Foxe’s Christian Martyrs (Part 2)

THE FIRST PERSECUTION

The first of the ten persecutions was stirred up by Nero about AD 64. His rage against the Christians was so fierce that Eusebius records, “A man might then see cities full of men’s bodies, the old lying together with the young, and the dead bodies of women cast out naked, without reverence of that sex, in the open streets.” Many Christians in those days thought that Nero was the antichrist because of his cruelty and abominations.

The apostle Peter was condemned to death during this persecution, although some say he escaped. It is known that many Christians encouraged him to leave the city, and the story goes that as he came to the city’s gate, Peter saw Jesus coming to meet him, “Lord, where are You going?” Peter asked.

“I am come again to be crucified,” was the answer.

Seeing that his suffering was understood, Peter returned to the city, where Jerome tells us he was crucified head down at his own request, saying that he was not worthy to be crucified the same way his Lord was.

Paul also suffered under this persecution when Nero sent two of his esquires, Ferega and Parthemius, to bring him to his execution. They found Paul instructing the people and asked him to pray for them so they might believe. Receiving Paul’s assurance that they would soon be baptized, the two men led him out of th ecity to the place of execution, where Paul was beheaded. This persecution ended under Vespasian’s reign, giving the Christians a little peace.

THE SECOND PERSECUTION

The second persecution began during the reign of Domitian, the brother of Titus. Domitian exiled John to the island of Patmos, but on Domitian’s death, John was allowed to return to Ephesus in the year AD 97. He remained there until the reign of Trajan, governing the churches in Asia and writing his Gospel until he died at about the age of 100.

Why did the Roman emperors and senate persecute the Christians so? First of all, they didn’t understand that Christ’s kingdom is not a temporal kingdom, and they feared for their powerful leadership roles if too many citizens followed Christ. Secondly, Christians despised the false Roman gods, preferring to worship only the true, living God. Whatever happened in Rome – famine, disease, earthquake, wars, bad weather – was blamed on the Christians, who defied the Roman gods.

Death was not considered enough punishment for the Christians, who were subjected to the cruelest treatment possible. They were whipped, disemboweled, torn apart, and stoned. Plates of hot iron were laid on them; they were strangled, eaten by wild animals, hung, and tossed on the horns of bulls. After they were dead, their bodies were piled in heaps and left to rot without burial. Nevertheless, the church continued to grow, deeply rooted in the doctrine of the apostles and watered with the blood of the saints.

THE THIRD PERSECUTION

During the third persecution, Pliny the second wrote to the emperor Trajan, complaining that thousands of Christians were being killed daily, although none of them had done anything worthy of persecution.

During this persecution, Ignatius was condemned to death because he professed Christ. At the time, he was living in Antioch, next in line as bishop after Peter. As he made the trip from Syria to Rome, he preached under heavy guard; he preached to the churches he passed and asked the church in Rome not to try to save him. Condemned to be thrown to the lions, Ignatius replied, “I am the wheat of Christ: I am going to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread.”

THE FOURTH PERSECUTION

After a respite, the Christians again came under persecution, this time from Marcus Aurelius, in AD 161.

One of those who suffered this time was Polycarp, the venerable bishop of Smyrna. Three days before he was captured, Polycarp dreamed that a pillow under his head caught fire, and when he awoke, he told those around him that he would burn alive for Christ’s sake.

Hearing his capturers had arrived one evening, Polycarp left his bed to welcome them, ordered a meal prepared for them, and then asked for an hour alone to pray. The soldiers were so impressed by Polycarp’s advanced age and composure that they began to wonder why they had been sent to take him; but as soon as he had finished his prayers, they put him on an ass and brought him to the city.

As he entered the stadium with his guards, a voice from heaven was heard to say, “Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.” No one nearby saw anyone speaking, but many people heard the voice.

Brought before the tribunal and the crowd, Polycarp refused to deny Christ, although the proconsul begged him: “Consider yourself and have pity on your great age. Reproach Christ and I will release you.”

Polycarp replied, “Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never once wronged me. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”

Threatened with wild beasts and fire, Polycarp stood his ground. “What are you waiting for? Do whatever you please.” The crowd demanded Polycarp’s death, gathering wood for the fire and preparing to tie him to the stake.

“Leave me,” he said. “He who will give me strength to sustain the fire will help me not to flinch from the pile.” So they bound him but didn’t nail him to the stake. As soon as Polycarp finished his prayer, the fire was lit, but it leaped up around him, leaving him unburned, until the people convinced a soldier to plunge a sword into him. When he did, so much blood gushed out that the fire was immediately extinguished. The soldiers then placed his body into a fire and burned it to ashes, which some Christians later gathered up and buried properly.

In this same persecution, the Christians of Lyons and Vienne, two cities in France, also suffered, including Sanctus of Vienne, Maturus, Attalus of Pergamos, and the woman Blandina, all of whom endured extreme torture and death with fortitude and grace.

THE FIFTH PERSECUTION, AD 200

During the reign of Severus, the Christians had several years of rest and could worship God without fear of punishment. But after a time, the hatred of the ignorant mob again prevailed, and the old laws were remembered and put in force against them. Fire, sword, wild beasts, and imprisonment were resorted to again, and even the dead bodies of Christians were stolen from their graves and mutilated. Yet the faithful continued to multiply. Tertullian, who lived at this time, said that if the Christians had all gone away from the Roman territories, the empire would have been greatly weakened.

By now, the persecutions had extended to northern Africa, which was a Roman province, and many were murdered in that area. One of these was Perpetua, a married lady twenty-six years old with a baby at her breast. On being taken before the proconsul Minutius, Perpetua was commanded to sacrifice to the idols. Refusing to do so, she was put in a dark dungeon and deprived of her child; but two of her keepers, Tertius and Pomponius, allowed her out in the fresh air several hours a day, during which time she was permitted to nurse the child.

Finally the Christians were summoned to appear before the judge and urged to deny their Lord, but all remained firm. When Perpetua’s turn came, her father suddenly appeared, carrying her infants in his arms, and begged her to save her own life for the sake of her child. Even the judge seemed to be moved. “Spare the gray hairs of your father,” he said. “Spare your child. Offer sacrifice for the welfare of the emperor.”

Petpetua answered, “I will not sacrifice.”

“Are you a Christian?” demanded Hilarianus, the judge.

“I am a Christian” was her answer.

Perpetua and all the other Christians tried with her that day were ordered killed by wild beasts as a show for the crowd on the next holiday. They entered the place of execution clad in the simplest of robes, Perpetua singing a hymn of triumph. The men were to be torn to pieces by leopards and bears. Perpetua and a young woman named Felicitas were hung up in nets, at first naked, but the crowd demanded that they should be allowed their clothing.

When they wer again returned to t he arena, a bull was let loose on them. Felicitas fell, seriously wounded. Perpetua was tossed, her loose robe torn and her hair falling loose, but she hastened to the side of the dying Felicitas and gently raised her from the ground. When the bull refused to attack them again, they were dragged out of the arena, to the disappointment of the crowd, which wanted to see their deaths. Finally brought back in to be killed by gladiators, Perpetua was assigned to a trembling young man who stabbed her weakly several times, not being used to such scenes of violence. When she saw how upset the young man was, Perpetua guided his sword to a vital area and died.

THE SIXTH PERSECUTION, AD 235

This persecution was begun by the emperor Maximinus, who ordered all the Christians hunted down and killed. A Roman soldier who refused to wear a laurel crown bestowed on him by the emperor and confessed he was a Christian was scourged, imprisoned, and put to death.

Pontianus, bishop of Rome, was banished to Sardinia for preaching against idolatry and murdered. Anteros, a Grecian who succeeded Pontianus as bishop of Rome, collected a history of the martyrs and suffered martyrdom himself after only forty days in office.

Pammachius, a Roman senator, and forty-two other Christians were all beheaded in one day and their heads set out on the city gates. Calepodius, a Christian minister, after being dragged through the streets, was thrown into the Tiber River with a millstone fastened around his neck. Quiritus, a Roman nobleman, and his family and servants were barbarously tortured and put to death. Martina, a noble young lady, was beheaded; and Hippolitus, a Christian prelate, was tied to a wild horse and dragged through fields until he died.

Maximinus was succeeded by Gordian, during whose reign and that of his successor, Philip, the church was free from persecution for more than six years. But in 249, a violent persecution broke out in Alexandria without the emperor’s knowledge.

Metrus, an old Christian of Alexandria, refused to worship idols. He was beaten with clubs, pricked with sharp reeds, and stoned to death. Quinta, a Christian woman, was dragged by her feet over sharp flint stones, scourged with whips, and finally stoned to death. Apollonia, an old woman nearly seventy, confessed that she was a Christian, and the mob fastened her to a stake, preparing to burn her. She begged to be let loose, and the mob untied her, thinking she was ready to recant, but to their astonishmment, she immediately threw herself back into the flames and died.

(To be continued …)