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They were not. It is often thought they were victims of hostile treatment because they refused to believe in the Roman polytheism and turned instead to (Jewish) Monotheism. That is however not the case. The Roman Empire was very tolerant towards other religions and was very tolerant towards Christianity as well. It has been established by modern historians that for almost all of the first 400 years of its existence, Christians were mostly left at peace and could hold any job or office without problem. It helped that in the early centuries, Christianity was seen as mostly 'a religion for women and slaves' and consequently not as any real threat to the Roman Empire's fabric or authority.
Only the emperor Nero - looking for scapegoats after the great fire of Rome - and later, the emperor Diocletian instituted an official policy against Christians for several years and had quite a number of Christians killed. Later Christian writers have probably grossly overestimated the number of actual victims because it made an edifying story on how early Christians had kept their faith and made martyrs and saints of themselves in the face of massive and cruel persecution.
That is not to say that early Christians were always completely free from persecution and harassment. Roman religious ceremonies were always litterally out in the open, and Christian ceremonies were inside and only accessible to church members. That often caused others to think that Christians must have something to hide, either demonic or otherwise unspeakable rituals, or the subversive nature of those meetings to the State or community.
As a result persecution did occur on a local or regional level, not as a sesult of official policy but as a result of local autorities' prejudices. And Christians were killed or banned as a result of local trials.
But on the whole, Christians were allowed to go about their business in peace and after a few hundred years saw their religion become the Roman Empire's official State religion.
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Why were early Christians persecuted?
They would not worship the Emperor, and were not particularly loyal to the Roman Empire.
How did christanity contribute to the fall of the roman empire?
Christianity was a divisive factor in the Roman empire. It caused unrest not only between the Christians and the pantheists, but between the Christians themselves as the early Christians had several sects and they were always bickering among themselves.
Who is the roman empire who was especially harsh to christians?
The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.
Why did the Romans oppose early Christianity?
Some Opinions:Christians predicted the demise of the Roman Empire, and refused to participate in state religion. The Roman Empire eventually became Christian, however.Christianity denied that the Caesar was a god, thus earning the opposition of the Emperor because Christians didn't recognize his "divinity".
Did the Moors persecute Christians?
Yes, the Moors did persecute the Early Christians.
Why were early Christians persecuted?
They would not worship the Emperor, and were not particularly loyal to the Roman Empire.
Secret sign by early Christians?
The most famous secret sign in early Christianity was the Ichtys sometimes spelled ikhthus that resembles a fish and is today known as the Jesus fish. Early Christians developed this sign to mark meeting places or friend from foe. They had to do this because Early Christians were persecuted constantly by the Roman Empire up until it was made the official religion of the roman empire.
How did christanity contribute to the fall of the roman empire?
Christianity was a divisive factor in the Roman empire. It caused unrest not only between the Christians and the pantheists, but between the Christians themselves as the early Christians had several sects and they were always bickering among themselves.
What was the man thing that roman rulers had against christians?
By the time of the persecutions, the Christians were a large force in the empire. Now the early Christians were not the white robed, gentle faced lambs that Holloywood would have you believe. They were a clannish group that aggressively tried to recruit converts. It was because of their formentig civil unrest and their refusal to give even lip service to the gods for the good of the empire that they were considered enemies of the state, in particular their leaders.
Why is Saint Ursula a saint?
Ursula was a martyr and early Christians considered all martyrs to be saints.
Why were early Christians attracted to the islands?
Why were early christians attracted attracted to the island
What was Saint Dorothy's reason for sainthood?
St. Dorothy died a martyr's death which the early Christians considered as automatic sainthood.
How did Saint Vitus become a saint?
St. Vitus was martyred for his faith and early Christians considered all martyrs to be saints.
Why was Saint George beheaded?
St. George lived in a time when early Christians were being persecuted by the Roman Empire. He was arrested for being a Catholic and beheaded.
Who is the roman empire who was especially harsh to christians?
The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.The Roman emperor who was especially harsh to Christians would have to be Diocletian as he initiated the "great persecution" which lasted the longest.
Why were christians considered disloyal to the Roman Empire?
The number of Christians started to grow, so the Romans saw them as a threat to Roman order and patriotism.The Romans believed they were favoured by the gods because of their devotion to them. They even brought the images, statues and sacred objects of the gods of some of the tribes that they conquered to Rome, so that they could show devotion to them.In this sense, because Christians did not honour the traditional gods, they were considered to be a danger to the welfare of the Roman state. While this was not necessarily a universally held opinion, this attitude seems to have influenced Emperor Decius, who in 250, soon after becoming emperor, declared that everyone had to declare that they supported the (traditional) gods. This led to the first empire-wide persecution of Christians.The same religious conservatism, and a fear that Christians in the army were hindered the prayers to the gods for military success, was probably behind the Great Persecution, begun by Emperor Diocletian and his colleagues in 303, which continued off-and-on until 313, when the last of these persecutors, and one of the most determined, eventually gave up.In the meantime, Constantine (now a co-emperor) won a victory in a civil war in Italy against a usurper, and at the time believed that he had been aided by the Christian god. This changed the dynamics of the situation, and it turned out to be a long-lasting change, with Constantine eventually coming to a better understanding of the Christian faith.In its early years, Christianity was too small to be thought by many to be a threat to the Roman Empire. We do find in the epistles (for example 1 Peter: "you are a holy nation") obscure references that could suggest that some Christians felt themselves independent of secular rule, but these would have passed unnoticed by the Roman people.By the third century, there were enough Christians for people to notice if the Christians refused to abide by the same rules as everyone else. People were becoming aware that Christians paid more obedience to their bishops than to the civil authorities, and even had their own courts.Christians incurred the displeasure of the pagan Roman government because they did not seem entirely loyal. They were becoming a threat to the proper governance of the Roman Empire, which required respect for the civil authorities and obedience to the law. At last, there were three periods of widespread, official persecution in 249-51, 257 and 303-311.As an example of treason or desertion, Edward Gibbon mentions Marcellus, the centurion who threw away his arms and the ensigns of his office, and exclaimed with a loud voice that he would obey none but Jesus Christ the eternal King, and that he renounced forever the use of carnal weapons and the service of an idolatrous master. The soldiers, as soon as they recovered from their astonishment, secured the person of Marcellus, who was condemned and beheaded for the crime of desertion. Examples like this savour less of persecution than of martial or even civil law, but they served to alienate the emperors.
Why wasn't the Vatican built in Israel?
Israel was the centre of Judaism and most people there were Jews and rejected the early Christians. Rome was the head of the Roman Empire and it was there that many Christians headed. It was the place that was ideal to start Christianity and to spread it from.
