Edicts and Councils
1. Initiated in 303 AD by Emperor Diocletian, this was the last and most severe official persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, aiming to eradicate the rapidly growing Christian faith. Edicts mandated the destruction of churches and scriptures, the arrest and torture of clergy, and eventually, universal sacrifice to Roman gods, punishable by death for refusal.
2. The Edict of Toleration by Emperor Galerius (311 AD) officially ended the Diocletian Persecution in the East and granted Christians the right to exist and assemble peacefully. While an important step, it did not restore confiscated property or grant full religious equality, only toleration.
3. The Edict of Milan in 313 AD by the Roman Emperor of the West, Constantine, and the Roman Emperor of the East, Licinius, not only reaffirmed religious toleration for Christians but also mandated the return of all confiscated Christian property, elevating Christianity's status significantly within the empire.
4. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) called by the sole emperor of the Roman Empire and sun worshipper, Constantine, and presided over by him to settle the dispute involving the divinity of Jesus Christ. 1800 bishops were invited by only around 300 attended. Arianism is the belief in what Arius of Alexandria believed and taught, that Christ was a created being. The council condemned Arius as a heretic after he refused to sign the formula of faith which stated that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were three persons that made up one God. Constantine then exiled Arius, an act that, while manifesting a solidarity of church and state, underscored the importance of secular patronage in ecclesiastical affairs. All bishops were ordered to preach the Trinity.
5. Through the years,the West became mostly Nicaean, and the East mostly Arian. When the Spanish, and devout Nicaean Theodosius became emperor in 379 AD, he issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 AD. The Edict specifically targeted other Christian sects like Arianism, which held different beliefs about the nature of Christ. These were labeled as heresies with both divine and imperial retribution. The theological content follows: "... let us believe in the one deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity". The edict then transforms this theological definition into a legal status: "We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title of Catholic Christians". For the first time, the state claimed the authority to determine who could legally bear this name. The consequences for those who did not conform were severe: "...but as for the others, since, in our judgement they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give to their conventicles the name of churches". The language is one of utter contempt. It strips non-Nicaean Christians of their religious legitimacy, their property rights as religious bodies, and their identity, recasting them in law as insane deviants. Finally, the edict makes explicit the threat of state-sanctioned violence: "They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of the divine condemnation and in the second the punishment of our authority which in accordance with the will of Heaven we will decide to inflict". This clause is the essence of the new state-church relationship. Theological error was now a civil crime, and the power of the Roman state was officially pledged to persecute religious dissent. The theological content follows: "... let us believe in the one deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity". The edict then transforms this theological definition into a legal status: "We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title of Catholic Christians". For the first time, the state claimed the authority to determine who could legally bear this name. The consequences for those who did not conform were severe: "...but as for the others, since, in our judgement they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give to their conventicles the name of churches". The language is one of utter contempt. It strips non-Nicaean Christians of their religious legitimacy, their property rights as religious bodies, and their identity, recasting them in law as insane deviants. Finally, the edict makes explicit the threat of state-sanctioned violence: "They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of the divine condemnation and in the second the punishment of our authority which in accordance with the will of Heaven we will decide to inflict". This clause is the essence of the new state-church relationship. Theological error was now a civil crime, and the power of the Roman state was officially pledged to persecute religious dissent. Arian bishops were systematically deposed and expelled, and their churches were handed over to Nicene clergy. Theodocius's imperial decree had become the official doctrine of the Church. Everyone was forced to preach the Trinity under penalty of death. The enforcement of these laws culminated in a grim precedent: in 384 AD, the Spanish ascetic Priscillian and several of his followers were tried and executed by a secular court on charges of heresy, marking the first time that Christians were put to death for their beliefs by a Christian Roman state. The era of toleration was definitely over.
