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Show PERSECUIIONS FAIL i Sixth and Seventh General Persecutions J Fail Maximin Dispises Religion; De- . ' stroys Images . of Deities Two Succes- J sors of Peter Martyred Peace for Two Consecutive Reigns Decius Renews Hostilities Prisons Filled Agatha Re- ' ; . pulses Subject to Direst Penalties "Seven Sleepers." (Written for The Intcrruountain Catholic.) As we proceed under the light, of history to . study the severe ordeals to which the early Chri- tianswere subjected and the failure of pagan Koine , to extinguish the Christian faith, the conclusion is forced upon every fair-minded peon that Christianity Chris-tianity is a divine institution against which the gates of hell could not prevail. After the assassination assassi-nation of Alexander Serverus, who was vacillating, i unscrupulous and resentful toward the Christians, Maximin the Threcian ascended the throne, 222- , 235. For him all religon was a mere sham. Lust and covetousness were the main, objects of his life. The gold and silver ornaments of the heathen temples, tem-ples, together with the statues of the deitie3, he melted and sold to gratify hi3 two great weaknesses. weak-nesses. Ilia antipathy against the Christians was due to the vacillating attitude of Severus who, at times, favored them. His edicti were directed i principally against the clergy. During his brief j reign of three years, two Pontiffs suffered mar- j ; tyrdom, Popes St. Pontianus (235) and St. Anthems An-thems (236). . After the death of Maximin (238) the church was not persecuted during the reigns of his two 6Ucceesors, Gordian (23S-244) and Philip the Arab "(244-249). The peaceable attitude of both led ; t " some hstorians to conclude that they joined the ' 1 Christian church. Eusibius (Chronicon, Ad ad. 246) states that -Philip the Arab was a Christian. . Orosius, the Spanish Latin historian, who lived in ' the fifth "century, confirms this. j On the ascension of Decius to the throne (249- , 251), hostilities and persecutions were again re- J'. j newed. - He issued an edict that all within t.'re em- 3 pire should abandon the Christian faith. With the publication of this edict, the severest punish- ments that could be imposed were enacted. Justice Jus-tice was suspended. All anti-Christians- were im- ! mune, no matter how base or false the accusations made, because popular clamor took the place of i . judicial condemnation. The church, still in its in- "I fancy, had to encounter the greatest persecution j which human ingenuity, could invent. All the in- I strumenta of torture malicious hatred could sug- j gest were used. The prisons then extant could not -hold the soldiers of the Cross. Hence many pub- j lie buildings were opened as places of safe confine- mcnt for those who would not deny the divinity ; of Christ. Death was the final judgment for all j who adhered to the faith of the Nazarine. j Prominent in the martyrology of those who ' died for the faith of Christ were Fabian, Bishop of j Rome; Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem; Babybs, ; Bishop of Antioch ; and Agatha, a Sicilian, who was the descendant of an illustrious family and a i maiden of rare attractions. Because of her beauty i , - the pagan governors of Sicily wished to gain her I affections, which she repulsed. To be revenged he I ' took her to task for being a Christian and sen- tenced her to the most outragioH3 punishment and , cruelties. The tortures which she endured are as j indescribable as they would be, in this age, almost j incredible. j - Sevon brothers, known a3 the "Seven Sleepers of Ephesus," to avoid the terrible penalties attached at-tached to the profession of Christian truths, betook themselves to a cave, and, a3 related in the martyrology, mar-tyrology, were "allowed to sleep in the Lord." History records that during this persecution many Christians, because of the slow ordeal of punishment to which they were subjected before they were put to death, abjured Christianity and embraced paganism. Here is what St. Jerome say3 of the cruelties of Decius toward the. Christians: "The Christians were first stretched upon the rack and burned with heated hoops or plates of ' iron. They were then covered with honey and placed with their hjoid bound behind them, in the burning sun, exposed to the stings of gnats and : ' wasps." i . Thus did pagan society without compassion car- ' - ry its. contempt for human life and its hatred of ; Christianity. Yet the new religion, born in Nazareth Naza-reth and consecrated by the sacrifice of Calvary could not be arrested on its onward march. The blood of martyred Christians was the productive soil of Christian heroes. Tertullian, who abjured pagan superstition and embraced the Christian faith fearless wrote to the Roman pro-consuls: "We are but of yesterday, and we already fill all that belonged to you; -towns, islands, fortresses, even camps, the troops, whether tribunes or deeurions, the palace, the senate, the forum: we leave you nothing but your temples.'' Apol. xxxviiL 9. I . - During . those early persecutions Christianity was embraced principally by the common people. though 'there were, many instances of illustrious. learned and wealthy persons becoming Christians. ; Many who adhered outwardly to pagan customs inwardly in-wardly despised the superstitious and idolatrous practices which it exacted. To pagan sages and philosophers, like Zeno. Socrates. Plato. Xeno- phon, Pythagoras and a host of others, who were searching for truth, all pagan creeds were de fee-Continued fee-Continued on Page 5. ' ! '."' r PERSECUTIONS FAIL. (Continued from page 1.) tire, because they lacked a moral code and transcended tran-scended the bounds of reason and common senge. Though they despised the gross errors of paganism,, their sages and philosophers had not the courage to repudiate its immoral teachings openly. It was the religion of the state, hence the popular creed. But in the midst of persecutions and in the very jaws of death, the Christians, like Eliseus, who received re-ceived the zealous spirit of Elias as he ascended to heaven, were inflamed "with the spirit and love of Jesus, who promised that lie would not leave them orphans, but would send the Holy Ghost, who would strengthen and comfort them in their trials and sufferings. History bears testimony to the fact that scarcely "are they filled with this holy fiprt, whien these early Christians, hitherto timid and hiding from their enemies, came forth with the courage of lions from their hiding places, and overcame all resistance. Unconscious and regardless regard-less of danger, with burning zeal, they bear on their foreheads the sign of their divine Master. Their intrepidity defies all the powers of the earth. Before assembled princes they fearlessly bear testi-nomnv testi-nomnv to the resurrection of Christ, and come forth rejoicing that they had been worthy to suffer for the name of Christ, and that hia promise, namely, "the gates of hell would not prevail against them," was verified. Their zeal and ardor extend beyond the confines con-fines of Judea. They go from city to city and from kingdom to kingdom. Where it was possible possi-ble to go they wont, even to the very extremities of the earth. They attack popular abuses that were consecrated by usage, and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The obstacles and persecutions per-secutions which present themselves only serve to reanimate their zeal and prepare them for fresh victories. The government in the whole world conspire against them, and they are stronger than all their enemies. The Cross and the gibbet are used to compel them silent, but to no avail. "For we can not but speak the things we have seen and heard.'' Acts iv, 20. They face the sword of the executioner, new torments were invented to extinguish extin-guish the Christian faith, but the martyrs' blood served to announce their faith after their death, and the more of it that was shed the more numerous were the disciples who adopted the standard of the Cross. . . F. D.v |