Chapter 3: Persecution of “The Way”

1. Chapter 3: Persecution of “The Way” HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

2. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) ANTICIPATORY SET Read aloud the section “Mad Caligula” (p. 98), and then discuss Emperor Nero.

3. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) BASIC QUESTIONS What was the nature of the first Roman persecutions? What persecutions did Christians face under Domitian? KEY IDEAS Emperor Nero launched a brutal persecution of Christians, scapegoating them for the burning of Rome, for which he himself was rumored to have been responsible. Emperor Domitian persecuted Christians, and Roman officials permitted mobs to attack them.

4. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) FOCUS QUESTIONS In the beginning, what did the Roman rulers consider the Christians to be? They considered the Christians to be a small sect of schismatic Jews. What actions show Nero’s evil character even before his persecution of the Christians? He murdered his mother; renounced and slandered his wife before having her beheaded; and forced Seneca, the noble statesman, to commit suicide. How is Emperor Nero depicted in his sculpture with Seneca (cf. p. 96)? Nero is portrayed as a youth, strong physically, handsome, and dressed elegantly. At the same time he is slouching in his throne and looking down arrogantly at Seneca, his teacher.

5. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) GUIDED EXERCISE Complete a Think/Pair/Share on the two paragraphs “Early on the night…” and “The middle and lower…” (p. 96) using the following question: Why was Rome, and ancient cities in general, particularly susceptible to fire?

6. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) FOCUS QUESTIONS Why is it thought that Nero had set the fire that destroyed much of Rome? Nero intended to seize private property in the center of Rome to build himself a new palace. Nero was rumored to have set the fire to clear the buildings. Why did Nero blame the Christians of Rome for the fire? Nero wanted to remove suspicion from himself. He arrested and tortured several Christians, extracted forced confessions from them, and then ordered a large number of Christians arrested.

7. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) FOCUS QUESTION What did Nero do to Christians during the first persecution? This first persecution, which took place in the City of Rome, was brutal. Christians were sewn into animal skins so huge that hungry dogs would devour them. He had hundreds of live Christians coated with pitch and resin and burned as human torches to light his way as he passed through his gardens and along the streets at night.

8. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Work with a partner to complete the following table about the Jewish and Roman persecutions of Christians.

9. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100)

10. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) FOCUS QUESTIONS Describe Caligula’s family life. Caligula’s mother and brothers were butchered when he was a teenager. He committed incest with three of his sisters. How could Caligula be described as sadistic? Caligula sexually abused men, women, children, and babies. He delighted in watching torture and executions. What was Caligula’s fate? Caligula was murdered by two of his guards, who then killed the rest of his family.

11. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) FOCUS QUESTIONS What was Nero’s principle for dealing with Christians? Nero’s principle was Christiani non sunt: Let the Christians be exterminated. How is it known that Nero persecuted Christians? It was reported by the Roman historian Tacitus and the Church historian Eusebius.

12. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) FOCUS QUESTION What was Nero’s fate? The aristocracy in Rome was alienated by Nero’s murders of his mother and wife. After revolts against Roman rule broke out in Judea, Gaul, Africa, and Spain, the army turned against Nero, and he committed suicide.

13. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) FOCUS QUESTIONS Why was it a good idea for dictators like Domitian to make friends with the army? In a dictatorship, the armed forces have the ultimate power over life and death. He who controls the army controls the nation. What is the significance of the title Dominus et Deus with respect to Emperor Domitian? “Lord and God” indicates Domitian considered himself—or wanted others to consider him—a god.

14. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) FOCUS QUESTION Why did Domitian see the spread of Christianity as a problem, and what steps did he take to stop it? Christianity was spreading from the lower classes to the aristocracy, Domitian’s own class. He murdered his cousin, an office-holding Christian, and levied a special tax on Christians and Jews to pay for a pagan temple.

15. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) FOCUS QUESTIONS What does vox populi mean? “The voice of the people” during the time of the early Church often meant ignorant, mob actions, especially those taken against Christians. What was the result of the power of the vox populi? Mobs looted and destroyed Christian churches, cemeteries, and homes. Civil authorities tortured and killed Christians to provide an outlet for the people’s anger.

16. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) FOCUS QUESTION Of what were Christians accused by the common people? Because Christians would not sacrifice to the pagan gods, common people accused Christians of being irreligious and atheistic. All kinds of wild practices were attributed to Christians including the sacrifice of babies, drinking their blood, and casting evil spells. Christians also became scapegoats for natural calamities such as floods and famines.

17. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) CLOSURE Free write for five minutes about why Nero persecuted Christians.

18. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 1–3 (p. 125) Practical Exercise 1 (p. 125) Workbook Questions 1–21 Read “The Five Good Emperors” through “Ad Metalla” (pp. 101–107)

19. 1. The First Roman Persecutions (pp. 94–100) ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Use the completed Graphic Organizer on page 97 to write a paragraph comparing the first Jewish and Roman persecutions of Christians.

20. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) ANTICIPATORY SET Analyze the mosaic on page 100, and then discuss the following questions: What does the mosaic depict? What does this mosaic reveal about the character of the Roman people? Is the depiction in this mosaic similar to anything in contemporary culture?

21. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) BASIC QUESTION How did the persecutions of the Christians develop after Domitian? KEY IDEA Trajan’s Rescript declared it a capital crime to profess Christianity. Hadrian’s Rescript advised that Christians should not be prosecuted solely for professing Christ, which was reversed under Marcus Aurelius. St. Justin Martyr defended Christianity to the Roman senate and emperor.

22. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) FOCUS QUESTIONS Why were the Five Good Emperors called “good”? The five emperors following Domitian were good because they were skillful leaders of the empire. They were relatively stable persons who secured the empire’s borders. Were the Five Good Emperors good for Christians? The first four were more moderate toward Christians than Domitian had been, but they still persecuted them. Extension: Hadrian eradicated the Jews in the Holy Land.

23. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) FOCUS QUESTION Why was Trajan a successful emperor from the Roman point of view? Trajan treated abandoned children and the poor humanely, achieved military glory for himself and Rome, undertook many public works projects, extended the territory of the empire, and ruled nearly twenty years.

24. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Work with a partner to complete the following table about the content of Trajan’s Rescript.

25. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107)

26. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) FOCUS QUESTIONS What was the origin of Trajan’s Rescript (AD 112)? Pliny the Younger, one of Trajan’s governors, asked his advice concerning the persecution and punishment of Christians. Trajan’s Rescript is his reply. What did Pliny’s letter reveal about the spread of Christianity? By his time Christians existed across all strata of society and lived in rural areas as well as urban centers. What choices did denounced Christians have? They could have renounced the Faith or have been sentenced to death.

27. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) FOCUS QUESTIONS Why was St. Ignatius of Antioch an important writer? His direct contact with the Apostles Sts. Peter and John give his writings special authority. Who persecuted St. Ignatius of Antioch, and why? He was arrested under Emperor Trajan for being the Bishop of Antioch.

28. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) FOCUS QUESTION Why did St. Ignatius of Antioch ask Christians not to intervene with the pagan officials when he was on his way to Rome? St. Ignatius was afraid the Christians of Rome might persuade the pagan officials to spare his life. He wanted to be God’s wheat, ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so he could be Christ’s pure bread.

29. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) GUIDED EXERCISE Review the concept of bread and circuses (cf. p. 15). Perform a Focused Reading of the sidebar “The Coliseum” (p. 103) using the following two questions: Is it moral to attend entertainments like the ones described? Are there legal forms of entertainment today that followers of Christ ought to avoid?

30. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) FOCUS QUESTIONS How does Hadrian’s reign reveal the Pax Romana did not manifest peace for everyone? The Jews were decimated in the Holy Land and were banned from entering Jerusalem. How did the plight of Christians improve somewhat after Hadrian’s Rescript? Hadrian ruled that mobs should not be able to take the law in their own hands to murder Christians and that Christians should only be prosecuted for actual violations of the common law instead of solely for being Christian.

31. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) FOCUS QUESTION Why did Hadrian’s ban on circumcision and his plan to turn Jerusalem into a Roman colony infuriate the Jews? Circumcision is essential to the identity of Jews, the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham. Jerusalem had been the Jews’ most important city for a millennium; they had hoped to rebuild the Temple there so they could again offer ritual sacrifice. Extension: Hadrian could not have attacked the Jews more personally than this.

32. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) FOCUS QUESTIONS Under whose peaceful reign was St. Polycarp martyred? He was martyred under Emperor Antoninus Pius. What was the nature of St. Polycarp’s writings? He defended orthodox Catholic beliefs against several early heresies. What merciful offer did the governor of Smyrna make to St. Polycarp? If St. Polycarp would have cursed Christ publicly, his life would have been spared.

33. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) GUIDED EXERCISE Search the Internet for the entire Martyrium Polycarpi (“The Martyrdom of Polycarp”), and then read it.

34. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) FOCUS QUESTIONS Of what philosophy was Emperor Marcus Aurelius an adherent? He was a Stoic, which encourages a person to live free of passion and be unmoved by joy or grief, submitting fully to fate. What practice did Marcus Aurelius reinstate that made things worse for Christians? He reinstituted anonymous denunciations of Christians. Why did provincial governors tolerate mob attacks on Christians? For Roman governors serving in unruly provinces, allowing mob attacks on Christians was a way they could let people defuse their anger on something other than the empire itself.

35. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) FOCUS QUESTIONS What did St. Justin Martyr have in common with Emperor Marcus Aurelius? Both loved philosophy, although St. Justin came to believe that the teachings of Christ were far superior to philosophy alone. To whom did St. Justin Martyr address his two defenses of the Faith? He addressed them audaciously to the Roman emperor and the senate. What did the judicial sentence Ad Metalla mean? This dreaded punishment sent a prisoner “to the metal mines,” where the prisoner endured brutal conditions and certain death.

36. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Work with a partner to complete the following table on evidence for three beliefs held by early Christians (cf. p. 123).

37. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107)

38. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 4–8 (p. 125) Workbook Questions 22–43 Read “Later Persecutions and the Edict of Milan” through “Pope St. Sixtus II and Deacon St. Lawrence” (pp. 108–114)

39. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) CLOSURE Free write for five minutes summarizing the persecutions experienced by Christians in the period of time after Emperor Domitian through Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

40. 2. The Five Good Emperors (pp. 101–107) ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Free write for five minutes on what was most surprising about this period in the history of the Church.

41. 3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp. 108–114) ANTICIPATORY SET Imagine you are the bishop of an Italian diocese AD 202 and have received word Emperor Severus has outlawed circumcision and Baptism. Write a brief letter to the Christians under your care, advising them how to respond to this decree.

42. 3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp. 108–114) BASIC QUESTION Why did the Roman government attack Christianity with such vehemence? KEY IDEA With the aim of reinvigorating the Roman Empire by reviving the ancient pagan religion, Emperor Decius unleashed the first empire-wide persecution of Christians AD 250, creating new martyrs as well as lapsi. Decius was afraid of the Christians’ fidelity to Christ and his Church.

43. 3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp. 108–114) FOCUS QUESTIONS What was the relationship between Sts. Perpetua and Felicity? St. Perpetua was a wealthy noblewoman, and St. Felicity was one of her slaves. How did Sts. Perpetua and Felicity show their faith? They had to endure entreaties from their families to abandon the Faith, taunts from their jailers, the heartbreak of raising their children in jail, scourging, attacks by wild animals, and finally the sword. The worst was seeing their children slain.

44. 3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp. 108–114) FOCUS QUESTION What decree of Emperor Septimus Severus threatened both Christians and Jews? His decree (AD 202) forbade both Baptism and circumcision.

45. 3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp. 108–114) FOCUS QUESTIONS Even though St. Irenæus was from Asia Minor, where did he serve as bishop? He served in Lyons in Gaul (modern-day France). Extension: This indicates the catholic (universal) nature of the Church. What key elements of the nature of the Church did St. Irenæus emphasize to defend the Faith against Gnostic heretics? He emphasized the episcopacy, Scripture, and Tradition. What method did St. Irenæus use to combat heresy? He described systematically the origin and history of each heresy, contrasting its false claims against the true Faith.

46. 3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp. 108–114) GUIDED EXERCISE Work with a partner to identify what St. Irenæusclaimed that the early Church held with respect to (1) Apostolic Succession, (2) the authority of the Church hierarchy, and (3) Scripture and Tradition.

47. 3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp. 108–114) FOCUS QUESTIONS How did Decius attack Christians to a new degree? Before his reign attacks on Christians were local, either limited to the city of Rome or directed toward specific provinces. The Edict of Decius (AD 250) was empire-wide. Why did Decius order a return to the ancient religious practices? He intended to reinvigorate the empire’s strength by unity.

48. 3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp. 108–114) FOCUS QUESTION How numerous were Christians by AD 250, and why did Decius see them as a threat? About one-third of the empire was Christian. Decius assumed, because Christians’ ultimate allegiance is to Christ and not the state, that they might prove an obstacle to unify the empire. Extension: It may seem strange to a modern student a ruler would be willing to kill as many as one-third of his subjects, but similar events occurred in the twentieth century. Pol Pot of Cambodia, Mao of China, Lenin and Stalin of the Soviet Union, and many others killed large percentages of their populations for political ends.

49. 3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp. 108–114) FOCUS QUESTION Who were the sacrificanti, the thurificati and the libellatici? These were Christians who had apostatized under Decius’s persecution. The sacrificanti were those who made a sacrifice. The thurificati were those who burned incense. The libellatici did not sacrifice but purchased certificates of sacrifice.

50. 3. Later Persecutions Before Diocletian (pp. 108–114) FOCUS QUESTIONS What strategy did Decius employ to identify Christians? Anyone who refused to offer a sacrifice would be sent into exile or put to death and lose all of his or her property. What double loss did the Church suffer because of Decius’s persecution? The Church lost both those faithful who became martyrs and those who apostatized.