From the desk of the pastor for June 22, 2025

The Lord be with you. In the second and third centuries, the Church grew as Rome shrank. Far from weakening the Church, these persecutions would become her seed bed.

To understand why the Roman Empire opposed the Church we must first understand the role of its emperor. Rome could not admit that it had a king because Romans saw themselves as a free people. Accordingly, the Romans sought to justify their absolute ruler on religious grounds. By the Second Century Romans worshipped the emperor not because they thought he was a walking god but because they needed a deity around.

When Christians and Jews refused this veneration, the Roman government tried to coerce them. Fines, torture, and sometimes even execution were used to compel Christians to do what every other Roman did. This harassment was not constant but would break out from time to time. The first empire wide persecution happened under Decius around AD 250 with over 3,000 Christians killed.

Although not legal yet, Christianity was usually left alone. Christians would worship in their own small shrines, converted houses, and cemeteries - including the catacombs. They did not hide there though. The Romans would usually never disturb burial grounds for fear of upsetting ghosts - the Romans were very superstitious. Christians would worship in cemeteries and catacombs for that freedom from interference and because our liturgies quickly became connected to martyrs.

The most important development of the second and third centuries for the Church was the central place of the martyrs. Those who shed their blood for Christ became heroes for their local churches. Moreover, their witness - which is what martyr literally means - demonstrated that the powers of this world could not stop the Church. In our divine liturgies the remains of the martyrs became a key part of being connected to Heaven. The local churches might not have been able to be where Jesus died and rose, but they could be connected to where their own family had died for God.

As Christianity became more widespread and popular, Rome saw its pagan cults decline. No one was dying for Zeus, but people were dying for Jesus. The Christian understanding of God was also philosophically better than the pagan one. Whereas the philosophers of the ancient world often denied the existence of the pagan gods, Christian philosophers could claim that the Lord was Truth.

One last bit of related history: the Third Century Crisis. From AD 235-284 the Roman Empire experienced such instability that it almost collapsed. Almost. The Roman Empire still held most of the land it claimed, but it lacked dynamism. Moreover, the control of the Empire became more a matter of palace intrigue than deft political maneuvering in the Roman Forum.

By the eve of Constantine, the Church had thrived. We will see how he and his mother, Helen, would start a process that would culminate in the Church being one of the most powerful political forces in the world. That story takes centuries.

In His Sacred Heart,

Fr. John