Pagan residents of Aelia Capitolina, the despised enemies of the orthodox, oppressed Christians, shared in the spoils taken from Christians, and celebrated as Christians were put to death. Their Temple of Venus (or Aphrodite shrine), venerated by pagan priests and devotees, remained a pervasive stench in orthodox nostrils as a sign of intolerance and a symbol of pagan oppression of Christians whether Gentile or Judeo-Christian.

The persecution of Diocletian, CE 303�310, instigated by Galerius, was a horrendous time throughout the empire when many Christians suffered incredible torture and martyrdom. The martyrs of Palestine included: the deacon Procopius, a native of Jerusalem (Bagatti 1971b:17; cf., Eusebius, Book of Martyrs 1; Boyle 1955:349), the virgin Manatha of Scythopolis led naked around Caesarea then beheaded with her body left intentionally to be eaten by the dogs (Eusebius, Book of Martyrs 9 in his Ecclesiastical History; Boyle 1955:365-366), Romanus who had his tongue torn out before being strangled (Eusebius, Book of Martyrs 2; Boyle 1955:350-351; Foxe 1981:33-38), Agapius condemned to fight wild beasts (Eusebius, Book of Martyrs 7; Boyle 1955:358-359), and Paul of Gaza decapitated (Eusebius, Book of Martyrs 6; Boyle 1955:363-364) (see Bagatti 1971b:42-43).

These circumstances changed on April 30, 311 when, while on his death bed, Emperor Galerius reluctantly issued an edict of tolerance toward Christians. The edict reinstated their privileges and properties "as long as they do not interfere with public order" a condition apparently designed to minimize reprisals. The edict read in pertinent part:

Eusebius said, even though persecution continued in some regions and resentment ran high, that the decree had the effect that "one might see thronged in every city, and crowded assemblies, and the rites performed thereat in the customary manner" (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 9.1.8; Oulton 1986:333; Boyle 1955:381; Bagatti 1971b:45). In 313 Constantine the Great finally brought the persecution to a halt. In an alliance with Licinius at Milan, in what is commonly known as the "Edict of Milan", the parties agreed that the persecution against Christians would stop and their churches, cemeteries, and other properties would be returned to them (Gonz�lez 1984:107; cf., Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 9.9).

In Jerusalem, a city deeply divided by competitive religious ideologies, Macarius became the orthodox bishop in 314. While the pagan Roman persecution had officially ended, the bitterness, resentment, and hatred between pagan and Christian factions had not. Orthodox contempt of Jerusalem�s pagans, especially the ones who instigated and profited from the persecution and dispossession of Christians, were neither forgiven nor forgotten.

Page last edited: 01/26/06 07:12 PM

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