Decian persecution
Decius ordered every inhabitant of the empire, apparently except the Jews, to sacrifice to the gods in the presence of officials and obtain a certificate (libellus); for Christians the order meant a choice between apostasy and punishment, and it became the first persecution to reach the whole empire.
- Date
- January 250 – 251start: month known; end: year known · duration: ≈ 17 months
- Place
- Rometoday: Rome, Italy · Western and Central Europe
- Participants
- Decius, Roman Empire
- Threads
- Europe in the Roman age (1st–5th c.)
- Also known as
- Persecution of Decius; Edict of Decius; Libelli; Гонения на христиан при Деции; Эдикт Деция
The text of the edict is lost. It was issued at the turn of 249 and 250 — by January 250 at the latest — and required everyone to sacrifice, pour a libation and taste the sacrificial meat before a magistrate and witnesses, who signed a certificate. Forty-six such libelli, all dated to 250, have been published from papyri found in Egypt. They do not mention Christianity: the order served as an empire-wide oath of loyalty to the new emperor, sanctified by religion, and Decius also aimed to restore traditional Roman piety. The Jews, whose religion Rome had long tolerated, were apparently exempted, although not all scholars accept this. For Christians, who could worship no other god, it meant apostasy or punishment.
Among the first victims was Fabian, bishop of Rome, who died on 20 January 250, probably in prison; Babylas of Antioch and Alexander of Jerusalem also perished, while Cyprian of Carthage and Dionysius of Alexandria went into hiding. Many others complied: in Carthage the officials could not keep up with the crowds seeking certificates. The edict lapsed when Decius fell at Abritus in the summer of 251, but the fate of the lapsi — those who had sacrificed — divided the Church: in 251 the rigorists in Rome had Novatian consecrated bishop as a rival to Cornelius. Persecution resumed under Valerian in 257–258 and ended when Gallienus became sole emperor in 260.
Connections
Related events
- Martyrs of Lyon177 · Western and Central Europeuntil Decius persecutions had been local, as at Lyon in 177
- Battle of Abritusbetween June and August 251 · Balkans and Anatoliawith Decius’s death at Abritus the edict lapsed
- Martyrdom of Cyprian of Carthage14 September 258 · AfricaCyprian fled the Decian persecution in 250 and argued over the lapsed
- Great Persecution24 February 303 – 313 · Balkans and Anatoliathe first and the last empire-wide persecutions of Christians
Same participants
- Paintings of the synagogue and the church at Dura-Europosbetween 240 and 256 · Middle East and Egyptvia Roman Empire
Same place
- Great Fire of Rome19 July 64 – c. 27 July 64 · Western and Central Europe
- Martyrdom of Peter and Paul in Romebetween 64 and 68 · Western and Central Europe
- Nero crowns Tiridates I in Rome66 · Western and Central Europe
- Pliny the Elder’s Natural History77 · Western and Central Europe
- Inauguration of the Colosseum80 · Western and Central Europe
- Hadrian’s Pantheonbetween 114 and 118 – between 125 and 128 · Western and Central Europe
- Galen in Rome162 · Western and Central Europe
- Antonine Plague165–180 · Western and Central Europe
- Murder of Commodus and the Year of the Five Emperors31 December 192 – June 193 · Western and Central Europe
- Constitutio Antoniniana212 · Western and Central Europe
- Plotinus teaches in Rome: the rise of Neoplatonismc. 244 – 270 · Western and Central Europe
- Crisis of the Third CenturyMarch 235 – 20 November 284 · Western and Central Europe
- Aurelian Walls271–275 · Western and Central Europe
- Battle of the Milvian Bridge28 October 312 · Western and Central Europe
- Sack of Rome by the Visigoths24–27 August 410 · Western and Central Europe
- Vandal sack of Rome2–16 June 455 · Western and Central Europe
- Gothic War (535–554)535–554 · Western and Central Europe
- Coronation of Charlemagne25 December 800 · Western and Central Europe
- Imperial coronation of Otto I2 February 962 · Western and Central Europe
- Fourth Council of the Lateran11–30 November 1215 · Western and Central Europe
- “Summa Theologica” by Thomas Aquinas1265–1274 · Western and Central Europe
- Sack of Rome (1527)6 May 1527 · Western and Central Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within a year of this event
Eastern Europe
- The Goths destroy Tanaisbetween 244 and 254
- Crisis of the Bosporan Kingdomc. 250 – c. 275
- Kyiv culturec. 200 – between 400 and 430
- Chernyakhov culturebetween 200 and 250 – between 400 and 430
Balkans and Anatolia
- Battle of Abritusbetween June and August 251
- Gothic invasions of the Balkans and Asia Minor238–271
Middle East and Egypt
- Diophantus’ Arithmeticac. 250
- Paintings of the synagogue and the church at Dura-Europosbetween 240 and 256
Africa
- Plague of Cyprianc. 249 – between 262 and 270
Central and Northern Asia
- Toprak-Kala, palace of the kings of Khwarezm200–299
- Shapur I conquers Kushanshahrbetween 230 and 262
- The Kushano-Sasanian kingdom in Bactriabetween 230 and 262 – between 350 and 370
South Asia
- Vindhyashakti founds the Vakataka dynastyc. 250
- Kushano-Sasanians in Gandhara: Sasanian claims reach Peshawarbetween 240 and 262
- Funan’s embassy to India: Su Wu sails to the Gangesbetween 240 and 250
- Vijayapuri of the Ikshvakus: the monasteries of Nagarjunakondabetween 210 and 250 – between 300 and 350
- Heyday of Indo-Roman trade: Muziris and Arikameduc. 30 BC – c. 250
East Asia
- Kofun period: the age of keyhole tombsbetween 250 and 300 – 538
Southeast Asia and Oceania
- Lady Triệu’s uprising against Wu248
- Kang Tai and Zhu Ying, envoys of Wu, in Funanbetween 245 and 250
- Óc Eo, the port of Funanbetween 1 and 100 – between 601 and 700
- Gold pendant copying a coin of Antoninus Pius at Óc Eobetween 152 and 600
North America
- Late Basketmaker II erac. 50 – c. 500
- Hopewell traditionbetween 200 and 100 BC – c. 500
Latin America
- Nazca culture and the Nazca Linesbetween 200 and 100 BC – between 500 and 800
- Burial of the Lord of Sipánc. 250
- Preclassic Maya collapse: El Mirador is abandonedc. 100 – c. 250
- Rise of Teotihuacanc. 1 – c. 250
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Decian persecution
- Wikipedia (English): Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire
- Wikipedia (English): Libellus
- Wikipedia (English): Pope Fabian
- Wikipedia (English): Novatian
- Wikipedia (Russian): Гонения на христиан при Деции
- Wikipedia (Russian): Фабиан (папа римский)
- Wikipedia (Russian): Новациан
- Rives J. B. The Decree of Decius and the Religion of Empire // The Journal of Roman Studies. — 1999. — Vol. 89. — P. 135–154.
- Frend W. H. C. Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church. — Oxford: Blackwell, 1965.
- Wikidata: Q2590336