Church History

Era of Persecutions (64-313 AD)

Christians faced intermittent persecution under Roman emperors from Nero (64 AD) to Diocletian's Great Persecution (303-313). Thousands of martyrs witnessed to the faith with their blood. The age produced the theology of martyrdom and the veneration of relics.

Sources

Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History (Books VIII-X) NPNF
Acts of the Martyrs (Acta Martyrum, patristic collections) the Greek New Testament
St. Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis I.1 (on the age of martyrdom)

Connections

Apostolic Age (30-100 AD)
Edict of Milan (313 AD)
Holy Relics
St. George the Great Martyr (c. 275-303)
St. Justin Martyr (c. 100-165)
St. Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69-155)

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