Bishop of Carthage, held that outside the church, there is no salvation. Also rejected giving blanket pardons, favoring instead a system of readmission based on the degree of seriousness of the sins. Leniency, he said, should be extended to those who had sacrificed at Emperor Decius's command only after excruciating torture and who well might plead that their bodies, not their spirits, had given way. Those however, who had gone willingly to make sacrifices must receive the severest punishment.

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Cyprian, Decius, history[/tags]

Emperor of Rome (249-251) Under his rule, Caesar worship was made universal — and compulsory for ever race and nation within the empire with the single exception of the Jews. Instigator of an intense period of persecution. In his eyes, Christians were the enemies of the empire. Their atheism was responsible for the many troubles in the realm. Thus, Decius commanded all citizens of the empire to sacrifice to the traditional Roman gods. Those who would not faced death.

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Decius, history[/tags]

One of the early leaders of the "Catechetical School" in Alexandria, he succeeded Clement at age eighteen. Origen set before his students the goal of genuine philosophy, the attainment of the good life. Ignorance, he said, is a great barrier to godliness. He developed the "allegorical interpretation" of Scripture. He held that there are three levels of meaning in the Bible: the literal sense; the moral application to the soul; and the allegorical or spiritual sense, which refers to the great mysteries of Christian faith. He greatly influenced Gregory. Was singled out under the persecution of Decius and was tortured and flung in jail under poor conditions. Three years after his eventual release, he died at sixty-nine in Tyre.

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Decius, history, Origen[/tags]

Nero — In A.D. 64, fire ravaged Rome under the leadership of Emperor Nero. To direct the hatred of the people away from him, Nero blamed the fire on the Christians, thus sparking an intense, bloody persecution, probably resulting in the martyrdom of Peter and Paul.

Decius — In A.D. 250, the most violent persecution the church had yet faced was instigated by the emperor Decius (249-251). A general from the Danubian frontier, Decius was determined to have no nonsense from Christians. In his eyes, they were enemies of the empire. Their atheism was responsible for the many troubles in the realm. Thus, Decius commanded all citizens of the empire to sacrifice to the traditional Roman gods. Those who did so were given certificates (libelli) as evidence that they had obeyed the order. Those who refused to obey and were unable (or unwilling) to obtain false libelli faced death. An unknown