or feigned sacrifices so as to dismiss prisoners as though they had complied.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 1.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Of the many tortured, only Alpheus and Zacchaeus were martyred, beheaded on 17 November for confessing one God and Christ as king.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 2.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Romanus, a deacon and exorcist of Caesarea, rebuked the crowds sacrificing at Antioch.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 2.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Romanus belongs among the Palestinian martyrs; in the first year only church leaders were targeted.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 3.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · In the second year a general order to sacrifice was issued; Timothy was burned at Gaza, and Agapius and Thecla were condemned to the beasts.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 3.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · At a public festival the condemned Christians were expected to be exhibited to the beasts.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 3.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Six young men bound their own hands and presented themselves to Urbanus as Christians.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 3.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Civil war followed and lasted until peace for the Christians was established.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 4.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Maximin Daia became Caesar and intensified the persecution.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 4.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Eusebius introduces the martyr Apphianus, an example to all Caesarea.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 4.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · During Maximin's general order to sacrifice, Apphianus seized the governor's hand at a libation and urged him to abandon idols.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 5.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Aedesius, Apphianus's brother, a learned philosopher, endured many confessions and was sent to the mines.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 5.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · At Alexandria Aedesius publicly shamed a judge who handed Christian virgins to brothels, and was tortured and drowned.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 6.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · On 20 November in the fourth year, during Maximin's birthday games at Caesarea, a notable martyrdom took place.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 7.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Theodosia was tortured and drowned; the prisoners were sent to the copper mines of Phaeno.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 7.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Silvanus, then a presbyter, later bishop and martyr, and his companions were lamed and sent to the copper mines.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 7.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · The governor burned Domninus, condemned others to boxing, the beasts, castration and the mines, and imprisoned Pamphilus, Eusebius's dearest friend.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 7.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Divine justice soon overtook Urbanus: stripped of office in one night, he was condemned to death by Maximin himself.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 7.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Eusebius defers an account of the persecutors' ends.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 8.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Ninety-seven confessors from the porphyry mine of the Thebaid were lamed and blinded in one eye by Firmilian and sent to the mines.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 8.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · The Palestinians condemned to boxing suffered the same for refusing imperial food and training.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 8.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Brought before Maximin, they endured hunger and scourging and suffered the same maiming.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 8.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Christians arrested at Gaza while assembled to read Scripture were maimed or tortured.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 8.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · A woman of Gaza, threatened with prostitution, denounced the emperor and was scourged and racked.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 8.13Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · A hundred and thirty Egyptian confessors, maimed likewise, were sent to the mines of Palestine and Cilicia.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 9.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Just as persecution eased, Maximin was roused against the Christians again.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 9.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Maximin's new edict ordered temples rebuilt, universal sacrifice and eating of sacrificial food, market goods defiled, and guards at the baths.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 9.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Even pagans thought the measures excessive, while Christ's power gave his martyrs courage to defy them unbidden.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 9.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · The tribune Maxys, without authority, stripped Ennathas and had her whipped through the markets of Caesarea.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 9.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Ennathas was burned alive, and the judge denied burial to the martyrs' bodies.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 9.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · The bodies were guarded in the open to be devoured by beasts and birds.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 9.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · The city was strewn with human remains, horrifying even enemies of the Christians.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 9.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Remains lay scattered by the gates and even inside the city.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 10.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Egyptian Christians on their way to help the Cilician confessors were arrested; some were maimed, and Ares, Promus and Elias were martyred at Ascalon.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 11.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Five Egyptians returning from Cilicia confessed at the gates of Caesarea and were arrested.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 11.31Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Firmilian himself was later executed by the sword.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 12.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Eusebius deliberately passes over the failures of church leaders, ambition, irregular ordinations and schisms, telling only what is praiseworthy.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 13.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · When the confessors at the Palestinian copper mines built houses for worship, the governor denounced them to the emperor.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 13.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · The mine overseer dispersed the confessors to Cyprus, Lebanon and parts of Palestine.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 13.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Among them was John, already blind, whose sightless eyes were nonetheless branded.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 13.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Eusebius sums up eight years of persecution in Palestine and its countless martyrs from Libya to Illyricum.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 13.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · In the West the persecution lasted only about two years.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 13.13Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · Unprecedentedly, the empire was divided, with peace for Christians in the West while the East suffered.
Martyrs of Palestine (shorter recension) 13.14Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 311–314 · When God's grace visited the East, the persecutors recanted with favourable decrees, which must be recorded.
Apology before the judgeLucian of Antioch · ca. 312 (reported by Rufinus ca. 400) · Lucian, on trial, defends the Christian faith in one God revealed through Christ, appeals to the witnesses of Christ's death and resurrection, and challenges his judges to believe.
Preparation for the Gospel 1.4.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · The gospel's survival and growth despite demons and persecuting rulers shows that it comes from God.
Preparation for the Gospel 4.1.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · Pagans claim the civic religion proves itself by oracles and cures, and that Christians deserve death for breaking ancestral law.
Preparation for the Gospel 4.2.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · Those convicted included philosophers and magistrates of Antioch who had persecuted Christians, and the prophet at Miletus.
Preparation for the Gospel 5.1.16Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · The demons tried through persecuting rulers to destroy Christ's teaching, but failed.
Preparation for the Gospel 6.6.63Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · The Christian martyrs, Greeks and barbarians alike, show the power of free choice.
Preparation for the Gospel 8.12.17Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · Cruel rulers who butchered the people were themselves punished by justice.
Preparation for the Gospel 12.10.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · Hebrew righteous men endured suffering; Plato describes the same.
Preparation for the Gospel 12.10.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · The just man must be thought unjust all his life yet remain just.
Preparation for the Gospel 12.10.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · The just man will be scourged, bound, blinded, and impaled.
Preparation for the Gospel 12.10.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · The Hebrew righteous suffered all this in fact, as Hebrews 11 records.
Preparation for the Gospel 12.10.6Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · The apostles suffered as Paul describes.
Preparation for the Gospel 12.10.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · Christian martyrs fulfilled Plato’s description of the suffering just man.
Preparation for the Gospel 13.6.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · Christians in persecution, like the Hebrew martyrs, heed the Word of God, not the many.
Preparation for the Gospel 14.3.5Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 313–324 · Christian teaching is consistent from first to last and flourishes despite persecution.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 47.3Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Pagans refuse to listen, curse the Christians, and persecute them worse than enemies of war.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 47.4Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Unable to argue, persecutors condemn Christians unheard.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 47.5Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · They torture Christians because the truth exposes their evil lives.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 48.1Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Real gods would not need human defenders.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 48.4Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Christians do not resist but patiently endure, trusting God to avenge them.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 48.5Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · All the persecutors met wretched ends.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 48.6Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Forced sacrifice is no worship.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 48.7Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · A good that must be forced with torture is no good.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 48.10Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · If paganism is good, keep it; the Christian has chosen freely.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 49.1Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Religion is the one realm of true freedom.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 49.2Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Worship must be voluntary; compulsion can produce only pretence.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 49.3Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Those forced to sacrifice return to God with penance and are forgiven.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 49.4Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Forcing a libation achieves nothing, yet persecutors gloat as if victorious.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 49.5Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Knowing that martyrdom is a Christian victory, persecutors try to break rather than kill.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 49.6Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · They prolong tortures to break Christians while calling themselves pious.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 49.7Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · The victim is called impious and the torturer pious.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 50.1Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Ancestral custom cannot forbid following the truth.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 50.3Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Egyptian animal cults, mockery on stage, and atheist philosophers go unpunished.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 50.4Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Only Christians are called impious, as evil is called good and good evil.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 61.3Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Under compulsion to apostatize, keep the faith with God's inward help.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 66.8Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · The Antichrist will persecute for 42 months, claim to be Christ, and work false wonders.
Epitome of the Divine Institutes 66.9Lactantius · ca. 314–320 · Those refusing his mark will be tortured; two-thirds will perish and a third flee.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 1.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Lactantius addresses Donatus, a confessor, and says God has heard the prayers of the persecuted.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 1.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · With the persecutors destroyed, the church is being rebuilt in greater glory.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 1.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · God raised up rulers who cancelled the tyrants' decrees and brought peace.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 1.4Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · After the storm God has answered his servants' prayers and wiped away the tears of the mourners.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 1.5Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The persecutors have fallen and died under God's blows.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 1.6Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · God delayed their punishment to make them lasting examples that he is the one God and judge.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 1.7Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Lactantius announces his aim: to record how God destroyed the persecutors, starting from the church's beginnings.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 2.6Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Nero, the first persecutor, crucified Peter and killed Paul, but did not escape punishment.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 2.7Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · God saw his people's affliction; Nero fell from power and vanished without a known grave.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 2.8Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Lactantius rejects the belief, drawn from the Sibyl, that Nero lives on and will return before Antichrist.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 3.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Domitian ruled long and safely until he turned against the Lord.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 3.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Once Domitian persecuted, he was murdered in his palace and his memory was erased.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 3.4Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · After Domitian the church enjoyed a long peace and spread to the ends of the earth, until that peace was broken.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 4.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · After many years Decius arose to persecute the church.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 4.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Decius began raging against God at once, and fell at once.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 4.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Decius was killed by barbarians with much of his army and lay unburied.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 5.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Valerian persecuted and was punished in a singular way as a lesson to later generations.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 5.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Captured by the Persians, Valerian lived in shameful slavery.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 5.7Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · After such punishments it is astonishing that anyone dared to oppose God again.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 6.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Aurelian planned to persecute but was killed before he could carry it out.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 6.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Aurelian was murdered by his own officers in Thrace before his edicts took effect.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 6.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Later tyrants ignored these examples and opposed God more boldly.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 7.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Diocletian, author of many evils, finally turned against God.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 9.11Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Diocletian prospered as long as he did not shed the blood of the righteous.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 9.12Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Lactantius turns to the cause of the persecution.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 10.4Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Diocletian ordered his whole court and the army to sacrifice on pain of flogging or discharge.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 10.5Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · For the time being he went no further.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 10.6Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Galerius joined Diocletian in Bithynia to urge him to persecute.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 11.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · She came to hate the Christians and urged her son to destroy them.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 11.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Diocletian long argued against a general persecution, but could not dissuade Galerius.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 11.6Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The advisers, from hatred, fear, or flattery, all voted for persecution.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 11.7Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Diocletian consulted Apollo's oracle at Miletus, which answered against the Christians.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 11.8Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Diocletian yielded but ordered the persecution to be bloodless, while Galerius wanted resisters burned.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 12.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The feast of Terminus, 23 February, was chosen to begin the persecution, as if to put an end to Christianity.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 12.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · At dawn officials broke into the church at Nicomedia, burned the Scriptures, and looted it.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 12.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The emperors, watching from the palace, debated burning the church.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 12.5Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The praetorian guard demolished the church in a few hours.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 13.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · An edict stripped Christians of rank and legal protection and made them liable to torture.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 13.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · A Christian tore down the edict, mocking it.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 14.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Galerius wanted more than the edict.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 14.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Galerius had the palace set on fire and the Christians blamed for plotting against the emperors.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 14.4Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Diocletian and his officials tortured innocent people to find the culprits.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 14.8Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Diocletian, deceived, ordered his own household tortured.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 15.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Diocletian forced his wife and daughter to sacrifice.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 15.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Palace eunuchs were killed and clergy condemned without trial.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 15.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Christians were burned in groups and palace servants drowned with millstones.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 15.4Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Magistrates forced the general population to sacrifice.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 15.5Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Altars were set in courtrooms so that litigants had to sacrifice before pleading.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 15.6Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Maximian gladly enforced the edicts in Italy.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 15.7Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Constantius only demolished church buildings and spared the Christians themselves.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 16.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Apart from Gaul, three savage rulers persecuted across the empire.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 16.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · No one could recount all the crimes and punishments inflicted on the innocent.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 16.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Donatus himself knows these sufferings well.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 16.4Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Donatus stood firm before three successive persecuting officials.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 21.7Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Death by slow fire had first been used against Christians.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 22.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Galerius applied the tortures learned on Christians to everyone.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 24.9Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Constantine's first act was to restore Christian worship.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 31.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · God next turned to punish Galerius, author of the persecution.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 33.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · In his eighteenth year Galerius was struck by a spreading genital ulcer.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 33.11Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · After a year of suffering Galerius confessed God and issued an edict.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 34.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The edict begins: the emperors had wanted Christians to return to ancestral ways.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 34.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The Christians had forsaken ancient customs and made their own laws.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 34.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Many suffered under the order to return to the old ways.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 34.4Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Since many Christians persisted, they are allowed to exist and assemble, and must pray for the emperors.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 35.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The edict was posted at Nicomedia on 30 April 311.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 35.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Donatus was released after six years in prison.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 35.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Galerius was not forgiven by God and died a few days later.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 36.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Maximinus revoked the toleration by arranging for cities to petition against the Christians.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 36.4Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · He appointed pagan high priests in each city to suppress Christian worship.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 36.5Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · He also appointed provincial high priests.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 36.6Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Claiming mercy, he ordered Christians maimed rather than killed.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 36.7Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Confessors were blinded and mutilated.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 37.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Deterred by Constantine, Maximinus persecuted secretly.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 37.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · All food at his table was sacrificial, to defile his guests.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 42.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Diocletian died of starvation and grief.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 43.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Maximinus alone of the persecutors remained.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 46.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Maximinus vowed to Jupiter to wipe out the Christians if he won.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · At Nicomedia on 13 June 313 Licinius published a letter restoring the church.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Constantine and Licinius agreed at Milan to grant religious freedom to Christians and all others.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.3Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · No one is to be refused the freedom to follow Christianity or any religion of their choice.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.4Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · All earlier restrictions on Christians are removed.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.5Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The governor is informed that Christians have full freedom of worship.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.6Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The same freedom is granted to all religions.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.7Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Confiscated meeting-places are to be returned to the Christians without charge.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.8Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Buyers and recipients must return the property and may seek compensation from the state.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.9Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Other property owned by the churches as corporate bodies is also to be restored.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.10Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The governor must act quickly to carry out the order.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 48.13Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The persecution lasted ten years and about four months.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 49.7Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · Maximinus died in agony.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 50.1Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · God destroyed all the persecutors and their families.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 50.7Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · The ungodly received what they had done to others.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 52.2Lactantius · ca. 314–315 · God has gathered his scattered flock and destroyed the wild beasts that ravaged it.
Acts of the Purgation of Felix of Aptunga 4Anonymous · 314–315 (events of 303) · The record of the earlier hearing at Carthage (19 August 314), in which the Donatist Maximus produced Caecilianus's letter against Felix.
Canon 1Anonymous · 314 · Presbyters who sacrificed under persecution but then genuinely resumed the struggle keep their rank but may not exercise their ministry.
Canon 2Anonymous · 314 · Deacons who sacrificed but then confessed keep their honor without serving, though bishops may relax or tighten this.
Canon 3Anonymous · 314 · Christians who were forced against their will to touch or eat sacrifices while confessing Christ have not sinned, keep communion, and may even be ordained.
Canon 4Anonymous · 314 · Those forced to sacrifice who nevertheless feasted cheerfully at the idol banquet do six years of graded penance.
Canon 5Anonymous · 314 · Those who attended the idol banquet in grief receive lighter penance, and bishops may lessen or lengthen it after examining their lives.
Canon 6Anonymous · 314 · Those who sacrificed merely at the threat of punishment and are only now repenting do six years of penance, with allowance in danger of death.
Canon 8Anonymous · 314 · Those forced to sacrifice two or three times do penance for six years and are fully restored in the seventh.
Canon 9Anonymous · 314 · Those who not only lapsed but forced fellow Christians to sacrifice do ten years of penance.
Canon 13Anonymous · 1 August 314 · Clergy proved by public records to have surrendered Scriptures, church vessels, or names in persecution are deposed, but the ordinations they performed remain valid.
Demonstration of the Gospel 1.1.8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · The prophets also foretold good news: the knowledge of God for all nations, the spread of the gospel and churches, and the church’s survival of persecution.
Demonstration of the Gospel 2.3.155Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · The apostles won the nations for Christ, whose word has triumphed over all its enemies.
Demonstration of the Gospel 2.3.156Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Christ’s hand prevails over all who persecute his church; next heading: Zephaniah.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.4.43Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Base men would not endure every torture for a deceiver’s sake.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.5.56Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · The mock speech ironically promises only tortures and death as reward.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.5.61Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Acts records that the apostles were imprisoned, warned, and scourged.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.5.62Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Peter defied the authorities; Stephen was stoned and persecution followed.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.5.63Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Herod killed James and imprisoned Peter, yet the disciples kept preaching.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.5.77Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Jesus foretold his disciples’ sufferings honestly, and they followed him anyway.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.5.78Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Jesus’ prediction is fulfilled today in persecution for his name.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.5.79Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Christians are punished for the name alone, while those who deny it go free.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.6.13Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · No Christian has been found a sorcerer, even under torture.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.6.14Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Christians were released once they sacrificed, proving no charge of sorcery existed.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.7.34Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Without Rome's restraint, pagans would have waged constant war and persecution against Christ's teaching.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.7.36Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · God sometimes allowed rulers to persecute, to display the martyrs and to show that the church's growth was God's doing.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.7.37Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · In persecutions the martyrs became famous and the persecutors suffered divine punishment and confessed their guilt.
Demonstration of the Gospel 3.7.38Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · The remaining Christians, tested briefly, regained their freedom, and the gospel shone brighter amid its enemies.
Demonstration of the Gospel 4.16.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · The plot against Christ and the calling of the nations are fulfilled in Jesus, who is still opposed by rulers.
Demonstration of the Gospel 4.16.23Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · The “ransom” reproached is the church, mocked for Christ’s cross; the next heading introduces Psalm 132.
Demonstration of the Gospel 5.2.9Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Christ’s enemies are all who fight his word, human or spiritual, whom he continually overcomes.
Demonstration of the Gospel 5.3.11Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · The churches flourishing amid enemies everywhere fulfill “rule in the midst of your enemies.”
Demonstration of the Gospel 6.20.13Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Conversion to Christ set Egyptians against Egyptians and brother against brother, as Isaiah foretold.
Demonstration of the Gospel 6.20.14Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Jesus himself foretold that family members would betray one another to death.
Demonstration of the Gospel 6.20.17Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · The idolaters' plots against Christ's teaching are still being frustrated by God, as Isaiah foretold.
Demonstration of the Gospel 6.20.19Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Those who turn to false gods get no help, and God hands them to harsh rulers when they persecute the church.
Demonstration of the Gospel 7.1.132Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Persecutions of the church have always failed because God is with it.
Demonstration of the Gospel 7.3.12Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Only Jesus, son of David, has an unending, worldwide kingdom.
Demonstration of the Gospel 8.1.61Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Christ still routs those who persecute his church.
Demonstration of the Gospel 8.5.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Egypt’s visible conversion proves the Lord’s coming there, on a “light cloud” that signifies his coming in the flesh.
Demonstration of the Gospel 9.13.7Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · The apostles are to encourage others and not fear the opponents of the gospel.
Demonstration of the Gospel 10.1.10Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Psalm 79 was fulfilled under Antiochus Epiphanes, who defiled the temple and killed Jews faithful to their law.
Demonstration of the Gospel 10.8.85Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · Those who harm the church, Christ’s body, harm his hands, feet, and bones.
Demonstration of the Gospel 10.8.86Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 314–324 · In persecutions Christ can say of his members, “They dug my hands and feet.”
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 1.3Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · Despite the prophets, impiety and persecution prevailed for generations, until Christ came, fulfilled the prophecies, ascended to the Father, and founded the church.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 1.5Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · Paganism tried to destroy the church and brought back strife and greed, but it now lies defeated; Constantine turns to speak of the Word.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 20.2Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · Virgil foretells goats giving milk, flocks unafraid of lions, the serpent perishing and fragrant balsam blooming; Constantine reads the lions as rulers whom faith does not fear.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 22.2Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · When the tyrants made war on the churches, godliness faced it with faith, and the persecutors' cruelty only won it glory.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 22.3Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · The torturers grew weary, while the Christians stood firm and bold.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 22.4Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · Constantine addresses the persecutor: honouring the gods could not justify slaughtering the righteous.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 22.5Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · The persecutor's appeal to tradition rests on the folly of thinking man-made images powerful, gods that need human care.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 24.1Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · Constantine taunts the persecutor Decius, who fell with his army against the Goths.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 24.2Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · Valerian, another persecutor, was captured by the Persian king Sapor, flayed and preserved as a trophy.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 24.3Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · Aurelian, who planned persecution, was murdered on the road in Thrace.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 25.1Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · Diocletian, after persecuting, abdicated and confessed his folly by retiring into obscurity.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 25.2Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · Constantine witnessed at Nicomedia Diocletian's terror and the lightning fire in his palace, which sensible people had foretold.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 25.3Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · People foresaw God's vengeance on the persecution; the emperor even condemned Christian virgins and wives to violation, but the people refused, and the army turned its swords on its own citizens.
Oration to the Assembly of the Saints 25.4Constantine the Great · ca. 325 (dated variously 317–325) · God avenged the persecution through civil wars, in which the army of the usurper at Rome was destroyed when Rome was freed.
Letter 3.4Antony the Great · before 356 · Antony fears that monks wear the habit of the saints without their power, and comforts the brothers with Christ's words that persecution is the lot of those who live according to the spirit.
Proceedings before Zenophilus (Gesta apud Zenophilum) 1Anonymous · 320 (inquiry of 3 Dec. 320 into events of 303) · The hearing at Thamugadi (13 December 320) opens with the questioning of Victor the grammarian about Bishop Silvanus of Cirta.
Proceedings before Zenophilus (Gesta apud Zenophilum) 2Anonymous · 320 (inquiry of 3 Dec. 320 into events of 303) · The record of the search of the church at Cirta in 303 is read: the church's goods and the codices handed over.
Proceedings before Zenophilus (Gesta apud Zenophilum) 11Anonymous · 320 (inquiry of 3 Dec. 320 into events of 303) · The gravediggers confirm the charges: Silvanus handed over church vessels, took the temple vinegar, and was made bishop by arena-workers.
1Anonymous · 4th–5th century · Forty Cappadocian soldiers refuse to sacrifice under Licinius and are imprisoned.
Canon 10Anonymous · 325 · Lapsed Christians who have been ordained are to be deposed when discovered.
Canon 11Anonymous · 325 · Those who lapsed without compulsion under Licinius do twelve years of graded penance.
Canon 12Anonymous · 325 · Christians who left the army for the faith but then bought their way back into it do long penance, which the bishop may shorten for the truly repentant.
Canon 14Anonymous · 325 · Catechumens who lapsed are hearers for three years before rejoining the catechumens.
Theophany 1.64Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 325–337
Theophany 3.20Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 325–337
Theophany 3.29Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 325–337
Theophany 4.17Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 325–337
Theophany 4.26Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 325–337
Theophany 4.28Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 325–337
Theophany 5.31Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 325–337
Theophany 5.35Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 325–337
Theophany 5.52Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 325–337
Book 1, lines 448–472Juvencus · ca. 330 · The crowds gather; the Beatitudes; the disciples are the salt of the earth.
Book 2, lines 451–474Juvencus · ca. 330 · Instructions to the Twelve: shake off the dust, be wise and simple, expect persecution, flee from city to city.
Book 2, lines 475–500Juvencus · ca. 330 · The disciple is not above the master; fear God, not those who kill the body; confessing Christ; not peace but a sword.
Book 4, lines 100–123Juvencus · ca. 330 · The beginning of birth pains; persecution, false prophets, endurance to the end, the gospel to all nations, and Daniel's prophecy.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.6Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · The former rulers persecuted their own people, the Christians, as sacrifices to their gods.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.7Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · The martyrs, men and women alike, endured every torture and death rather than deny God; many women chose death rather than violation.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.11Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · God struck down the persecutors, forced them to recant, and raised up the humbled Christians.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.7Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · The idols' defenders, who had persecuted the Christians, were nowhere to be found.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.13Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · The persecutors who destroyed the churches were swiftly destroyed by God, while Constantine built new churches far finer, in Constantinople, Nicomedia and other chief cities.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.9Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · Christ alone spread his teaching worldwide, abolished barbarous customs, endured constant persecution and flourished, founded a new nation, turned Egypt from animal worship, gave power over demons, and established bloodless sacrifices.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.11Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · Christ's continuing works after death prove him alive, while the dead persecutors are forgotten; invisible realities are known from their effects.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.2Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · The persecutors destroyed the churches and attacked Christ with words, but he defended himself invisibly.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.3Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · The persecuting emperors, once prosperous, were suddenly struck down when they fought against God and were forced to acknowledge Christ and reverse their edicts.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.5Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · Christ rebuilt the churches more splendidly while their destroyers still lived, forcing them under divine punishment to recant in writing.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.10Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · Christ foretold his disciples' persecution and so strengthened them that they endured it with adamantine courage.
Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.14Eusebius of Caesarea · 335–336 · Christ established the weekly Lord's day assembly for the nourishment of souls, and though constantly attacked, has led his people to glory.
Demonstration 5.20Aphrahat · 337-345
Demonstration 14.4Aphrahat · 337-345 · The church's sufferings mirror its own sins: plunder, hatred, mockery, and oppression have come back upon it.
Demonstration 14.45Aphrahat · 337-345 · The letter's call to peace may be rejected, but so were Moses, the prophets, Christ, and Paul, whose words nonetheless bore lasting fruit.
Demonstration 21.7Aphrahat · 337-345
Demonstration 21.8Aphrahat · 337-345
Demonstration 21.10Aphrahat · 337-345
Demonstration 21.11Aphrahat · 337-345
Demonstration 21.18Aphrahat · 337-345
Demonstration 21.20Aphrahat · 337-345
Demonstration 21.21Aphrahat · 337-345
Life of Constantine 1.12.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Like Moses in Pharaoh's court, the young Constantine lived among the persecuting emperors without sharing their ways.
Life of Constantine 1.13.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantius, unlike his fellow emperors, did not persecute Christians and ruled gently.
Life of Constantine 1.15.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · The persecution began in the palaces, which lost their Christians and with them the prayers made for the rulers.
Life of Constantine 1.16.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantius tested his servants, dismissing those who were willing to sacrifice and promoting those who refused.
Life of Constantine 1.23.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Eusebius declines to narrate the downfall of the persecuting emperors.
Life of Constantine 1.51.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Licinius forbade bishops to meet or hold synods, which made church government, including the ordination of bishops, impossible.
Life of Constantine 1.52.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Licinius expelled Christians from his palace, degraded and robbed them, and judged all people by his own debauchery.
Life of Constantine 1.53.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Licinius forbade men and women to worship together and ordered congregations to meet outside the cities.
Life of Constantine 1.54.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Licinius purged Christian soldiers and forbade anyone to feed or help prisoners.
Life of Constantine 1.56.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Licinius turned against the bishops, forgetting the fate of the earlier persecutors he had himself seen punished.
Life of Constantine 1.57.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Galerius, who began the persecution, died of a horrible disease after ending the persecution by edict.
Life of Constantine 1.58.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Maximinus invented new tortures, blinding and laming Christians and sending them to the mines.
Life of Constantine 1.58.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Maximinus was defeated, fled in disguise, died of a wasting disease that blinded him, and recanted; yet Licinius followed his example.
Life of Constantine 2.1.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Licinius renewed the persecution in secret, having bishops killed by his governors, especially at Amaseia in Pontus.
Life of Constantine 2.2.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Churches were destroyed or closed, since Licinius believed Christians prayed only for Constantine.
Life of Constantine 2.2.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Bishops were executed, some cut to pieces and thrown into the sea.
Life of Constantine 2.2.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · As Licinius prepared a general persecution, God sent Constantine to the East.
Life of Constantine 2.20.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Exiled Christians were recalled, freed from punitive civic duties, and given back their property.
Life of Constantine 2.20.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Confessors in the mines, on islands, and in forced labor were freed, and Christian soldiers restored.
Life of Constantine 2.26.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · The faithful who suffered gained greater glory, while persecutors' armies were defeated.
Life of Constantine 2.27.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Persecution brought war and want, and its authors suffered death or disgrace and feared punishment hereafter.
Life of Constantine 2.29.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine owes everything to God and will relieve the innocent Christians of the burdens laid on them by the persecutors.
Life of Constantine 2.30.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Exiles and those forced onto city councils are to return home, and the dispossessed are to recover their property.
Life of Constantine 2.31.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Those banished to islands are to be freed and live without fear.
Life of Constantine 2.32.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Those condemned to the mines and public works are freed, and those deprived of civic rights restored.
Life of Constantine 2.33.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Christian soldiers who were dismissed may return to service or retire with honor.
Life of Constantine 2.34.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Freeborn Christians condemned to state workshops or slavery are restored to freedom and rank.
Life of Constantine 2.50.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine recalls an oracle of Apollo complaining that “the righteous on earth” prevented true prophecy.
Life of Constantine 2.51.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Diocletian, told that the “righteous” were the Christians, began the persecution.
Life of Constantine 2.52.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine describes the cruelty of the persecution, which spared no one.
Life of Constantine 2.53.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Christians who fled to the barbarians found kindness there, to Rome's lasting shame.
Life of Constantine 2.54.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · The persecutors perished without descendants, misled by the oracles of Apollo.
Life of Constantine 4.11.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · One such persecutor was captured by the Persians.
Life of Constantine 4.12.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine has seen the persecutors punished and rejoices in the peace of the Christians.
Life of Constantine 4.74.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Eusebius concludes that God showed in Constantine, the first Christian emperor, the difference between those who honor him and the persecutors.
Encyclical Letter 1Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 339 · Athanasius compares the outrage done to the Church of Alexandria with the outrage of the Levite's concubine in Judges and calls on all bishops to be moved to act.
Encyclical Letter 3Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 339 · Athanasius describes how the prefect Philagrius let mobs loose on the churches, which were burned and profaned, and how virgins and monks were assaulted.
Encyclical Letter 4Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 339 · Athanasius describes the plunder of the church, the scourging and imprisonment of clergy, virgins and laity during Lent, and Gregory's role in it.
Encyclical Letter 5Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 339 · Athanasius explains why he withdrew from the city, and describes how the churches were handed to Gregory, the faithful coerced, and a decree sent against him to Constantius.
Canon 17Anonymous · 343 or 347 · A bishop unjustly driven from his see for his faith may stay in another city until he can return.
Canon 21Anonymous · 343 or 347 · A bishop unjustly expelled for his faith may stay in another city until he can return; the synod closes by committing its decrees to the whole church.
Historical Fragments 1.2.2.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Eusebius, in his third place of exile, says the Arians rely on imperial power, but the faithful on the Lord.
Historical Fragments 1.4.1.6Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The Easterners repeat the charges against Athanasius: the broken chalice of Ischyras, violence, and coercion.
Historical Fragments 1.5.2.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Hilary's narrative: the catholic envoys of Ariminum, kept waiting and threatened, gave way and signed the heretical creed.
Historical Fragments 2.1.3.2Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Hilary refused worldly comfort and favor at the price of corrupting the gospel truth.
Historical Fragments 2.1.3.3Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Moved by Scripture, Hilary chose suffering for confessing God over guilty silence.
Historical Fragments 2.1.4.2Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Many wrongly think the bishops were exiled merely for refusing to condemn Athanasius.
Historical Fragments 2.1.5.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Hilary passes over the emperor's interference and the condemnation of the absent, to come to graver matters.
Historical Fragments 2.1.6.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Hilary begins with Paulinus of Trier's refusal at Arles (353).
Historical Fragments 2.1.6.2Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Paulinus was exiled for confessing the faith, not for favoring Athanasius.
Historical Fragments 2.2.1.3Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The Easterners fled Serdica because accusers and victims had come to confront them.
Historical Fragments 2.2.2.3Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The council lists the three questions: the faith, the deposed bishops, and the Eastern party's violence against the churches.
Historical Fragments 2.7.2.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Liberius encourages the exiled bishops Eusebius, Dionysius, and Lucifer as martyrs of the faith.
Historical Fragments 2.7.2.2Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Liberius asks the confessors' prayers and a full report of what happened at Milan.
Historical Fragments 2.7.11.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Liberius in exile writes to Vincent of Capua of his sufferings.
Catechetical Lecture 3.9Cyril of Jerusalem · ca. 350 · Christ, who baptizes with the Spirit and fire, is the glory of baptism; without baptism there is no salvation, except for martyrs baptized in their own blood.
Catechetical Lecture 13.23Cyril of Jerusalem · ca. 350 · The candidates must hold to the cross in persecution as in peace; the name Golgotha, “Place of a Skull,” points to Christ, the head of all things, who suffered there.
Catechetical Lecture 15.12Cyril of Jerusalem · ca. 350 · The Antichrist will arise at the end of the Roman empire after ten kings, rule by deceit and cruelty for three and a half years, and be destroyed by Christ at his coming.
Catechetical Lecture 15.15Cyril of Jerusalem · ca. 350 · The Antichrist will seat himself in the ruined Jewish temple, claiming to rebuild it as David's heir, and will persecute the saints.
Catechetical Lecture 15.16Cyril of Jerusalem · ca. 350 · Christ allows the weak to flee the Antichrist while the strong may stand; Daniel limits his reign to three and a half years.
Catechetical Lecture 15.17Cyril of Jerusalem · ca. 350 · The martyrs under the Antichrist will be the greatest of all, for they will fight Satan in person; God permits the persecution in order to crown them.
Catechetical Lecture 16.8Cyril of Jerusalem · ca. 350 · Montanus, who called himself the Holy Spirit and his village Pepuza Jerusalem, is accused by Cyril of gross immorality and ritual murder.
Catechetical Lecture 18.29Cyril of Jerusalem · ca. 350 · The Church has every gift and virtue; once persecuted, she is now honored by kings and her power is unbounded; in her we inherit eternal life.
Defence against the Arians 15Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The bishops describe the violence against virgins in Alexandria during the commission’s visit and cite Ischyras’s own letter admitting that he invented the charge.
Defence against the Arians 30Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Julius condemns the uncanonical installation of Gregory at Alexandria by soldiers, and the violence that accompanied it, as the real breach of the canons.
Defence against the Arians 33Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Julius reports that many bishops and presbyters from the East came to Rome complaining of violence and persecution, which made his invitation to a synod the more necessary.
Defence against the Arians 38Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The synod recalls the exposed charge that Athanasius murdered Arsenius and urges the Alexandrians to hold the right faith and endure persecution.
Defence against the Arians 39Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The synod of Sardica asks the emperors to stop magistrates from judging clergy, declares Gregory deposed, clears four Alexandrian presbyters, and begins its parallel letter to the bishops of Egypt and Libya.
Defence against the Arians 42Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · In its letter to Egypt and Libya the synod repeats its account of the Arsenius charge and its exhortation to hold the faith and endure, adding that many other bishops have suffered likewise.
Defence against the Arians 45Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The synod explains that the Eastern bishops fled Sardica because their victims—exiles, bishops in chains, and envoys of whole churches—had come to accuse them.
Defence against the Arians 89Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Athanasius points to the exile of many bishops, including Liberius and Hosius, as proof that they upheld the judgments in his favor, explaining that both later yielded only under compulsion.
Defence before Constantius 25Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 353–357 · Athanasius tells how Syrianus, twenty-three days after his promise, attacked the church by night with soldiers and the Arians, and how he withdrew only after the people had left.
Defence before Constantius 27Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 353–357 · Athanasius tells how, on his way to the emperor, he learned of the exile of Liberius, Hosius, and other Western bishops, and of the persecution of the Egyptian bishops and of the faithful praying near the cemetery of Alexandria.
Defence before Constantius 29Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 353–357 · Athanasius tells how, still on his way to the emperor, he heard that Constantius had written to the rulers of Axum to have Frumentius sent away and himself hunted down.
Defence before Constantius 30Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 353–357 · Constantius’s letter to the Alexandrians praises them for accepting George as bishop and denounces Athanasius, threatening his followers with death.
Defence before Constantius 31Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 353–357 · After quoting Constantius’s letter ordering the rulers of Axum to send Frumentius to George for examination, Athanasius explains that he turned back into the desert, fleeing not from cowardice but as Christ commanded, to keep his persecutors from bloodguilt.
Defence before Constantius 33Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 353–357 · Athanasius describes how the Arians, with the judges’ help, stripped and tortured consecrated virgins, outdoing Pilate’s cruelty, and blamed it on the emperor.
Defence before Constantius 34Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 353–357 · Athanasius justifies his concealment by Scripture, arguing that appearing before the emperor’s judges would only have let the Arians kill him and lay the blame on the emperor.
Defence before Constantius 35Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 353–357 · Athanasius concludes by asking Constantius to accept his defense and restore the exiled bishops and clergy, so that he may give a good account to Christ at the judgment.
Commentary on Matthew 10Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 353–355 · Hilary expounds the mission discourse: the harvest of the Spirit, the apostles’ equipment, the worthy house as the catholic church, peace given or withheld, the serpent’s prudence, persecution, the sparrows, the sword dividing the five in one house (body, soul, will, sin, unbelief), taking up the cross, and receiving Christ’s messengers.
Commentary on Matthew 25Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 353–355 · Hilary expounds Matthew 24:1–28: the temple’s destruction, false Christs (Simon Magus) and false prophets (Nicolaus), the fall of Jerusalem after the gospel is preached, the abomination of desolation as Antichrist, and the flight, housetop, pregnant women, and winter flight read as figures of the soul, with the eagles gathered at the place of the passion.
Letters 2Eusebius of Vercelli · 355-360 · From exile at Scythopolis, Eusebius thanks his churches for their letters and gifts, describes his mistreatment by the Arians under Patrophilus, quotes his protest, and urges them to keep the faith.
Life of Antony 46Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357–360 · During Maximin’s persecution Antony went to Alexandria to serve the confessors and martyrs, defying the governor’s order, but was preserved to teach the ascetic life.
Life of Antony 82Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357–360 · Antony saw distant events in visions, including mules kicking at the Lord’s table, which foretold the Arian seizure of the churches; he promised that the church would be restored.
Life of Antony 86Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357–360 · Antony warned Balacius, a commander persecuting Christians on behalf of the Arians, of coming wrath; Balacius mocked him and within five days was mauled by a horse.
On the Trinity 10.3Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 356–360 · Hilary sees Paul's prophecy fulfilled in his own day, when teachers who preach the Son as a creature are welcomed and sound teaching is exiled.
On the Trinity 10.4Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 356–360 · Though exiled, Hilary will speak through his books, rejoicing that the apostle's prophecy is fulfilled in the exile of sound teachers.
On Saint Athanasius 1.1Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer opens his defence of Athanasius by arguing that God himself heard Adam and Eve before sentencing them, so the emperor's demand to condemn Athanasius unheard is the serpent's work.
On Saint Athanasius 1.2Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From God's questioning of Cain, the law given to Noah against shedding blood, and Moses' judging by God's law, Lucifer argues that bishops may not condemn Athanasius unheard.
On Saint Athanasius 1.3Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Lot's wife, God's covenant at Sinai, the commandments against killing and false witness, and the laws on just judgment, Lucifer argues that the bishops cannot condemn an innocent man at the emperor's command.
On Saint Athanasius 1.4Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From the laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy against slander and partiality in judgment, Lucifer argues that the bishops may not favour the emperor's person, and declares that they fear no one but God.
On Saint Athanasius 1.5Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Contrasting the faithless Israelites who feared the Canaanites with the martyrs of Romans 8, Lucifer declares that the bishops do not fear the emperor's sword.
On Saint Athanasius 1.6Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that the emperor, by demanding Athanasius's condemnation and promoting heresy, breaks the first commandment and the law requiring two or three witnesses, and defies the judgment of the priests.
On Saint Athanasius 1.7Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer denies that the emperor has any authority to judge bishops, citing the law of the king in Deuteronomy and the laws on murder and false witnesses.
On Saint Athanasius 1.8Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Citing the laws of Deuteronomy on just weights, boundary stones and judgment of the weak, and its curses on disobedience, Lucifer warns the emperor that his unjust demand brings a curse.
On Saint Athanasius 1.9Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that bishops are chosen by God and ordained by catholic bishops, as Joshua succeeded Moses by the laying on of hands, so the emperor's intrusion of George into Athanasius's see is an attack on God's ordination.
On Saint Athanasius 1.10Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Citing the prophecy against Eli for honouring his unworthy sons above God, Lucifer argues that bishops who deposed Athanasius for George would have honoured the emperor above God.
On Saint Athanasius 1.11Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer recounts God's judgment on Eli's house and the capture of the ark, warning that the emperor's power over the church proves nothing, as the Philistines' victory proved nothing.
On Saint Athanasius 1.12Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer compares the emperor to the Philistines who captured the ark and boasted of their gods, until God struck them and forced them to send it back.
On Saint Athanasius 1.13Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer likens the emperor's persecution of Athanasius to Saul's persecution of Samuel, David, Jonathan and the priests of Nob, the deeds of a king from whom God's Spirit had departed.
On Saint Athanasius 1.14Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer compares the emperor to Saul, who slaughtered the priests of Nob, and contrasts David, who spared Saul in the cave and left vengeance to God.
On Saint Athanasius 1.15Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer continues with Saul's confession to David at Engedi and David's sparing of Saul a second time in his camp, showing how the persecutor raged when out of his right mind.
On Saint Athanasius 1.16Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer contrasts David's just rule with the emperor's injustice and compares Constantius to Ahab, who called Elijah the troubler of Israel.
On Saint Athanasius 1.18Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer says that, like Ahab after Carmel, the emperor hardens against God despite signs, is spared only to fill up his measure, and has brought false witnesses against Athanasius as Jezebel did against Naboth.
On Saint Athanasius 1.19Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies Elijah's judgment on Ahab and Jezebel for Naboth's murder to the emperor's treatment of Athanasius, piling up invective and quoting Christ's warning that killers of the disciples will think they serve God.
On Saint Athanasius 1.20Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Contrasting Elijah's ascension with Ahab's torment, and recalling how Jeroboam expelled the Levites, Lucifer says the emperor's expulsion of bishops shows he is without God.
On Saint Athanasius 1.21Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer contrasts Jehoshaphat's charge to his judges to judge without partiality in the fear of the Lord with the emperor's order to condemn Athanasius unheard.
On Saint Athanasius 1.23Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies a series of psalms on the wicked who lie in wait for the innocent and the poor to the emperor's pursuit of Athanasius.
On Saint Athanasius 1.24Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies Psalms 36 and 37 on the downfall of the proud and wicked who plot against the righteous to the emperor, warning that he will vanish like smoke.
On Saint Athanasius 1.25Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer compares the Arians to the deaf asps of Psalm 58 and applies the warnings of Proverbs 1 against those who conspire to shed innocent blood to the emperor.
On Saint Athanasius 1.26Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer strings together sayings of Proverbs against devising evil, unjust weights, and partiality in judgment, applying them to the emperor's demand, and urges him to repent.
On Saint Athanasius 1.27Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer tells the emperor how to obtain pardon: stop persecuting, confess the faith of Nicaea and the apostles; and he says the bishops laugh at his lion-like threats.
On Saint Athanasius 1.28Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Proverbs on justice above sacrifice and the duty to rescue those led to death, Lucifer calls the emperor a pestilence that infects souls with heresy.
On Saint Athanasius 1.29Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer charges the emperor with going back on his sworn letters restoring Athanasius in 346, rejects his excuses (his father's sentence, Constans' pressure, fear of war), and compares him to a dog returning to its vomit.
On Saint Athanasius 1.30Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer charges the emperor with fickleness over Eudoxius and with hating Athanasius for his faith, and applies Psalms 78, 82, 97 and 101 to show that one who loves the Lord hates evil and that the persecutor stands outside the church.
On Saint Athanasius 1.31Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer sets the psalms' blessings on those who keep justice against the emperor's demands and, from Wisdom 1–2, calls him an imitator of the devil through whose envy death entered the world.
On Saint Athanasius 1.32Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer contrasts, in the words of Wisdom 3–6, the blessed end of the righteous whom the emperor persecutes with the remorse and judgment awaiting him among the unjust kings.
On Saint Athanasius 1.34Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer says the emperor imprisons and exiles bishops to stop them preaching, warns from Wisdom and the Psalms that persecutors of God's church persecute God himself, and compares him to Pharaoh.
On Saint Athanasius 1.35Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer explains that the bishops refused to condemn Athanasius because they trust God, not princes, and applies to the emperor the prophets' rebukes of unjust rulers in Ecclesiastes, Hosea, Amos, Micah and Habakkuk.
On Saint Athanasius 1.36Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies to the emperor the woes of Habakkuk on the proud man insatiable as death and on those who build with blood, and Zephaniah's threats against unjust rulers and judges.
On Saint Athanasius 1.37Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Citing Zechariah's commands to judge justly and love peace and truth, Lucifer tells the emperor that no command of God authorizes condemning the innocent, and that the bishops could not have done so and kept the Lord's peace.
On Saint Athanasius 1.38Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Malachi and Tobit, Lucifer argues that the emperor's commands strip away the fear of God, and that bishops who yielded to him have joined those who say serving God is vain.
On Saint Athanasius 1.39Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies Isaiah's rebukes of Judah, whose hands were full of blood and who burned the Lord's vineyard and plundered the poor, to the emperor's confiscations and tortures of the faithful.
On Saint Athanasius 1.40Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer sets out the church's faith (the Father unbegotten, the Son begotten of the true Father and alone incarnate, one Godhead of the Trinity) and compares the emperor's taunt that God cannot rescue the Nicene bishops to Rabshakeh's taunt against Hezekiah.
On Saint Athanasius 1.42Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Isaiah 56–58 Lucifer argues that the emperor's fasting and almsgiving cannot please God while he exiles, starves, imprisons and dispossesses the faithful to force them into the Arian faith.
On Saint Athanasius 1.43Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer says the emperor keeps only the command not to despise his own kin, by favouring his fellow Arians, and that Isaiah's promises of light and answered prayer belong only to those who repent and return to the church.
On Saint Athanasius 1.44Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Closing the first book, Lucifer promises the emperor God's light if he returns to the church, and denies that alms given from the confiscated goods of the faithful can please God.
On Saint Athanasius 2.1Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Opening the second book, Lucifer quotes Romans 8 on the good that persecution brings the faithful and Jeremiah's threats against those who shed innocent blood, and calls on the emperor to repent and anathematize the Arian formulas.
On Saint Athanasius 2.2Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Quoting Jeremiah on glorying only in knowing the Lord, and Christ's words on the devil as a liar and murderer, Lucifer calls the emperor a liar for his charges against Athanasius and a murderer of the faithful.
On Saint Athanasius 2.3Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer accuses the emperor of laying waste the Lord's pasture by removing orthodox shepherds and silencing others, likens him to Herod slaughtering the innocents, and calls him to repent with John the Baptist's warning.
On Saint Athanasius 2.4Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From the Sermon on the Mount (the beatitudes, anger, reconciliation, love of enemies, judging others, the speck and the beam), Lucifer shows that the bishops could not condemn Athanasius and remain Christians.
On Saint Athanasius 2.5Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer calls the emperor a wolf in sheep's clothing, known by his bad fruits, and the fool who built on sand, citing Matthew 7 and the law of Exodus 21 on harm to a pregnant woman.
On Saint Athanasius 2.6Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer mocks the emperor's claim to wisdom, applying to him Paul's lists of the works of the flesh and of those given over to a reprobate mind, and Romans 12 on repaying no one evil for evil.
On Saint Athanasius 2.7Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer charges the emperor with lying to the Holy Spirit like Ananias and Sapphira, and compares the Arians' threats to the elders who tried to force Susanna and then bore false witness against her.
On Saint Athanasius 2.8Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer points to the exile of Dionysius of Milan and the intrusion of Auxentius as proof that the emperor persecutes the orthodox for refusing to become Arians, and quotes Susanna's trial as a parallel to the false charges against Athanasius.
On Saint Athanasius 2.9Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer compares the bishops' refusal to condemn Athanasius unheard with Daniel's rescue of Susanna, and argues that those who deny the Father a true Son will not spare his servant.
On Saint Athanasius 2.10Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer asks why Athanasius was not heard face to face and tried by proper witnesses, and quotes Daniel's cross-examination and conviction of Susanna's accusers.
On Saint Athanasius 2.11Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies Daniel's sentence on Susanna's accusers to the emperor, sets out the Nicene faith (homoousion) against his Arianism, and recalls that as papal legate he had already called him the forerunner of the Antichrist.
On Saint Athanasius 2.12Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer likens the emperor, who honours martyrs' shrines while killing Christians, to those who built the prophets' tombs, and warns him that he stands outside the narrow door.
On Saint Athanasius 2.13Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer rejects the emperor's appeal to Paul's judgment of the incestuous Corinthian made in absence, since Paul acted on faithful witnesses and with the church assembled, and recalls that the legates offered to go and hear Athanasius in Alexandria.
On Saint Athanasius 2.14Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer compares the emperor to Herod Agrippa, who killed James and imprisoned Peter and died eaten by worms, and applies 1 John on keeping God's commandments and on hatred of one's brother.
On Saint Athanasius 2.15Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From 1 John 3 Lucifer argues that whoever hates and kills his brother is of the devil like Cain, and casts the emperor as Cain and Athanasius as Abel.
On Saint Athanasius 2.16Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer urges the emperor to love himself in Athanasius, and strings together the commands of 1 John to love one's brother and lay down one's life for him, against the command to kill him.
On Saint Athanasius 2.17Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies Christ's parables of the tares and the warnings against causing little ones to stumble to the emperor, whom he calls cut off from the church like a stream from its spring.
On Saint Athanasius 2.18Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that the emperor ignored Christ's procedure for correcting a brother, that heretics cannot be witnesses against a catholic bishop, and recalls that the murder charge against Athanasius had already failed at Serdica.
On Saint Athanasius 2.19Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer tells the emperor that even if Athanasius had wronged him he was bound to forgive, quoting the parable of the unforgiving servant, and places him among the wicked tenants who killed the servants and the son.
On Saint Athanasius 2.20Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that if the Son were a creature the prophets would have died for a creature, places the emperor among the killers of the prophets, and applies the parable of the wedding feast and the guest without a wedding garment.
On Saint Athanasius 2.21Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies Christ's woes on the scribes and Pharisees (straining gnats and swallowing camels, whitewashed tombs, brood of vipers who kill the prophets) to an emperor who gives alms while torturing and killing Christians.
On Saint Athanasius 2.22Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer holds the emperor responsible for the armed attack on the church of Alexandria under Syrianus, applies Christ's prophecy of persecution, and notes that clergy who turned Arian are now favoured.
On Saint Athanasius 2.23Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that even ignorance of the true faith could not excuse the emperor's use of the sword against the innocent, and applies John 3 on those who love darkness and fear the light, and 2 Corinthians 5 on the judgment seat of Christ.
On Saint Athanasius 2.24Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer compares the plot against Athanasius to the Jews' conspiracy to ambush Paul, and contrasts the emperor with the pagan governor Festus, who insisted on hearing Paul and his accusers together.
On Saint Athanasius 2.25Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From John 7–10 Lucifer argues that the law forbids judging a man unheard, and that the emperor and George, rejected by the flock of Alexandria, are the thieves and robbers who did not enter by the door.
On Saint Athanasius 2.26Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Christ's farewell discourse (John 14–15) Lucifer argues that only those who keep his commandments are loved by the Father and indwelt by the Spirit, so the bishops could not obey the emperor's order.
On Saint Athanasius 2.27Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Paul's qualifications for a bishop in Titus 1–2 (blameless, not violent, able to refute error), Lucifer argues that the emperor's order would make bishops murderers, while admitting with Job and 1 John that he himself is a sinner.
On Saint Athanasius 2.28Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Titus 2, Ephesians 5 and Philippians 3, Lucifer argues that a bishop who obeyed the emperor would lose the pattern of good works and the blessed hope, and that the emperor lives under the power of darkness among the enemies of the cross.
On Saint Athanasius 2.30Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer charges that the emperor removed the orthodox shepherds whom Christ gave the church (Ephesians 4) so as to lay waste the flock, and that bishops who condemned Athanasius out of fear committed a threefold crime.
On Saint Athanasius 2.31Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Ephesians 4 on putting off the old man and speaking the truth, Lucifer argues that the emperor walks like the Gentiles in blindness of heart and lied to the church like the serpent to Adam and Eve.
On Saint Athanasius 2.32Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer compares the emperor's persuasion of the bishops to the serpent's temptation of Eve, and explains that he calls him a serpent as Christ and John the Baptist called the persecutors of the prophets a brood of vipers.
Letters 2Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Liberius praises the exiled bishops for their confession, wishes he had suffered first, and asks for their prayers and a full report.
Letters 4Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer acknowledges that the book presented to the emperor is his, sends it back, and declares himself ready to die for what he wrote.
Letters 5Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Athanasius praises Lucifer's confession, laments the Arian persecution, and asks for a copy of what Lucifer wrote to Constantius.
Letters 6Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Athanasius, in hiding from the Arian persecution, thanks Lucifer for his books, praising them as the work of the Holy Spirit and calling him the Elijah of the age.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 1Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Opening his work On Dying for the Son of God, Lucifer says that, though Scripture bids him not answer a fool, he writes to show Constantius that his armed power cannot conquer Christians, who are God's temples and are ready to die for the Son.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 2Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer declares that the martyrs Constantius has killed in Alexandria and elsewhere are in paradise, that the bishops have resolved to die rather than deny the Son, and that Christ, who protected the youths in the furnace, makes his martyrs stronger under torture.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 3Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Citing Christ's words on losing one's life and fearing God rather than the killer of the body, Lucifer describes Constantius's tortures, exiles and refusal of burial, and says Christians, who confess one divinity of Father and Son, gain glory from them.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 4Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Recalling his defiance before the emperor at Milan, Lucifer restates the Nicene faith in the Son as homoousios, claims that Christians everywhere hold it while Arianism has withered, and says that Christ present in his martyrs makes torture their glory.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 5Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Answering the charge that a bishop should be gentle, Lucifer says that Christians do not curse or kill but are killed, calls Constantius a wolf in sheep's guise, and describes the martyrs standing in the armour of God against his tortures.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 6Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that the martyrs' blood opens heaven, that Constantius's policy of torturing rather than killing does not prevent their glory, and that one in whom Christ watches cannot be conquered, as the Psalm and Paul's words in Romans 8 declare.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 7Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer says no inducements of the emperor's agents, such as Epictetus, can draw the Nicene Christians from their faith in the Son of one substance with the Father, and that they triumph in their torments.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 8Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer recalls Constantius's killings at Alexandria, charges that he now tortures without killing to deny the bishops martyrdom, and answers with Psalm 27 and Paul's armour of God, trusting in the resurrection of the tortured body.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 9Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer tells Constantius that the martyrs and confessors have conquered him by Christ's strength, that he may add any torments he likes, and that martyrdom, a steep path no human strength could walk, imitates the Lord's fortitude.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 11Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer mocks Constantius's shifting creeds and his promotion of Eudoxius, contrasts the polished but unpersuasive speech of the Arians with the plain truth of the Scriptures, and says that religion is defended not by killing but by dying, as the apostles did.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 13Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer asks Constantius, acclaimed by his bishops as bishop of bishops, why he persecutes those who die for the Son, and argues that suffering is God's painful medicine and that what matters in death is its cause, not its manner.
On Not Agreeing with Heretics 4Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From the rebukes of Jehoshaphat for his alliances with Ahab and Ahaziah and the warning to Amaziah, Lucifer argues that bishops may not be friends of a persecuting heretic emperor.
On Not Agreeing with Heretics 5Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From the Psalms Lucifer argues that the blessed keep away from the counsel of the ungodly, and denounces the emperor's councils as gatherings of evildoers that exile and imprison the faithful.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 1Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer answers Constantius's complaint that the bishops insulted him by pointing to Moses and the Levites and to Phinehas, who punished idolaters, and asks by what authority the emperor would lead them from the way of all the saints.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 4Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer defends the bishops' plain speech by the example of Samuel rebuking and mourning for Saul and of Elisha calling the king of Israel a murderer's son, and insists that calling Constantius a persecutor and denier of the Son is simply telling the truth.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 5Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Citing Jehu's reward for destroying Ahab's house and the fate of Amaziah, who persecuted the prophet that rebuked his idolatry, Lucifer argues that apostate kings always persecute those who warn them, and that Constantius should remember Arius's death.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 7Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer quotes at length the account of Josiah's reform, in which idolatrous priests were burned and their altars defiled, to show that, compared with Josiah's sword, the bishops' words to Constantius are mild.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 8Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer compares himself to Amos rebuked by the priest of Bethel and to Tobit, who buried the dead in defiance of the king's edict, to show that God's servants fear God, not tyrants.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 9Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies God's charge to Ezekiel not to fear the rebellious house that surrounds him like scorpions, and tells Constantius that by his deeds he shows himself one of those scorpions.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 10Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Citing God's appointment of Ezekiel as watchman, whose silence would make him answerable for the sinner's blood, Lucifer argues that bishops must warn the emperor, and quotes Judith's prayer for the destruction of Israel's enemies.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 11Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that bishops are shepherds who must face the wolf rather than flee like hirelings, and that warning Constantius of destruction is no insult but their duty to Christ's flock.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 12Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer quotes the first book of Maccabees on Antiochus's decree abolishing the law and on Mattathias's refusal to sacrifice and his zeal, presenting Antiochus as Constantius's model.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 13Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Contrasting Mattathias's and Phinehas's swords with his own words, Lucifer ironically wonders why the emperor has not killed him and argues from God's charge to Jeremiah that a bishop must rebuke even a king.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 14Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer calls Constantius one of John's many antichrists, quotes Mattathias's armed defence of the law, and cites the builders of Jerusalem's walls who prayed against their adversaries, to show that God's servants never spared the enemies of religion.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 15Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer cites Moses' song against Israel's enemies and Mattathias's dying charge to his sons to be zealous for the law and not fear a sinful man whose glory is dung and worms, and refuses to spare the emperor.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 16Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer sets Judas Maccabeus's zeal and the apostles' refusal to stop preaching in Jesus' name, after the healing of the lame man, against Constantius's demand for silence.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 17Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From the apostles' miracles, imprisonment, angelic release and answer that God must be obeyed rather than men, Lucifer argues that the bishops, imprisoned for preaching the Son, are no more insolent than the apostles.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 18Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that Constantius's Arianism differs from Photinus's and Paul of Samosata's denial of the Son only in words, quotes the Nicene Creed with its anathemas, and warns him from John the Baptist's imprisonment and the parable of the pounds.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 19Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer says the bishops pray for the emperor as Paul commands, but must also rebuke him publicly without partiality, as Paul charged Timothy, and must, like the apostles beaten by the council, go on preaching Christ.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 20Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer compares Constantius's anger with the Jews' rage at Stephen's rebuke and cites Paul's blinding of the magician Elymas, whom he called a son of the devil, to show that saints have always spoken so to enemies of the truth.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 21Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer calls Constantius a second Bar-Jesus, resisting the faith as the false prophet did, and quotes the fourth, fifth and sixth Maccabean brothers' defiance of Antiochus as precedents for his own words.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 22Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer defends urging the persecuted to resist by the example of the Maccabean mother, quoting at length her charge to her youngest son and his defiant speech to Antiochus.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 23Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies the Maccabean youth's words to Constantius point by point, then from Peter's command to resist the devil and Moses' song argues that the emperor, drunk with the devil's wine, must be named for what he is.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 25Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that the Arian denial of the true Son shows that the Spirit who spoke in the prophets and apostles is not in Constantius, calls him a wolf and a brood of vipers, and warns him from Jesus' words to Peter that those who take the sword perish by it.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 27Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies Paul's warnings against the serpent's deceit and against false apostles disguised as ministers of righteousness to Constantius, who feigns piety while deposing catholic bishops, and cites the girl with the spirit of divination at Philippi.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 28Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that, as the spirit of divination stirred up Philippi against Paul and Silas, so unclean spirits drive Constantius, who cannot have the Holy Spirit without faith in the Son, and that like Saul he persecutes Christ in his servants.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 29Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Paul's farewell charge to the Ephesian elders to guard the flock against fierce wolves, and his rebuke of the high priest Ananias, Lucifer argues that bishops must not spare the emperor or revere his regalia.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 30Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · To justify calling Constantius the forerunner of Antichrist, Lucifer quotes in full Daniel's vision of the four beasts and the little horn that makes war on the saints.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 32Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer warns Constantius of the river of fire, defends calling him a beast by Paul's words on the Cretans, and answers the emperor's appeal to the duty of obeying kings with Paul's command to Titus to rebuke with all authority.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 33Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer grants that Christians owe obedience to rulers, as Paul tells Titus, but only in good works, not in condemning the innocent unheard or denying the Son, and says no Christian may yield to an emperor who commands apostasy.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 35Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Closing his work, Lucifer compares the bishops' sufferings under Constantius with the Jews' under Antiochus's decrees in 2 Maccabees and urges the emperor to repent and return to the church before he joins the tyrants in punishment.
On Apostate Kings 1Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Answering the emperor's claim that his long reign proves God's approval, Lucifer points to Gideon, who fell into idolatry yet ruled forty years.
On Apostate Kings 2Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Saul, rejected for sparing Amalek yet left to reign and persecute David, Lucifer argues that a long reign does not prove that the emperor pleases God.
On Apostate Kings 4Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer charges that Jeroboam, raised by God's promise through Ahijah, repaid him with idolatry, and warns the emperor that the same ingratitude will be punished.
On Apostate Kings 7Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that Ahab, though an idolater and killer of prophets, was given victory over Ben-hadad to call him to repentance, and that the emperor's victories likewise prove God's patience, not his approval.
On Apostate Kings 10Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer says God bears with Constantius as with Manasseh only to test and crown the faithful, quotes the psalm on the sinner praised by flatterers, and cites Wisdom on God's slow judgment of the Canaanites.
On Apostate Kings 11Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Wisdom and from Job's complaint that the wicked prosper, Lucifer argues that God's long patience with the persecuting emperor reserves him for judgment unless he repents.
Defence of His Flight 1Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius opens his defense by naming the Arian bishops who accuse him of cowardice for fleeing, and answers their slanders only with Scripture.
Defence of His Flight 2Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius compares his accusers to the Jewish leaders who set aside God’s commandments and accused the disciples, saying they mock his flight only to lure him to his death.
Defence of His Flight 3Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius lists the bishops the Arians have exiled or killed, from Eustathius of Antioch to Paul of Constantinople, and the recent exile of Liberius of Rome and other Western bishops.
Defence of His Flight 5Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius praises the aged Hosius of Cordova, exiled for refusing to sign against him, and explains his later brief yielding as the result of violence.
Defence of His Flight 6Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes George’s arrival in Alexandria in Lent 357, the arrests and seizures that followed, and Sebastian’s attack on the people praying at the cemetery after Pentecost.
Defence of His Flight 7Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius tells how forty men were flogged with thorny palm rods, the dead left unburied, and sixteen bishops and two presbyters of Egypt and Libya exiled, while more than thirty bishops were put to flight.
Defence of His Flight 8Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius argues that if flight is blameworthy, persecution is far worse, and that the flight of the persecuted is itself evidence against the persecutors.
Defence of His Flight 9Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius argues that his accusers, having attacked so many bishops who defended him, plainly intend his death, against Providence which has preserved him.
Defence of His Flight 10Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius shows from the flight of Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, the apostles, and Paul, and from Christ’s command to flee, that flight in persecution is scriptural.
Defence of His Flight 12Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius shows that Christ himself, as man, hid and fled from those who sought his life: in his infancy, after healing the withered hand, after raising Lazarus, and in the temple.
Defence of His Flight 13Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius explains that Christ fled before his hour but gave himself up when it came, showing that each person has an appointed time known only to God, which the saints respected by fleeing and by facing death when it came.
Defence of His Flight 16Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius explains that the saints, following Christ, fled and hid until God’s appointed time, neither surrendering themselves rashly nor laying hands on their persecutors, as David spared Saul.
Defence of His Flight 17Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius shows that the saints went to meet their persecutors only when the Spirit directed, and that the same saints who fled earlier faced death bravely when its time came: Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, Peter, and Paul.
Defence of His Flight 19Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius argues that the saints’ flight was neither cowardice nor idleness but a trial in which God proved them like gold and preserved them as teachers.
Defence of His Flight 20Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius shows that Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, and Paul were strengthened and used by God precisely in the time of their flight.
Defence of His Flight 21Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius argues that the saints’ flight preserved the line of Christ and the preaching of the Gospel, and that in flight they taught and encouraged the faithful.
Defence of His Flight 22Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius states the rule for ordinary Christians: flee and hide when persecuted, without tempting God, but stand firm to death when caught, as the martyrs did.
Defence of His Flight 23Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius argues that persecution is learned from the devil, not from Christ or the saints, and urges trust in the Lord’s words rather than the Arians’ fables.
Defence of His Flight 24Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the night attack of Syrianus on the church, his insistence on staying on his throne until the people had left, and how the monks and clergy led him out unseen through the soldiers.
Defence of His Flight 25Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius concludes that fleeing as Peter, Paul, Moses, and David did was obedience, not cowardice, exposes the scandalous lives of Leontius, Narcissus, and George, and ends with the Psalms of deliverance.
History of the Arians 4Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius lists Eustathius of Antioch, Eutropius of Adrianople, and other bishops deposed on pretexts and replaced by Arians.
History of the Arians 7Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius recounts the repeated exiles of Paul of Constantinople and his murder at Cucusus, and the death in disgrace of the prefect Philip who arranged it.
History of the Arians 9Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes how the Eusebians, failing before the emperors and Julius, turned to Constantius and urged him to persecute and to send Philagrius and Gregory to Egypt.
History of the Arians 10Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the violent installation of Gregory at Alexandria with the help of soldiers and a hired mob.
History of the Arians 12Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the scourging and imprisonment of Egyptian bishops, monks, and virgins under Gregory and the duke Balacius, including the death of the confessor Potammon.
History of the Arians 13Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes Gregory’s cruelty: forcing communion, refusing burial to Athanasius’s aunt, and seizing alms given to widows and the poor.
History of the Arians 18Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius recounts the reprisals after Sardica: ten laymen beheaded at Adrianople and clergy and bishops exiled.
History of the Arians 19Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the chaining and exile of Lucius of Adrianople, death sentences against Thracian bishops, and orders to behead Athanasius and his presbyters if they returned to Alexandria.
History of the Arians 20Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius tells how Stephen of Antioch tried to discredit the envoys of Sardica by sending a prostitute into Bishop Euphrates’s room at Easter, and was deposed when the plot was exposed.
History of the Arians 30Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius tells how the Arian leaders urged Constantius to persecute again, and how the emperor, on his march against Magnentius, broke his oaths like Pharaoh.
History of the Arians 31Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes how, after the councils of Arles and Milan, Constantius sent officials throughout the empire to force bishops to condemn him and communicate with the Arians.
History of the Arians 32Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes how Constantius forced a multitude of bishops by threats and promises to renounce communion with him, a show of numbers that could not change the truth.
History of the Arians 33Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius contrasts the devil’s violence with Christ’s gentleness and recounts how Constantius exiled Paulinus, Lucifer, Eusebius of Vercelli, and Dionysius for refusing to condemn him.
History of the Arians 34Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius tells how the exiled Western bishops rebuked Constantius and turned their exile into a mission against the Arian heresy.
History of the Arians 35Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius recounts how the Arians targeted Liberius of Rome, and how Constantius sent the eunuch Eusebius with gifts and threats to win him over.
History of the Arians 37Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · The eunuch Eusebius, rebuffed, offered the rejected gifts at the shrine of Peter; Liberius threw them out, and the eunuchs moved Constantius to have him removed from Rome.
History of the Arians 38Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the terror at Rome before Liberius’s exile and attacks the influence of the court eunuchs who, he says, championed a heresy that denies the Son.
History of the Arians 39Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Brought before Constantius, Liberius urges him to stop persecuting Christians and declares himself ready for exile rather than communion with the Arians.
History of the Arians 40Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius condemns Constantius for exiling the confessors separately, crueler than earlier persecutors, a measure that only spread knowledge of the Arians’ impiety.
History of the Arians 41Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius tells of the scourging of the Roman deacon Hilary and of Liberius’s eventual signature after two years of exile, which he attributes to compulsion.
History of the Arians 42Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · The Arian leaders urge Constantius to persecute the aged Hosius of Cordova, whose authority sustained the bishops’ resistance.
History of the Arians 43Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Hosius refused Constantius in person and by letter, standing firm against threats, and wrote him the letter that follows.
History of the Arians 44Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Hosius’s letter to Constantius: he recounts the fair challenge offered to Athanasius’s enemies at Sardica, urges the emperor to stop persecuting, and insists that church affairs belong to the bishops, not the emperor.
History of the Arians 45Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius recounts how Constantius detained the hundred-year-old Hosius at Sirmium until he yielded to communion with Valens and Ursacius, though he never signed against Athanasius and at death condemned the heresy.
History of the Arians 46Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius laments the exile of Liberius, Hosius, and many others, which proves that the charges against all of them were pretexts, and calls the persecution a prelude to Antichrist.
History of the Arians 47Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius explains that the persecution was carried out across the West first so that, when it reached Alexandria, he would have no bishop to appeal to, but that refuge in God suffices.
History of the Arians 48Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius recounts the assault of Syrianus, Constantius’s letter inciting Alexandria against him, and the emperor’s false claim that he had restored Athanasius only for his brother’s sake, contrasting his conduct with his father’s and brother’s.
History of the Arians 52Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius argues that the emperor has no place in church judgments and that the alliance of Constantius and the Arian bishops is a new and unprecedented spectacle.
History of the Arians 53Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius laments that under Constantius no church can worship freely, and the faithful must hide like the prophets in Elijah’s time.
History of the Arians 54Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius tells how the count Heraclius announced the transfer of the churches to the Arians and made the pagan councillors and temple-wardens sign that they would accept the emperor’s bishop.
History of the Arians 55Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the assault on the great church of Alexandria by a pagan mob incited by the officials and the Arians, who beat and insulted the virgins.
History of the Arians 56Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · The mob burned the church furnishings with incense in the square, hailing Constantius as a pagan.
History of the Arians 57Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius reports two signs of judgment: a youth who tried to drag away the bishop’s throne was mortally wounded by it, and another who mocked was struck blind.
History of the Arians 58Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the Arians’ searches and plundering of houses, gardens, and tombs on the pretext of seeking him.
History of the Arians 59Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the duke Sebastian and the Arian women harassing the virgins and faithful women of Alexandria.
History of the Arians 60Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius tells of the subdeacon Eutychius, flogged and sent to the mines of Phaeno, who died on the way, and of four laymen flogged twice for pleading for him.
History of the Arians 61Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius condemns the Arians for driving away the widows and poor who were being fed by the faithful, and for accusing those who gave them alms.
History of the Arians 62Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius observes that the persecution only increased hatred of the Arians, even among pagans, who pitied the poor.
History of the Arians 63Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the persecution of the clergy and contrasts the Arians, who hunt down fugitives, with the pagans who hid Christians in the Great Persecution.
History of the Arians 65Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius tells how the Arian bishop Secundus of Pentapolis and Stephen kicked to death the presbyter Secundus of Barca during Lent.
History of the Arians 67Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius argues that the Arians, unable to persuade, resort to force, and compares Constantius to Saul massacring the priests of Nob.
History of the Arians 68Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius calls Constantius worse than Ahab and Pilate, releasing criminals while keeping Christ’s servants in exile, and recalls his cruelty to his own family.
History of the Arians 70Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes Constantius as the slave of his advisers, condemns the order handing all the churches of Egypt and Libya to the Arians as worse than any persecution, and begins to list the original Arians now restored.
History of the Arians 72Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius lists the Egyptian bishops exiled in 356–357 and describes the tortures of laymen and virgins, and the replacement of the exiles by unworthy men who had bought their sees.
History of the Arians 73Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius applies Daniel’s vision of the Antichrist to Constantius, who wars against the saints, overthrew three rulers, and changes the Church’s laws by imposing bishops from afar.
History of the Arians 75Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the intrusion of Auxentius at Milan and George at Alexandria, and the consecration of Felix as bishop of Rome in the palace, with eunuchs for a congregation.
History of the Arians 76Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius recounts how at the Council of Milan Constantius made himself Athanasius’s accuser and exiled the bishops who protested that an absent man could not be tried.
History of the Arians 77Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius calls Constantius’s presiding over the church and handing it to the Arians the “abomination of desolation”, and warns that the heresy may be the apostasy preceding Antichrist.
History of the Arians 79Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius contrasts the time-serving Meletian bishops with the faithful bishops who chose exile rather than condemn him, and who await the reward of confessors.
History of the Arians 80Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius closes the History by urging the faithful to separate from the heresy; after a gap there follows the end of the Alexandrian people’s protest describing the night attack of the duke Syrianus on the church in February 356.
Letter 18Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil encourages Macarius and John to endure slander and threats, since the hope of the godly alone is never disappointed.
Letter 93Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil approves frequent and daily communion, describes his church's practice of communicating four times a week, and defends receiving communion by one's own hand at home when no priest is present.
Letter 139Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil encourages the orthodox of Alexandria, persecuted by the Arian party, with the hope of the martyrs' crowns and the coming of Christ.
Letters 140, 141Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil encourages a persecuted church to endure, sets out the Nicene creed as the only creed he accepts, and (Letter 141) tells Eusebius that illness and unwilling colleagues, not carelessness, have hindered him.
Letter 155Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil answers an officer in Scythia who had accused him of neglect, assures him that he is remembered in the church's prayers, and asks him to send home relics of martyrs from the persecution there.
Letter 164Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil rejoices at Ascholius's account of a martyr among the Goths beyond the Danube, contrasting the old persecutions, which made martyrs, with the present troubles caused by heretics who bear the Christian name.
Letter 167Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil thanks the exiled Eusebius for his letters and blessing and asks to be remembered.
Letter 168Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil counts Antiochus blessed to share the exile of his uncle Eusebius of Samosata and to learn from him at leisure.
Letter 181Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil proposes to Otreius that they exchange news of Samosata and of the exiled Eusebius in Thrace.
Letter 182Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil counts the presbyters of Samosata blessed in their steadfastness while their bishop is in exile.
Letter 183Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil praises the councillors of Samosata for their steadfastness under persecution, which, like a furnace, has proved their worth.
Letter 195Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil greets Euphronius of Colonia and asks his prayers for the return of the exiled bishops.
Letter 237Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil tells Eusebius of Samosata how the vicar Demosthenes has persecuted the orthodox: deposing bishops, ordering Gregory of Nyssa's arrest, enrolling Basil's clergy in the curia, and backing Eustathius against Nicopolis.
Letters 238, 239Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil consoles the presbyters of Nicopolis, driven from their church after a fellow presbyter went over to the Arian party; a second letter to Eusebius of Samosata reports the intrusion of unworthy bishops at Nyssa, Doara, and Nicopolis and voices Basil's frustration with the Western bishops.
Letter 240Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil encourages the presbyters of Nicopolis, worshiping in the open air after their church was seized, to endure, and refuses to recognize the bishop installed by the Arian party.
Letter 242Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil appeals to the Western bishops to send envoys and letters to the persecuted Eastern Churches, whose congregations, refusing the Arian 'leaven', now worship in the open air.
Letter 243Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil appeals to the bishops of Italy and Gaul to make the persecution of the orthodox in the East known to the Western emperor or to send visitors, describing exiled bishops, closed churches, and congregations drawn into Arian communion, and sends the presbyter Dorotheus.
Letter 247Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil grieves over the violence suffered by the Nicopolitans, assures them that God's help will come soon, and tells them he has appealed to friends at court.
Letter 248Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil thanks God that Amphilochius is spared the persecution raging in his own district, where a man named Asclepius died under blows for refusing communion with the intruded bishop, and offers to send him his book.
Letter 256Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil sympathizes with a group of monks whose dwellings were burned after Easter by Arian opponents, and asks them to pray night and day for the peace of the Churches.
Letter 257Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil tells monks persecuted by the Arians that their reward will be greater than that of the martyrs under pagan persecutors, because their sufferings are not even honored as martyrdom, and urges them to stand firm though bishops are exiled and clergy betray the faith.
Letter 264Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil writes to the exiled Barses of Edessa asking his prayers that God will soon restore peace to the persecuted Churches, wondering whether the present troubles are the prelude to the Antichrist.
Letters 268, 269Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil rejoices that the exiled Eusebius of Samosata has been kept safe and asks for news; a second letter consoles the widow of the general Arinthaeus, who was baptized at the end of his life.
On the Synods 78Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Hilary praises the Eastern bishops for opposing the heresy that had deceived the unbaptized emperor Constantius.
Moral Rules (Moralia) 62Basil of Caesarea · ca. 360-370 · Basil's sixty-second rule, on preparing for temptation after baptism, not seeking it, fleeing at the right time and answering it from Scripture, with Rule 63 on courage in danger, whose heading the scan lost.
Moral Rules (Moralia) 64Basil of Caesarea · ca. 360-370 · Basil's sixty-fourth rule: Christians must rejoice to suffer anything, even death, for the Lord's name and commandments.
Tractate 10, section 3Gregory of Elvira · ca. 360-392 · The victim with its tongue cut off figures those who deny God in persecution; the worm-ridden figures bodies stirred by unclean spirits; field mange figures the gross sins of the pagan world.
Tractate 14, section 3Gregory of Elvira · ca. 360-392 · Gideon's trumpets, empty jars and torches figure the soul: the jars are bodies broken by mortification or martyrdom and remade in baptism; the torches are the light of faith and martyrdom; Abraham's 318 show the cross and Jesus' name.
Tractate 18, section 1Gregory of Elvira · ca. 360-392 · On the feast of martyrs, Gregory praises the three youths who refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar's statue; their faith, trusting God either way, was preserved in the fire, and Christ's promises to those who conquer urge persevering faith.
Tractate 18, section 3Gregory of Elvira · ca. 360-392 · The three youths refused to worship Antichrist's image before Christ suffered; much more should Christians, soldiers sworn in baptism, endure every torment and even death for Christ; Gregory ends asking the martyrs to remember the faithful.
Letter 127Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 360–390 · Gregory consoles the exiled Eusebius of Samosata: others have their homeland and throne, but they have the city above and Christ, and God will not abandon right doctrine.
To Constantius 2.1Hilary of Poitiers · 360 · Hilary declares he is a bishop in communion with Gaul, exiled through faction and false reports, with Julian as witness.
Against Constantius 1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Hilary declares that the time for silence is over and calls the church to confess Christ even to martyrdom.
Against Constantius 2Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Hilary recounts his break with Saturninus, Ursacius, and Valens, his exile after Béziers, and his long restraint.
Against Constantius 4Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Hilary wishes he had faced an open persecutor like Nero or Decius, whose enmity would have been plain.
Against Constantius 5Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Constantius is a worse persecutor because he destroys the faith by favors rather than by force.
Against Constantius 6Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Hilary defends his bold language by the examples of John the Baptist and the Maccabean martyrs.
Against Constantius 7Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Hilary charges Constantius with persecuting the church more cunningly than Nero, Decius, and Maximian, especially at Ariminum.
Against Constantius 8Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · The martyrs' relics work wonders, but Constantius's flattering persecution leaves neither the excuse of torture nor the crown of martyrdom.
Against Constantius 9Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Constantius bears Christ's name but denies the Father's witness to the Son, making Father and Son mere titles.
Against Constantius 10Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Constantius's gifts to the church are sheep's clothing over a wolf.
Against Constantius 11Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Hilary lists Constantius's violence: against Alexandria and Athanasius, Paulinus of Trier, Milan, Liberius of Rome, and Toulouse.
Against Constantius 15Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · The condemned anomoeans won over Constantius, who forced the Eastern envoys to sign and installed heretical bishops.
Against Constantius 25Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Constantius forced bishops to condemn homoousion, homoiousion, and even "substance", reversing their own earlier judgments.
Against Constantius 26Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Constantius forcibly recovered the African bishops' written condemnation of Ursacius and Valens, but cannot erase it before God.
Treatise on the Mysteries 1.7.3Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–366 · Jesus links Abel's blood to the guilt of his own generation.
Treatise on the Mysteries 1.30.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–366 · The burning bush prefigures the church, burned by persecution but not consumed.
Treatise on the Mysteries 1.30.2Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–366 · Iniquities rage against the church without consuming it.
Tractates on the Psalms 2.5Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Acts 4 interprets Psalm 2 of Herod, Pilate, the nations, and Israel gathered against Jesus.
Tractates on the Psalms 2.21Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · In the New Testament too God's anger aims at salvation: John's call to repentance, Christ's invitation, and the conversion of Saul.
Tractates on the Psalms 52.13Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · God's people are distinct from those who devour them: persecutors, slanderers, and clergy who enrich themselves from the offerings; such do not truly call upon God.
Tractates on the Psalms 52.14Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The ungodly fear idols and powerful men instead of God; Christians who flatter kings and surrender the church's freedom for fear of bodily harm show the same ungodly fear.
Tractates on the Psalms 53.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · David, a man after God's heart, prefigured Christ's meekness by not fighting his persecutors but praying, as Christ did in his passion.
Tractates on the Psalms 53.10Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The innocent may trust God's help in persecution and death; God is not the author of evil but turns punishment on the wicked while sparing the righteous.
Tractates on the Psalms 55.3Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · "All day" means a lifetime; the real enemies are spiritual powers who incite human persecutors.
Tractates on the Psalms 55.4Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The saint does not fear the world's power; knowing the coming judgment, he hopes in God, while his persecutors have cause to fear.
Tractates on the Psalms 55.11Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The saint hopes in God and does not fear men, since death leads to immortal glory.
Tractates on the Psalms 56.5Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Bodily images in Scripture describe the mind: the teeth and tongue of the enemies signify persecution and slander.
Tractates on the Psalms 65.21Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Hilary describes the martyrs’ prisons, scourgings, beheadings, burnings, and drownings as ways the soul is set in life.
Tractates on the Psalms 65.26Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The winter-born goats are those born into martyrdom by the storm of persecution, like the penitent thief.
Tractates on the Psalms 68.23Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · God struck Christ for our healing, as he once struck Adam; those who then persecuted him, bribed the guards, and harassed the apostles added iniquity to iniquity.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.3.20Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The psalmist keeps God's justifications though princes plot against him, as they did against Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Zechariah, and the apostles.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.5.9Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · God is the guide on the path, and Christ went first through every suffering his followers endure.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.6.10Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Speaking God's testimonies before kings means either bold confession before earthly rulers or preaching before the saints, who are called kings.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.8.11Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Foreseeing temptations and persecutions, the psalmist has prepared himself so as not to be troubled in keeping God's commandments.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.8.12Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Paul shows the same preparedness, confident that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.8.13Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Christians too should be prepared, as Christ commanded, so as not to be troubled by temptations or tortures.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.9.6Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · When the proud mock God's servants in suffering, as Job's friends did, the faithful must still say that God has dealt kindly with them.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.10.11Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The psalmist knows that his present sufferings come from God's just judgment, to prove and purify him like fire.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.10.14Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The psalmist does not ask to be spared suffering but to be encouraged in it by God's mercy, as promised to those handed over for his sake.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.11.7Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The psalmist does not ask to be spared persecution, which proves faith, but to be helped in it.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.11.8Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Persecution is useful to faith, as war trains a soldier; the psalmist asks not to escape the contest but for help to win the crown.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.12.10Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Meditation on God's law preserved the psalmist in humiliation and must sustain Christians even under torture and persecution.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.12.13Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Sinners and the devil wait to destroy the man who belongs to God, but he withstands them by understanding God's testimonies.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.14.19Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The psalmist's inheritance is God's testimonies, both bearing witness to God in persecution, as the apostles rejoiced to do, and the Scriptures given before witnesses.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.15.3Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The command to hate one's family applies when they try to turn a martyr from confessing Christ; then such hatred is honorable.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.18.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The eighteenth letter: in every suffering we must confess God just, for he permits trials so that our patience may defeat the devil.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.18.9Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The church, persecuted for its confession, keeps meditating on God's commandments; and (section 10) the psalmist hopes for God's eternal testimonies, like Lazarus rather than the rich man.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.20.7Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Though persecuted by many, the psalmist does not turn from God's testimonies.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.21.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The twenty-first letter: persecuted without cause like David and like Christ's disciples, the psalmist fears only God's words, lest denying Christ he be denied.
Tractates on the Psalms 118.21.2Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Persecuted without cause, the psalmist rejoices in God's words like a victor taking spoil, as Christ bound the strong man.
Tractates on the Psalms 119.24Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Though peaceable, the psalmist kept preaching God's word, and the enemies of peace attacked him for it.
Tractates on the Psalms 122.10Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The faithful are hated, persecuted, and killed by the wicked, by Jews and pagans, and by heretics; they grieve for their persecutors and look to God, who alone can reverse their contempt.
Tractates on the Psalms 123.3Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · Delivered from persecution by God's presence, we should ascribe everything to him, as Paul and Jacob teach.
Tractates on the Psalms 124.7Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The rod of sinners, the power of persecutors, will not rest long on the righteous; their trials are brief, so they must not be driven to sin.
Tractates on the Psalms 128.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The righteous are attacked often from youth; as Paul's sufferings show, only one who competes lawfully through many trials is crowned.
Tractates on the Psalms 128.5Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The prophet teaches Israel to confess that its many attackers never prevailed; persistent attack proves the strength of the faithful.
Tractates on the Psalms 128.10Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The impious, sowing to the flesh, are like grass on the housetop that withers before harvest; bodies built on faith are firm.
Tractates on the Psalms 137.15Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The righteous accept tribulation, which tests and strengthens faith, trusting God's right hand, Christ, to protect them against the devil's attacks.
Tractates on the Psalms 149.4Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–367 · The saints, once lowly and persecuted, will rejoice in glory and share Christ's judgment over the kings and nations that oppressed them, the 'two-edged sword' of his word.
Three Letters to Sympronianus 2.5Pacian of Barcelona · ca. 360-390 · Pacian answers the charge that Catholics brought imperial persecution on the Novatians: Christian rulers acted on their own, as rulers in Scripture defended the righteous.
Commentary on Galatians 3.4Marius Victorinus · ca. 360–363 · The Galatians’ sufferings for the faith would be in vain if they abandon it, but Paul softens the rebuke because they can still be corrected and win the reward.
Commentary on Galatians 4.29Marius Victorinus · ca. 360–363 · As Ishmael persecuted Isaac, so those who understand in a fleshly way now persecute those who live by the Spirit.
Commentary on Galatians 5.11Marius Victorinus · ca. 360–363 · That the Jews persecute Paul shows he does not preach circumcision, and preaching it would empty the offense of the cross.
Commentary on Philippians 1.28Marius Victorinus · ca. 360–363 · Not being frightened by opponents marks their destruction and the believers’ salvation, and even this fearlessness is God’s gift.
Commentary on Philippians 1.29Marius Victorinus · ca. 360–363 · It is God’s gift through Christ both to believe in him and to suffer for him, sharing the same contest Paul endured in chains and prison, which leads to the crown.
Oration 2.39Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory fears no persecutor, but feels helpless before the church's internal strife, which made him withdraw.
Oration 4.1Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory summons the whole world, the angels, and the soul of Constantius to hear his thanksgiving for the fall of the emperor Julian, whose letters and sacrifices he condemns.
Oration 4.5Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Julian's ban on Christian teachers of Greek letters was unjust and cowardly; Gregory calls the persecuted and the wavering to celebrate.
Oration 4.11Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory excludes from the celebration those who apostatized under Julian, and praises God, in the words of the psalms, for overthrowing the persecutor.
Oration 4.12Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · God punished his people as a father does; Gregory calls creation to rejoice with the children of God.
Oration 4.13Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory calls the widowed church to rejoice in its deliverance, in the words of the prophets and psalms.
Oration 4.20Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · To show God's deliverance Gregory must describe Julian's character and career, selecting the chief points.
Oration 4.21Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Saved as a child by Constantius in the massacre of 337, Julian repaid neither God nor the emperor.
Oration 4.30Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · As a young man Julian's hidden paganism began to show, especially in his debates with Gallus.
Oration 4.31Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · While Gallus ruled as Caesar, Julian studied with pagan teachers in Asia; the sins of Christians then gave him power.
Oration 4.32Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Christians lost through prosperity what they had won in persecution; Gregory reproaches the dead Constantius for raising Julian, yet excuses him as acting from kindness.
Oration 4.37Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Constantius loved the Christians and sought their unity; his kindness was abused by Julian, who outdid him only in impiety.
Oration 4.45Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Julian, schooled in such philosophy, had himself proclaimed emperor and marched against Constantius.
Oration 4.47Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · God permitted but did not cause Julian's march; Gregory denies that demons foretold Constantius's death and insinuates Julian's guilt.
Oration 4.49Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory pities the apostates more than the persecuted, and refrains from gloating over the fallen.
Oration 4.52Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · On taking power Julian openly renounced Christianity and is said to have tried to wash off his baptism with sacrificial blood.
Oration 4.57Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Knowing that open persecution strengthens Christians, Julian chose to disguise force as persuasion.
Oration 4.58Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Julian tried to deny Christians the honour of martyrdom, which only increased it.
Oration 4.60Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · The rest of the first invective: Julian's indirect persecution, his assault on the army and the cross-standard, the outrages of Heliopolis, Gaza, and Arethusa (Mark of Arethusa), his law against Christian teachers, his plan to copy the church's institutions, and Gregory's satire of pagan myth and ethics compared with Christian morals.
Oration 5.2Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory passes over the judgments that struck persecutors to tell of Julian's plan to rebuild the Jerusalem temple.
Oration 5.3Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · The temple rebuilding was stopped by earthquake and fire; a cross appeared in the sky and on people's clothing, and many sought baptism.
Oration 5.8Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Julian rashly invaded Persia, vowing to sacrifice the Christians to his demons if he won, and advanced to Ctesiphon.
Oration 5.15Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Jovian saved the army by a shameful but necessary treaty; Constantius was buried with Christian honours at Constantinople, Julian with mockery at Tarsus.
Oration 5.22Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory ridicules Julian's sacrificial antics, and recalls how at Athens he read Julian's unstable character and foresaw the evil he would do.
Oration 5.23Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Like Hezekiah against Sennacherib, the Christians, helpless and promised as a sacrifice to Julian's demons, could only call on God.
Oration 5.27Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · During the persecution Christians cried to God in the words of the psalms.
Oration 5.28Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory now laments the fall of the persecutors and hopes for their repentance.
Oration 5.29Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory prays for the persecutors' conversion and celebrates the end of their outrages against churches, clergy, virgins, and martyrs' relics.
Oration 5.35Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory urges a festival of spiritual joy, not pagan revelry, and forbids revenge on the former persecutors, leaving them to God.
Oration 5.38Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Julian will suffer worse than the punished of myth; Gregory and Basil, kept for last in his persecution, now answer him; Christian martyrs under Julian equalled the ancient heroes of faith.
Oration 5.41Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory sets his discourse against Porphyry's anti-Christian writings and Julian's Misopogon.
Oration 7.7Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Caesarius's studies at Alexandria, his providential reunion with Gregory at Byzantium, his career as court physician, and his steadfast confession before Julian.
Oration 7.9Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Caesarius withdrew during Julian's reign and after Julian's death returned to even greater honour at court.
Oration 15.5Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory gives in outline the brothers’ answers to Antiochus: one King, one lawgiver, one glory; their homeland is the Jerusalem above, and they are ready for any torture rather than break the Law.
Oration 18.32Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory tells how his father resisted the emperor Julian, defended the forced election of a bishop of Caesarea, and, near death, travelled to Caesarea to secure Basil’s election.
Oration 21.20Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory tells how the monks revered and protected Athanasius in hiding, while George, through bribery and the court eunuchs, spread his power over Egypt and the East.
Oration 21.25Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory tells how Athanasius’s absence left the Church defenceless, how Constantius repented on his deathbed, and how the Alexandrians killed George and paraded his body on a camel.
Oration 21.32Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory tells how the emperor Julian, seeing Athanasius as the chief obstacle to his anti-Christian policy, openly banished him from Alexandria.
Oration 21.33Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory tells of Julian’s death in Persia and how the emperor Jovian recalled Athanasius, who then confessed in writing one Godhead and essence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Oration 22.2Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory says the worst of present calamities, worse even than barbarian invasion, is the loss of peace in the Church, while even robbers and rival schools keep the peace among themselves.
Oration 24.3Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory praises Cyprian: his learning, his former life as a magician, his conversion through a virgin he tried to seduce by magic, his episcopate, his encouragement of martyrs from exile under Decius, his martyrdom, and the discovery of his relics.
Oration 25.8Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory surveys the heresies before Arius, the rise of Arianism and its condemnation at Nicaea, and the persecution under Valens, recounting how a presbyter was burned alive on a ship set adrift.
Oration 25.11Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory turns to Hero’s own contest, recalling the death of Athanasius and the violent intrusion of an Arian successor into the see of Alexandria.
Oration 25.12Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory describes the outrages committed by the Arians in Alexandria, Hero’s scourging and four years’ exile in the Oasis, and urges him to confute paganism and heresy, setting out the doctrine of Father, Son, and Spirit.
Oration 33.3Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory contrasts the Arians’ violence under their emperor (assaults on worshippers, desecration of churches and virgins, torture of bishops, burning of presbyters at sea) with his own conduct.
Oration 33.5Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory recalls the earlier Arian outrages against Athanasius and others (false charges, exiles, imprisonment) and a recent stoning of an aged bishop in Constantinople, while he himself pleaded for the culprits.
Oration 33.14Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory, who prayed for those who attacked him, says his sufferings are nothing beside Christ’s, whose meekness in his passion all Christians should imitate.
Oration 34.2Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory praises Egypt for feeding the world with grain and with sound doctrine, through Athanasius and his successor Peter, who withstood every pressure without betraying the Trinity.
Oration 35.2Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · The preacher describes the end of heresy as the passing of night, and compares the Arian women who rioted against the Church to Jezebel and to the Maenads of a painting.
Oration 35.4Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · The preacher completes his comparison of the Arian riot to a Dionysiac procession, recounts the violence and the seizure of the sacred throne, and returns to rejoicing that peace has come.
Oration 39.19Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory rejects the Novatianist refusal to readmit the repentant, warns of the final baptism of fire, and ends with the hope that the baptized will become perfect lights before the Trinity.
Oration 42.3Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory calls on his hearers as witnesses, and recalls how the church was handed over, for its sins, to persecutors, first to Julian, a new Nebuchadnezzar.
Oration 42.4Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · God removed Julian by the Persians; the Arian Valens, a false Christian, was worse; but the church came through; Gregory recalls how small and poor the orthodox flock at Constantinople once was.
Oration 42.21Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory laments the factions that divide East and West, compares church parties to circus factions, answers those who blame him for not taking revenge on the Arians and for lacking episcopal pomp, and asks for a successor who will please the many.
Oration 43.5Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Basil's paternal grandparents confessed the faith in the persecution of Maximin, the worst of all.
Oration 43.6Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Following the law of martyrdom, neither provoking nor fleeing the contest when present, Basil's grandparents hid for seven years in the forests of Pontus.
Oration 43.30Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · When the Arian emperor Valens attacked the church, Basil, at Gregory's urging, returned from Pontus, reconciled with his bishop, and led the defence of the faith in the Trinity.
Oration 43.43Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Basil defended the faith by writings and by action, visiting, admonishing and organizing like Bezalel; the emperor Valens, like the returning unclean spirit, attacked again, and, unlike Xerxes, blasphemed against heaven itself.
Oration 43.46Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Valens' first persecution brought exiles, confiscations, the expulsion of the orthodox from the churches and violence against clergy and virgins.
Oration 43.47Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Valens' attack broke against Basil and Caesarea; Gregory recounts Basil's interview with the prefect Modestus, in which Basil refused to worship a creature, being himself bidden to become god.
Oration 43.48Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · To the prefect's threats of confiscation, exile, torture and death, Basil answered that he owned nothing, belonged to no place, had almost no body, and would welcome death as a passage to God.
Oration 43.49Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Basil told the astonished prefect that bishops are humble in all else but unbending where God is concerned, and that no threat would make him consent to impiety.
Oration 43.51Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Defeated, the prefect told Valens that Basil could not be moved; the emperor, admiring him, forbade force but, ashamed to change, did not enter communion with him.
Oration 43.52Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · On the feast of the Epiphany Valens came to Basil's church and was overwhelmed by the psalmody, the people and the bishop standing unmoved before the altar.
Oration 43.53Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Overcome by the sight, Valens nearly fell when his offering was not received; afterwards Basil spoke with him within the sanctuary curtain, and the emperor's attitude began to soften.
Oration 43.54Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Basil's exile was prevented when Valens' son fell ill; Basil also healed the prefect; and when a governor of Pontus tried to seize a widow who had taken sanctuary and abused Basil, the people of Caesarea rose to defend him, and Basil saved the governor from the mob.
Tractates 2.18.1Zeno of Verona · ca. 362-380 · Zeno begins a sermon on the martyr Arcadius by describing a persecution in which Christians were forced to sacrifice to idols.
Tractates 2.18.2Zeno of Verona · ca. 362-380 · Zeno tells how Arcadius withdrew during the persecution, then gave himself up when a relative was arrested in his place and defied the governor.
Tractates 2.18.3Zeno of Verona · ca. 362-380 · Zeno describes the governor's sentence that Arcadius's hands and feet be cut off, and the martyr's fearless constancy.
Tractates 2.18.4Zeno of Verona · ca. 362-380 · Zeno describes the cutting off of Arcadius's hands and feet and compares him with the Maccabean martyrs and Eleazar.
Tractates 2.27.3Zeno of Verona · ca. 362-380 · Zeno allegorises the vine's cultivation as baptism, the Christian life and martyrdom, the persecutors sometimes coming to believe.
Homilies 5.1Basil of Caesarea · ca. 363-378 · Basil introduces the feast of the martyr Julitta: when a powerful man seized her property, he had her lawsuit barred unless she sacrificed and denied Christ.
Homilies 17.1Basil of Caesarea · ca. 363-378 · Panegyric on the martyr Barlaam, an unlettered rustic who endured scourging and held still the burning incense on his outstretched right hand rather than let it fall on the pagan altar.
Homilies 18.1Basil of Caesarea · ca. 363-378 · Panegyric on Gordius, a centurion of Caesarea: biblical praise rests on deeds, not homeland; in the persecution Gordius fled to the desert, then came down into the crowded stadium and declared himself a Christian.
Homilies 18.4Basil of Caesarea · ca. 363-378 · Gordius appears in the stadium, confesses Christ before the magistrate, scorns threats and bribes, and is condemned; the whole city pours out to watch, and friends urge him to deny with his lips only.
Homilies 19.3Basil of Caesarea · ca. 363-378 · Under persecution many fled or gave way, but the forty soldiers stood before the governor and declared themselves Christians.
Homilies 19.4Basil of Caesarea · ca. 363-378 · Each of the forty answers only “I am a Christian”; they reject the governor's flattery and bribes, preferring the crown of righteousness and fearing only Gehenna.
Homilies 19.5Basil of Caesarea · ca. 363-378 · The governor condemns the forty to die of exposure, naked on the frozen lake on a winter night; Basil describes the agony of freezing.
Against Auxentius 3Hilary of Poitiers · 364–365 · The apostles spread the Gospel without imperial support and in spite of persecution.
Against Auxentius 4Hilary of Poitiers · 364–365 · The church that grew under persecution now relies on worldly power and persecutes others.
Against Auxentius 9Hilary of Poitiers · 364–365 · Auxentius was believed orthodox, the emperor took communion with him, and Hilary was ordered to leave Milan.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 1.13Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · Optatus begins his history: in the persecution about sixty years earlier, some African bishops handed over the Scriptures, and he names them, including the self-confessed murderer Purpurius.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 1.14Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · At a council in Cirta after the persecution, the bishops confessed to Secundus that they had handed over the Scriptures; when Secundus himself was accused, the case was left to God.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 1.17Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · Mensurius, bishop of Carthage, summoned to court for hiding a deacon, entrusted the church's gold and silver to certain elders with an inventory, and died before he could return.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 1.22Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · Against the Donatist taunt that bishops should have nothing to do with emperors, Optatus quotes the Donatists' own petition to Constantine asking for judges from Gaul.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 1.27Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · An inquiry before the proconsul Aelianus found that Felix of Abthugni, who had ordained Caecilian, had not handed over or burned the Scriptures.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 2.14Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · Optatus challenges Parmenian to name any Catholic cleric who persecuted anyone; the Catholics' only "crime" is communion with the apostolic churches.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 2.16Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · The Donatists owed their return from exile to the apostate emperor Julian, who granted it by the same decree that reopened the pagan temples.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 2.17Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · On their return under Julian the Donatists seized basilicas and committed bloody attacks on Catholics, until God's judgment cut off the emperor.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 2.18Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · Optatus recounts Donatist violence after their return: Catholic deacons killed at the altar in Lemellef and Carpi, and a massacre at Tipasa under bishops Urbanus and Felix, and turns Parmenian's charges back on him.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 3.1Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · Optatus begins Book 3 on the union of 347: the harsh measures are to be blamed on the Donatist leaders who provoked them, and the Donatists fled though no one was asked to deny God.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 3.6Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · Optatus touches reluctantly on Marculus and Donatus, whom the Donatists venerate as martyrs of 347, arguing that those who refused peace were the cause of their own sufferings.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 3.8Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · Those who died under Macarius were not martyrs: no one was forced to deny Christ, as in the persecutions of Decius, Valerian and Diocletian, and without charity and confession there is no martyrdom.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 3.10Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · The Donatist party is the ruinous whitewashed wall of Ezekiel 13, built by false prophets who cry "Peace" without peace; the measures under Ursacius, Gregory and Macarius were the storm, rain and stones God threatened against it.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 6.5Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · The Donatists used the secular courts to seize Catholic books and altar cloths, and then washed the cloths but could not wash the books, showing their own inconsistency.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 7.1Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · In the added seventh book Optatus answers the objection that the Donatists, as sons of traitors, should never have been sought for union: handing over the Scriptures under compulsion was a sin of necessity, like Moses' breaking of the tablets or Baruch's surrender of Jeremiah's scroll, the law lives in believers' hearts, and sons do not bear their fathers' guilt.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 7.3Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · Peter, who denied Christ three times after professing him, still received the keys and was kept in the apostles' communion for the sake of unity, a pattern that shows the church must receive the Donatists.
Against Parmenian the Donatist 7.6Optatus of Milevis · ca. 366–385 · Macarius, a layman acting as an imperial agent, never exercised any episcopal function, so communion with him did not pollute the bishops; like a judge he was a minister of God's will, and Moses, Phinehas and Elijah were not excluded for their killings.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 2:3Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Preaching Christ crucified brought Paul hatred and persecution.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 4:9Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul compares the apostles' sufferings with those of Enoch and Elijah, the two end-time witnesses of Revelation who will be killed and made a spectacle.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 4:11–12Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · The apostles suffered hunger, beatings and contempt, and worked with their hands rather than take gifts from those in error.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 10:13Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · A 'human temptation' is suffering for Christ while trusting God rather than men; the faithful God never lets it exceed what believers can bear.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:30–31Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Those baptized for the dead were not catholics, and their act, like Jephthah's vow, is cited only for its faith; the apostles face daily danger in hope of the resurrection.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 16:1–2Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · A weekly Lord's day collection for the persecuted saints in Jerusalem was to be laid aside little by little.
Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 1:6–7Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · By joyfully enduring persecution from their fellow citizens, the Thessalonians became like Christ and the apostles and a pattern for other believers.
Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 2:1–2Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul’s bold preaching at Thessalonica after his sufferings at Philippi shows the mark of a faithful preacher who does not yield to fear.
Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · The Thessalonians shared the sufferings of the Judean churches; Paul denounces the persecuting Jews, explains why he longs to see the Thessalonians in person though Satan hindered him, and calls them his crown.
Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 3:1–4Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul sent Timothy so that the Thessalonians would not be shaken by the apostles’ sufferings, which had been foretold and are willingly borne for the hope of reward.
Commentary on 1 Timothy 4:9–10Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · God gives life to all but salvation especially to the faithful, and young Timothy must be an example of mature conduct to young and old.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 1:6–7Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · The apostles' sufferings and deliverances are for the believers, who are tempted when they see their preachers oppressed.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 1:8Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul recounts his near-fatal affliction in Asia so that the Corinthians will accept rebuke from those who suffer for them, as a patient from a physician.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 1:9Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · The apostles were brought so near to death that only trust in God, who raises the dead, sustained them.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:8Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · God never let the apostles be crushed or left destitute in their afflictions.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:9Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · God protected the apostles in persecution, as when Paul and Silas sang hymns in the stocks.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 6:9Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · The apostles seemed near death but were kept alive by Christ, and tried without being overcome.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 7:5Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul recounts the beatings and imprisonment at Philippi; his fears were for the new believers, and he overcame them by hope.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 11:23Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul, playing the fool, shows he is more a minister of Christ than others by his greater labours, imprisonments, beatings, and dangers.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 11:24Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul was flogged five times by the Jews under the law of Deuteronomy.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 11:25Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul recounts his beatings by gentiles, his stoning at Lystra, and his shipwrecks, one on the voyage to Rome.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 11:26Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul lists dangers from rivers, robbers, Jews, gentiles, at Damascus, in ambushes, at sea, and from Judaizing false brothers.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 11:32–33Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul recalls his escape from Damascus in a basket.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 12:1Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul's escape from Damascus was lawful flight in persecution, but boasting of it is not expedient, since humility and martyrdom matter more.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 12:10Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · The Christian wins when he seems to lose, and rises when oppressed.
Commentary on 2 Thessalonians 1:4–5Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul boasts of the Thessalonians’ endurance of persecution, which foreshows God’s just judgment: glory for the sufferers, ruin for the persecutors.
Commentary on 2 Thessalonians 1:6–9Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · At his coming Christ will give rest to the persecuted saints and eternal, unending punishment by fire to pagans and unbelieving Jews.
Commentary on 2 Thessalonians 2:7Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · The mystery of iniquity has worked through persecuting emperors from Nero to Diocletian and Julian, and will last as long as the Roman empire stands.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 1:8Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · There is no shame in the gospel or in Paul’s chains: Christ’s cross ended in resurrection, and God lets his servants suffer so their reward is just.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 1:12Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul is not ashamed of suffering, for he has entrusted his salvation to Christ, who will guard it until judgment day.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 2:8–9Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Against heretics who deny the incarnation, Paul insists on the risen Christ of David’s seed; his chains could not bind the word, which he preached even in prison.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 2:10Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul endures all things so that the elect may be saved through his preaching.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 2:11–12Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Those who remain in the death to sin given at baptism and endure suffering will live and reign with Christ; those who deny him will be denied.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 3:10–11Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Timothy has followed Paul’s teaching and sufferings, which will end in joy.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 3:12–13Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · God rescued Paul from his persecutions, as he will all who live godly lives, while deceivers who prosper lead others astray and will answer for them.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 4:13Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul’s cloak was perhaps his father’s as a citizen of Tarsus; Alexander the coppersmith is to be avoided; and Paul forgives those who deserted him at his first defense, as the disciples deserted Christ.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 4:17Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · God stood by Paul and rescued him from the devil’s jaws; Paul sends greetings, explains why Trophimus was left sick, and closes with his signature naming Jesus Christ as God and man.
Commentary on Colossians 1:23–24Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Christ's sufferings, continued in the persecution of his apostle, profit only those who remain in the faith; since all depends on Christ, no element, angel, or power is to be worshipped.
Commentary on Colossians 4:5–6Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Christians must speak of their faith wisely and gently, choosing time and hearer, and yield to the hostile, especially when rulers oppose the faith.
Commentary on Ephesians 3:13Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul asks the Ephesians not to be shaken by his sufferings and prays that the Father strengthen them by the Spirit.
Commentary on Ephesians 5:15–16Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Christians should reprove prudently, especially under a hostile ruler, confessing their faith when asked but not provoking blasphemy.
Commentary on Ephesians 6:11–12Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · The armour of God is steadfast faith, needed because persecution is the work of the devil and his spiritual forces in the heavens.
Commentary on Galatians 1:13Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul, once a zealous persecutor trained by Gamaliel, left the law for grace; gentiles have even less reason to take it up.
Commentary on Galatians 3:4–5Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · The Galatians' sufferings for faith and the miracles among them came through faith, not the law, so their sufferings need not be in vain.
Commentary on Galatians 4:13–14Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · When Paul first preached to them, beaten and weak, the Galatians did not stumble but received him as an angel, even as Christ.
Commentary on Galatians 4:29Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · As Ishmael and Esau, types of the Jewish people, persecuted Isaac and Jacob, so the Jews persecute Christians.
Commentary on Galatians 5:11Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul's persecution by the Jews, which drove him to appeal to Caesar, shows he did not preach circumcision; the cross offends because it ends sabbath and circumcision.
Commentary on Galatians 6:12Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · The false apostles urged circumcision to avoid Jewish persecution, unlike Paul, who was ready to die for Christ.
Commentary on Galatians 6:14Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul glories in Christ's cross and its sufferings, dead to the world as the world is to him.
Commentary on Galatians 6:17Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul, bearing Christ's scars, wants no more trouble from the Galatians and closes with the grace of Christ, not of the law.
Commentary on Philemon 1:1–3Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul begins from his chains for Christ, a mark of glory, and calls Philemon, though not a cleric, a partner because he served the church’s needs.
Commentary on Philemon 1:22Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul announces a visit to strengthen Philemon’s obedience, and willingly stays in this life of sufferings for the good of believers.
Commentary on Philippians 1:12–17Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul's imprisonment has advanced the gospel: some preach Christ sincerely from love or zeal for God, others from envy or to stir up trouble for him.
Commentary on Philippians 1:27Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul urges the Philippians to live worthily of the gospel, united and unafraid of opponents.
Commentary on Philippians 1:29–30Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Suffering for Christ is a gift granted by God only to those who love Christ.
Commentary on Romans 5:3Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Believers boast in tribulations, which prove their hope and increase their reward.
Commentary on Romans 8:17Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Sons of God inherit from a living Father; to be co-heirs with Christ, believers must suffer with him by enduring persecution and crucifying the flesh.
Commentary on Romans 8:18Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Present sufferings are small beside future glory; if sailors and soldiers risk death for little, believers should suffer for Christ, who rewards greatly and gives strength.
Commentary on Romans 8:23Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Believers, tossed in the world as on a stormy sea by persecution and strife, groan with creation for the coming of God’s kingdom; creation groans the more, seeing its fruits offered to idols.
Commentary on Romans 8:35Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · No torment can separate a firm Christian from love of Christ; persecution only revives the memory of his benefits.
Commentary on Romans 8:36Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · No suffering, even death, compares with Christ’s love and benefits; servants may well die for the Lord who died for them.
Commentary on Romans 12:12Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · When the faith cannot be spoken openly, believers rejoice in hope, endure tribulation, and persevere in prayer.
Commentary on Romans 12:14Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Christians should practise hospitality like Abraham and Lot, and bless their persecutors instead of cursing.
Epigram 13Damasus I of Rome · 366–384 · Epigram, in the person of the martyred bishop Sixtus II, on his arrest while teaching and his offering of himself to spare his people.
Epigram 27Damasus I of Rome · 366–384 · Epigram on the martyr Eutychius, tortured, starved, and thrown into a pit, whose hidden grave was revealed to Damasus in a dream.
Epigram 29Damasus I of Rome · 366–384 · Epigram on Marcellinus and Peter, whose executioner told the boy Damasus how they died and were secretly buried before Lucilla moved them.
Epigram 46Damasus I of Rome · 366–384 · Damasus's epigram on Saturninus, a Carthaginian martyred at Rome, whose persecutor Gratianus could not make him deny Christ.
Epigram 48Damasus I of Rome · 366–384 · Damasus's epigram on Marcellus, bishop of Rome, who required penance of the lapsed and was exiled by the tyrant after the resulting strife.
On the Destruction of Jerusalem 3.1Anonymous · ca. 370 · Nero, performing on the stage in Achaia, appoints Vespasian to the Jewish war, which God arranged both to punish the Jews and to leave Nero defenseless; Nero then turns on the Christians.
On the Destruction of Jerusalem 3.2Anonymous · ca. 370 · At Rome Peter defeats Simon Magus in raising a dead youth and in Simon's attempted flight; Nero seeks Peter's death; Peter, leaving Rome, meets Christ at the gate (“Lord, where are you going?”), returns, and is crucified head downward, while Paul is beheaded.
Question 68, section 1Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · The martyrs’ souls “cry out” for vengeance as Abel’s blood did, not from impatience but to show that God will avenge them, warning persecutors and consoling sufferers.
Question 99, section 2Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · Believers are tested by persecutors, doubters are corrected by God through suffering, and the righteous, like Abraham, Job, and Tobit, are tested so that they may grow.
Question 102, section 28Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · Even if some Catholic clergy were sinful, the truth they hand on is still true, and persecutors themselves recognize Catholics as Christians by their confession, so Novatian’s schism has no just cause.
Question 110, section 6Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · Lawful authority comes from God, while the “chair of pestilence” is the seat of those who reject the one God, as pagan priests who persecute Christians and Jezebel’s judges of Naboth.
Question 115, section 53Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · Christians oppressed for doing right should rejoice, for the coming judgment will exalt them and humble their unjust oppressors.
Question 119, section 5Ambrosiaster · ca. 370–384 · Tobit’s steadfastness, like the apostles’ joy under beatings, shows that unjust sufferings borne for God are signs of future reward.
Letter 3.2Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome describes how the report that Rufinus was with the monks of Nitria reached him and how he longs to see him.
Letter 14.4Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome warns Heliodorus that the Christian is always under attack from the devil and his own passions, even when there is no open persecution.
Letter 42.1Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Against Novatian, Jerome argues that the unforgivable sin is ascribing Christ's works to the devil, not denying Christ under torture.
Letter 42.2Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome argues from Peter's denial and restoration that denying Christ under pressure is forgivable, unlike calling Christ's works diabolical.
Letter 45.6Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Boarding ship for the East, Jerome asks Asella's prayers and consoles himself that Christ and the apostles were also slandered.
Letter 60.16Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome describes the fall of powerful men and the barbarian invasions devastating the Roman world, including the Hunnic raid on the East in 395.
Letter 78.10Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome interprets the eighth station, the wilderness of Sin ('bush' or 'hatred'), as the church burning under persecution yet not consumed.
Letter 82.10Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome protests that John sought an imperial order exiling the Bethlehem monks while leaving Jews, heretics, and Manichees undisturbed, and declares the monks ready to leave.
Letter 136.1Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Pope Innocent consoles Jerome after the attack on his monasteries, offers to appoint judges if he names the culprits, and says he has written to Bishop John of Jerusalem.
Letter 137.1Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Pope Innocent rebukes Bishop John of Jerusalem for failing to protect the monasteries of Eustochium and Paula from the violence done to them.
Letter 139.1Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome encourages Apronius in his struggle, invites him to the East, where the heretics are now silent, and says his own house, though ruined, is rich in spirit.
On the Holy Spirit 29.75Basil of Caesarea · ca. 374–375 · Basil is no innovator, since his usage has the support of nations, custom, and great teachers; he will endure persecution rather than fear the Lord's threats against blasphemy of the Spirit.
On the Holy Spirit 30.77Basil of Caesarea · ca. 374–375 · The Arian controversy has split the churches into warring factions: bishops exiled, doctrine twisted to both extremes, self-appointed men seizing office, and no one willing to obey.
Ancoratus 14.2Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The Melitians split over the readmission of the lapsed.
Ancoratus 89.4Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · Faith, love, and martyrdom rest on the resurrection of the flesh.
Ancoratus 101.7Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The church is the valiant woman, dying in persecutions.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 19.1.8Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Elxai permitted outward idolatry in persecution.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 19.1.9Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Elxai cited a priest Phinehas who worshipped Artemis to escape death.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 19.3.2Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Elxai taught that denying the faith outwardly is no sin.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 24.4.2Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Basilides counseled denial rather than martyrdom.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 30.5.6Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · His rank protected him from the Arian bishop Patrophilus.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 30.11.5Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Caught reading the Gospels, Josephus was flogged in the synagogue.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 30.11.6Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Later they threw him into the Cydnus.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 30.33.6Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · The saying concerns sharing Christ's persecution.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 30.33.7Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Disciples must be ready for persecution like their teacher.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 37.8.4Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · In persecution, guard your 'head': do not deny Christ.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 54.1.4Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Theodotus was arrested in a persecution with others who were martyred.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 54.1.5Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Theodotus denied Christ and fled to Rome.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 54.1.6Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · In Rome Theodotus was reproached for his apostasy.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 56.1.5Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Bardesanes nearly became a confessor before Apollonius.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 59.1.1Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · The Cathari derive from Novatus at Rome.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 59.1.2Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Novatus denied restoration to those who fell after baptism.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 59.7.6Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · The lapsed who repent can find mercy.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 59.13.6Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · The Donatists are refuted like the Novatians.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 64.1.1Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Origen, son of the martyr Leonides, is introduced.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 64.1.3Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Origen suffered much for Christ.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 64.1.4Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Pagans forced Origen to hand out palms at the Serapeum.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 64.1.5Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Origen boldly offered the branch of Christ.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 64.2.2Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Persecutors threatened Origen with sexual abuse.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 64.2.3Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Origen chose to sacrifice rather than be abused.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 64.2.4Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Incense was put in his hands and cast on the altar.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 64.2.5Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Origen was expelled from the church.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 64.38.4Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Nothing separates us from Christ’s love.
Apostolic Canon 62Anonymous · ca. 380 · A cleric who denies Christ is cast out; one who denies his office is deposed.
Apostolic Constitutions 2.8.1Anonymous · ca. 380 · Those slandered for leaving their old vices are blessed.
Apostolic Constitutions 2.8.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · To be reviled falsely is a blessing and a test.
Apostolic Constitutions 4.9.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · Honest offerings feed the poor and ransom captives and those condemned for Christ.
Apostolic Constitutions 5.1.1Anonymous · ca. 380 · Christians condemned for Christ's name to the games, the beasts, or the mines must be supported from the labor of the faithful.
Apostolic Constitutions 5.2.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · Those imprisoned or exiled for Christ must be helped with all zeal.
Apostolic Constitutions 5.2.4Anonymous · ca. 380 · The apostles rejoiced to be beaten for Christ, and so should the faithful.
Apostolic Constitutions 5.3.1Anonymous · ca. 380 · Those who flee persecution must be received as martyrs.
Apostolic Constitutions 5.3.3Anonymous · ca. 380 · Further sayings of Christ on persecution and flight are quoted.
Apostolic Constitutions 5.6.3Anonymous · ca. 380 · Fear of rulers and love of praise must not keep believers from confessing Christ, as it kept some Jews from believing.
Apostolic Constitutions 6.5.5Anonymous · ca. 380 · The devil now attacks the church with persecutions and heresies, as he tempted Job.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.10.14Anonymous · ca. 380 · The intercession continues for the sick, travelers, prisoners, slaves, enemies, the lapsed, children and one another.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.27.3Anonymous · ca. 380 · In necessity one bishop may ordain with the written consent of others.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.34.8Anonymous · ca. 380 · If the church cannot be used, the faithful gather in a house.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.45.1Anonymous · ca. 380 · Those who flee persecution to avoid denial must be received.
Apostolic Constitutions 8.45.2Anonymous · ca. 380 · The persecuted are to be helped in their needs.
Life of Paul the Hermit 2Jerome · ca. 375–379 · Under Decius and Valerian the persecutor sought slow tortures to destroy souls rather than bodies.
Life of Paul the Hermit 4Jerome · ca. 375–379 · Paul, left a wealthy orphan at sixteen, withdrew during the persecution, and his brother-in-law sought to betray him for his inheritance.
On Virgins 1.2Ambrose · ca. 377 · Ambrose begins on the feast of the virgin martyr Agnes, who at twelve years old refused suitors, faced the executioner without fear, and won a twofold martyrdom of chastity and faith.
On Virgins 2.4Ambrose · ca. 377 · A virgin of Antioch, sentenced to a brothel for refusing to sacrifice, escaped by exchanging clothes with a Christian soldier; when he was condemned in her place, she returned, and the two contended to die for each other and were both martyred.
On Virgins 3.7Ambrose · ca. 377 · Asked about virgins who took their own lives to escape persecutors, Ambrose answers with the example of Pelagia of Antioch, who threw herself from a height, and of her mother and sisters, who drowned themselves together; he ends with Marcellina’s ancestor, the martyr Soteris.
On Noah 85Ambrose · ca. 378-384 · The wise man balances anger and fear by virtue, as day and night, and in persecution lets the fear of God govern both.
Life of Macrina, part 1Gregory of Nyssa · ca. 380 · Gregory explains that he writes at a friend's request after their meeting in Antioch, and tells of Macrina's grandmother, her mother's reluctant marriage, and the vision that gave the child the secret name Thecla.
Life of Macrina, part 6Gregory of Nyssa · ca. 380 · Gregory dreams of shining martyrs' relics, finds Macrina dying on a plank, hears her discourse on the soul and the resurrection, and her thanksgiving for God's blessings on their family.
3.4Asterius of Amasea · ca. 380-410 · Asterius reads the chasm in the parable as the barrier of sin, calls covetousness idolatry and the root of all evils, recalls Christians who apostatized for rewards under the apostate emperor, and describes a son's greed for his father's estate.
8.6Asterius of Amasea · ca. 380-410 · Asterius tells how Christ entrusted the whole Church to Peter, how Peter preached everywhere and was crucified head downward in Rome under Nero, and turns to Paul, the persecutor converted on the road to Damascus.
8.11Asterius of Amasea · ca. 380-410 · Asterius says Paul always had Christ dwelling in him, then ends his encomium with the joint preaching of Peter and Paul at Rome and their martyrdom under Nero, the occasion of the yearly feast.
9.2Asterius of Amasea · ca. 380-410 · Asterius tells how the soldiers sent to kill Phocas lodged with him unknowingly, how he prepared his own grave, revealed himself to them, and urged them to carry out his execution.
10.1Asterius of Amasea · ca. 380-410 · Asterius says the devil's persecution gave the Church its martyrs and their feasts, presents the martyrs as teachers and accusers of our sins, and lists the torments they endured for confessing Christ.
11.1Asterius of Amasea · ca. 380-410 · Asterius describes a painting on linen at the tomb of the martyr Euphemia, showing her trial, the breaking of her teeth, her prayer under the sign of the cross, and her joyful death in the fire.
16.2Asterius of Amasea · ca. 380-410 · Asterius urges his hearers to read Psalm 5 as the terms of Christ's testament, naming as heirs the meek, those who feed the poor, those who keep the commandments and suffer with Christ, and contrasts this with the eager pursuit of earthly legacies.
Homily 74.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · On the feast of the deacon Lawrence the preacher tells of Xystus's prophecy that Lawrence would follow him in three days, of his distributing the Church's treasures to the poor, and of his martyrdom on the gridiron.
Homily 75.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · In the persecution under Xystus, Lawrence, foretold to follow his bishop in three days, gave the Church's treasures to the poor and was burned on a gridiron, but the fire of faith within him overcame the persecutor's flames.
Homily 76.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · Lawrence's feast teaches that no tribulation should separate Christians from Christ's love; the inner fire of faith overcame the outer fire, so that he burned in order not to burn for ever.
Homily 85.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · Humility and patience are the way to the narrow gate of heaven; the millstone of Matt 18:6 is read as the pagans' stone idols, the penalty of those who persecute Christians.
Homily 101.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · The moon waxes and wanes by the Creator's design, not by spells; it figures Christ's self-emptying and the Church, which shines with Christ's borrowed light and survives the magic of Jannes and Jambres and Simon Magus.
Sermon 67.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · On the martyrdom of Peter and Paul: the blood of the apostles nourished the Church; Peter, warned of his death, died willingly though once presumptuous, and both apostles show the balance of not seeking death nor fearing it, relying on grace rather than one's own strength.
Sermon 71.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · On Lawrence, archdeacon of Rome, who gave the Church's goods to the poor rather than surrender the sacred vessels, was roasted on a gridiron, and mocked his torturer: “Turn me over… it is cooked.”
Sermon 72.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · On Lawrence: love of God and neighbour shines brightest in the martyrs; the deacon Lawrence showed the persecutor the poor as the Church's treasure and was roasted on a gridiron, glorifying Rome as Stephen glorified Jerusalem.
Sermon 73.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · On Lawrence: tortured by fire and iron, he neither denied Christ nor betrayed the Church's sacred vessels, because the fire of Christ's love burned stronger within him; God permits persecutors' cruelty so that the martyrs may triumph more gloriously.
Sermon 81.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · On the martyrs of Anaunia (Alexander, Martyrius and Sisinnius), killed in Maximus's own time and in peacetime by pagans whose purification rite they had rebuked; the pagans burned them on a pyre made from their church, and their faith afterwards spread through the region.
Sermon 92.1Maximus of Turin · ca. 400-465 · On a martyrs' feast, Christians are urged to imitate the martyrs by resisting the devil's temptations, now more dangerous than pagan persecution, and to confess the Trinity of one substance.
Liber Orsiesii 41Orsiesius · ca. 380-390 · The sons of God must expect the world's hatred and not envy those who prosper in this life.
Book of Heresies 50.1Philastrius of Brescia · ca. 380s · Theodotus, who denied Christ in persecution, called him a mere man.
Book of Heresies 82.2Philastrius of Brescia · ca. 380s · The Novatians objected to the readmission of the lapsed.
Book of Heresies 101.4Philastrius of Brescia · ca. 380s · The good await reward; the wicked are partly punished now.
Canons on the Letters of Paul 81Priscillian · ca. 380–400 · Christians should rejoice in suffering for Christ, which brings eternal reward.
Section 1Anonymous · 382 · The bishops at Constantinople greet Damasus and the Western bishops at Rome and recall the sufferings they endured under the Arians.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 1Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · An account of the Roman schism: when Liberius was exiled for refusing to condemn Athanasius, the clergy broke their oath and accepted the archdeacon Felix in his place; Liberius returned after consenting to the emperor's faith, and Felix was driven out.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 3Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · Damasus's partisans stormed the basilica of Liberius on 26 October 366, killing 160 of Ursinus's supporters; the survivors appealed to the emperor and the bishops to depose him.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 4Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · Ursinus was briefly recalled in 367 but exiled again; Damasus's men attacked his followers at Saint Agnes, the Italian bishops refused to condemn Ursinus unheard, and the presbyters Faustinus and Marcellinus, scattered in exile, addressed their petition to the emperors.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 6Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · The petitioners complain that bishops who once persecuted the church on behalf of heresy, or yielded to it, now persecute them in the name of Catholic faith, though they are not heretics.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 8Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · Arius's death shows God's judgment on his doctrine and on all who revive it, and confirms as true Catholics those who suffer for the Nicene faith; but Arius left heirs, like worms bred from his corpse.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 9Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · The heirs of Arius, with Constantius's support, persecuted Catholic bishops and summoned the councils of Seleucia and Ariminum (359); at Ariminum the bishops at first upheld Nicaea and condemned the formula of Ursacius and Valens, but their envoys to the emperor gave way under pressure.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 11Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · The petitioners list the few bishops who suffered rather than betray the faith: Paulinus of Trier, Lucifer of Cagliari, Eusebius of Vercelli, Dionysius of Milan, Rhodanius, Hilary (though he later compromised), Maximus of Naples, and Rufinianus, run to death by Epictetus of Centumcellae.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 13Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · Potamius of Lisbon and the aged Ossius of Cordova both betrayed the Nicene faith under Constantius; Ossius, returning to Spain with an imperial order, had Gregory of Elvira, who refused his communion, summoned to Cordova.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 14Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · At Cordova Ossius tried to have Gregory of Elvira deposed and exiled, but when Gregory appealed to Christ, Ossius collapsed as he was pronouncing sentence, and the terrified pagan vicar begged Gregory's pardon.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 19Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · A peace that restores bishops who denied the Son of God to their honor is not Christ's peace and makes the martyrs' sufferings vain; yet the petitioners are persecuted, under the emperors' laws, for refusing it.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 23Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · The petitioners disclaim any wish for bloodshed, which the old covenant permitted but Christian law forbids, yet complain that their churches have been seized and their clergy imprisoned, exiled and beaten to death.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 24Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · In Baetica the bishops Luciosus and Hyginus, with hired crowds and imperial officials, attacked the congregation of the presbyter Vincentius, a follower of Gregory of Elvira, killing clergy and a decurion and finally placing their altar beneath an idol.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 25Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · The petitioners recount the persecution of their adherents at Trier and Rome, above all of the ascetic presbyter Macarius, who, arrested at a night vigil by Damasus's clergy and dragged over the stones, died of his wound in exile at Ostia.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 26Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · Damasus used imperial laws against heretics to have the petitioners' adherents exiled, and tried to prosecute their bishop at Rome, Ephesius, as a "Luciferian", but the prefect Bassus refused to treat Lucifer's followers as heretics.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 29Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · At Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, bishop Theodore, after being demoted and reordained by the Arian George, persecuted the strict Nicene congregation and its bishop Heraclidas, finally sending his clergy to demolish their church and altar.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 30Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · Heraclidas is one of the saints "of whom the world was not worthy"; Theodore persecuted not only him but his people, his consecrated virgins and his monks.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 33Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · After Ephesius left for Africa, Turbo, bishop of Eleutheropolis and formerly deacon of the Arian Eutychius who had persecuted Lucifer, threatened the petitioners, Severus's household and Hermione for celebrating the sacraments in private houses.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 34Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · The petitioners recall how Lucifer's congregation at Eleutheropolis was attacked, warn that the blood of the faithful brings plagues on the empire, and charge that many bishops now protected by the emperors' edicts hold heresies (Origenist, Anthropomorphite, Apollinarian, and others).
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 36Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · The petitioners ask only to be allowed to worship Christ in peace, even in humble places, and sign their petition; the emperors' rescript to the prefect Cynegius praises their petition and orders that Gregory of Elvira, Heraclidas and like-minded priests be protected from harassment.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 1.36Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · Captivity and torture do not make the perfect man wretched, as Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and the three young men show; he meets misfortune like a brave soldier and a helmsman.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.43Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · Ambrose retells from 4 Maccabees how the aged priest Eleazar refused Antiochus's flatteries and threats to make him eat pork.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.44Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · Tortured, Eleazar refused even to pretend to eat, lest he mislead the young, and died a teacher of perseverance, his reason unconquered.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.45Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · The seven Maccabean brothers, following Eleazar's example, told the tyrant that their faith was mature and that they feared no tortures.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.46Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · The eldest brother, laughing at the tyrant, confessed his faith and died under torture, his religion unconquered.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.47Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · The second brother, scalped, declared that his spiritual helmet could not be taken and that the tyrant suffered more in being conquered.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.48Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · The third brother, before his tongue was cut out, told Antiochus that God hears even the silent and that his blood would cry out.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.49Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · The fourth brother, broken on the wheel, saw in it the course of the law within grace and died victorious.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.50Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · The fifth brother, burned, thanked God for testing him like silver and gold in the fire.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.51Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · The sixth brother acknowledged the people's sins and accepted suffering as atonement that would make God favorable to the nation.
On Jacob and the Happy Life 2.52Ambrose · ca. 386-390 · The mother urged her youngest son, the seventh, not to yield but to join his brothers, and he died defying the king.
On the Duties of the Clergy 1.37Ambrose · ca. 386–390 · Fortitude keeps the mind even in grief and success, but must attempt only the possible; so the Lord bids his people flee persecution rather than rush into martyrdom.
On the Duties of the Clergy 1.38Ambrose · ca. 386–390 · The brave man prepares his mind beforehand against dangers and losses, foreseeing what may come, and bears adversity like Job.
On the Duties of the Clergy 1.41Ambrose · ca. 386–390 · Fortitude shows itself in adversity and martyrdom: Judas and Jonathan Maccabaeus, the seven brothers and their mother, the Innocents, Agnes, and Lawrence with Xystus.
On the Duties of the Clergy 1.42Ambrose · ca. 386–390 · Christians should not provoke the authorities to persecution out of desire for glory, nor be softened by flattery.
Exposition of Psalm 118 3.7.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Persecution refines the church like gold until Christ rests his head on her faith.
Exposition of Psalm 118 3.41.3Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Reproach for Christ’s name is glorious.
Exposition of Psalm 118 3.42.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · On verse 23: this is the voice of a martyr standing before persecuting judges.
Exposition of Psalm 118 3.42.3Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Christ stood before the rulers for our salvation, so his disciples need not be ashamed to stand before them for his name.
Exposition of Psalm 118 3.43.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Peter before the council counted the injury of accusation as glory.
Exposition of Psalm 118 3.43.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · The apostles rejoiced to suffer for Christ’s name.
Exposition of Psalm 118 3.44.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Rulers sat against Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Susanna.
Exposition of Psalm 118 6.16.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Preaching on a martyrs’ feast, Ambrose likens the martyrs to serpents that shed their skins, sent as lambs among wolves.
Exposition of Psalm 118 6.33.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · On verse 46: this is the voice of the martyr who gloried in the cross before kings.
Exposition of Psalm 118 7.6.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · On verse 50: hope from God’s word comforts us in present troubles, as Paul says.
Exposition of Psalm 118 7.6.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Hope of glory makes every adversity bearable.
Exposition of Psalm 118 7.23.4Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · The highest purpose of the righteous is to pray for persecutors, as Christ did on the cross.
Exposition of Psalm 118 7.33.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Night is any time of persecution or insecurity; our works must shine in God’s light.
Exposition of Psalm 118 7.34.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · The test is to remember God in the night of bereavement, exile, or persecution.
Exposition of Psalm 118 8.7.5Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Paul’s sufferings show that he had no portion in this world.
Exposition of Psalm 118 8.37.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Forethought prepares one for persecution and slander, for the disciple is not above his master.
Exposition of Psalm 118 8.37.3Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · A prepared mind can say with Paul that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ.
Exposition of Psalm 118 8.39.3Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Christ’s word “let not your heart be troubled” prepares us against greed, terror, and persecution.
Exposition of Psalm 118 9.2.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Love shuts out fear, as in the soldier, the servant, the parent, and above all the martyrs.
Exposition of Psalm 118 9.20.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · On verse 71: like Paul content in weakness, the psalmist is glad to be humbled by trials; Symmachus’s version makes the sense plain.
Exposition of Psalm 118 10.37.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Christ promised to give words to those handed over for his name; we should pray for his exhortation.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.16.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · On verse 84: life is short, yet beset by persecutors; the psalmist asks for God’s judgment.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.21.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · On verse 86: like a good soldier, the psalmist does not flee persecution but asks God’s help.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.21.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · All who would live godly in Christ face persecution from many enemies, seen and unseen.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.21.3Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · If we suffer no persecution, we should fear that we are not truly living godly in Christ.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.21.4Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · David, as though Christ’s disciple, heard in the Spirit that the faithful will be persecuted, and did not shrink from it.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.21.5Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Trials strengthen faith; idle peace exposes it to corruption.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.22.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · In times of persecution, the soul clung to God and prayed with its whole heart.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.22.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Persecution trained Christians to despise death; the leisure of peace now brings subtler dangers, such as flattery.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.22.3Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · The persecuted apostles rejoiced to suffer for Christ and counted the most beaten as the most honored.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.23.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · David welcomes contests, knowing persecution helps virtue grow.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.23.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Only one persecuted for faith, righteousness, or chastity can say he is persecuted unjustly.
Exposition of Psalm 118 11.29.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · The persecutors are foxes like Herod, lurking in the lairs of earthly passions.
Exposition of Psalm 118 14.17.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Without persecution there would be no martyrs; those who suffered are more blessed.
Exposition of Psalm 118 14.35.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Martyrs escape the snares of confiscation, torture and the bribes of tyrants and gain heaven.
Exposition of Psalm 118 14.44.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · The heir of God’s testimonies inherits God, Christ, the Spirit and the angels, and rejoices even in suffering.
Exposition of Psalm 118 19.35.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · The persecutor is separated from Christ, who is life; he can harm the body but not the soul.
Exposition of Psalm 118 20.43.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Fidelity is no great thing in prosperity; it is proved under persecution.
Exposition of Psalm 118 20.43.3Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Many persecutions mean many crowns.
Exposition of Psalm 118 20.44.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Sebastian of Milan went to Rome, where persecution raged, and was crowned a martyr.
Exposition of Psalm 118 20.45.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · The devil sends invisible persecutors who attack souls from within.
Exposition of Psalm 118 20.45.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · All the godly suffer persecution from vices, each an evil spirit.
Exposition of Psalm 118 20.46.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Inner persecutors that tempt are worse than open tyrants; many martyrs fell to them.
Exposition of Psalm 118 20.50.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Inner persecutions have their own kings and judges, as in Christ’s temptation.
Exposition of Psalm 118 20.51.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Christ is persecuted in us; to flee the struggle is to reject him.
Exposition of Psalm 118 21.6.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · The first verse: princes persecuted David without cause.
Exposition of Psalm 118 21.6.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Spiritual princes persecute within, offering worldly rewards.
Exposition of Psalm 118 21.7.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · The innocent martyr is persecuted without cause, accused of what he is not.
Exposition of Psalm 118 21.17.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Keep much peace within; even persecutors’ seeming victory works for you.
Exposition of Psalm 118 22.44.1Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Foreseeing persecution, the church bids Christ flee to the mountains of spices.
Exposition of Psalm 118 22.44.2Ambrose · ca. 386-397 · Christ flees for the weak and goes to the saints, the mountains of spices, who bear martyrdom.
Letter 23.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine promises to read the letters only after the soldiers have left, since he does not wish anyone to be forced into communion, and asks that the Circumcellions' violence also cease.
Letter 29.9Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine explained that the feasts at martyrs' shrines had been tolerated after the persecutions to ease the conversion of pagans, but must now be given up.
Letter 35.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine reports that, though he forbade a Catholic father to force his Donatist daughter back, a Donatist presbyter publicly abused him as a traditor and persecutor.
Letter 44.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine recounts the exchange on false prophets and on persecution, arguing that suffering proves nothing unless it is for righteousness.
Letter 44.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine answers that suffering persecution does not prove righteousness, citing Ambrose and Maximian, whom the Donatists did not consider righteous.
Letter 44.11Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine answers the fear of persecution by appealing to Paul's call to bear with one another and keep unity, as the prophets did.
Letter 50.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine rebukes the magistrates of Sufes for the killing of sixty Christians over a destroyed statue of Hercules, offering to replace the idol but demanding the lives back.
Letter 51.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine turns the charge of persecution back on the Donatists, who used imperial judges to expel the Maximianists from their churches.
Letter 53.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine cites the records showing that Silvanus, the first Donatist bishop of Constantina, had himself handed over church property in the persecution.
Letter 87.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine argues from Romans 13 that the state rightly punishes evil, and that the Donatists suffer not for righteousness but for the evil of schism.
Letter 87.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine defends Catholics’ appeals to imperial protection against Donatist violence, citing Paul’s armed escort and Romans 13, while disapproving of any immoderate Catholic action.
Letter 88.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The Catholic clergy of Hippo complain to the Donatist primate Januarius of violence by Donatist clergy and Circumcellions, and recall that the Donatists first appealed to Constantine against Caecilian.
Letter 88.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The Hippo clergy argue that the Donatists, who first appealed to the emperor, cannot complain of imperial laws against them, comparing Daniel’s accusers thrown to the lions.
Letter 88.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The Hippo clergy describe Donatist violence against Catholic bishops, clergy, and laity, including the abduction and humiliation of a presbyter, before the new imperial laws.
Letter 88.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The Hippo clergy explain that Catholics sought a peaceful conference and leniency for Donatists, but Donatist violence, especially against the bishop of Bagai, led to the harsher imperial laws.
Letter 88.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The Hippo clergy describe Circumcellion attacks, including blinding with lime and vinegar, and contrast them with the Donatists’ claim to suffer persecution.
Letter 88.12Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The Hippo clergy ask Januarius at least to restrain the Donatist bands, and warn that God will vindicate his Church.
Letter 89.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine argues that the Donatists are not martyrs, since the cause, not the punishment, makes a martyr, and that their violence makes them the real persecutors.
Letter 89.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine recounts that the Donatists themselves first appealed to Constantine against Caecilian, were defeated at every stage, and now call the consequences persecution.
Letter 91.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine recounts the pagan riot at Calama on 1 June 408: a forbidden festival, repeated stoning of the church, arson, and the murder of a monk, while the town’s leaders did nothing.
Letter 93.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Scripture shows compulsion toward the truth: the guests compelled to come in, Paul's blinding, and the Father's drawing.
Letter 93.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Sarah's discipline of Hagar, Moses' punishments and Elijah's killing of false prophets show that like actions are judged by their motive.
Letter 93.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Persecution is praiseworthy or blameworthy according to its cause; the good have persecuted the bad for their correction.
Letter 93.9Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Apostolic times had no Christian kings to appeal to; Nebuchadnezzar's persecution and later decree for God figure the church's two ages.
Letter 108.14Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine answers the Donatist boast of persecution by pointing to their own persecution of the Maximianists and to the violence of the Circumcellions.
Letter 108.16Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine argues that any honest Donatist defense of the Maximianist affair must adopt the Catholic principles on baptism, tolerance of the wicked, and moderate coercion.
Letter 111.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine replies to the presbyter Victorianus that disasters afflict the whole world, including the violence of the Donatists and Circumcellions around Hippo.
Letter 111.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine answers those who ask why God's servants suffer by quoting the confession of sins made by Azariah in the furnace.
Letter 111.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine explains that God delivered Daniel and the three men to convert their kings, but not the Maccabean martyrs, who also confessed that they suffered for their sins.
Letter 111.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine urges Victorianus to forbid murmuring against God, since it matters not how God's servants die but in what state they go to him.
Letter 129.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The bishops defend imperial laws against heretics by the example of ancient kings and the Donatists' own appeal to Constantine, who acquitted Caecilian and Felix of Aptunga.
Letter 137.16Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The coming of Christ, Pentecost, the spread of the church through persecution, the fall of the temple, the dispersion of the Jews carrying the Scriptures, and the rise of heresies all fulfil prophecy.
Letter 140.41Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · 'Deliver my soul from the sword' refers figuratively to the tongues of Christ's persecutors, or to the sword that would kill his martyrs, whose souls he asks to be delivered.
Letter 141.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The Donatists' own forefathers accused Caecilian before Constantine, so they cannot blame Catholics for appealing to emperors; and Caecilian was in fact cleared by bishops and by the emperor.
Letter 157.32Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The command to leave house and lands applies when persecution forces a choice between possessions and Christ; then the rich must give them up.
Letter 157.34Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Every Christian renounces his possessions either by giving them away or by being ready to lose them for Christ; those who renounce the world only in words fail when tested.
Letter 173.10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine reads “compel them to come in” (Luke 14:23) as warrant for the church, now strong, to compel the Donatists to unity.
Letter 185.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The Donatists themselves first appealed to Emperor Constantine against Caecilian, so they cannot fault Catholics for appealing to emperors.
Letter 185.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The imperial laws against the Donatists, like the lions turned on Daniel's accusers, have in fact helped many by correcting them.
Letter 185.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Emperors' laws for the truth rightly punish the Donatists, as Nebuchadnezzar's law protecting the true God was just.
Letter 185.9Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · It is the cause, not the suffering, that makes a martyr: Sarah persecuted Hagar justly, while Saul persecuted David unjustly.
Letter 185.10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · By the Donatists' own claim that the true church suffers rather than inflicts persecution, Caecilian belonged to it and their predecessors did not.
Letter 185.11Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · There is just and unjust persecution: the church pursues the ungodly out of love to correct them, as Sarah disciplined Hagar.
Letter 185.13Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The laws free many who were held in the Donatist sect by fear, and they now give thanks for being compelled.
Letter 185.14Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Fear that a few Donatists will kill themselves must not keep the many from being saved; in most places peace has come without such deaths.
Letter 185.18Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Donatist violence left bishops a choice between silence and persecution, so appealing to Christian emperors was necessary.
Letter 185.20Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Now that kings worship Christ, they may not be indifferent to sacrilege any more than to adultery.
Letter 185.21Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Teaching is better than compulsion, but more people are corrected by fear; Scripture approves discipline for those words do not reach.
Letter 185.22Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Christ himself compelled Paul by striking him blind before teaching him, and Paul labored more than all.
Letter 185.23Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The church rightly compels her lost sons to return, as shepherds recover straying sheep; their baptism, like a royal mark, is recognized, not repeated.
Letter 185.24Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The parable's two stages, “bring in” then “compel,” show that compulsion belongs to the church's later age; the banquet is the unity of Christ's body.
Letter 185.25Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine recalls that he first favored only fining Donatist clergy for violence, not compelling conversion, and the council at first asked for this.
Letter 185.26Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Violence such as the attack on Bishop Maximian of Bagai led the emperor to outlaw Donatism with fines and exile, though not death.
Letter 185.27Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine recounts the Donatist assault on Maximian, Catholic bishop of Bagai, who survived being beaten, stabbed, and thrown from a tower.
Letter 185.28Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · As Paul appealed to Roman law and Caesar, so bishops rightly seek the Christian emperor's protection; hence the emperor's laws for unity.
Letter 185.30Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Most remaining Donatists were won over after the Conference of Carthage, but in some places Catholics still suffer maiming, murder, and arson.
Letter 185.31Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The sufferings of Catholics have borne fruit in greater unity; Augustine prays for the repentance of the rest.
Letter 185.32Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Like David mourning Absalom but consoled by peace, the church grieves for the few who die but rejoices in the many freed.
Letter 198.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Hesychius argues that the gospel has already been preached throughout the world, its growth slowed by persecution but quickened under the Christian emperors.
Letter 199.32Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine interprets the command not to go back for one's goods spiritually, as a warning against falling back from spiritual progress in any tribulation.
Letter 199.37Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine suggests that the foretold tribulation will fall on the Church alone while its persecutors feel secure, whereas present evils afflict good and wicked alike amid continuing revelry.
Letter 199.39Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine interprets the darkened sun, moon, and falling stars as the Church obscured in the last persecution, when many who seemed to shine will fall away.
Letter 199.40Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine explains that the "distress of nations" refers to the wicked who will oppress the Church, present among all peoples alongside the oppressed faithful.
Letter 228.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine reminds Bishop Honoratus that he has already advised, in a letter to Quodvultdeus, that clergy must not abandon their people during the barbarian invasion.
Letter 228.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine argues that Christ's command to flee persecution applies when a minister is personally sought, not when the whole people is endangered and needs its clergy.
Letter 228.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine answers Honoratus's fear of massacre and torture: the clergy may leave only when their people have left, and bishops who deserted their flocks in Spain did wrong.
Letter 228.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine reconciles the command to flee with the condemnation of the hireling: ministers may flee only if no people remain or others can minister, as with Paul and Athanasius.
Letter 228.11Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine considers the case where only clergy are hunted, and compares the Church to a ship whose crew and helmsman must not desert it in common danger.
Letter 228.12Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine suggests that if clergy dispute who should stay and who flee, the matter be decided by lot, and warns against anyone judging himself too valuable to stay.
Letter 248.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine consoles Sebastianus, grieved by sinners who abandon God's law, saying such grief is the persecution of the godly and urging perseverance; Alypius adds a greeting.
Homilies on Matthew 15.4John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · The beatitudes on those who hunger for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted are expounded, with the greatness of their rewards.
Homilies on Matthew 15.5John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Being ill spoken of is blessed only when it is false and for Christ’s sake; all the beatitudes lead to the kingdom; the disciples are consoled by the prophets’ example, and slander is shown to be harder to bear than danger.
Homilies on Matthew 33.1John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Having freed the apostles from care, Christ foretells their sufferings and sends them as sheep among wolves, to conquer by gentleness and innocence through the power of the one who sends them.
Homilies on Matthew 33.2John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Christ shows his power by sending the apostles as sheep and doves, joining serpent-like wisdom that guards the faith to dove-like innocence that never retaliates; he foretells councils, kings, and family betrayals, and consoles them with his name, the Spirit, and endurance to the end.
Homilies on Matthew 33.4John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · The pagan philosophers and generals are nothing beside the twelve fishermen, who conquered the world and the demons by suffering and changed their enemies; in the mission some things are Christ’s gift and some the apostles’ own virtue.
Homilies on Matthew 33.5John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Christ requires endurance to the end; the apostles, accused before tyrants as destroyers of the world, overcame by endurance, while Christians now, under pious emperors and in peace, grow soft.
Homilies on Matthew 33.6John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Christians must train in peace like athletes so as to be ready for persecution; Job, trained in contempt of wealth, care for his children and chastity, bore not only his visible losses but also harder unseen trials.
Homilies on Matthew 33.11John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Job, resisting even his wife’s pitiful pleading, was not less than the apostles, for he suffered without knowing that it was for God’s sake; Christians who live under grace should imitate his courage and gentleness.
Homilies on Matthew 34.1John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Christ allows the apostles to flee persecution in this first mission, promising that he will overtake them before they have gone through the cities of Israel, and so gives them a breathing space after his warnings.
Homilies on Matthew 34.4John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Christ consoles the apostles against slander by his own sharing in it and by the promise that time will reveal the truth; he bids them preach boldly, fear only him who can destroy soul and body, trust his providence, and confess him; the corruption of bodies after death is shown to be a benefit.
Homilies on Matthew 75.1John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Christ foretells the total destruction of the temple and, answering the disciples’ question, warns first of deceivers, the Jewish war and persecutions, assuring them that the gospel will be preached in the whole world before the end of Jerusalem, which the abomination spoken of by Daniel will signal.
Homilies on Matthew 75.3John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · The apostles’ success in preaching amid the Jewish war, universal hatred and every kind of danger, like untrained sailors overcoming a fleet in a storm, shows Christ’s power; Josephus records the calamities Christ foretold.
Hexameron (Exameron) 4.7Ambrose · ca. 387-390 · The sun and moon serve day and night; mystically, the waning moon figures the church, diminished by persecution but filled by martyrs.
Hexameron (Exameron) 4.32Ambrose · ca. 387-390 · The waning and waxing moon is a type of Christ, who emptied himself, and of the church, which shines with his borrowed light and grows through persecution.
On the Blessings of the Patriarchs 43Ambrose · ca. 387-392 · Moses' blessing of Naphtali signifies the people of God, freed from death by faith, spread through the world and glorying in Christ even in persecution.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 35.24.1Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · Some read the torrent as the martyrs' joy in persecution, where grace abounds.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 36.19.2Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · Naboth kept his ancestors' inheritance; so the faithful kept the true faith against those who demanded the Lord's temple.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 36.25.2Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · In the recent war a wind turned the enemy's missiles back on them.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 36.56.2Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · Paul fought as a wrestler and also endured blows, as at Jerusalem.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 36.58.1Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · "I have not seen the just forsaken" cannot mean that no just man is abandoned by men.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 37.21.4Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · The arrows are the Lord's because he permits the devil to test us.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 39.16.2Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · Christ taught caution, not presumption, in the face of persecution, and in Gethsemane he spoke, prayed and grieved as man.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 43.9.3Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · The nations the church conquers are named with old names but are new mysteries.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 43.35.1Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · Even the faithful are plundered here, yet their minds cannot be separated from Christ.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 43.35.2Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · The apostles and the prophets in exile were plundered in body but kept their faith unconquered.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 43.38.1Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · As Christ’s flesh and blood redeemed us, so the apostles endured sufferings for the church.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 43.55.4Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · Paul, made a spectacle, was content in insults and persecutions, counting all as loss to gain Christ.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 43.70.1Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · The confusion of the cross abolishes sin, and every shame endured for Christ’s name in persecution is glorious.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 43.83.3Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · One renewed in Christ’s love lives in light and cannot be separated from Christ by any persecution.
Explanation of Twelve Psalms 61.16.1Ambrose · ca. 387-397 · Christ is attacked not only in his own body but in his church and in each of his saints.
On the Catholic Way of Life and the Manichaean Way of Life 2.19Augustine of Hippo · ca. 387–389 · Augustine recounts what he saw and heard in his nine years as a Manichaean Hearer at Carthage: Elect breaking their rules, harassing women in the street, an assault at a vigil, mutual accusations of adultery, theater-going, and a teacher who seduced a consecrated virgin and excused himself by Mani's teaching on Adam.
Sermon on the Eight Beatitudes 8Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388-407 · Chromatius explains the eighth step: those who live righteously will be persecuted, and Christ leads them to rejoice even in death.
Sermon on the Eight Beatitudes 9Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388-407 · Chromatius explains the final step, joyful endurance of persecution and death, as Paul climbed to martyrdom, and compares the beatitudes to Jacob's ladder.
Sermon 21.2Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388-407 · text not on this site
Sermon 25.2Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388-407 · text not on this site
Tractates on Matthew 3.8Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388–407 · Chromatius explains that those persecuted for righteousness are above all the martyrs, led by the apostles, to whom the kingdom is promised.
Tractates on Matthew 3.9Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388–407 · Chromatius urges Christians to endure persecution with joy, since a great reward is laid up in heaven.
Tractates on Matthew 8.1Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388–407 · Chromatius reports the view that the 'adversary' is a personal enemy to be reconciled before death, and objects that one may not agree with an adversary of the faith.
Tractates on Matthew 8.2Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388–407 · Chromatius discusses the view that the adversary is the devil, accepting it only in the sense that a Christian should consent to martyrdom rather than be accused by the devil of denying the faith.
Tractates on Matthew 11.1Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388–407 · Chromatius explains that Christ replaces the law of retaliation with patience, which trains Christians for martyrdom.
Tractates on Matthew 11.2Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388–407 · Chromatius teaches that Christians should give up even more than a litigant demands, training them to despise possessions in persecution.
Tractate 35.5Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388-407 · text not on this site
Tractate 42.5Chromatius of Aquileia · ca. 388-407 · text not on this site
Homily 77.2 on JohnJohn Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Christ foretells the world's hatred and persecution of the disciples, consoling them that they share his lot and the Father's, that the persecutors are without excuse, and that the Spirit and they themselves will bear witness.
Homily 78.1 on JohnJohn Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Christ rebukes the disciples' excessive sorrow, explains why he had not told them of the coming persecutions earlier, and shows that his departure is to their advantage, since the Spirit will come and convict the world.
Homily 82.1 on JohnJohn Chrysostom · ca. 390 · Chrysostom explains Christ's prayer that the disciples be kept from the evil one and sanctified in the truth, reading “I sanctify myself” as Christ offering himself as a sacrifice.
Life of Hilarion 30Jerome · ca. 390–392 · Fleeing his fame and foreseeing persecution, Hilarion leaves Palestine, visits exiled bishops, and travels to Antony's mountain for the anniversary of his death.
Life of Hilarion 33Jerome · ca. 390–392 · Hilarion leaves Bruchium just before officials from Gaza arrive to arrest him under Julian.
Sermon 4.36Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · On the feast of the martyr Vincent, Augustine urges that the devil still persecutes: the sick person who refuses magical remedies and amulets wins a martyr's hidden victory.
Sermon 13.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · All who hold authority are ordained by God; whoever does good will have praise, either from a just authority or from God, as the martyr Cyprian did, who was condemned on this very spot.
Sermon 22.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Since everything foretold about the Church has come true, its worldwide spread, heresies, persecution, the martyrs' harvest, the fall of the idols, the foretold judgment will certainly come too.
Sermon 24.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Since the “Roman gods” have been removed at Rome, they should not remain at Carthage; Augustine mocks the gilded beard of a statue of Hercules, which has been shaved off.
Sermon 51.14Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Jechoniah’s exile prefigures Christ, rejected by his own people, whose Gospel passed to the Gentiles through Jewish apostles; as Jeremiah told the exiles to pray for Babylon, the Church prayed for kings, who became Christian.
Sermon 56.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The curses in the Psalms are prophecies, not wishes; we must pray for our enemies, as the Church prayed for the persecutor Saul until he became Paul.
Sermon 62.12Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · A good superior nourishes, a bad one tests; the world is a furnace where chaff burns and gold is refined; Christians must stand firm against threats and be filled from God’s banquet, not the idols’.
Sermon 62.13Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Christians obey authorities, but when the emperor commands what God forbids, such as attending in an idol temple, the greater Authority must be obeyed.
Sermon 62.14Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · A powerful enemy’s scheming is a razor that can shave off only superfluities, wealth and even bodily life, as the martyrs knew, not the riches of the heart.
Sermon 62.15Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · God, who numbers our hairs, lets enemies harm the faithful only for their testing; the powerful can only take what a thief, a fever, or a poisonous mushroom could take, so we must not cling to life at the cost of our souls.
Sermon 62.17Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Christians must not destroy pagan idols without lawful authority, as the Circumcellions do, but may and should remove them where an owner, now Christian, gives the property or asks for it; pagans, heretics, and Jews unite in complaint against the Church.
Sermon 65.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · A persecutor is a mortal man threatening a mortal man, and can touch only the body; the martyr, fearing God, does not fear, for the soul is untouched and the body will rise immortal.
Sermon 70.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The question: how can Christ’s yoke be easy when those who bear it, like Paul, suffer so much?
Sermon 77.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Saul the proud persecutor became Paul, “the least,” struck down and healed by Christ; he and the first witnesses came from the Jewish people.
Sermon 96.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Taking up the cross means bearing all opposition, even from fellow Christians, and preferring the Creator to the world; Augustine then raises the question how the world is evil if its maker is good.
Sermon 96.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Scripture also calls the persecuted church “the world,” the world God reconciled to himself in Christ, while the condemned world outside the church persecutes it.
Sermon 97.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Christ overcame the world for us by becoming man and rising again, so the Christian need not fear men’s threats but should cling to God and trust in him.
Sermon 105.12Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Augustine prays for the blasphemers rather than mocking them, grieves for the Christians of Rome, and answers that the idols could not protect Rome, since they could not protect themselves, while Christian Constantinople and Carthage stand.
Sermon 105.13Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Rome’s fall was not caused by the loss of the idols: the pagan Radagaisus, who sacrificed daily, was defeated after the images were removed, and it was the idol-hating Goths who took the city; Christians who suffered there lost nothing eternal.
Sermon 116.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The disciples saw Christ the head and believed in the church, his body, which was foretold to spread through all nations; we see the church and believe in the head; the persecution after Stephen’s death scattered the burning logs and set the world on fire.
Sermon 116.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Saul the persecutor, struck down by Christ’s voice from heaven, became Paul the preacher; through the apostles and martyrs the church grows like a house built of living stones, singing a new song until it is dedicated at the resurrection.
Sermon 133.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Jesus said he was not going up “to this feast,” meaning the day his brothers expected; he went later, as it were in secret, to give his weak disciples an example of caution, as when he fled to Egypt.
Sermon 149.17Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Stephen’s prayer may have won Saul’s conversion; Paul commanded prayer for persecuting kings, and those prayers have been answered now that rulers defend the Church.
Sermon 167.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Because the days are evil, the righteous suffer persecution simply by living among the wicked, as Lot did in Sodom, and danger from false brothers lasts until the end of the world.
Sermon 168.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Peace, love, and faith are from God, as Paul's greeting says; his own conversion shows it, for Saul, raging and merciless, obtained mercy so that he might become faithful.
Sermon 169.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Paul lists his fleshly grounds for confidence: eighth-day circumcision, the tribe of Benjamin, Pharisaism, and zeal in persecuting the Church; his name changed from Saul the tall to Paul the little.
Sermon 169.9Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Saul persecuted the Church because he sought his own righteousness from the Law by his own strength, stumbling over Christ the humble stone, until Christ called to him in mercy from heaven.
Sermon 175.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Paul is “first” of sinners as a craftsman is first in skill: the worst, for Saul was the fiercest persecutor, at Stephen's stoning and on the road to Damascus.
Sermon 273.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The martyrs are the good fragrance of Christ, giving life to those who love and death to those who envy; like broken flasks of ointment, the more they were persecuted the farther their fragrance spread.
Sermon 279.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Jacob’s blessing, “Benjamin is a ravening wolf, in the morning seizing, in the evening dividing food,” was fulfilled in Paul of Benjamin, persecutor at Stephen’s stoning and then, struck down and blinded on the road, a preacher who saw only Jesus.
Sermon 279.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Christ was “not silent” when he called Saul and “not gentle” when he struck him down and promised to show him what he must suffer, a merciful severity like a surgeon’s knife; and Paul himself judged present sufferings unworthy of comparison with the glory to come.
Sermon 280.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The crowd that once raged at the martyrs in the amphitheater is replaced by the church that honors them; their insult has become our lasting joy.
Sermon 286.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The martyrs’ blood was the seed of the Church; Augustine recalls the finding of Protasius and Gervasius by Ambrose at Milan, which he witnessed, and the healing of a well-known blind man.
Sermon 295.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Saul the persecutor, on his way to Damascus, heard Christ say ‘why do you persecute me?’, since the head suffers in the body; changed, he became a chosen vessel filled with grace, though Ananias feared him.
Sermon 296.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · When people ask why Rome, holding the apostles’ tombs, is laid waste, Augustine answers that the memorials are there but not in their hearts, and urges patient obedience to God’s will, after Christ’s example in Gethsemane.
Sermon 296.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Christians are called to suffer temporal evils and hope for eternal goods; God foretold wars and famines before the end, so believers should not murmur when they come.
Sermon 297.10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Paul, once an evil man to himself, was delivered from himself on the Damascus road; afterward the evil men who persecuted and killed him could not harm him, but only gave occasion for his crown.
Sermon 300.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The Maccabees were Christians in reality: later martyrs died rather than deny Christ, the Maccabees rather than deny the law of Moses.
Sermon 303.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · For a small congregation Augustine retells how the deacon Lawrence brought the poor as the Church’s riches and, roasted on a gridiron, calmly told his persecutors to turn him over; he lost his life for Christ and saved it.
Sermon 303.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Heavenly rewards are promised not only to martyrs but to all who follow Christ in faith and love; meditating on the glory of reigning with Christ makes the mind unconquerable, and faith ready for martyrdom is crowned even in peace.
Sermon 309.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Cyprian’s exile to Curubis harmed him not at all, since Christ is with his members everywhere; returning to his gardens, Cyprian daily awaited his arrest, as had been revealed to him.
Sermon 309.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Cyprian truly ‘took counsel for himself’ by living each day as his last before God the judge; when the proconsul urged him to sacrifice and ‘take counsel for yourself’, Cyprian recognized the devil speaking through him and refused.
Sermon 311.10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Though such righteous people seem rare, the threshing floor of the Church holds grain among the chaff; persecution, like winnowing, revealed the White Mass and Cyprian, and showed that wealth did not harm rich martyrs nor poverty save poor apostates.
Sermon 316.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Stephen's prayer was already being answered for Saul while he raged: the persecution scattered the believers like torches into a forest, and on the road Christ called the wolf Saul to become a sheep and then a shepherd.
Sermon 326.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · In a dialogue with the judge the martyrs refuse to sacrifice, appealing to Christ's promise and the authority of the eternal King.
Sermon 334.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The martyrs could say “If God is for us, who is against us?” amid every torture, since the Lord who numbers their hairs upholds their souls and will restore their bodies.
Sermon 354.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Christ preaches Christ through his body, the Church, which is one with its head; all his members, not only the apostles, must expect the world's hatred.
Sermon 359.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Some Donatists admit the truth but stay out of custom and loyalty to dead parents, like lethargic patients; others, like the frantic, commit violence such as cutting out a Catholic presbyter's tongue; love must serve both.
Sermon 361.14Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Pagans who dare not attack Christ attack Christians, but the body is joined to the head, as Christ's cry to Saul and the tongue's cry for the trodden foot show; Augustine warns against the claim that resurrection was allowed to Christ alone.
Sermon 363.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The rest of the Song of Moses (Exod 15:13–19) figures the Christian journey after baptism through the desert of this life, as the nations' wrath turns to fear and God's people are brought into the eternal kingdom.
Commentary on Galatians 4.4John Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Hagar and Sarah figure the two covenants: the children of the barren church, born like Isaac by God's promise in baptism, are free and need not fear persecution; Christ has set them free.
Homily 1.2 on 1 ThessaloniansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · The Thessalonians’ steadfastness under persecution shows a faith worked by God’s power; receiving the word in affliction with joy of the Spirit, they imitated Paul and the Lord.
Homily 2.1 on 1 ThessaloniansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · The fame of the Thessalonians’ faith spread everywhere, as Macedonia’s fame had spread under Alexander; their conversion and waiting for the risen Christ is comfort under persecution.
Homily 3.2 on 1 ThessaloniansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · The Thessalonians suffered as the churches of Judea did from those who killed the Lord and the prophets; Paul, like a bereaved child, longed to see them again.
Homily 3.3 on 1 ThessaloniansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Satan, by violent trials, hindered Paul from returning; the Thessalonians are his joy and crown, and he sent Timothy to strengthen them, having foretold that afflictions would come.
Homily 3.4 on 1 ThessaloniansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Christians are appointed to affliction; the whole of life is warfare against the devil, the passions, wealth, glory and poverty, and believers must train in peace for battle.
Homily 2.1 on 2 CorinthiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Paul’s afflictions and comforts serve the Corinthians’ salvation, which is made effective in their own endurance, and his firm hope for them shows how much they had improved.
Homily 9.1 on 2 CorinthiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Paul’s unbroken endurance in constant afflictions shows God’s power; the daily ‘dying of Jesus’ in the apostles proves the resurrection, while their sufferings bring life to the Corinthians, and they speak in the same spirit of faith as the psalmist.
Homily 12.2 on 2 CorinthiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · This day of grace makes virtue easy; Paul commends his ministry by blameless endurance in every kind of hardship, by his own labors and purity, by the Holy Spirit and unfeigned love, using both honor and dishonor as weapons of righteousness.
Homily 12.4 on 2 CorinthiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · The apostles, seemingly dying, sorrowful, and poor, were in fact preserved, joyful, and rich in all things, as only the faithful can see; Christians should likewise rejoice in suffering, fasting, and almsgiving, and lament not their poverty but their smallness of soul.
Homily 25.1 on 2 CorinthiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom explains Paul's reluctant boast in his Jewish descent and his catalogue of sufferings: lashes, beatings, stoning, shipwreck, dangers everywhere, hunger and nakedness, and above all his burning care for all the churches, ending with his escape from Damascus in a basket (2 Cor 11:21–33).
Homily 25.3 on 2 CorinthiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom celebrates Paul's sufferings as the church's victory over the devil, comparing him to a soldier, a fire, the trumpets of Jericho and David against Goliath, matches each hardship with the salvation it won for others, and urges his hearers to boast only, if at all, in insults suffered for Christ.
Homily 26.2 on 2 CorinthiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom explains that Paul's 'thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan' means the adversaries who persecuted him, not a headache, and that God's power is perfected in such weakness (2 Cor 12:6–10); affliction purifies the soul as Scripture and the church's own history show, and the honored tombs of the apostles, where emperors seek their intercession, prove that the Crucified lives.
Homily 1.1 on 2 ThessaloniansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Homily 1 (the argument) explains why Paul wrote again: deceivers claimed the day of the Lord had come and forged letters, so Paul reveals the sign of the Antichrist; Chrysostom then warns against pride, the beginning of sin. Homily 2 begins on 2 Thess 1:1–6: God’s favour, illustrated by Joseph, and the Thessalonians’ growing faith and undivided love under persecution, evidence of God’s just judgment.
Homily 1.3 on 2 ThessaloniansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · The persecutors will be punished in flaming fire at Christ’s revelation; Chrysostom urges believers not to gloat but to keep the thought of Gehenna constantly before them, since fear of judgment keeps the soul from sin.
Homily 3.1 on 2 ThessaloniansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Gehenna is eternal; at his coming Christ will be glorified in the persecuted saints; Paul prays that God may count them worthy of their calling, since something is still lacking in this life.
Homily 2.1 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · On 2 Tim 1:8–10, Chrysostom warns against measuring divine things by human reason, as the heretics did who were ashamed of the cross, and shows that Paul's bonds and Christ's death are matters for boasting, and that salvation comes by God's purpose and grace, not by works.
Homily 3.1 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · On 2 Tim 1:13–18, Chrysostom says Paul handed Timothy an unwritten pattern of teaching to be guarded by the Spirit, notes that Paul reports the desertion of the Asians without cursing them, and teaches that those who help confessors in their afflictions share their crowns.
Homily 4.1 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · On 2 Tim 2:1–7, Chrysostom explains that Paul's sufferings should strengthen Timothy, that the faith must be entrusted to faithful men able to teach, and that the images of soldier, athlete and farmer call for endurance, discipline and labour.
Homily 4.2 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom explains the farmer's reward, why Paul reminds Timothy of the risen Christ against the heretics, that the word of God is not bound though the preacher is, and that Paul's sufferings for the elect repay the grace God first showed us.
Homily 4.3 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom contrasts Nero, who had every worldly glory and even demanded worship as a god, with Paul, a poor Cilician tentmaker in chains, and argues that the prisoner was the more glorious because he defied the emperor and could not be stopped from preaching.
Homily 4.4 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Concluding Homily 4, Chrysostom argues that Paul's chains outshone Nero's crown, that Paul's honoured tomb in Rome against Nero's forgotten grave proves what glory awaits him at the resurrection, and urges imitation of Paul in life as well as faith.
Homily 5.1 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · On 2 Tim 2:11–13, Chrysostom explains that those who share Christ's death, in baptism and in suffering, will share his life, that endurance to the end is needed, and that denying Christ brings his denial in return.
Homily 8.2 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom explains the “silly women” led astray by the false teachers, the magicians Jannes and Jambres, how error is soon exposed though it keeps inventing new doctrines, and how Paul's teaching, life and endurance of persecutions at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra should encourage Timothy.
Homily 8.3 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · On 2 Tim 3:12–15, Chrysostom teaches that the life of virtue is a contest that always brings affliction, explains why God punishes some wicked men in this life and not others, and praises the Scriptures Timothy learned from infancy as the root of firm faith.
Homily 9.3 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Concluding Homily 9, Chrysostom explains that those who love Christ's appearing receive him now by keeping his commandments, urges his hearers to rise from worldly things and stand on the rock of spiritual things, and teaches that suffering borne with thanksgiving, as by Job, is suffering for Christ.
Homily 10.1 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · On 2 Tim 4:9–16, Chrysostom explains why Paul, imprisoned and near death, calls Timothy to him, comments on Demas, Titus, Luke, Mark, the cloak and the books, and shows that Paul's mention of Alexander the coppersmith is a prophecy meant to strengthen the disciple, not a curse.
Homily 10.2 on 2 TimothyJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · On 2 Tim 4:16–22, Chrysostom explains Paul's first defence before Nero, the “lion,” and his coming rescue from every sin; comments on the greetings, why the apostles did not heal Trophimus (to show human weakness and give God the glory), Linus as bishop of Rome, and the equal spiritual capacity of women.
Homily 10.3 on ColossiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom quotes a holy man's prayer of thanksgiving for all God's benefits, then expounds Col 4:3–4: Paul in chains asks not for release but for boldness, and his bonds, far from hindering the gospel, made it spread.
Homily 10.4 on ColossiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom argues that the apostles' lack of learning and Paul's chains made the gospel spread the more, contrasts Socrates' fleeing disciples, and urges women to desire Paul's chains rather than gold necklaces.
Homily 12.2 on ColossiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Chrysostom explains Paul's praise of Epaphras and his charge to Archippus (Col 4:12–17), then turns “Remember my bonds” into an exhortation against luxury, vanity, and anger, and praises Paul's tears as more beautiful than any face and as watering the church.
Homily 2.2 on PhilippiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Paul's bonds emboldened the brothers, and even those who preached Christ out of envy, hoping to inflame Nero against him, could not harm him; Paul rejoices that Christ is proclaimed.
Homily 4.2 on PhilippiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Paul stayed for the Philippians' growth, urging them only to live worthily of the gospel, united in one spirit and unafraid of their enemies, since suffering for Christ is itself God's gift.
Homily 11.2 on PhilippiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · The righteousness that counts is God's gift received by faith, not one's own from the law; faith, which alone grasps Christ's resurrection and still more his divine birth, is proved by sharing his sufferings, through which believers are conformed to his death.
Homily 15.4 on PhilippiansJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Paul prays that God will supply the Philippians' needs, not make them rich, and sends greetings, including from Caesar's household; Chrysostom notes that the shared persecution of the early church bound believers in love.
Homily 6.4 on TitusJohn Chrysostom · ca. 392-397 · Concluding the homilies on Titus, Chrysostom draws lessons from the three young men in the furnace, Abraham and Joseph: affliction borne with complete readiness, without setting God a deadline, is soon lifted; he tells of two martyrs, one of whom was tortured at length so that his cowardice might be cured.
On Illustrious Men 19Jerome · 392–393 · Quadratus, bishop of Athens, presented an apology to Hadrian, citing people healed or raised by Christ who lived into his day.
On Illustrious Men 21Jerome · 392–393 · Agrippa Castor refuted the Gnostic Basilides, whose god Abraxas has the number of the days of the year.
On Illustrious Men 42Jerome · 392–393 · Apollonius the Roman senator defended his faith before the senate and was beheaded.
On Illustrious Men 52Jerome · 392–393 · Jude wrote on Daniel's seventy weeks and wrongly expected Antichrist in his own day.
On Illustrious Men 54Jerome · 392–393 · Origen: his youth, teaching at Alexandria, ordination in Palestine and conflict with Demetrius, his Hexapla and learning, and his suffering under Decius.
On Illustrious Men 83Jerome · 392–393 · Athanasius of Alexandria, often exiled by the Arians: his works include Against the Pagans and the Life of Antony.
On Illustrious Men 95Jerome · 392–393 · Lucifer of Cagliari, exiled for defending Nicaea, wrote boldly against Constantius.
Lines 14–26Augustine of Hippo · 393 · The net was broken by proud men who, after handing over the sacred books in persecution, set up a rival altar in time of peace and blamed others for their own crime.
Lines 130–142Augustine of Hippo · 393 · The documents prove the case; if the Donatists charge Macarius, the Catholics can charge the circumcellions, whose violence still continues and on whom the Donatist bishops depend.
The Lord's Sermon on the Mount 1.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 393–396 · Augustine explains the blessing on the persecuted disciples: blessedness is inward, heretics and schismatics who suffer do not share the reward, and the reward is in the spiritual heavens.
The Lord's Sermon on the Mount 1.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 393–396 · Augustine explains the salt that loses its savour as disciples who fear persecution, and the lamp under a bushel as truth hidden for the sake of bodily comfort.
Letter 1.81Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · The psalm verse is the prayer of the martyrs that the throne of the persecutors not prevail against God's commandment.
Letter 1.211Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · The woe to pregnant and nursing women applies to souls too timid to confess God or too immature to endure persecution.
Letter 1.238Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · The "gates of Hades" are persecutions and heresies, which cannot prevail against the church.
Letter 2.54Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Suffering for piety, like the apostles' sufferings for Christ, carries its own honour.
Letter 3.5Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Matt 16:18 means the church will be attacked but never defeated; and (Letter 3.6) when God speaks, human reasoning must give way.
Letter 3.182Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · God's power was perfected in the apostles' weakness (2 Cor 12:9), since they conquered by suffering.
Letter 3.300Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Paul taught boldly even while on trial, because the Spirit of wisdom was in him.
Letter 4.93Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Five letters: the highest blessing belongs to those falsely reviled for Christ, whose words imply his divinity; God judges hidden motives, so we must not judge unclear things; the call to suffer wrong licenses no one to defraud; Christ refused pity for a willing passion; his crucifiers were guilty though God used their crime.
Letter 4.104Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Great rewards need great struggles, and Paul counts suffering for Christ itself a gift and a crown.
Letter 4.189Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Three letters: Christ's grace transforms sinners whom the law excluded; the highest blessing belongs to those falsely reviled for Christ; the most wretched man is one who loves his vice and pities those freed from it.
Letter 4.218Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Christ's promise of words to the martyrs before tribunals does not cancel the duty to prepare for teaching and defending the faith among friends.
Letter 5.131Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · In a long letter Isidore laments that church leaders persecute the virtuous and reward the wicked, says that he himself has suffered for speaking frankly, and calls them to humility, honesty and repentance; a second letter refuses to answer a question until the questioner lays aside his hostility.
Letter 5.137Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Doing good to friends is good, to all better, and to enemies best; a second letter explains that Christ's blessing on the reviled requires both that it be for his sake and that the charges be false.
Letter 5.165Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Isidore encourages a bishop whose efforts to correct Zosimus brought only mockery; a second letter says that the tortures devised against the preachers of the gospel only made their victory more glorious.
Letter 5.238Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · The saying that everyone is reviled whatever his life is meant not to discourage virtue but to teach the virtuous to bear slander, since it is better to be reviled unjustly than justly.
Letter 5.432Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Divine justice must punish the unjust; a second letter says the wicked naturally war against the good, as darkness opposes light.
Letter 5.540Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Those who deserted out of fear before the danger would have been useless in it; their absence was a help.
Letter 5.564Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Isidore refuses to court the powerful wicked and defends the deacon Eutonius, attacked by the clergy at the bidding of Bishop Eusebius, whom he will not honour whatever the threats.
Against Jovinianus 2.31Jerome · 393 · Jerome answers the claims that all sins and all martyrdoms are equal and that the penitent equals the righteous, using the parables of Luke 15 and Ezekiel.
Poem 15, lines 95–125Paulinus of Nola · ca. 393–431 · Hermias chose a soldier's life, while Felix served God as reader, exorcist and presbyter under Bishop Maximus of Nola, who fled into the wilderness when persecution broke out.
Poem 15, lines 126–160Paulinus of Nola · ca. 393–431 · With the bishop gone, the persecutors seek Felix as the people's leader, foolishly thinking to destroy the faith through one man; but God himself fights in his servants.
Poem 15, lines 161–193Paulinus of Nola · ca. 393–431 · Felix does not flee but stands like a good shepherd before his flock; he is seized and imprisoned in chains, stocks and on potsherds, yet Christ suffers with him and his spirit is free.
Poem 15, lines 194–224Paulinus of Nola · ca. 393–431 · While Felix suffers in prison, Bishop Maximus, hiding in the mountains, endures another martyrdom of cold, hunger and anxiety for his flock, and is near death.
Poem 15, lines 287–320Paulinus of Nola · ca. 393–431 · In answer to Felix's prayer, a bunch of grapes appears on a briar; Felix revives Maximus with its juice, and the bishop explains that he fled not from fear of death but from the weakness of his body.
Poem 16, lines 32–62Paulinus of Nola · ca. 393–431 · When peace seemed to return, Felix resumed teaching his flock to scorn danger, until the devil stirred up new persecution against him.
Poem 16, lines 63–94Paulinus of Nola · ca. 393–431 · The persecutors, failing to recognize Felix, ask him where Felix is and he says he does not know; told their mistake, they pursue him, and he hides in a doorless ruin.
Poem 16, lines 95–126Paulinus of Nola · ca. 393–431 · God shields Felix's hiding place with rubble and a spider's web, and the persecutors, judging no one could have entered, go away.
Letters 1.5Paulinus of Nola · ca. 394–413 · Even a close friend who is an enemy of Christ must be cut off like an offending hand or eye; the world's hatred is to be expected.
Letters 1.8Paulinus of Nola · ca. 394–413 · Christians should welcome reproach for Christ, like the mustard seed that grows stronger when crushed, and should not cast holy things before hostile critics.
Letters 18.7Paulinus of Nola · ca. 394–413 · Paulinus recounts how Victricius, a soldier, threw down his arms for Christ, was beaten and condemned, and was freed after his executioner was blinded and his chains fell off.
Letters 29.11Paulinus of Nola · ca. 394–413 · Under the Arian emperor Valens, Melania sheltered persecuted Nicene confessors, faced the judge fearlessly, and fed five thousand hidden monks for three days.
Letters 31.3Paulinus of Nola · ca. 394–413 · Paulinus explains why the cross had to be hidden: the Jews would have destroyed it, and Hadrian desecrated Golgotha with a statue of Jupiter and Bethlehem with a shrine of Adonis.
Letters 38.2Paulinus of Nola · ca. 394–413 · Paulinus congratulates Aper on being hated by the world since his conversion, a sign that he is a true imitator of Christ.
Letters 38.3Paulinus of Nola · ca. 394–413 · Christ, who has suffered in all his saints from Abel onward, is the one the world hates in Aper; humility in Christ reverses Adam’s pride.
Letters 38.4Paulinus of Nola · ca. 394–413 · The battle is the Lord’s; let Christians answer their detractors with silence and patience, and Christ will fight and cast out the devil.
Historia monachorum, chapter 19Rufinus of Aquileia · Greek original ca. 394-395; Rufinus's Latin ca. 404-406 · The deacon Apollonius, martyred with the converted pipe player Philemon, the judge, and their guards, who were drowned at Alexandria; miracles occur at their tomb.
On Lying 12Augustine of Hippo · ca. 395 · Others argue that if a Christian may burn incense to idols to avoid being sexually violated, he may surely lie to avoid it.
On Lying 13Augustine of Hippo · ca. 395 · Suffering what others do to us because we refuse to sin is not consent to their crime, as a martyr is not a murderer if persecutors kill his father because he will not deny Christ.
On Lying 14Augustine of Hippo · ca. 395 · One should avoid one's own sin rather than another's, even a graver one: it is worse to commit theft than to be murdered, and worse to burn incense than to suffer violation.
On Lying 23Augustine of Hippo · ca. 395 · Bishop Firmus of Thagaste refused under torture either to lie or to betray a fugitive, and won his pardon; Augustine judges that he understood Scripture better than the timid.
Confessions 9.15Augustine of Hippo · ca. 397–401 · Congregational singing began at Milan during the siege of Ambrose's church by the Arian empress Justina.
Confessions 9.16Augustine of Hippo · ca. 397–401 · Ambrose, by a vision, finds the bodies of the martyrs Protasius and Gervasius; a blind man is healed and the persecution ceases.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 5.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine answers Faustus’s claim to suffer for righteousness by contrasting his light banishment with the deaths of catholic martyrs such as Cyprian.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 13.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine answers Faustus's imagined Gentile: the persecutions, the conversion of kings and the fall of idols, all foretold in the psalms and Jeremiah, make the prophets credible.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.20Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine explains God's not sparing righteous or sinner as the pruning of the vine: the righteous are corrected by suffering, as Paul was by Satan's angel, while the wicked are punished.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.36Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine argues that Abraham protected his own life by human means rather than tempting God, as Christ and Paul fled danger, and entrusted Sarah's chastity to God.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.38Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine reads Sarah, kept pure among foreign kings, as a figure of the church, Christ's bride, persecuted by earlier emperors and honoured by later ones.
Tractates 17Gaudentius of Brescia · ca. 397-410 · At the dedication of his basilica of the 'Assembly of the Saints' in Brescia, Gaudentius lists its relics (John the Baptist, Andrew, Thomas, Luke, Gervasius and Protasius, Nazarius, the martyrs of Anaunia, and the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, received from Basil's nieces at Caesarea) and retells the martyrdom of the Forty.
Letters 1.7Sulpicius Severus · ca. 397–406 · Scripture records the apostles’ perils so that we may learn that the righteous endure and overcome dangers.
Letters 2.9Sulpicius Severus · ca. 397–406 · Martin was a martyr in will: in the age of persecution he would gladly have faced rack and fire.
Argument 2 to the HebrewsJohn Chrysostom · ca. 398-404 · Chrysostom describes the persecution of believers in Judea and outlines the letter’s purpose: to encourage weary Jewish Christians with Christ’s sufferings, future rewards, and the superiority of the New Covenant.
Homily 5.4 on HebrewsJohn Chrysostom · ca. 398-404 · On Heb 2:17–3:6, Chrysostom explains Christ’s merciful and faithful high priesthood and his superiority to Moses as Son over servant, then urges patience: the wicked may prosper here, but rewards and punishments come hereafter, and Christians should neither seek nor flee trials.
Homily 21.1 on HebrewsJohn Chrysostom · ca. 398-404 · Chrysostom shows how Paul, after the stern warnings of Heb 10:26–31, comforts the Hebrews by recalling their earlier contest of sufferings: public reproach, sympathy with prisoners, and the joyful acceptance of the plundering of their goods.
Homily 28.1 on HebrewsJohn Chrysostom · ca. 398-404 · Expounding Heb 11:37–12:1, Chrysostom describes Elijah and the persecuted saints wandering homeless in deserts, and explains that the righteous of old still wait to be crowned together with believers today, so that the whole body may be glorified at once.
Homily 28.2 on HebrewsJohn Chrysostom · ca. 398-404 · Expounding Heb 12:1–3, Chrysostom shows how the cloud of witnesses refreshes the afflicted, explains the race to be run looking to Jesus, and recounts the insults, mockery and sufferings of Christ and of Paul to show that disciples must follow their teacher by the way of affliction.
Homily 29.1 on HebrewsJohn Chrysostom · ca. 398-404 · Expounding Heb 12:4–8, Chrysostom balances encouragement with a check to pride, reminding the Hebrews that they have not yet shed their blood as Christ did, and teaching that God's discipline is proof of sonship and is meant for correction, not punishment.
On Catechizing the Uninstructed 23Augustine of Hippo · ca. 399–405 · The narration continues with the ascension, Pentecost as the fulfilment of the giving of the law, the love that fulfils the two great commandments, the conversion of thousands of Jews, the first community of goods, Paul's mission, and the persecutions.
On Baptism, against the Donatists 2.10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–401 · The Donatists answer with Rom 14:4 (“who are you to judge another’s servant?”), though they themselves judge the traitors and the Maximianists, and they press lone Catholics to “become Christians,” which is to teach them to deny that they are Christians.
On Baptism, against the Donatists 2.16Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–401 · The Donatists hate Catholics for telling the truth; to repair the disgrace of their divisions they persecuted the Maximianists through Optatus of Thamugadi and received some back without rebaptism, contradicting their own practice.
On Baptism, against the Donatists 7.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–401 · Marcus did not break communion with those he called betrayers of the truth; since both Catholics and Donatists descend from that church, if the Donatists are not tainted by those “betrayers,” Catholics are not tainted by alleged traitors, and the Donatists’ schism is inexcusable.
The Harmony of the Gospels 1.49Augustine of Hippo · ca. 399–400 · Neither magic nor the disciples' invention can explain the prophecies of the church's worldwide spread, which are now fulfilled.
Against the Letters of Petilian 1.20Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Augustine answers the charge of persecution: the Donatists themselves persecuted the Maximianists, and Catholic emperors rightly correct schismatics.
Against the Letters of Petilian 1.21Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian's claim to be the persecuted prophets is undercut by Donatist refusal to debate and by their reception of the Maximianists they had called vipers.
Against the Letters of Petilian 1.23Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Augustine turns the charge of handing over the Scriptures back on the Donatists, citing Silvanus of Constantina.
Against the Letters of Petilian 1.29Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · The Maximianist affair answers all three Donatist charges: handing over the books, persecution, and false baptism.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.17Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian compares Catholic bishops to Judas and calls them heirs of those who burned the Scriptures, contrasting them with the Maccabean martyrs.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.20Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · The Donatists, who claim to have kept the Testament, have lost the inheritance it promises, the Christian world; they are the true heirs of the betrayer.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.23Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian asks whether the apostles or Christ ever persecuted or handed anyone over.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.24Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Paul handed men over to Satan and Christ drove traders from the temple; but wrongs done by chaff do not touch the worldwide church.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.31Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian applies Christ's words against the 'brood of vipers' to the Catholic persecutors.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.32Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Cursing without proof is itself the viper's mark; the Donatists cannot show that Catholics everywhere killed any prophet.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.34Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian applies Ps 14 and Rom 3 to the Catholics.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.38Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian calls the Catholic a son of the devil who wages war under the name of peace.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.40Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian calls Catholic bishops false bishops like fallen angels and the apostate disciples, and claims that Donatists conquer by fleeing or dying.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.42Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian cites Christ's command to flee persecution and says God does not use executioners as priests.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.43Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · The command to flee belongs to preachers of the gospel; lawful authorities may expel schismatics, and the only question is whether the Donatist separation was just.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.44Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian says Catholics persecute Christ in his priests as Saul did.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.45Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · The Donatists' own persecution of the Maximianists answers their complaints; if displeasure with others' evils suffices, their separation was needless.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.46Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · No imperial law ordered Donatists killed; Marculus and Donatus may have thrown themselves down; and schism itself is murder by hatred of brothers.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.47Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian argues that as Paul the persecutor was healed by baptism, Catholic persecutors should accept Donatist baptism.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.48Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Paul was baptized because he had never received Christ's baptism; those already baptized are not to be baptized again.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.51Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian claims that Catholic persecution gives Donatist martyrs a second baptism of blood, like Christ's.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.53Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Augustine sets the notorious deeds of the Donatist Optatus against Petilian's charges: if the Donatists were not defiled by him, distant nations cannot be defiled by unknown Africans.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.101Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian accuses the Catholics of seizing church property and handing Donatists to the secular powers.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.102Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Loss of church property is like the Jews' loss of their place; and the Donatists themselves had the Maximianists expelled from their churches.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.109Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian reads Psalm 23 as a hymn to Donatist baptism.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.127Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian charges the Catholics with breaking the commandment against killing.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.132Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · The Donatists, who had the Maximianists expelled under imperial laws against heretics by claiming to be Catholics, are themselves the false witnesses.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.141Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian begins to apply the Beatitudes against the Catholics.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.145Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian cites Matt 5:4.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.146Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · The 'Deo laudes' war cry of the Circumcellions has caused much mourning; by Donatist logic, others' deeds do not touch the world either.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.147Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian cites Matt 5:6.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.149Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian cites Matt 5:7 and denies the Catholics mercy.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.150Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Just correction is merciful, unlike flattering leniency; each carries his own load, but the Donatists all carry the load of schism.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.153Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian cites Matt 5:9 against Catholic coercion.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.154Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · True peace is peace with Christ's word about the church of all nations; the spiritual 'war' for unity is correction in love, like the spirit's struggle against the flesh.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.159Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian says Catholic persecution makes Donatist martyrs.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.163Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian calls the Catholics wolves among Christ's sheep.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.169Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian likens the Catholics to the false brothers who endangered Paul.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.173Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian cites 1 Cor 13:4–8 against Catholic persecution and seizure of property.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.175Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian asks what justifies persecution.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.176Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Scripture itself speaks of righteous persecution of wrongdoers; the question is the cause and manner.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.177Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian claims Christ tolerated other sects and coerced no one.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.178Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Augustine corrects Petilian's misquotation and turns the true text to his point: Christ's name avails outside the communion of the disciples, as the sacrament does outside the church, though without love it does not bring eternal life.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.181Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian asks why the Catholics coerce others.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.182Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Catholics persecute only as truth persecutes falsehood, and seek the Donatists' healing.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.183Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian claims the Donatists coerce no one.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.184Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · No one is forced to faith, but laws rightly restrain evil; the Donatists coerce wherever they can, as the violence under Julian, against Rogatus, under Optatus, at Hippo, and at Calama shows.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.185Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian appeals to free choice against coercion.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.186Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Coercion leaves free choice intact by prompting reflection on why one suffers; if for schism, the laws correct rather than persecute.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.188Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian denies that God orders schismatics killed.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.190Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian cites God's sparing of Cain.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.191Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Like Cain, the Donatists are left to live by God's severity; they envy the worldwide 'sacrifice' of the church as Cain envied Abel, and their hatred makes them murderers.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.192Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian says Christ gave Christians a pattern of dying, not killing.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.193Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · The Donatists follow neither Christ's pattern nor even that of the pagan persecutors: they contradict the gospel's promise of a worldwide church.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.194Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian cites Christ's rebuke of Peter's sword.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.195Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · The Circumcellions, not the Catholics, wield weapons; Peter's sword was drawn for Christ's body, theirs against it, and Catholics who resist them by force are like the still-weak Peter.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.200Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian contrasts Christ's and Paul's patience with Catholic violence.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.201Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · The Circumcellions' violence belies any Donatist claim to turn the other cheek.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.202Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian argues that kings have always persecuted the righteous, that Catholics incite Christian emperors against Donatists, and that persecutors and alleged traitors perished by God's vengeance.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.203Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian contradicts himself about kings, and his own party petitioned the apostate Julian, praising his 'justice'.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.204Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Scripture shows many kings friendly to the righteous, including the very kings of Daniel's story; Petilian's 'never' is a headlong falsehood.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.205Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian's examples predate Christ; and the Donatists appealed to the Christian Constantine yet rejected his judgment, while praising the apostate Julian who restored their churches.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.206Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · John 16:2 was fulfilled by the Jews' persecution of the apostles and later by the Arian Valens, not by Catholic emperors; and Paul himself sought the protection of Roman soldiers.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.207Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian's list of persecuting emperors names only pagans, who persecuted Catholics and Donatists alike, not the Catholic rulers he promised.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.208Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Augustine mocks Petilian's promised list of Catholic persecutors who perished, which shrinks to Ursatius alone.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.209Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · One death proves nothing about all counts; and if Ursatius lived well, God will avenge his blood even on the beasts.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.210Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Christian kings hear Psalm 2 in church, including its promise of the nations to Christ, and serve God as kings by acts no private person could do.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.211Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Christian emperors hearing Daniel 3 in church learn both to refuse idolatry and, like Nebuchadnezzar after the miracle, to forbid blasphemy against God.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.212Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Daniel's kings both persecuted and later protected the faithful and punished blasphemers; Christian emperors forbidding the 'blasphemy' of rebaptism resemble the latter.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.214Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian accuses the Catholics of killing.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.215Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Catholics do not kill; the Donatists kill souls.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.216Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian asks why the Catholics coerce or kill them.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.217Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Correction against one's will can be an act of love, as with a child's discipline.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.220Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian presents a dilemma.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.222Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · The Donatists' armed bands are the ones using swords; they are sought by the innocent so that they may become innocent.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.223Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian cites Ps 118:8–9 against reliance on emperors.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.224Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Catholics do not hope in princes; the Donatists themselves relied on Julian's rescript restoring their basilicas, which Augustine turns into a plea that all be restored to the older unity of Christ.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.225Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian accuses Catholic laymen of joining the church to protect their wealth.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.226Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Losing wealth is praiseworthy for the truth, but not for heresy; laws that threaten heretics with loss are merciful warnings.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.229Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian says the Donatists fear only the soul-killing communion of the Catholics.
Against the Letters of Petilian 2.236Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian cites Ps 141:5.
Against the Letters of Petilian 3.8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Slander for Christ's sake adds to one's reward, as Christ himself was slandered; and the faithful are secure because their hope is in God, not in their ministers.
Against the Letters of Petilian 3.29Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Mensurius died in communion before the schism; Caecilian was acquitted three times; and the imperial officials acted under laws the Donatists brought on themselves.
Against the Letters of Petilian 3.69Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–403 · Petilian could not answer the charge that his predecessor Silvanus of Cirta was recorded as a traitor, and so kept silent.
On the Work of Monks 35Augustine of Hippo · ca. 400–401 · The birds and lilies teach trust in God's providence, not refusal to work; just as the apostles fled persecution rather than tempt God, those who can work should not expect to be fed like birds.
Opusculum 1.175Mark the Hermit · early to mid fifth century · Not all affliction is punishment; the godly too suffer persecution.
Commentary on Daniel 7, scholion 19Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · Polychronius identifies the little horn with Antiochus Epiphanes and outlines his persecution of the Jews.
Commentary on Daniel 7, scholion 25Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · The holy ones are the devout Jews persecuted by Antiochus.
Commentary on Daniel 7, scholion 59Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · Antiochus will oppress the faithful Jews.
Commentary on Daniel 7, scholion 61Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · Antiochus will try to abolish the Jewish temple order.
Commentary on Daniel 7, scholion 63Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · God permits Antiochus's persecution for a limited time but will punish him.
Commentary on Daniel 11, scholion 83Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · With the king's backing the lawless grew strong against the faithful.
Commentary on Daniel 11, scholion 88Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · The wise are Mattathias and his followers, who chose the desert over apostasy.
Commentary on Daniel 11, scholion 89Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · The righteous will suffer fire, sword, and exile.
Commentary on Daniel 11, scholion 111Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · Antiochus plundered and defiled the temple.
Commentary on Daniel 11, scholion 115Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · Antiochus planned the Jews' utter destruction.
Commentary on Daniel 12, scholion 2Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · The affliction under Antiochus surpassed even Egypt.
Commentary on Daniel 12, scholion 26Polychronius of Apamea · ca. 400-430 · The 1,335 days mark the vindication of the faithful after Judas Maccabee's victory.
Hymn 4, lines 65–98Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · Daniel ate the food God sent, gave thanks, and was strong; so Christians, beset by the roaring beast of a violent world and its persecutions, are fed by God and by the prophets’ words and need fear neither tyrants nor lions.
Hymn 1, lines 33–64Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · The two soldiers leave the army for the Cross; in a persecution that forced Christians to sacrifice, they stand ready for any torture, declaring that they have paid Caesar his due and now owe themselves to God.
Hymn 2, lines 321–352Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · The enraged prefect refuses Lawrence a quick death and orders him roasted slowly on gentle coals as an example to all Christians.
Hymn 3, lines 1–32Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · Eulalia of Merida, a girl of twelve who as a child already scorned ornaments and play, rose up when the persecution forced Christians to sacrifice, determined to confront the persecutors.
Hymn 4, lines 65–96Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · The martyrs’ blood guards Saragossa from demons; the city is a homeland of martyrs, the home of the deacon Vincent and the episcopal family of the Valerii, and has given martyrs in every persecution.
Hymn 5, lines 1–32Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · The poet hails the feast of the deacon Vincent, now among the angels in a robe washed in blood; the governor first tried gentle persuasion, ordering the Christians to sacrifice by imperial decree.
Hymn 5, lines 161–192Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · The body is only a clay vessel; the inner man is subject to God alone. Datian demands that Vincent at least hand over the Christian books to be burned; Vincent answers that God’s sword will avenge the sacred volumes on him.
Hymn 10, lines 33–64Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · Like the demon of the tombs who cried out against Christ, the persecutor rages: the prefect orders Christians dragged from the churches and plans to destroy the church; Romanus warns the faithful, who stand firm, and he is arrested as their leader.
Hymn 10, lines 65–96Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · Romanus offers himself to be bound and tortured; the prefect accuses him of stirring the people to rebellion and martyrdom and condemns him to suffer first; Romanus accepts gladly, to die for the faithful.
Hymn 11, lines 33–64Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · The governor, having filled Rome with martyrs’ blood, had come to Ostia; he tortures Christians without making any recant, and orders them beheaded, crucified, burned or drowned.
Hymn 13, lines 33–64Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · Under Valerian and Gallienus, Cyprian encourages his people to martyrdom; imprisoned in a dark cave, he prays to God, who washed away his former sins, to let him die for Christ.
Hymn 13, lines 65–106Prudentius · ca. 400-405 · At Cyprian’s prayer the Spirit fills the Christians of Carthage with courage; three hundred leap into a pit of burning lime rather than sacrifice (the White Mass); Cyprian (Thascius) confesses Christ and is beheaded; his writings still teach the whole West.
Questions and Answers to the Orthodox 73–74Anonymous · 5th century (disputed) · Evil is a turning from the good, not its necessary contrast, and what preceded the world was simply nothing; and paganism cannot return as true religion did, since the end is the judgment by fire through Christ, whose kingdom is everlasting, and persecution only strengthened Christianity.
Canon 93 (Bruns)Anonymous · 401–424 (collection of 419) · The instructions to the legates of 404: they are to ask the emperors for protection against Donatist violence and the Circumcellions and for the enforcement of the laws against heretics.
Notice before canon 107 (Bruns)Anonymous · 401–424 (collection of 419) · Notices of two councils of 408 (16 June and 13 October) sending embassies against pagans and heretics.
Letter 7, chapter 1Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent consoles the Constantinopolitan clergy loyal to John, praising the patience their own letter already showed.
Letter 7, chapter 4Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent says only an ecumenical synod can settle the crisis and urges patience until one can be assembled.
Letter 12, chapter 1Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent encourages the exiled John Chrysostom to endure with patience, trusting in a clear conscience as the saints did.
Letter 33Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent asks Aurelius to forward quickly a letter to Jerome, whose sufferings he shares.
Letter 34, chapter 1Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent consoles Jerome after the attack on his monasteries, offers judges if he names the culprits, and says he has warned Bishop John of Jerusalem.
Letter 35, chapter 1Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent rebukes John of Jerusalem for failing to protect Jerome’s communities, as reported by Eustochium and Paula, after an armed attack and arson.
Apology against Rufinus 2.3Jerome · ca. 401–402 · Jerome ridicules Rufinus's claim to have suffered prison and exile for the faith at Alexandria.
Apology against Rufinus 3.17Jerome · ca. 401–402 · Jerome defends his hospitality to Paul, an Egyptian bishop deposed by Theophilus, appealing to the Samaritan and to Christ in the stranger.
Book 1, preface, lines 31–60Prudentius · ca. 402-403 · Paul shook the viper into the fire unharmed; so now the Church, after the storms of persecution under pagan emperors, has been bitten by a hidden viper of paganism.
Book 1, lines 451–480Prudentius · ca. 402-403 · Rome, which taught the nations civilized law, must not think like barbarians in religion, but recognize the emperor’s standards bearing the Cross, under which Constantine freed her from the tyranny of Maxentius, who imprisoned senators and seized wives and daughters.
Book 1, lines 511–540Prudentius · ca. 402-403 · Remembering the martyrs’ tombs around the city, Rome repents of her persecutions and turns to Christ; Theodosius has saved Rome from enemies of souls more than Marius or Cicero did, and taught her an empire without end.
Book 2, lines 661–690Prudentius · ca. 402-403 · Rome confesses that the worship of Jupiter drove her to the persecutions of Nero, Decius and others, from which the Christian emperors have cleansed her; to those who blame her misfortunes on the neglect of the gods, she answers that under Christian rule no barbarian has taken the city.
Against Felix the Manichaean 1.12Augustine of Hippo · December 404 · Felix pleads that he cannot stand against a bishop and the imperial laws; Augustine reviews the debate, denies that Felix faces any coercion, and points to Peter's courage once filled with the Spirit.
Dialogues 2.3Sulpicius Severus · ca. 404–406 · Soldiers whose wagon team shied at Martin beat him savagely; their mules then refuse to move until the soldiers find Martin and beg his pardon.
Dialogues 2.14Sulpicius Severus · ca. 404–406 · Martin foretold that Nero would return in the West and Antichrist, already born, would rule from Jerusalem; the conversation breaks off at the arrival of the presbyter Refrigerius.
Dialogues 3.11Sulpicius Severus · ca. 404–406 · After the execution of Priscillian, Martin goes to Trier to plead for the condemned and against sending armed tribunes to Spain; Maximus delays him.
Letter to the Catholics on the Sect of the Donatists (On the Unity of the Church) 3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405 · Whatever the truth of mutual charges of handing over the Scriptures and persecution, the worldwide church, ignorant of them, is innocent, while the Donatists are all guilty of schism.
Letter to the Catholics on the Sect of the Donatists (On the Unity of the Church) 16Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405 · Isaiah's servant is a light to the nations, and Zion, once desolate, is filled with children from every land, nursed by kings, as Paul confirms; the church spread among all nations is meant.
Letter to the Catholics on the Sect of the Donatists (On the Unity of the Church) 30Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405 · Acts traces the church's spread exactly as foretold: from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria through persecution and Philip, then to the Gentiles through Cornelius and Paul, the sheet with four corners signifying the whole world.
Letter to the Catholics on the Sect of the Donatists (On the Unity of the Church) 38Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405 · 'Will he find faith on the earth?' expresses the weakness of believers amid abounding iniquity, not the apostasy of the world; good and wicked remain mixed everywhere until the end, the good suffering grief of heart like Lot.
Letter to the Catholics on the Sect of the Donatists (On the Unity of the Church) 48Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405 · Charges of handing over the Scriptures, sacrifice or persecution, if true, concern the chaff, not the church; the question is where the church is that builds on the rock and tolerates the wicked until the end.
Letter to the Catholics on the Sect of the Donatists (On the Unity of the Church) 52Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405 · Seeking the Donatists does not uproot wheat with tares: those whom God foreknows as good are wheat, and the lost must be sought like the lost sheep, coin and son.
Letter to the Catholics on the Sect of the Donatists (On the Unity of the Church) 53Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405 · Not all 'persecution' is wrong: lawful authorities who restrain people from evil with moderate penalties are correctors, while those who coerce without authority or beyond measure are to blame.
Letter to the Catholics on the Sect of the Donatists (On the Unity of the Church) 54Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405 · The Circumcellions' violence is wrong, but the Donatists themselves used the laws and courts to expel the Maximianists; those who resist lawful authority bring their sufferings on themselves.
Letter to the Catholics on the Sect of the Donatists (On the Unity of the Church) 55Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405 · If the Donatists are the true church, they suffer as martyrs; if not, the emperors' mild penalties are loving correction; Catholics invoke the laws only to protect themselves from violence, and both sides should disown violent members and unite.
Letter to the Catholics on the Sect of the Donatists (On the Unity of the Church) 56Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405 · The worldwide church, not the Donatists, suffers the heavier persecution from scandals and violence; correction is not persecution, as Sarah's discipline of Hagar and Christ's cleansing of the temple show.
Against Cresconius 2.27Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine answers the charges of handing over the Scriptures and persecution with the parable of the threshing floor and Scripture's just “persecution” of enemies.
Against Cresconius 3.29Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine defends turning the charge of handing over the Scriptures back on the Donatists, citing Elijah's reply to Ahab and the council of Cirta.
Against Cresconius 3.30Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine quotes the acts of the council of Cirta (305), where several future Donatist bishops admitted handing over sacred books and Secundus left them to God's judgment.
Against Cresconius 3.31Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine argues that the same confessed traitors of Cirta sat in the council of Carthage that condemned Caecilian, which Paul's words in Romans 2 expose.
Against Cresconius 3.33Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine quotes the Proceedings before Zenophilus (320), which established that Silvanus of Cirta had handed over church property in 303 and that Lucilla's money bought Majorinus's election.
Against Cresconius 3.34Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine says Silvanus's sentence against Caecilian proves nothing, and that, as both sides' records conflict, Christians should at least agree on the certain gift of peace.
Against Cresconius 3.45Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine clarifies that he meant not that persecution should be done for unity, but that the good tolerate wrongdoers in their communion for unity's sake, as Cyprian taught.
Against Cresconius 3.46Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine contrasts Donatist claims of martyrdom with the violence of their clergy and Circumcellions against Catholic clergy, including blinding with lime and vinegar.
Against Cresconius 3.47Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine recounts Donatist attacks on the Catholic bishops Servus of Thubursicu and Maximianus of Bagai, which led to the imperial laws against the Donatists.
Against Cresconius 3.48Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine says the imperial laws are against the Donatists' error and for their good, and that their earlier violence would take too long to recount.
Against Cresconius 3.50Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine recounts how Crispinus, Donatist bishop of Calama, refused a conference with quotations of Scripture, and how his presbyter Crispinus then attacked Bishop Possidius.
Against Cresconius 3.51Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine relates how Crispinus was convicted under Theodosius's law against heretics but excused the fine at Possidius's request, and still went unpunished after his appeal.
Against Cresconius 3.52Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine contrasts the Donatists' blinding of clergy with the devil's sparing of Job's eyes, and faults Crispinus for not simply degrading his violent presbyter.
Against Cresconius 3.53Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine tells how the convert presbyter Restitutus was abducted and abused by Donatists near Hippo, and how Bishop Proculeianus evaded responsibility.
Against Cresconius 3.54Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine says the Catholics are not responsible for actions of the authorities, and that the Donatist martyr Marculus probably threw himself from a cliff, as many Donatists did.
Against Cresconius 3.55Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine says good Catholics disapprove of any violence, revenge, or seizure of private property against Donatists, though they tolerate such wrongdoers within the church.
Against Cresconius 3.56Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine argues from Nebuchadnezzar's two decrees that kings serve God by legislating for truth, including in religion.
Against Cresconius 3.57Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine answers the appeal to free choice: free will does not exempt evil from just restraint, which must be exercised with measure and love.
Against Cresconius 3.62Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine cites dated records showing that the Donatists prosecuted Felicianus and Praetextatus in court months after the deadline, so these men were outside their communion and baptizing there.
Against Cresconius 3.64Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine shows that the Donatists themselves received condemned schismatics with their baptisms and used the courts against them, undermining every charge they make against the Catholics.
Against Cresconius 3.65Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine shows that the Donatists themselves persecuted the Maximianists through the courts, so suffering persecution does not prove righteousness.
Against Cresconius 3.66Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine notes that Donatist pressure, including Optatus's threats, brought Felicianus and Praetextatus back, and that they were received with their rank and their baptized without rebaptism.
Against Cresconius 3.67Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine notes that the Donatists first brought the case to Constantine and lost, and that Christians abroad rightly believed the judges rather than the defeated accusers.
Against Cresconius 3.69Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine urges the Donatists, who received back their own condemned and corrected them by pressure, to accept the same remedy and return to the Catholic church.
Against Cresconius 3.76Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine notes that if fewness proved righteousness, the tiny Maximianist party, persecuted by the Donatists, would be most righteous.
Against Cresconius 3.80Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine quotes the proconsul Aelianus's sentence (315) clearing Felix of Abthugni, Caecilian's ordainer, of handing over the Scriptures, and exposing Ingentius's forgery.
Against Cresconius 3.81Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine quotes Constantine's rescript to the proconsul Probianus confirming Felix's acquittal and summoning the forger Ingentius.
Against Cresconius 3.83Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine challenges Cresconius to produce Constantine's supposed sentence against Caecilian, and turns his “who persecutes?” question back on the Donatist accusers.
Against Cresconius 3.94Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine closes Book 3: the Maximianist case refutes every Donatist charge, and Cresconius should answer it or be silent.
Against Cresconius 4.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine opens Book 4, which will answer all of Cresconius's points from the single case of the Maximianists, God's provision for refuting the Donatists.
Against Cresconius 4.5Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine cites the court records in which Donatist advocates read the sentence of Bagai against Salvius, Felicianus, and Praetextatus, with its full text and the grant of time to others.
Against Cresconius 4.17Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine notes that the Maximianists' condemned consciences could give baptism, and the Donatists, who persecuted them, still baptize.
Against Cresconius 4.55Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine says the Maximianists' sufferings, like the Donatists', prove nothing: the cause, not the penalty, makes a martyr.
Against Cresconius 4.56Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine argues that the righteous may also pursue the wicked for their correction, as the Donatist bishops themselves did to their schismatics.
Against Cresconius 4.57Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine cites records showing that Primian seized Maximian's house through the courts and that Donatist bishops prosecuted Maximianist bishops in their old sees.
Against Cresconius 4.58Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine tells how the Donatist bishop Restitutus prosecuted the Maximianist Salvius of Membresa, whom the proconsul advised to flee his persecutors.
Against Cresconius 4.59Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine recounts how the people of Abitina, enforcing the Donatist judgment, paraded the aged Salvius with dead dogs tied to his neck.
Against Cresconius 4.60Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine concludes from the case of Salvius that persecution can be just, so suffering it proves nothing for the Donatists.
Against Cresconius 4.61Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine compares the laws against the Donatists to a physician binding a madman, and says excesses are no more the church's fault than the Abitinians' cruelty was Primian's.
Against Cresconius 4.62Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine notes the Donatists made peace with the Maximianists despite applying the same harsh texts to them, so they could make peace with the Catholic church too.
Against Cresconius 4.66Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine repeats the records proving Silvanus of Cirta a traitor, compares his condemning Caecilian to the elders accusing Susanna, and contrasts Felicianus's change of side.
Against Cresconius 4.82Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine sums up the Maximianist case on communion, persecution, and baptism, and answers the Donatists' proof texts for refusing debate.
Against Cresconius 4.83Augustine of Hippo · ca. 405–406 · Augustine concludes the work: the Maximianist case refutes every Donatist charge, and he urges Cresconius to return to the Catholic church for the peace of Christ.
1 Corinthians 4:9Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · The apostles suffer as fools and poor; the Corinthians keep worldly prudence, revenge and pride of birth.
1 Corinthians 4:11Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · The apostles have suffered and wandered from the start.
1 Corinthians 4:13Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · The apostles pray for their persecutors and are counted the lowest of all.
1 Thessalonians 1:6Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · The Thessalonians received the word in suffering with the Spirit's joy.
1 Thessalonians 2:2Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Paul preached boldly at Thessalonica after suffering at Philippi.
1 Thessalonians 2:14Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · The Thessalonians suffered from their countrymen as the Judean churches did from the Jews.
1 Thessalonians 2:15Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Those who killed the Lord will persecute his apostles too.
1 Thessalonians 2:18Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Satan, through persecutors, hindered Paul's return.
1 Thessalonians 3:3Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Believers should not be shaken, since tribulation is their appointed lot.
1 Thessalonians 3:4Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Paul had foretold their sufferings, as the Lord foretold his.
1 Timothy 2:2Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Prayer for rulers secures peace, which must serve godliness, not luxury.
2 Corinthians 1:8Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Paul's great sufferings in Asia put the Corinthians' trials in perspective.
2 Corinthians 4:9Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · The apostles are afflicted but never forsaken by God.
2 Corinthians 4:13Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Paul suffers because of his faith, against false apostles who avoided persecution.
2 Corinthians 11:23Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Even boasting of ministry is unwise, but Paul's sufferings exceed all.
2 Corinthians 11:24Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Paul was flogged five times as a supposed lawbreaker.
2 Corinthians 11:25Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Paul lists beatings, stoning, and shipwrecks.
2 Corinthians 12:10Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Weakness and persecution for Christ are true strength.
2 Thessalonians 1:4Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Their patient faith under persecution makes them a model for all.
2 Thessalonians 1:5Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Their endurance shows faith in God's just judgment and makes them worthy of his kingdom.
2 Thessalonians 1:6Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · God will surely repay persecutors and give rest to the persecuted.
2 Timothy 1:8Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Timothy must not be ashamed of Christ or of Paul's chains but share in the gospel's labour.
2 Timothy 1:12Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Paul suffers unashamed for Christ, sure that God will guard what is entrusted.
2 Timothy 2:9Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Paul is chained, but God's word is not.
2 Timothy 3:10Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Timothy knows Paul's life and sufferings, from which the Lord delivered him.
2 Timothy 3:12Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · All who live godly suffer persecution; those who suffer nothing should fear.
2 Timothy 4:17Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · The Lord stood by Paul so that the gospel might reach all nations.
Galatians 4:29Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · The carnal persecute the spiritual, as Ishmael did Isaac.
Galatians 5:11Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Paul's persecution proves he does not preach circumcision but salvation by faith alone.
Galatians 6:12Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · The Judaizers push circumcision to avoid persecution.
Philemon 1:1Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Paul, a prisoner, writes to Philemon.
Philemon 1:23Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Epaphras shares Paul's imprisonment for the faith.
Philippians 1:28Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Persecution is no cause for fear, since it profits believers as it did the apostles.
Philippians 1:29Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · God gives the occasion of faith through Christ's coming, but faith itself is voluntary; suffering for Christ brings the reward of martyrdom.
Philippians 1:30Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · The Philippians' struggle is the same as Paul's, in which he glories.
Philippians 4:5Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Believers need not be anxious under persecution, because the Lord is near.
Romans 8:36Pelagius · ca. 405–410 · Christians, suffering for Christ, must not defend themselves but bear all patiently like him.
On the Divination of Demons 13Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–411 · Zephaniah and the Psalms foretold that through Christ all nations would turn from their gods to the God of Israel, after first opposing the church.
On the Divination of Demons 14Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–411 · The dwindling pagans who mock Christian foolishness are fulfilling Scripture, which also strengthens believers against their scorn.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 5.12Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Augustine answers Donatist complaints of persecution: they suffered lawful correction, while they themselves persecute the spirit by trying to take from Catholics, through rebaptism, the baptism by which they live.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 11.13Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · The Donatists' complaints of persecution by Catholic rulers are answered by Sarah's affliction of Hagar, which was meant to make her return to her mistress.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 11.14Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Christian rulers rightly act against those who dishonor Christ, as Nebuchadnezzar decreed punishment for blasphemy against the God who saved the three young men.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 15.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Jesus withdrew from Judea not out of fear, since he could not be harmed against his will, but to give his servants an example that fleeing persecution is not sin.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 27.12Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Saint Laurence abode in Christ through slow torture by fire, strengthened by the food and cup he had received, and followed his bishop Xystus to martyrdom three days later, as Xystus had foretold.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 28.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Christ's avoiding Judea was an example for his weak members, not a loss of power, which he showed when his captors fell back.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 46.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · The apostles were shepherds as members of the one shepherd, yet they fled persecution as Christ commanded; how then is the hireling blamed for fleeing?
Tractates on the Gospel of John 49.28Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Jesus withdrew to Ephraim not from weakness but to show his followers that it is no sin to avoid persecutors by withdrawing.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 51.10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Hating one's soul in this world means choosing death rather than sin under persecution, never taking one's own life.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 87.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Christ's followers must share the world's hatred with their head; the church, itself called "the world", is hated by the world.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 88.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Christ offers himself as the example of suffering the world's hatred; the "servant" here is the one of chaste fear, not the one of servile fear.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 88.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Persecution for Christ's name is persecution for righteousness, since Christ is our righteousness; those who suffer it are blessed.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 88.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Augustine resolves how persecutors act "on account of Christ's name": either the phrase refers to what the righteous suffer, or to the righteousness the persecutors hate in them.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 88.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · The world both hates and loves its own; and those who truly know the Father do not persecute those whom Christ gathers.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 93.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Expulsion from the synagogues showed that those who rejected Christ put out those who would not leave him; had they received Christ, synagogue and church would have been one.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 93.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · "But the hour is coming" announced the apostles' success: they would win so many that their opponents, thinking to serve God, would kill them, as they had killed Christ.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 93.4Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Those who killed the apostles thought they served God by protecting the temple; Israel's blindness was partial, and many Jews believed.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 94.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Since Matthew records early warnings of persecution, "I did not say these things from the beginning" must refer to the promise of the Holy Spirit's coming.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 94.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · Christ had not spoken earlier of the Comforter because his presence comforted them; the Spirit would make them witnesses able to endure persecution.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 103.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 406–420 · At Christ's arrest the disciples abandoned even their faith, but after receiving the Spirit they kept peace in him through persecution and overcame the world in him.
Dialogue 3Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 408 · The deacon relates how Pope Innocent kept communion with both John and Theophilus, received a stream of letters and refugees from Constantinople reporting John's exile and the persecution of his followers, and moved the emperor Honorius to ask Arcadius for a synod at Thessalonica.
Dialogue 4Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 408 · The deacon tells how the Western embassy to Constantinople was detained, robbed of its letters, offered bribes and shipped home; the bishop names John's enemies, and the two speakers spar over whether grey hair is a warrant of truth.
Dialogue 9Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 408 · After a brief recall John is attacked again: his enemies invoke the Arian canon against bishops who return without a synod, the emperor orders him out of his church, and on Holy Saturday soldiers break up the baptisms of his followers.
Dialogue 10Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 408 · John's followers are imprisoned; after Pentecost the emperor orders John to leave; John takes leave of the bishops and of Olympias and the deaconesses, slips out of the church, and fire then destroys the great church and the Senate house.
Dialogue 11Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 408 · John's last exile and death at Comana, and, in what the printed editions number chapter 12, the bishop's defence of John's habit of eating alone, arguing from Scripture that teaching, not entertaining, is a bishop's work.
Dialogue 16Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 408 · The bishop describes how Porphyrius had himself secretly ordained bishop of Antioch and persecuted John's followers there, and then defends the deaconess Olympias, whom Theophilus had reviled for sheltering the Nitrian monks.
Dialogue 17Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 408 · The bishop praises the expelled Nitrian monks, describes the illnesses that struck John's enemies, and then praises the deaconess Olympias, her refusal of a second marriage, her generosity, and her care for John.
Dialogue 19Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 408 · The bishop answers charges that John was proud and insulting, lists John's exiled and persecuted supporters, reflects on the last times and on vice and virtue, and Theodore closes with a reproach to John's persecutors and a blessing on John, to which the bishop adds a final denunciation of those who sold the priesthood.
On the One Baptism, against Petilian 27Augustine of Hippo · ca. 410–411 · Augustine refuses to credit the Donatist author’s unproved charges that the Roman bishops Marcellinus, Miltiades, Marcellus, and Silvester were betrayers.
On the One Baptism, against Petilian 28Augustine of Hippo · ca. 410–411 · The Donatists never charged Miltiades with betrayal when he judged Caecilian, though they did charge Felix of Abthugni, who was cleared; their late charge against Miltiades is slander.
On the One Baptism, against Petilian 31Augustine of Hippo · ca. 410–411 · Augustine can prove that Donatist founders were betrayers, but by Scripture each bears his own sin; only by the Donatists’ own principle would all of them share their founders’ guilt.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 1.10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · The Catholic council’s mandate is read: it distinguishes the case of the worldwide church from the case of Caecilian and argues that bad members do not defile the good.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.13Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · The Donatist complaints of persecution ignore that they first appealed to the emperor and that their sufferings punish the crimes of the circumcellions.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.21Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · The commissioner turns to the origin of the schism; the Donatists object that only Christ should judge, and the Catholics reply that they themselves first appealed to Constantine.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.22Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · The Catholics recall Donatist attacks blinding people with lime and vinegar, worse than the devil’s treatment of Job; the Donatists evade the case of Felician.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.23Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · After charges about the violence at Bagai, the commissioner closes the debate on the church and turns to the case of Caecilian.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.25Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · The Donatists read Mensurius’s letter to Secundus of Tigisi about hiding the Scriptures in persecution and Secundus’s reply, to charge Mensurius with betrayal.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.27Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · The Catholics read the council of Cirta, where Secundus pardoned confessed betrayers, and Purpurius’s charge that Secundus himself was a betrayer.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.31Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · The Donatists attack the council of Cirta as forged because it is dated and because no council could meet in persecution; the minutes of Miltiades’ council clearing Caecilian are read in full.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.32Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · A dispute over dating the council of Cirta: the staff miscalculate, and the Catholics argue that a few bishops could meet in a house during persecution, as congregations did.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.33Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · After long dispute over whether bishops could meet during persecution, the commissioner compels the Donatists to answer the judgment of Miltiades.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.34Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · The Donatists try to charge Miltiades with betrayal through a deacon Strato named in old minutes, but the documents never mention Miltiades.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.40Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · The Donatists read Constantine’s letter to Verinus recalling them from exile, which condemns them sharply and again proves Caecilian was not condemned.
Summary of the Collation with the Donatists 3.41Augustine of Hippo · ca. 411–412 · Constantine’s letter to Probianus, read by the Donatists, confirms that Felix of Abthugni was cleared by the proconsul Aelianus.
To the Donatists after the Collation (Against the Party of Donatus after the Proceedings) 18Augustine of Hippo · ca. 412 · The Donatists’ own acts of martyrs show that Christians assembled, ordained, and baptized during persecution, so the council of Cirta was possible.
To the Donatists after the Collation (Against the Party of Donatus after the Proceedings) 20Augustine of Hippo · ca. 412 · By boasting that Donatus of Carthage had Caecilian condemned by the emperor, the Donatists make their hero the persecutor and refute their own claim to be the church that suffers persecution.
To the Donatists after the Collation (Against the Party of Donatus after the Proceedings) 21Augustine of Hippo · ca. 412 · Augustine argues that suffering persecution does not prove a church true; he defends mild legal coercion of Donatists without bloodshed and asks judges to soften harsh penalties.
To the Donatists after the Collation (Against the Party of Donatus after the Proceedings) 22Augustine of Hippo · ca. 412 · Persecution endured counts only if it is for righteousness; Augustine lists Donatist violence against Catholics and says Donatists who die do so by suicide or in violent attacks.
To the Donatists after the Collation (Against the Party of Donatus after the Proceedings) 23Augustine of Hippo · ca. 412 · Either persecution can be just or just punishment is not persecution; the Donatists who first appealed to the emperor cannot now demand freedom of choice.
To the Donatists after the Collation (Against the Party of Donatus after the Proceedings) 53Augustine of Hippo · ca. 412 · By boasting that their forebears had Caecilian condemned by the emperor, the Donatists confessed that they had persecuted him, destroying their claim to be the church that only suffers persecution.
Commentary on Isaiah 2, Tome 4, part 22Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · Cyril reads Isa 21:12 as God's call to the Idumeans to seek his help, Isa 21:14–15 as their failure to give bread and water to fleeing Israelites, and Isa 21:16–17 as Kedar's swift ruin; spiritually, pagans and heretics who persecute the Church will be punished.
Commentary on Isaiah 3, Tome 2, part 2Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · Israel, refusing the bread of life, suffered a famine of God's word, though the apostles called it to repentance; the apostles' message brought them affliction upon affliction but also hope upon hope, the crown of incorruption (Isa 28:11–13).
Commentary on Isaiah 3, Tome 3, part 10Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · Those who sow beside every water (Isa 32:20) are believers watered by the word; the ox and the ass are the Jews and the Gentiles, made one in Christ; persecutors make only themselves wretched, for those who suffer with Christ will reign with him (Isa 33:1).
Commentary on Isaiah 3, Tome 3, part 11Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · Persecutors bring the last penalty on themselves, while the saints, as Paul learned, are strong in weakness (Isa 33:1–2); Isa 33:3–4 foretells the terror and plunder that befell Israel for rejecting Christ, as Christ foretold of Jerusalem.
Commentary on Isaiah 3, Tome 3, part 13Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · The law, read through its shadows, is a treasure for those who find Christ in it (Isa 33:6); Isa 33:7–8 foretells that the Jews who once terrified the apostles would be overcome and seek peace, the covenant with them being taken away in favour of the children of the promise.
Commentary on Isaiah 3, Tome 5, part 12Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · The adversaries of the apostles, though many, came to nothing like the ungodly in Ps 37 (Isa 41:11–12); God holds the right hand of the apostles, “small Israel,” few against many but redeemed by God (Isa 41:13–14); the lemma of Isa 41:15–16, the threshing sledge, follows, with a description of threshing.
Commentary on Isaiah 1, Discourse 1, part 12Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · God's redemption of Israel is fulfilled in Christ, in whom believers become God's own (“you are mine”) and are kept safe through the waters and fires of persecution (Isa 43:1–4).
Commentary on Isaiah 1, Discourse 4, part 21Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · Cyril reads Isa 49:25–26 as God’s judgment for the church and its persecuted apostles and martyrs: the martyrs are crowned, while their persecutors suffer what they inflicted.
Commentary on Isaiah 1, Discourse 5, part 13Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · Cyril reads Isa 51:7–8 as encouragement to mature believers who keep God’s law in their hearts not to fear the reproach of persecutors, since their reward is eternal while their persecutors perish like moth-eaten wool.
Commentary on Isaiah 1, Discourse 5, part 15Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · Cyril reads the drying of the sea (Isa 51:10) as a reminder of the Exodus that assures believers in Christ of victory over temptation and persecution, and calls the Father’s right hand and arm the Lord Jesus Christ.
Commentary on Isaiah 1, Discourse 5, part 17Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · Cyril reads the end of Isa 51:14 as the passing of the persecutors’ fury with the fall of Jerusalem, and Isa 51:15–16 as God, Lord of hosts, stilling the storms of persecution and putting his words in the mouths of his restored people.
Commentary on Isaiah 5, Tome 5, part 12Cyril of Alexandria · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · The church, no longer called synagogue, receives a new name and is God's crown of beauty; no longer forsaken, she is desired and peopled by believers from Israel and the nations, and persecutions have only proved the saints (Isa 62:2–4).
Commentary on Luke 6:22Cyril of Alexandria · ca. 412-444 · Christ forewarned the apostles of hatred and persecution so that they would not lose heart, promising reward and the prophets’ crowns to those who share the prophets’ sufferings.
Commentary on Luke 8:9Cyril of Alexandria · ca. 412-444 · The road is the hard heart trodden by Satan, the rock the rootless faith that flees in persecution, the thorns worldly cares; the good soil is the pure soul, bearing fruit in different degrees, and we should aim at the highest.
Commentary on Luke 17:22Cyril of Alexandria · ca. 412-444 · Christ prepares the disciples for the tribulation before his return, when they would long for even one day of his company, for their later sufferings would exceed even the hostility he met from his enemies.
Commentary on Luke 21:12Cyril of Alexandria · ca. 412-444 · Before Jerusalem’s fall and the end, the disciples were persecuted and brought before rulers, as Paul was, which became their glory of martyrdom; Christ promises them wisdom to answer and that none will truly perish, and foretells Jerusalem’s siege.
City of God 1.22Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine argues that suicide shows weakness rather than greatness of soul, citing the man who killed himself after reading Plato, and notes that Christ told his disciples to flee persecution, not to kill themselves.
City of God 1.26Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine declines to judge holy women honored as martyrs who drowned themselves to escape violation, allowing that God may have commanded them, but concludes that no one may kill himself for any ordinary reason.
City of God 2.3Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine sets out to recall Rome's calamities before Christ, against the popular claim that Christians cause disasters.
City of God 10.21Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine explains that God permits demons to persecute the church so that the martyrs may be glorified, and that the martyrs conquer the powers of the air by virtue, not by appeasing them.
City of God 16.13Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Nahor is omitted from Terah's migration perhaps because he had lapsed into Chaldean idolatry; Judith shows that Terah's house was persecuted for worshipping the true God.
City of God 17.12Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · The psalm's plea over the 'reproach' of God's servants fits Christians persecuted for Christ, who await the eternal house of David, built of people by God.
City of God 18.7Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine dates the death of Joseph and describes Israel's growth and oppression in Egypt.
City of God 18.50Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine describes the spread of the church from Jerusalem through the apostles and their successors amid persecutions, until the persecuting kings themselves submitted to Christ.
City of God 18.51Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine argues that heretics and bad Christians, like outward persecutors, serve to exercise the church's patience, wisdom, and love, which runs its course between the world's persecutions and God's consolations from Abel to the end.
City of God 18.52Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine rejects the scheme of exactly ten persecutions matching the ten plagues of Egypt, pointing to persecutions under Herod, Julian, Valens, the Goths, and the Persians, and leaves the number of future persecutions undecided.
City of God 18.53Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine warns against calculating the date of the last persecution and Christ's return, and ridicules a pagan oracle claiming that Peter's sorcery had fixed the duration of Christianity at 365 years.
City of God 19.17Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine explains that the heavenly city, while a pilgrim on earth, shares the use of temporal goods and obeys the laws of the earthly city for the sake of peace, but must dissent from it in religion, since it worships the one God alone.
City of God 20.8Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · The binding of the devil restrains his power to tempt during the church's age; at the end he will be loosed for three and a half years, yet the church will endure and even grow.
City of God 20.11Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Gog and Magog are not particular barbarian peoples but the ungodly throughout the world, who in the last persecution will besiege the church everywhere.
City of God 20.13Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Augustine argues that the saints reign with Christ even during Antichrist's three-and-a-half-year persecution, so the thousand years either measure the devil's binding only or round off that short span.
City of God 20.23Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Daniel foretells Antichrist's short and savage reign of three and a half years before the judgment and the saints' everlasting kingdom, and the resurrection of many to life or to shame.
City of God 22.6Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · Contrasting Rome's belief in Romulus with the church's faith in Christ, Augustine argues that Rome made its founder a god by love, while the church, persuaded by miracles and prophecy, loved Christ by believing him God, and its martyrs died rather than deny him.
City of God 22.7Augustine of Hippo · 413–426 · In more educated times than Romulus's, the world could have come to believe Christ's bodily resurrection and ascension only through divine power, prophecy, and miracles, despite persecution.
Commentary on Jeremiah 1.4Jerome · ca. 414-419 · God tells Jeremiah not to consider his age but God's presence; deliverance means endurance through persecution, not freedom from it.
Commentary on Jeremiah 2.8Jerome · ca. 414-419 · Jerome locates Tekoa and Beth-haccherem near Jerusalem and applies the call to arms to the church's readiness under persecution.
Commentary on Jeremiah 2.25Jerome · ca. 414-419 · The fierce northern army is described to move Judah to penance; the passage fits the church in times of persecution.
Commentary on Jeremiah 2.72Jerome · ca. 414-419 · In a time of universal deceit no brother can be trusted, as in times of persecution; God refines his people through tribulation like silver in fire.
Commentary on Jeremiah 2.80Jerome · ca. 414-419 · Zion laments its devastation and confesses it is the result of its own sin.
Commentary on Jeremiah 2.95Jerome · ca. 414-419 · The roar of the Babylonian army will leave Judah's cities to wild creatures; in persecution the church suffers so through its shepherds' fault.
Commentary on Jeremiah 3.64Jerome · ca. 414-419 · The promised return from the north, partly fulfilled after the exile, is fulfilled more fully in Christ and in Israel's final salvation, and in the church's deliverance from the persecutions.
Commentary on Jeremiah 4.19Jerome · ca. 414-419 · Pashhur the priest beats Jeremiah and puts him in the stocks; Jerome explains the names and words and draws lessons on persecution of God's servants (Jer 20:1–2).
Commentary on Jeremiah 5.38Jerome · ca. 414-419 · The priests and false prophets, fearing for their religion and its profits, seize Jeremiah for death; believers must likewise endure such anger for the truth (Jer 26:7–9).
Commentary on Jeremiah 5.40Jerome · ca. 414-419 · The priests and prophets demand Jeremiah's death before the princes; the religious leaders, moved by envy, were crueler than the civil officials (Jer 26:11).
Commentary on Jeremiah 5.41Jerome · ca. 414-419 · Jeremiah defends himself prudently, humbly, and steadfastly, a model for keeping the truth while showing humility in danger (Jer 26:12–15).
Commentary on Jeremiah 5.44Jerome · ca. 414-419 · Uriah, who prophesied like Jeremiah, fled to Egypt and was brought back and killed, while Jeremiah was protected by Ahikam; God's judgments in such cases are hidden, and flight from danger is prudence, not unbelief (Jer 26:20–24).
Commentary on Jeremiah 6.30Jerome · ca. 414-419 · In the siege, Zedekiah kept Jeremiah in the prison court for prophesying in the Lord's name; the prophet chose to obey God rather than win the king's favor (Jer 32:1–3).
On Patience 6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 415 · If people bear so much for temporal things and bodily health, the soul should bear far more under persecution for its own salvation.
On Patience 8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 415 · Patience is exercised in the mind alone, as by David under insult and Christ toward Judas, or in bodily suffering for righteousness, as by the martyrs in both ways.
On Patience 10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 415 · Against those who kill themselves and claim the glory of martyrs, Augustine argues from Job that suicide destroys patience and is worse than parricide, even under persecution.
On Patience 15Augustine of Hippo · ca. 415 · Since God is love, the love of God cannot be had without God; it is through him, not ourselves, that the saints conquer in persecution.
On Patience 23Augustine of Hippo · ca. 415 · A schismatic who suffers rather than deny Christ is not to be blamed; his patience is praiseworthy and may lighten his judgement, though without love it does not gain the kingdom.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 6.1.21Orosius · ca. 417–418 · The pagans tried to destroy Christianity.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 6.1.22Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Persecution only spread the faith until it reached the throne.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 6.1.24Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Christianity grew under persecution; idol worship ceased at a word.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 6.22.11Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Book 7 will show persecutions and their punishments.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.3.2Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Christ's sufferings began with Herod.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.3.11Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Christ's prophecy of wars and persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.4.6Orosius · ca. 417–418 · The senate refuses to deify Christ.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.4.7Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Tiberius turns cruel against the senate.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.7.10Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Nero's persecution; Peter and Paul are killed.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.8.2Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Civil war follows the persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.8.5Orosius · ca. 417–418 · The church prayed even for its persecutors.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.10.1Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Domitian's reign and persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.10.5Orosius · ca. 417–418 · The second persecution; John on Patmos.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.12.3Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Trajan's persecution and Pliny's report.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.13.2Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Hadrian's rescript protecting Christians.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.13.4Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Hadrian crushes Bar Kokhba.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.15.4Orosius · ca. 417–418 · The fourth persecution, in Asia and Gaul.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.17.4Orosius · ca. 417–418 · The fifth persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.17.5Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Heaven avenges the persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.19.1Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Maximinus's persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.19.2Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Maximinus's death; his persecution aimed at clergy.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.21.2Orosius · ca. 417–418 · The Decian persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.21.5Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Plague follows the persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.22.3Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Valerian's persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.22.4Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Valerian is captured by Sapor.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.22.5Orosius · ca. 417–418 · One man's captivity does not avenge so much blood.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.23.6Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Aurelian's persecution and death.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.25.13Orosius · ca. 417–418 · The Great Persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.26.4Orosius · ca. 417–418 · The worst persecution brought no punishment, they say.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.26.9Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Nine persecutions were followed by disasters.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.27.3Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Israel and the church, Egypt and Rome, compared.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.27.15Orosius · ca. 417–418 · A final persecution awaits before the judgment.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.28.6Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Maximian resumes power.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.28.12Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Galerius's horrible disease.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.28.13Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Galerius ends the persecution and dies.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.28.15Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Constantine gives peace to the church.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.28.17Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Maximinus Daia dies.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.28.18Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Licinius turns on the Christians.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.28.21Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Licinius too was a persecutor.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.29.4Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Arian persecution of the catholics.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.30.2Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Julian's subtle persecution.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.30.3Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Julian bars Christians from teaching.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.30.4Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Julian vows Christian blood to his gods.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.30.5Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Julian's planned amphitheater at Jerusalem.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.32.2Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Valentinian gives up his command rather than sacrifice.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.32.9Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Athanaric persecutes the Gothic Christians.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.33.1Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Valens conscripts the monks.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.33.3Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Monks are killed in Egypt.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.33.4Orosius · ca. 417–418 · Orosius passes over the other persecutions of Valens.
Sermon to the People of the Church of Caesarea 7Augustine of Hippo · 418 · The Donatists admitted their forebears persecuted Caecilian; so either the just may persecute the unjust, or the Donatist founders were wicked; only persecution for righteousness is blessed.
Sermon to the People of the Church of Caesarea 8Augustine of Hippo · 418 · Augustine defends a “persecution” of those who blaspheme the church, citing the psalms, and recalls how the Donatist bishop Petilian forcibly baptized and ordained a Catholic catechumen.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Dulcitius never called Gaudentius innocent; the laws persecute vices, not people, and one who would kill himself and others cannot claim innocence.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Gaudentius vows to die in his church if force is used; Augustine answers that the Donatists hold true baptism in error, and that rushing to death when urged toward life is madness.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.12Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Gaudentius cites Exod 23:7 against receiving converts while punishing Donatists; Augustine answers that the laws seek correction or exile, not death, and that Gaudentius is his own persecutor.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.17Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Gaudentius cites the good shepherd who does not flee; Augustine answers that Paul fled through the wall, that Christ commanded flight in persecution, and that the shepherd who destroys his flock is the thief.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.18Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Truth is to be heard even from sinners, as Christ said of the Pharisees; Christ, not the tribune, commands flight in persecution.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.19Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Gaudentius says no refuge remains; Augustine answers that Christ promised refuges to his own until the end, so the Donatists’ lack of them shows they are not his.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.20Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Gaudentius argues from free will that God needs no human defense; Augustine answers that by this logic all crimes would go unpunished, and cites Rom 13, Moses, and Nebuchadnezzar’s decree.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.21Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · God gave free choice but punished Adam with death and exile; the emperor imposes only exile, and the Donatists add death themselves.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.22Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Persecution is blessed only when suffered for Christ; Christ’s last words commended a church spreading from Jerusalem to all nations, which the Donatists resist.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.23Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · The beatitude belongs to those persecuted for righteousness; the command to flee was also given to all, and the Donatists’ refusal shows they are not among Christ’s own.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.24Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Augustine corrects Gaudentius’s quotation of 2 Tim 3:12 and explains that the persecution all the pious suffer includes the devil’s temptations through prosperity.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.25Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · The Catholics suffer the persecution of grief over the Donatists, as David grieved for Absalom, besides the violence Donatists have done them; their suicides grieve the church most.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.26Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · John 16:2 refers to Jewish persecutors or to heretics killing Catholics; the Donatists who kill themselves fit its next verse, knowing neither the Father (“You shall not kill”) nor the Son (“Flee”).
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.27Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Augustine answers that the converts from Donatism rejoice in true peace; if some are insincere, the wedding feast gathered good and bad, and grain swept back onto the floor brings earth with it.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.28Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Augustine defends compulsion toward the truth by the king of Nineveh and by “compel them to come in” (Luke 14:23), which he applies to heresies and schisms.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.29Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Those who kill themselves to avoid hardship do not rejoice in the world’s hatred; the promise in John 15 belongs to those Christ told to flee.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.32Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Gaudentius praises Donatists who killed themselves, citing Razis in 2 Maccabees; Augustine answers that they suffer from their own deeds and describes the circumcellions’ habit of seeking death.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.33Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Few now kill themselves compared with the many circumcellions and others who have been reclaimed; mercy cannot mean leaving all in error so that a few do not burn themselves.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.40Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Cyprian said discipline forbids offering oneself; Christ commands flight and the tribune permits it, so the Donatists have no excuse for suicide.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.41Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Emeritus’s free departure shows that no Donatist is forced into communion; Gaudentius should imitate him rather than burn himself.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.43Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Converts like Gabinius rightly judged that losses should not be borne for a human sect, and took the pressure as an occasion for correction.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.44Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Kings have a duty toward the church, as the king of Nineveh, David, and Nebuchadnezzar show.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.45Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Kings serve God by enforcing his will (Ps 2:10–11), and they must do so through soldiers.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.47Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · The Donatists’ own councils during the present “persecution” undercut their claim that the council of Cirta could not have met; Purpurius’s charge against Secundus confirms its minutes.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.48Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · A Donatist council pardoned clergy who joined the Catholics unwillingly; by the same rule the original betrayers could have been pardoned, and Caecilian’s condemnation was unjust.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.50Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · The Catholics seek the Donatists themselves, not their property; the love that compels them to enter is the opposite of greed.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.51Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Confiscation of heretics’ property under imperial law is like Israel’s taking Canaan, not Ahab’s seizing Naboth’s vineyard; property is returned to converts, but Donatist violence cannot be undone.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 1.53Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · Augustine answers Gaudentius’s closing wish: Dulcitius gave him a way out, while Gaudentius seeks his own destruction; God uses believing kings to correct the bad.
Against Gaudentius, Bishop of the Donatists 2.13Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–420 · The king of Nineveh did command repentance (Jonah 3); kings who command what is of God act from religion, and the Donatist schism and suicide are superstition.
Lausiac History 3Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 419-420 · Through Isidore, from Antony, Palladius tells how the slave girl Potamiaena refused her master's advances and was martyred in boiling pitch at Alexandria.
Lausiac History 46Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 419-420 · Melania the Elder, widowed young, goes to the Egyptian monks, serves the exiled confessors in Palestine, faces down a greedy governor, and with Rufinus founds monasteries in Jerusalem.
Lausiac History 56Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 419-420 · Olympias of Constantinople, widowed as a bride and still a virgin, gives away her wealth, serves the church, and suffers as a confessor for the truth.
Lausiac History 63Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 419-420 · A virgin of Alexandria hides the bishop Athanasius from the Arians for six years until the death of Constantius.
Lausiac History 64Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 419-420 · The virgin Juliana of Caesarea sheltered Origen during a persecution, as a note in Origen's hand records.
Lausiac History 65Palladius of Helenopolis · ca. 419-420 · From a book ascribed to Hippolytus: a Corinthian virgin condemned to a brothel is rescued by a young official who changes clothes with her and is martyred in her place.
Against Lying 3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 420 · If lying to outsiders were permitted, the martyrs should have denied Christ; Jehu, who feigned Baal worship to kill Baal's servants, is no model, and the martyrs confessed with their mouths.
Against Lying 13Augustine of Hippo · ca. 420 · Believing in the heart while denying with the mouth is not enough, as the lapsed in persecution and Peter's bitter tears after his denial show.
Life of Porphyry 32Marcus the Deacon · ca. 420-430 · Oppressed by the pagans, Porphyry asks Archbishop John of Caesarea to release him from the episcopate.
Life of Porphyry 95Marcus the Deacon · ca. 420-430 · A land dispute sets off a pagan riot in which seven Christians are killed; Porphyry and Mark escape across the rooftops.
On Care for the Dead 8Augustine of Hippo · ca. 421–422 · The martyrs of Gaul, whose bodies were burned and their ashes scattered in the Rhône, show that denial of burial cannot harm the blessed dead.
On Care for the Dead 10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 421–422 · God allowed the martyrs' bodies to be destroyed so that fear for the tomb or for the resurrection would not shake their confession, though the brethren grieved that they could not bury them.
Discourse 9.16Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · They spread the gospel amid dangers.
Discourse 9.17Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Persecution only strengthened the gospel laws, while Greek laws vanished.
Discourse 9.20Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Lycurgus's laws died at Rome's command; the apostles' laws survived Nero.
Discourse 9.21Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Emperors who conquered nations could not destroy the gospel.
Discourse 9.22Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Hadrian, Antoninus, and Verus could not suppress the faith.
Discourse 9.23Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · The Great Persecution killed believers by the thousands.
Discourse 9.24Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Persecutors burned churches and destroyed all of them at Easter.
Discourse 9.25Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Even Julian and the great emperors could not overcome simple believers.
Discourse 9.26Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Persecution was like pouring oil on a fire.
Discourse 9.27Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Like the burning bush, the church grew under persecution; martyrs' blood watered new believers.
Discourse 9.31Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Past persecutions prove the church's power is divine, not imperial.
Discourse 9.32Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Persian persecution cannot destroy the faith.
Discourse 9.33Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Persian Christians abandoned incest and exposure of the dead despite punishment.
Discourse 9.66Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Christ forbids oaths, commends poverty, and promises persecution.
Discourse 9.67Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Christ promised rewards after life and persecution in it.
Discourse 9.69Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Those who accepted the gospel also gave up their customs and faced danger.
Discourse 9.71Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Persecutors failed to destroy the gospel; Greek laws died on their own.
Discourse 11.73Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 437 · Christ foretold that the apostles would be sent like sheep among wolves, handed over, scourged and hated.
Sermon 20Peter Chrysologus · ca. 425-450 · On the stilling of the storm (Matt 8:23–27), Chrysologus reads the boat as the Church tossed by persecution and now calmed under Christian rulers, and calls his hearers, beset by barbarian invasions, to repent and cry to Christ.
Sermon 40Peter Chrysologus · ca. 425-450 · After the Lenten work of preparing candidates for baptism, Chrysologus preaches on the good shepherd (John 10:11), explaining that Christ's voluntary death conquered the devil and death, so that his persecuted sheep, the martyrs, will follow him to resurrection and glory.
Sermon 150Peter Chrysologus · ca. 425-450 · On Christ's flight into Egypt (Matt 2:13–15), Chrysologus asks why the Gospel records a flight that seems shameful, and answers that Christ yielded to the time, not to Herod, in order to fulfil prophecy, defeat the devil openly at the cross, and teach that in persecution it is better to flee than to deny.
Sermon 151Peter Chrysologus · ca. 425-450 · Continuing on the flight into Egypt, Chrysologus lists all that Christ came to do, which would have been lost had he died as an infant, and teaches that Christ's flight sanctions Christians who flee persecution when not yet arrested, while Egypt's welcome prefigures the faith of the gentiles.
2.14Philostorgius · ca. 425-433 · Philostorgius lists the disciples of Lucian, some of whom lapsed in persecution and repented.
7.1Philostorgius · ca. 425-433 · Under Julian the pagans are given licence to persecute the Christians.
7.2Philostorgius · ca. 425-433 · The pagans of Alexandria murder George; Philostorgius blames Athanasius, who then returns to his see.
7.3Philostorgius · ca. 425-433 · The statue of Christ at Paneas, set up by the woman healed of a flow of blood, its healing herb, and its destruction under Julian.
7.4Philostorgius · ca. 425-433 · Pagans in Palestine burn the relics of Elisha and John the Baptist and sacrifice Christians; Julian sets rival bishops against each other and strips the clergy of privileges.
7.7Philostorgius · ca. 425-433 · Julian exiles the future emperor Valentinian for refusing to give up his faith; an earlier portent of flame from his mouth had alarmed Constantius.
7.8Philostorgius · ca. 425-433 · Philostorgius on the martyrdom of Babylas of Antioch, who barred an emperor from the church.
7.10Philostorgius · ca. 425-433 · The deaths of Julian's uncle, Felix, Elpidius and a desecrator of a church, as divine punishments for persecution.
7.13Philostorgius · ca. 425-433 · The terrible deaths of the apostate bishop Heron and of Theotecnus, who went over to paganism.
8.5Philostorgius · ca. 425-433 · Jovian restores the churches and recalls those Julian had exiled, Valentinian among them.
Retractations 2.5Augustine of Hippo · 426-427 · Augustine reports that he once opposed using secular power to compel the Donatists, a view he later changed after experience.
Retractations 2.48Augustine of Hippo · 426-427 · Augustine notes his book defending the use of imperial laws to correct the Donatists.
Retractations 2.59Augustine of Hippo · 426-427 · Augustine describes his two books against Gaudentius, the Donatist bishop of Thamugadi, who threatened to burn himself and his people in his church rather than submit.
The Conferences 24.22John Cassian · ca. 426–429 · Germanus asks how Christ’s yoke can be easy and light when Scripture speaks of hard ways and persecution.
The Conferences 24.23John Cassian · ca. 426–429 · Christ’s yoke is easy for one who has renounced all possessions and his own will, for then no loss, want, command, or persecution can trouble him.
The Conferences 24.26John Cassian · ca. 426–429 · Abraham explains the promised hundredfold in this life as the far greater spiritual love, possessions, and honor that monks receive in place of what they renounced, and Cassian closes the Conferences commending them to the holy brothers.
Celestine, ACO I.2, letter 2.14Celestine I, bishop of Rome · 430-432 · Celestine protests that Nestorius is persecuting the catholic clergy of Constantinople.
Verses on the Birthday of the Maccabees 1–30Hilary of Arles · ca. 430-449 · The poem opens: King Antiochus tries to win the Maccabean mother with gifts and torments; she refuses and trusts God's promises.
Verses on the Birthday of the Maccabees 31–60Hilary of Arles · ca. 430-449 · The mother defies the king, who orders her sons burned one by one before her; she bares her breast and exhorts the eldest.
PrefaceEutherius of Tyana · ca. 431-440 · In a preface addressed to Eustathius, the author laments the violence used by the party in power against those of the true faith and introduces his point-by-point reply.
Letter 3, chapter 6Sixtus III, bishop of Rome · 432–440 · Sixtus says that the deposition decreed against Cyril by his opponents was no surprise, since those persecuted for righteousness have a great reward.
Psalm 103, from v. 6Prosper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · The persecutions that flooded the church and then were checked, the preachers as mountains and springs, and the support owed to them are read from Psalm 104:6–15 (103).
Psalm 117Prosper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · Psalm 118 (117) is read as the church's praise for deliverance from persecution, Christ the rejected cornerstone, and the gate of righteousness leading to eternal praise.
Psalm 118, GimelProsper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · Psalm 119:17–24 (118) is read of God's four kinds of repayment, the pilgrim's need to know the commands of love, and the martyrs who conquered their persecutors by love.
Psalm 118, VauProsper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · Psalm 119:41–48 (118) is read of Christ as God's mercy and Word, of confessing him before persecutors, and of the Spirit of love who gives what the psalmist asked for.
Psalm 118, ReschProsper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · Psalm 119:153–160 (118) is read of God exalting the humble, salvation far from the proud, and the martyrs who did not turn aside while others fell away.
Psalm 118, SchinProsper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · Psalm 119:161–168 (118) is read of the martyrs who feared God's words more than kings' threats, won converts by their patience, and kept God's testimonies with love.
Psalm 123Prosper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · Psalm 124 (123) is read as the song of the martyrs and the whole church, who escaped persecution only because God was in them, unlike those who lapsed into idolatry.
Psalm 124Prosper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · Psalm 125 (124) is read of the steadfast as Mount Zion, and of obedience to wicked rulers in all things except turning from the worship of the true God.
Psalm 128Prosper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · Psalm 129 (128) is read of the church never conquered by persecution, bearing the wicked in hope of their correction, while the proud wither like grass on the roof.
Psalm 140Prosper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · Psalm 141 (140) is read of Christ's evening sacrifice on the cross, the guarding of the mouth from excusing sin (as astrologers do), and the martyrs who triumphed while the lapsed fell.
Psalm 141Prosper of Aquitaine · after 432, before 455 · Psalm 142 (141) is read as the persecuted church's secret prayer to God, refusing flight that would mean denial and hoping for release from the body's corruption.
Commonitory 4Vincent of Lérins · 434 · The examples of the Donatists and the Arians show the harm done by novelty and the safety of holding to the universal and ancient faith.
Epigram 23: De patsionibus sanctorumProsper of Aquitaine · ca. 435-450 · God permits the wicked to persecute the saints so that, tested by these trials, they may grow in virtue and glory.
Epigram 32: De odiis mundi in ChristianosProsper of Aquitaine · ca. 435-450 · The godly will be mocked as fools for giving up present goods in hope of future ones, but the mockery will rebound on the mockers, and the hope is sure because God made the pledge.
Book 2, chapter 15Anonymous · ca. 440-450 · A hidden grace always witnessed to all men; the later age was not better but worse, as the Jewish leaders’ rage against Christ and his apostles shows, yet out of such hearts grace made a holy people, and the love poured out by the Spirit made the martyrs conquer the persecuting emperors.
Psalm 9:18–19Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 9:17–18: the persecutors go to Hades without truly harming the faithful, whose endurance is rewarded.
Psalm 15:4Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 16:4: the apostles, though weakened by many attacks, finished their course quickly; their persecutors will be forgotten.
Psalm 28:11Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 29:11: the verse foretells the persecutions, the martyrs' victory, and the peace that followed for the churches.
Psalm 32:10–11Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 33:10–11: God foiled both Sennacherib's plans and the nations' attacks on the apostles; the two generations point to both events.
Psalm 43:1Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 44:1: the psalm foretells the persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes and is spoken for the Maccabees, who recall God's ancient wonders.
Psalm 43:18–19Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 44:17–19: under great suffering the faithful kept the covenant, though God let them be humbled and brought near death.
Psalm 43:21–22Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 44:20–22: the Maccabean martyrs, the seven brothers, their mother, and Eleazar, kept faith to death; the shift from "God" to "you" hints at two persons.
Psalm 45:1Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 46, title: the psalm foretells the persecutions of the church, God's help, and the peace that followed, not Gog, Ahaz, or Hezekiah.
Psalm 45:2Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 46:1–2: the church, attacked at the beginning of the preaching, did not fear, since God was its wall; the mountains cast into the sea are the demons' shrines brought low.
Psalm 45:4Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 46:3: the roaring waters and shaken mountains are the uproar the demons stirred in the cities against the apostles' preaching.
Psalm 47:5–6Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 48:4–5: the kings who came to attack the church were astonished at its invincibility.
Psalm 61:1Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 62, title: David's psalm, sung by Jeduthun, foretells the Maccabees' trials under Antiochus Epiphanes.
Psalm 61:2Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 62:1-2: the faithful under Antiochus, forced to sacrifice to idols and eat pork, urge their souls to serve God, who alone saves.
Psalm 61:4Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 62:3: the persecutors attack the faithful as if pushing over a leaning wall, but God is their helper.
Psalm 63:7Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 64:6: David's enemies search out every scheme against him; an addition applies the verse to persecuted saints hiding in caves.
Psalm 67:10Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 68:9: the voluntary rain is the teaching of grace freely received; God strengthened his inheritance, the nations, when it was weakened by persecution.
Psalm 67:31Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 68:30: the bulls are the Jews who opposed the first believers from the nations, tested like silver; God will scatter the warlike nations who persecuted the saints.
Psalm 78:1Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 79, title and verse 1: the psalm foretells Antiochus Epiphanes' desecration of the temple, voiced by the pious of that time.
Psalm 78:2Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 79:1-2: the persecutors laid Jerusalem waste and left the bodies of God's servants to birds and beasts.
Psalm 78:8Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 79:8-10: the pious Maccabees ask forgiveness for past sins without mentioning their own virtue, and ask God to act for his name's sake and avenge his servants' blood.
Psalm 78:11Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 79:11: the people pray for the prisoners and for the children of the slain.
Psalm 114:1–2Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 116:1–2: the psalm foretells the faithful Jews' courageous resistance to Antiochus Epiphanes and God's help to them.
Psalm 114:3Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 116:3–4: the Maccabean faithful, brought near death and fleeing to the desert, sought God's help with tears and were heard.
Psalm 117:1Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 118:1: the hymn of the returned Jews after their enemies were destroyed fits still better the Gentile Christians who triumphed over persecution.
Psalm 117:10Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 118:10: 'all the nations' is an exaggeration for Jerusalem's enemies but literally true of the Church persecuted in every nation; both conquered by trusting God.
Psalm 128:1Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 129:1–2: Israel was attacked from its 'youth' in Egypt but preserved by God; this fits even more the Church, which overcame its persecutors and won them over.
Psalm 128:3Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 436-448 · Psalm 129:3: the plowing of the back is the scourging of martyrs, as suffered by Daniel's companions and the Maccabees.
Consolatory Letter to Arcadius 1Antoninus Honoratus · ca. 437-440 · Antoninus encourages the exiled confessor Arcadius to persevere to martyrdom rather than yield to Arianism, and explains by analogies how the one triune God works together while the Son alone took flesh.
Against Five Heresies 7Quodvultdeus of Carthage · ca. 437-450 · Against Sabellians and Arians the preacher argues from Isaiah 45, Christ’s prayer, and the Transfiguration that the Father and Son are two and equal, and protests against Arian rebaptism and bribery of Catholics.
On the Governance of God 1.17Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · The opponent argues that God reserves all justice for the last judgment.
On the Governance of God 3.6Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · Christians are appointed to suffering, but Salvian will grant the opponents’ premise.
On the Governance of God 3.20Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · In times of peace God asks only for purity and holiness of life.
On the Governance of God 3.21Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · With Christian rulers and no persecution, Christians should at least excel in lesser duties.
On the Governance of God 4.85Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · Pagan persecutors accused Christians of murder, incest, and cannibalism in their rites.
On the Governance of God 8.19Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · The Africans persecuted the monks as Christ’s enemies persecuted him, short of killing.
On the Governance of God 8.20Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · Hating the monks was akin to murder; it arose from the clash of their ways.
On the Governance of God 8.21Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · In Carthage monks in their habits were met with abuse.
On the Governance of God 8.22Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · Visiting monks from Egypt or Jerusalem were jeered and hissed in Carthage.
On the Governance of God 8.23Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · The apostles were better received by pagan Athens and Lycaonia than monks in Christian Carthage.
On the Governance of God 8.24Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · Only pagan law protected the monks from being killed by Christians.
On the Governance of God 8.25Salvian of Marseilles · ca. 439-451 · The Carthaginians now suffer from barbarians as they made the saints suffer; their sins against God were greater.
Church History 1.2Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Constantine, proclaimed emperor in Britain, sees a cross of light with the words “By this conquer,” defeats Maxentius at the Mulvian Bridge, and ends the persecution.
Church History 1.3Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Constantine favours the churches while his colleague Licinius, swearing false friendship, carries on a local persecution of Christians.
Church History 2.16Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · The prefect Philip spirits Paul out of Constantinople into exile and installs Macedonius; soldiers clearing the way kill about 3,150 people; Constantius builds the Great Church (Sophia).
Church History 2.26Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · With Constantius sole emperor, the Arians renew charges against Athanasius; Paul is strangled in exile, Marcellus and Lucius removed, and Athanasius flees a death sentence; Leontius, who had castrated himself, becomes bishop of Antioch.
Church History 2.27Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Macedonius, with imperial support, persecutes those who hold the homoousios in Constantinople and the East by expulsion, torture, and exile.
Church History 2.28Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Socrates quotes Athanasius on the violence of George’s party at Alexandria; Constantius deposes Vetranio peacefully, makes Gallus Caesar, and a cross appears in the sky at Antioch.
Church History 2.31Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · The aged Hosius of Corduba is forced by beatings and torture to sign the Sirmian statements.
Church History 2.38Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Macedonius of Constantinople persecutes the Nicene party and the Novatianists with torture and forced communion; the Novatianists move their church to Sycae; soldiers sent against Mantinium are killed; the moving of Constantine’s body causes a bloody riot.
Church History 3.2Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · When skulls found in an Alexandrian Mithraeum are paraded by Christians, pagans riot, kill many Christians, and murder bishop George.
Church History 3.8Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Socrates quotes Athanasius’s Defence of his Flight, which justifies fleeing persecution from the examples of Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, Paul, and Christ himself, while the martyrs bore witness when found.
Church History 3.12Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · The blind bishop Maris rebukes Julian to his face; Julian, avoiding open martyrdoms, forbids Christians to teach or study pagan literature.
Church History 3.13Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Julian excludes Christians from the palace guard and governorships and fines those who will not sacrifice; Christians such as Jovian, Valentinian, and Valens resign, Ecebolius conforms; pagans attack Christians and denounce Athanasius.
Church History 3.14Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Athanasius escapes his pursuers on the Nile by turning back towards them, and hides in Alexandria; provincial governors oppress Christians, and Julian tells them their God commands them to endure.
Church History 3.15Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Three Christians of Merus in Phrygia who smashed temple statues give themselves up to save others and are roasted to death by the governor Amachius.
Church History 3.19Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Julian has Christians who sang against the idols arrested; the young Theodore, tortured, later tells Rufinus that an angelic youth comforted him; Julian rejects a Persian embassy.
Church History 4.2Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Valens permits the Macedonians a synod and begins persecuting the Nicene party at Antioch.
Church History 4.6Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Valens forces Eleusius of Cyzicus to accept the Arian creed; Eleusius repents, but his people keep him as bishop.
Church History 4.9Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Valens expels the Nicene party and the Novatians from Constantinople, but the Novatian presbyter Marcian, tutor to the emperor's daughters, wins back their churches.
Church History 4.11Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Hail and earthquakes are taken as signs of God's wrath at Valens's persecution; Gratian is made emperor; Basil and Gregory escape exile.
Church History 4.13Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Eunomius breaks with Eudoxius over Aetius; Athanasius hides for four months until Valens, fearing riots, lets him hold the churches of Alexandria.
Church History 4.15Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Valens banishes Eustathius and Evagrius, and the Arians at Constantinople abuse the Nicene believers, who appeal in vain to the emperor.
Church History 4.16Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Eighty clergy who petition Valens are put on a ship that is secretly set on fire at sea; a famine in Phrygia follows, seen by many as punishment.
Church History 4.17Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · At Antioch Valens expels the Nicene party from the eastern churches and has many killed, especially by drowning.
Church History 4.18Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · At Edessa a poor woman hurrying with her child to be martyred at the shrine of Thomas moves the prefect to dissuade Valens from a massacre.
Church History 4.21Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Euzoius goes with imperial troops to Alexandria, where Peter is imprisoned and the Arian Lucius is enthroned.
Church History 4.22Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Socrates notes that Sabinus is silent about the outrages at Lucius's entry, which Peter's letter recorded; Peter flees to Rome, and troops ravage the desert monasteries.
Church History 4.24Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Lucius and the troops attack the Egyptian monks; the two Macarii are exiled to a pagan island, where they heal the priest's daughter and convert the islanders.
Church History 4.26Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Socrates praises Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus, describes their training and work against the Arians, and tells of Basil's defiance before the prefect and Valens and the death of Valens's son.
Church History 4.28Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Socrates explains the strict Novatian discipline on those who lapsed and its appeal in Phrygia and Paphlagonia, and tells how a Novatian synod at Pazus adopted the Jewish date for Easter.
Church History 4.32Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Themistius's address persuades Valens to soften his persecution from death to exile.
Church History 4.33Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · After Valens helps Fritigern, many Goths accept Arian Christianity; Ulfilas translates the Scriptures into Gothic, and Athanaric's persecution makes martyrs of Arian Goths.
Church History 4.35Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · When the Goths revolt in Thrace, Valens leaves Antioch and stops exiling the Nicene party; Euzoius dies and Dorotheus succeeds him.
Church History 4.36Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Queen Mavia ends her war on condition that the monk Moses be her people's bishop; Moses refuses ordination from the Arian Lucius and is ordained by exiled bishops.
Church History 5.2Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Gratian recalls those exiled by Valens, grants freedom of worship except to Eunomians, Photinians and Manichees, and makes Theodosius emperor.
Church History 5.11Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Maximus revolts in Britain and has Gratian killed by trickery at Lyons, which ends Justina's attempt to exile Ambrose.
Church History 5.16Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Theophilus, with the emperor's order, destroys the temples of Alexandria; pagans attack the Christians, and the statues of the gods are melted down.
Church History 6.18Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · After John denounces the games at Eudoxia's statue and preaches the 'Herodias' sermon, a second synod condemns him under the Antiochene canon; his followers, the Johannites, meet apart, and when he is exiled the church and senate house burn.
Church History 7.3Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Theodosius of Synnada persecutes the Macedonians out of greed; their bishop Agapetus leads his people into the Nicene faith and takes over the see, which Atticus confirms.
Church History 7.11Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Socrates lists the Roman bishops after Innocent and complains that Celestine, out of envy and love of power, suppressed the Novatians in Rome, unlike the bishops of Constantinople.
Church History 7.13Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Rioting over theatre shows leads to Orestes' torture of Cyril's follower Hierax and a Jewish night attack on Christians, after which Cyril seizes the synagogues and drives the Jews out of Alexandria; Orestes and Cyril remain enemies.
Church History 7.16Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Socrates reports that Jews at Inmestar in Syria, in a drunken game mocking Christ, crucified and killed a Christian boy and were punished by the authorities.
Church History 7.18Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · When Bahram V persecutes the Persian Christians and they flee to Roman territory, Theodosius II goes to war; angels encourage the Romans and a panic drowns Persia's Saracen allies in the Euphrates.
Church History 7.20Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Theodosius seeks peace; the Persian Immortals attempt an ambush but are destroyed, and peace is made and the persecution of Persian Christians ends (422).
Church History 7.29Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Nestorius of Antioch is made bishop of Constantinople in 428 and at once promises the emperor to rid the earth of heretics; his attack on the Arians earns him the name Firebrand.
Church History 7.31Socrates Scholasticus · ca. 439-443 · Following Nestorius's lead, Antony of Germa persecutes the Macedonians, who murder him; Nestorius then has their churches confiscated.
Church History 1.6Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · The churches under Constantine prosper, as they had under his father Constantius, who kept faithful Christians at court and dismissed those who sacrificed; Constantine's victories bring Italy and Illyricum under his rule.
Church History 1.7Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Licinius turns against the Christians and to pagan divination before his last war with Constantine, but is defeated, surrenders, and is later put to death.
Church History 1.8Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Once sole emperor, Constantine restores the persecuted, returns their property, curbs pagan rites, funds churches, endows the clergy, marks his army with the cross, and makes Sunday and Friday days of rest.
Church History 1.10Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Many confessors of the recent persecution, among them Hosius, Amphion, Maximus and Paphnutius, still adorned the churches.
Church History 2.9Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · In Persia the magi and Jews accuse Bishop Symeon of Seleucia-Ctesiphon before Sapor II, who taxes and persecutes the Christians; Symeon refuses to worship the sun, and the eunuch Usthazanes, rebuked by him for having done so, confesses Christ and is beheaded.
Church History 2.10Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · On Good Friday Symeon of Seleucia-Ctesiphon is executed after encouraging a hundred clergy put to death before him.
Church History 2.11Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Pusices, chief of the king's craftsmen, is cruelly executed for encouraging Ananias; on the next Good Friday Sapor orders a general massacre of Christians, then limits it to the clergy after the death of his favourite eunuch Azades.
Church History 2.12Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Tarbula, Symeon's sister, with her sister and servant, is accused by Jews of poisoning the queen and is sawn in two; persecution then falls on the clergy, especially in Adiabene.
Church History 2.13Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Bishop Acepsimas and other clergy are tortured; Acepsimas dies, and Sozomen lists many Persian bishops martyred under Sapor, among them Dausas with Mareabdes and 250 clergy.
Church History 2.14Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · The bishop Milles, after cursing a city that rejected him, goes on pilgrimage; Sozomen sums up the Persian martyrs under Sapor at sixteen thousand known by name, besides countless others.
Church History 2.15Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Constantine writes to Sapor commending the Persian Christians to him, citing his own victories under the cross and Valerian's fate after persecuting the church.
Church History 4.2Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Constantius again expels the restored bishops; Paul dies in exile at Cucusus, reportedly strangled, and Macedonius persecutes Paul's followers at Constantinople.
Church History 4.9Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · At the council of Milan most Western bishops condemn Athanasius; the few who resist, with Hilary, are exiled; Athanasius sends envoys to Constantius, resists a summons, and escapes when troops break into the church of Theonas.
Church History 4.10Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Stories of Athanasius's foresight: escaping a treacherous maid, outsailing his pursuers on the Nile, and interpreting a crow's cry as Latin “cras”; George's violent rule at Alexandria provokes the people, and he is driven out and returns.
Church History 4.11Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · After Milan Constantius exiles its opponents; Liberius of Rome refuses to condemn Athanasius, defends him with the retraction of Valens and Ursacius, rejects the emperor's gold, and is exiled to Beroea; Felix replaces him, and the Roman people demand Liberius back.
Church History 4.20Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Macedonius, with Marathonius and Eleusius, persecutes the supporters of homoousios; the Novatians move their church from Pelargus to Sycae (later rebuilt as Anastasia), and Novatians and catholics nearly unite.
Church History 4.21Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Eleusius destroys the Novatian church at Cyzicus; troops sent by Macedonius are massacred by the Novatians of Mantinium; Macedonius's removal of Constantine's coffin causes a bloody riot and turns Constantius against him; Julian is made Caesar.
Church History 4.26Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Macedonius dies; Eudoxius, installed at Constantinople, jests from the pulpit that the Father is “impious”; he and Acacius impose the creed of Ariminum throughout the empire, causing a persecution of Christians by Christians.
Church History 4.30Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · George persecutes pagans and dissenting Christians at Alexandria, preparing his own death; after Cyril's deposition Herennius, Heraclius and Hilarius hold Jerusalem until Cyril's return under Theodosius.
Church History 5.4Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Julian punishes Christian Caesarea in Cappadocia for destroying its temples, and adopts a show of mildness toward Christians, bearing Maris of Chalcedon’s rebuke in silence.
Church History 5.5Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Julian recalls exiles and forbids violence against Christians, but strips the clergy of their privileges and allowances, demands the rebuilding of temples, and favours those wronged by Constantius.
Church History 5.7Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Athanasius resumes the Alexandrian churches; the pagans of Alexandria lynch the Arian bishop George, partly over the Mithraeum affair, and Julian rebukes them only by letter.
Church History 5.8Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Count Julian, the emperor’s uncle, kills the presbyter Theodore at Antioch, profanes the church’s vessels, and dies eaten by worms.
Church History 5.9Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · The pagan mob of Gaza murders the brothers Eusebius, Nestabus and Zeno; their cousin Zeno, later bishop of Maiuma, enshrines their relics, and Julian punishes the governor who had arrested the rioters.
Church History 5.10Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Hilarion flees from Gaza to Sicily, Dalmatia and Cyprus; at Heliopolis pagans butcher consecrated virgins, and at Arethusa the old bishop Mark is tortured by the mob for destroying a temple.
Church History 5.11Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Martyrdoms under Julian: Macedonius, Theodulus and Tatian roasted at Merus, the confession of the Encratite Busiris at Ancyra, and the deaths of Basil of Ancyra and Eupsychius of Caesarea.
Church History 5.15Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Julian expels Athanasius from Alexandria, drives Eleusius from Cyzicus and incites Bostra against its bishop Titus; Sozomen tells how his own grandfather’s family and Alaphion’s became Christians at Bethelia through Hilarion.
Church History 5.17Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Julian has pagan gods painted beside his imperial images and makes soldiers burn incense when receiving his donative; some Christian soldiers, realizing what they had done, return the gold and are dismissed.
Church History 5.18Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Julian bars Christians from civic offices and from teaching Greek literature; Apolinarius answers by recasting Scripture in classical forms, and the bishops retort to Julian’s “I read, I understood, I condemned.”
Church History 5.19Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · At Antioch Julian quarrels with the citizens and writes the Misopogon; the oracle of Apollo at Daphne is silent because of the martyr Babylas, whose coffin the Christians carry back to the city singing psalms against idols.
Church History 5.20Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Julian orders reprisals; the young Theodore endures the rack singing the psalm and is released; the temple of Apollo at Daphne burns, and Julian orders martyrs’ shrines near Didyma destroyed.
Church History 5.22Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Julian, courting the Jews against the Christians, funds the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem; an earthquake, fire from the foundations and crosses on the workers’ clothes stop the work.
Church History 6.7Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · The homoiousian bishops, permitted by Valentinian to meet, hold the synod of Lampsacus, annul the acts of Constantinople and uphold “like in essence”; Valens, won over by Eudoxius, exiles their envoys and persecutes Meletius’s party at Antioch.
Church History 6.8Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Valens defeats and executes the usurper Procopius, then forces Eleusius of Cyzicus to accept the Arian creed; Eleusius repents publicly, and Eudoxius installs Eunomius at Cyzicus.
Church History 6.9Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Valens expels the Nicene party and the Novatians from Constantinople and exiles the Novatian bishop Agelius, who is soon recalled through the influence of Marcian, tutor to the emperor’s daughters.
Church History 6.10Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Amid earthquakes Valens and Eudoxius persecute the Macedonians, who send Eustathius, Silvanus and Theophilus to the West; at Rome they accept the homoousios before Liberius and are received into communion.
Church History 6.12Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · The synod of Tyana welcomes the western letters and summons a synod to Tarsus, which Valens forbids; ordered to expel bishops restored under Julian, the authorities fail to seize Athanasius, and Valens lets him return.
Church History 6.13Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · At Eudoxius’s death the Arians ordain Demophilus at Constantinople and the Nicene party Evagrius, ordained by Eustathius of Antioch; Valens exiles both Eustathius and Evagrius.
Church History 6.14Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Eighty clergy who petition Valens at Nicomedia against the Arians’ persecution are secretly condemned; put on a ship as if for exile, they are burned at sea.
Church History 6.16Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Basil, now bishop of Caesarea, defies Valens’s prefect, who threatens him with death; Valens honours him at Epiphany but plans his exile, until his son falls ill and Basil is called to pray for him.
Church History 6.18Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Valens persecutes the Nicene party at Antioch; at Edessa a woman hurrying with her child to share martyrdom in the plain shames the prefect Modestus into persuading Valens to abandon the massacre.
Church History 6.19Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · At Athanasius’s death the Arian Lucius is installed at Alexandria by Euzoius and imperial officers; Athanasius’s successor Peter is imprisoned and escapes to Rome, and the Nicene clergy and virgins are tortured and exiled.
Church History 6.20Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Lucius attacks the Egyptian monks, who heal a paralytic in Christ’s name; the two Macarii, exiled to a pagan island, deliver the priest’s daughter from a demon and convert the islanders, and Lucius is forced to let them return.
Church History 6.21Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · In Scythia, whose one bishop Bretannio defies Valens at Tomi, the emperor exiles him but soon restores him for fear of the Scythians; in the West Valentinian leaves church matters to the priests.
Church History 6.31Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · The monastic settlements of Nitria and the Cells; and the church of Rhinocorura under its monk-bishops Melas and Solon, Melas welcoming and feeding the officers sent to exile him.
Church History 6.38Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Queen Mavia of the Saracens wars on the Roman East until Valens grants her the monk Moses as bishop; Moses refuses ordination from the Arian Lucius, and Sozomen relates the Saracens’ descent from Ishmael, their Jewish customs, and the conversion of Zocomus’s tribe.
Church History 7.13Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Justina, Valentinian II’s Arian mother, tries to have Ambrose exiled and issues a law for the creed of Ariminum, which the official Menivolus refuses to draft; Gratian is murdered by the usurper Maximus’s general, and Valentinian flees to Thessalonica.
Church History 7.15Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · The Paulinian schism continues at Antioch under Evagrius; at Alexandria Theophilus’s mockery of pagan relics provokes a pagan rising in the Serapeum, which ends with Theodosius’s order to destroy the temples; pagans of Apamea burn bishop Marcellus, whose death the synod forbids his sons to avenge.
Church History 8.21Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · After his second deposition Chrysostom’s followers are driven by soldiers from the Easter baptisms (404) and meet apart as “Johannites”; two attempts on his life follow.
Church History 8.22Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Chrysostom, ordered to leave, slips away to Bithynia (404); the great church and the senate house burn as his supporters struggle to leave, each side blaming the other; he is exiled to Cucusus and his followers imprisoned.
Church History 8.23Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Arsacius succeeds Chrysostom; soldiers break up the Johannite assemblies and rob the women; many of his followers, among them the noble virgin Nicarete, whom Sozomen praises, leave the city, and the pagan prefect tortures many over the fire.
Church History 8.24Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · The reader Eutropius dies under torture, honoured in a dream to the Novatian Sisinnius; the deaconess Olympias defies the prefect and leaves for Cyzicus; the presbyter Tigrius is tortured; Innocent becomes bishop of Rome and Porphyry of Antioch, and a law expels those not in communion with Arsacius, Porphyry and Theophilus.
Church History 8.28Sozomen · ca. 439-450 · Innocent’s envoys seeking a synod are sent back in disgrace, and Chrysostom is ordered further away to Pityus; he dies on the way at Comana, warned by the martyr Basiliscus.
Canon 10Anonymous · date disputed (between ca. 442 and 506) · Those who apostatized willingly in persecution do the penance set by Nicaea, which the bishop may shorten for true repentance.
Canon 11Anonymous · date disputed (between ca. 442 and 506) · Those forced by torture to deny or sacrifice do two years among the catechumens and three among the penitents.
The Passion of the Martyrs of Agaunum 2Eucherius of Lyon · ca. 443-450 · Under Maximian the Theban legion, Christian soldiers from the East, refused to persecute Christians.
The Passion of the Martyrs of Agaunum 3Eucherius of Lyon · ca. 443-450 · Maximian twice decimated the Theban legion at Agaunum, but the soldiers refused to persecute Christians.
The Passion of the Martyrs of Agaunum 4Eucherius of Lyon · ca. 443-450 · Led by Maurice, Exuperius and Candidus, the legion tells Maximian they will serve him but not deny God or persecute Christians.
The Passion of the Martyrs of Agaunum 5Eucherius of Lyon · ca. 443-450 · Maximian had the whole legion killed; the soldiers laid down their arms and died like lambs, following Christ.
Church History 1.6Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Constantine, after a failed attempt at mediation, convenes the Council of Nicaea; Theodoret describes the confessors present, the emperor's entry and appeal for concord, the rejection of a creed proposed by Arius's supporters, and the signing of the faith.
Church History 1.14Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Theodoret quotes Constantine's circular letter to Eusebius urging the bishops to repair, enlarge, or build churches at public expense now that persecution has ended.
Church History 1.23Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · A captive Christian woman heals a child and the queen of the Iberians by prayer; the king, struck blind while hunting and healed when he calls on her God, builds a church to her plan and asks Constantine for a bishop; Constantine also writes to the king of Persia on behalf of the Christians there.
Church History 1.24Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Theodoret quotes Constantine's letter to the king of Persia, which confesses the Christian God, rejects pagan sacrifice, recalls the fate of persecuting emperors, and commends the Christians of Persia to the king's protection; he then turns to the Arian party's plots against another champion of orthodoxy.
Church History 2.4Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Paul, bishop of Constantinople, accused by the Arian party, is exiled to Cucusus and there strangled by their agents, as Athanasius reports in his Defence of his Flight.
Church History 2.6Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Theodoret quotes the encyclical letter of the Western bishops at Sardica, which recounts the flight of the Eastern bishops, clears Athanasius, Marcellus, and Asclepas, deposes their opponents, and ends with a statement of faith confessing one hypostasis of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Constans then presses Constantius by letter to restore Athanasius.
Church History 2.10Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · After the death of Constans, Constantius, urged by the Arians, orders Athanasius to be killed and sends a general with troops; Theodoret quotes Athanasius's own account of how soldiers surrounded his church at night and how he escaped after the people had left.
Church History 2.11Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · George of Cappadocia, installed in place of Athanasius, persecutes the orthodox of Alexandria with the help of the Manichaean general Sebastian; Theodoret quotes Athanasius's account of virgins beaten, men flayed with thorned palm rods, bishops exiled, and the denial of burial to the dead.
Church History 2.12Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · With a price on Athanasius's head, Constantius, while campaigning against Magnentius, has a synod at Milan demand the condemnation of Athanasius; the bishops who refuse, including Liberius of Rome and Hosius, are exiled, and Theodoret quotes Athanasius's lists of bishops persecuted by the Arian party, then introduces Liberius's dialogue with the emperor.
Church History 2.13Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Theodoret gives the record of Liberius of Rome's dialogue with Constantius, in which Liberius refuses to condemn Athanasius unheard, asks that the Nicene faith be confirmed and a fair hearing held at Alexandria, refuses the emperor's money, and is exiled to Beroea in Thrace.
Church History 3.3Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Under Julian pagans attack Christians across the empire: clergy and virgins are disembowelled at Ascalon and Gaza, John the Baptist's bones burned at Sebaste, the deacon Cyril killed at Heliopolis, a church given to Dionysus at Emesa, Aemilian burned at Dorostolum, and Bishop Mark of Arethusa tortured for refusing to rebuild a temple, until his endurance wins over his tormentors.
Church History 3.4Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Julian forbids Christians, whom he calls Galileans, to study and teach classical literature and philosophy, and expels them from the army.
Church History 3.5Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · At the pagans' petition Julian orders Athanasius to be killed; Athanasius, saying the storm is a passing cloud, flees by boat up the Nile, then turns back toward his pursuers, tells them Athanasius is near, and hides in Alexandria until Julian's death.
Church History 3.6Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · When the oracle of Apollo at Daphne refuses to speak while the bones of the martyr Babylas lie nearby, Julian has the Christians remove the relics, and they carry them in procession singing a psalm against idol worshippers.
Church History 3.7Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Julian orders the arrest of the Christians who led the procession; the prefect Sallustius has a young man, Theodore, tortured all day, but Theodore later says an unseen figure comforted him; then lightning burns Apollo's temple at Daphne and its statue, and even under torture the temple wardens say the fire came from heaven.
Church History 3.8Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Julian closes the great church of Antioch and confiscates its vessels; his uncle Julian desecrates the altar and strikes Bishop Euzoius, and the treasurer Felix mocks the costly vessels used for the son of Mary.
Church History 3.9Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Julian's uncle dies of a loathsome disease after begging in vain that the church be restored, and the treasurer Felix dies vomiting blood, as punishment for their sacrilege.
Church History 3.10Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · The son of a pagan priest, taught by a deaconess, flees to Meletius; his father finds him, tortures him with hot spits and locks him up, but the door's bolts fall away at his prayer, and disguised as a woman he escapes to Cyril of Jerusalem; later he converts his father, and Theodoret heard the story from him in old age.
Church History 3.11Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Julian pollutes the springs and market food of Antioch with sacrificial water; Christians eat it according to Paul's rule; two guardsmen, Juventinus and Maximinus, who lament the defilement in Daniel's words, are tortured and executed on a charge of insulting the emperor, and Antioch honours them as martyrs.
Church History 3.12Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Valentinian, a guards officer, strikes a temple attendant who sprinkled him and is exiled, later receiving the empire; Julian tricks soldiers into offering incense at an altar set beside him when they receive their donative.
Church History 3.13Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Soldiers who had unwittingly offered incense repent at a banquet, proclaim themselves Christians in the streets, and demand to be burned; Julian orders their beheading but reprieves them at the last moment, to the regret of the youngest, Romanus, and banishes them instead.
Church History 3.14Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Julian has Artemius, former military commander in Egypt, executed for destroying idols; Publia, a widow leading a choir of virgins in Antioch, sings psalms against idols as he passes, and when beaten on his orders continues her singing.
Church History 3.15Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Julian incites the Jews to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem to disprove Christ's prophecy; earthquakes, winds, fire from the foundations, a collapsing portico, and crosses in the sky and on their clothes stop the work, but Julian, like Pharaoh, is unmoved.
Church History 3.16Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Before his Persian campaign Julian consults the oracles, which promise victory; Theodoret quotes one in which Ares promises trophies at the Tigris, mocks it, and remarks that Julian's calling Christians “Galileans” cannot harm them, since names do not change character.
Church History 3.17Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · At Beroea a leading councillor who had disowned his son for turning pagan answers Julian, at a banquet, by calling his son a God-hated wretch; Julian, feigning mildness, takes the son under his own care.
Church History 3.18Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · When the sophist Libanius mockingly asks a Christian schoolboys' attendant what “the carpenter's son” is doing, the man answers that he is making a coffin, and a few days later Julian's death is announced.
Church History 3.20Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Julian, having burned his boats after crossing into Persia and led his starving army through the desert, is killed by an unknown hand; Theodoret mocks the failed promises of Ares, Apollo, and Zeus and reports that Julian, dying, threw his blood into the air crying, “You have conquered, Galilean.”
Church History 3.21Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · After Julian's death a temple he had sealed at Carrhae is opened and found to contain a woman whose body he had cut open to divine victory from her liver.
Church History 3.22Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Remains of victims are reported found in Julian's palace at Antioch; the city celebrates his death in churches, shrines, and theatres, mocking the philosopher Maximus's oracles; Theodoret recalls Julian's satire Misopogon against the Antiochenes and ends the book.
Church History 4.7Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Valentinian has a synod held in Illyricum, which upholds the Nicene faith, and sends its decrees with an imperial letter (in the names of Valentinian, Valens, and Gratian) to the bishops of Asia and Phrygia, urging them to stop persecuting the orthodox; the synod's summary confesses one essence of Father, Son, and Spirit in three hypostases.
Church History 4.12Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · At his baptism Valens swears to Eudoxius to maintain Arianism and to expel its opponents; he exiles Meletius to Armenia, Eusebius of Samosata to Thrace, and Pelagius of Laodicea, who had persuaded his bride to live with him in continence, to Arabia; Eusebius had travelled in disguise ordaining clergy for the churches.
Church History 4.13Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Eusebius of Samosata, ordered into exile in Thrace, leaves secretly by night and, overtaken by his grieving people, urges them to submit to authority but hold the faith; the people of Samosata shun the Arian bishop Eunomius, even pouring away his bathwater, and treat Lucius with contempt, while Lucius exiles Eusebius's clergy, including his nephew Antiochus, who later refused ordination at the hands of a bishop who had communicated with the Arians.
Church History 4.14Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Barses, bishop of Edessa, famous for healing, is exiled by Valens first to Aradus, then to Oxyrhynchus, and finally to a remote frontier fort, while his bed on Aradus continues to heal the sick.
Church History 4.15Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · At Edessa the prefect Modestus, moved by a woman hurrying with her infant to share the expected martyrdom, persuades Valens not to massacre the orthodox, but eighty clergy led by Eulogius are exiled; at Antinoë Eulogius prays while Protogenes teaches pagan boys, heals the sick on condition of baptism, and brings converts to Eulogius, and both later become bishops of Edessa and Carrhae.
Church History 4.16Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · At Caesarea Basil refuses the prefect's offers and threats; after Valens's son falls ill and dies when baptized by Arians against Basil's condition, Valens attends Basil's church, endows his hospital for lepers, and later, trying to sign Basil's exile, breaks three pens and tears up the decree.
Church History 4.18Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · The pagan governor of Egypt drives Peter of Alexandria into exile in Rome, and the Arian Lucius, installed by Euzoius, persecutes the orthodox; when he banishes the monks Macarius, the other Macarius, and Isidore to a pagan island, a demon flees from them and the islanders are baptized, and the Alexandrians force Lucius to let the monks return.
Church History 4.19Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Theodoret quotes the middle of Peter of Alexandria's letter describing the pagan governor Palladius's assault on the church of Theonas, the stripping and killing of virgins, obscene performances on the altar, the installation of Lucius with Euzoius and the count Magnus, the torture and deportation of nineteen clergy to Heliopolis, the punishment of mourners, the deacon of Damasus sent to the mines, and the exile of eleven Egyptian bishops to Diocaesarea.
Church History 4.21Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · In Constantinople Arians set fire to a boat full of orthodox presbyters at sea; at Antioch Valens tolerates pagans, Jews, and heretics but drives the orthodox from the churches and even from their open-air assemblies.
Church History 4.22Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · At Antioch Flavian and Diodore lead the orthodox in exile from the churches, moving their assemblies from the mountainside to the riverbank to the parade ground, Diodore preaching and Flavian supplying arguments, and the ascetic Aphrahat leaves his cell to help them.
Church History 4.23Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Valens, seeing the old ascetic Aphrahat on his way to the orthodox assembly, tells him to pray at home; Aphrahat answers that a girl must leave her room when her father's house is on fire, and a chamberlain who threatened him dies scalded in the emperor's bath, but Valens does not change.
Church History 4.29Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · The victorious general Terentius asks Valens, as his reward, only for a church for the orthodox; when Valens tears up the petition, Terentius gathers the pieces and says God will judge the intention.
Church History 4.30Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · The general Trajan, defeated by the Goths, tells Valens that the emperor's war on God has given the victory to the barbarians, and the generals Arintheus and Victor agree.
Church History 4.31Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · The monk Isaac warns Valens that he will not return from his war against the Goths unless he restores the orthodox bishops, and Vetranio, bishop of Scythia, also rebukes him.
Church History 5.9Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Theodoret quotes the letter of the bishops at Constantinople (382) to Damasus and the western bishops, declining to come to Rome, recounting their sufferings, professing one essence in three perfect hypostases and Christ's complete humanity, and defending the elections of Nectarius, Flavian, and Cyril.
Church History 5.13Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Justina, Valentinian II's mother, draws her son to Arianism; when Ambrose refuses to hand over a church, Valentinian surrounds it with soldiers and orders him out, and Ambrose answers that he will not betray the flock and is ready to die inside.
Church History 5.14Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · The usurper Maximus, citing Valentinian II's attacks on Ambrose, threatens war and marches on Milan, and Valentinian flees to Illyricum.
Church History 5.20Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Theodosius orders the destruction of pagan temples, completing what Constantine (who closed them) and his sons, Jovian, and Valentinian had begun, and ending the open pagan rites tolerated under Valens.
Church History 5.34Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Theodoret recounts, without naming the bishops responsible, John Chrysostom's deposition, brief recall after an earthquake, second exile to Cucusus, death at Comana, and the West's refusal of communion until his name was restored.
Church History 5.36Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Theodosius II brings John Chrysostom's relics to Constantinople and prays for his parents; Theodoret praises his piety, his submission to an excommunication, his laws against pagan shrines, and God's help against the Huns and the Persians.
Church History 5.38Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 449-450 · Bishop Abdas's destruction of a fire-temple provokes a Persian persecution lasting thirty years; Theodoret describes its tortures and the confessions of Hormisdas, Saenes, and the deacon Benjamin, and explains why God permits persecution.
Part 1, section 9Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers Paul's trials before Felix and Festus, Nero's crimes and the first persecution, in which Peter and Paul died at Rome, and Titus's destruction of Jerusalem, with the summed years to that event.
Part 1, section 10Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers Titus and Domitian, with the second persecution and John's exile to Patmos, Nerva, and the early reign of Trajan, under whom Simon of Jerusalem and Ignatius of Antioch were martyred.
Part 1, section 11Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers Pliny's letter to Trajan about the Christians, the Jewish revolts under Trajan and Hadrian, the bishops of Jerusalem from the circumcision, the apologies of Quadratus and Aristides with Hadrian's rescript, and the heresiarch Basilides.
Part 1, section 12Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers Bar Kochba's revolt and the end of Jewish Jerusalem, Aelia Capitolina, the first Gentile bishop of Jerusalem, the teachings of Valentinus, Cerdo, and Marcion, Justin's apology and martyrdom, and Polycarp's visit to Rome.
Part 1, section 13Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, the fourth persecution with the martyrdoms of Polycarp and the martyrs of Gaul, the apologists Melito and Apollinaris, the rise of Montanism and the Encratites, the miracle of the rain, Commodus, and Pertinax.
Part 1, section 14Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers Pertinax, Severus, and his successors to Alexander Severus, the Easter controversy, the fifth persecution with the martyrdoms of Leonides and Perpetua and Felicity, Sabellius, and Origen's On First Principles.
Part 1, section 15Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers the emperors from Maximinus to Gallienus, with the sixth to eighth persecutions, the martyrdoms of Fabian, Cornelius, and Cyprian, the rise of the Novatians, the barbarian invasions, and the heresy of Paul of Samosata.
Part 1, section 16Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers Claudius II, Aurelian, Probus, Carus, and the beginning of Diocletian's tetrarchy, with the rise and teaching of the Manichees and Diocletian's forced divorces of Constantius and Galerius.
Part 1, section 17Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers Diocletian's great persecution, the tetrarchs, the rise of Constantine and the restoration of peace to the church, the heresy of Arius, and the Council of Nicaea, which confessed the Homoousion.
Part 1, section 18Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers the end of Constantine's reign, the Donatist schism, Constantine's baptism, the sons of Constantine, the Arian persecution of Athanasius and others, the Audaeans and Macedonians, and the exile of Liberius of Rome.
Part 1, section 19Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers the struggles over the empire after Constans, the exile of Nicene bishops under Constantius, the death of Antony, the councils of Ariminum and Seleucia, Julian's persecution and death, and the accession of Valentinian and Valens.
Part 1, section 20Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · The Chronicle covers Apollinaris's heresy, Damasus's election, Valens's persecution of the Nicenes, the deaths of Hilary, Eusebius of Vercelli, and Lucifer, Didymus, Eunomius, Ambrose's election at Milan, and the disaster of Adrianople, where Valens died.
Part 2, entry 49 (Aetio Ii et Sigisvulto coss.)Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · Gaiseric persecutes the catholic bishops of Africa and martyrs four Spanish courtiers who refuse to become Arians; Valentinian III marries Eudoxia at Constantinople.
Part 2, entry 51 (Theodosio Xvii et Festo coss.)Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · Litorius is defeated by the Goths, Pope Xystus at Leo's urging rejects Julian of Eclanum's attempt to return, and Gaiseric seizes Carthage, plundering its churches.
Appendix: the Vandal kingsProsper of Aquitaine · ca. 445-455 · An appendix lists the Vandal kings of Africa from Gaiseric's capture of Carthage to Gelimer and the end of the Vandal kingdom, with Huneric's persecution of the catholics and their later restoration.
Part 1, chapter 27Quodvultdeus of Carthage · ca. 445-450 · Joseph, resisting Potiphar’s wife and leaving his garment in her hands, figures Christ whose garments are the martyrs, dragged by idolatry and persecution but freed in their souls.
Part 1, chapter 32Quodvultdeus of Carthage · ca. 445-450 · Jacob’s descent into Egypt and joy at seeing Joseph figure Simeon’s joy at seeing Christ; Israel’s growth under Pharaoh’s oppression figures the Church multiplied through martyrdom.
Part 2, chapter 33Quodvultdeus of Carthage · ca. 445-450 · The captivity of Judah for its sins, Zedekiah’s blinding, and the plundered temple vessels warn the author’s own afflicted times to repent; Daniel’s first four visions (Susanna, the king’s food, the statue of four kingdoms, the furnace) figure Christ and his Church.
Part 3, chapter 22Quodvultdeus of Carthage · ca. 445-450 · Isaiah’s “counted among the wicked” is fulfilled in Christ crucified between two robbers.
Part 3, chapter 34Quodvultdeus of Carthage · ca. 445-450 · The Psalms on the death of the saints are fulfilled in the martyrs Christ sent as sheep among wolves; the ten persecutions and a recent Persian persecution, with a sign of crosses in battle, show the Church’s growth through martyrdom.
Part 4, chapter 8Quodvultdeus of Carthage · ca. 445-450 · The seven heads and ten horns of the beast in the Apocalypse and Daniel are kings who persecute the Church, including the Arians who rebaptize; the Antichrist, the eighth, is by some identified with a returning Nero.
Part 4, chapter 10Quodvultdeus of Carthage · ca. 445-450 · Daniel’s vision of the persecutor who profanes the sanctuary, against whom the people who know God stand firm and Michael arises, is applied to the Antichrist’s persecution, foreshadowed by the Arians; Christ and the Apocalypse confirm it, and the martyrs of the end will complete the number of the elect.
Part 4, chapter 13Quodvultdeus of Carthage · ca. 445-450 · Malachi’s Elijah and the two witnesses of the Apocalypse are Elijah and Enoch, who will expose the Antichrist, as Moses and Aaron withstood Jannes and Jambres and Peter and Paul withstood Simon Magus; the forty-two months of trampling are already begun by the Arian Goths and Moors.
Part 4, chapter 14Quodvultdeus of Carthage · ca. 445-450 · The garment to be kept is Christ, put on in baptism; those rebaptized by heretics or lapsed in persecution have lost it and should return in repentance like the prodigal son.
Deuteronomy Question 42Theodoret of Cyrus · ca. 453 · The Song of Moses foretells the joy of Jewish and Gentile believers, attended by angels throughout Christ's life, and the punishment of those who killed the saints.