Christian life between Pliny's letter
and the reign of Constantine was a constant stream of persecution,
but the level of persecution through the ages fluctuated from the
barely noticeable to the highly dangerous. Pliny's letter to the
Emperor Trajan inquired about the empire's legal stance on
Christians, how they were to be found, and what kind of punishment
they should receive. Trajan's response told Pliny that Christians
ought not to be sought out, but if their practices happened to be
observed, then Christianity was punishable by death – meaning that
the empire had adopted a sort of "don't ask, don't tell"
policy regarding Christianity.
Later emperors, however, were not so
relaxed in their persecutions. There were several emperors, such as
the military-appointed Diocletian and the famously mad Nero, who
actively sought out Christians and had them tortured and killed for
their faith. Diocletian's persecution, which lasted from 303AD to
305AD, became known as the Great Persecution. But even in times of
relative peace Christians had to live in a state of constant
vigilance, because even when Christians were not actively being
sought out for their faith, Christianity was still officially a
crime. Christian persecution finally came to an end with the reign of
the Emperor Constantine, who believed that he had been told in a
dream to carry a cross, the symbol of Christianity, into battle. His
victory on the battlefield convinced him that Christianity was the
true religion, and his subsequent baptism put an end to the
persecutions of Christians throughout the empire.
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