Constantine represents the passing of the Age of Catholic Christianity, and the beginning of the Age of the Christian Empire. Upon the death of Galerius, Constantine, the son of Constantius Chlorus, advanced across the Alps to dislodge his rival Maxentius from Italy and to capture Rome. When he came upon his militarily superior enemy at the Milvian Bridge just outside the walls of Rome, he turned for help to the God of the Christians. In a dream he saw a cross in the sky and the words, "In this sign conquer." This convinced him to advance. When on 28 October 312 he achieved his brilliant victory over the troops of Maxentius, Constantine looked upon his success as proof of the power of Christ and the superiority of the Christian religion. From the year 312, he favored Christianity openly. He allowed Christian ministers to enjoy the same exemption from taxes as

Augustus in the East under Emperor Diocletian

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Diocletian, Galerius, history[/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