Decius Edicts Roman Sacrifice: Persecution of Christians Begins
250 AD: Every person in the Roman Empire had to burn incense to the gods. Except Jews—they had special permission. Everyone else got a certificate proving they'd sacrificed. No certificate, no citizenship. No buying or selling in markets. Emperor Decius wanted religious unity. He got the opposite. Christians refused. They went underground instead. Some bought fake certificates. Others fled to the desert. Thousands died in the first empire-wide persecution. The certificates were called libelli. Archaeologists still find them. Fragments of papyrus that marked the moment Christianity became illegal. The empire that would eventually bow to Christ first tried to eliminate it entirely.
January 3, 250
1776 years ago
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