but by higher magistrates such as proconsuls. Even if there is no doubt that Decius
was a traditionalist, his edict de factomeant a deep change in Roman traditions. The
public religion of Rome had been collective and local; now Decius issued a decree
that was universal and individual (Rives 1999).
Seen from a Christian perspective Decius’ order was a clear provocation, although
the Christians, as far as we can see, were nowhere mentioned explicitly. Yet they had
been attaching importance to the act, as for a long time many of them had declined
to make an offering to the emperor and had thus suffered martyrdom. Now they
were expected, even forced to make the offering.
A substantial number of Christians rejected the sacrifice and suffered cruel punish-
ments; some even died as martyrs. The letters of Cyprian, which are addressed to
confessors, give a vivid impression of their afflictions (for example Epist.6, 10, 20);
Eusebius (HE6.39– 42) tells edifying stories about them. On the other hand, no
small number, even some bishops, succumbed to the pressure or tried to elude the
authorities by bribery or deceit. For obvious reasons, such cases are documented to
a lesser degree.
There is no doubt that Christians bore the brunt of Decius’ edict – but did Decius
focus his attention merely on the Christians? This is doubtful, as it would have meant
an immense waste of energy. All those Romans who were not Christians would have
had to make their offerings only to isolate this group, which cannot have been too
numerous. Thus, what the Christians regarded as a persecution was apparently only
a side effect of a wide-ranging campaign to enforce loyalty to the emperor and to
renew the old religion.
After two years Decius suffered what Christians saw as a just punishment: in 251,
he was slain in a battle against the Goths. His first successors did (possibly could)
not take up the idea of religious purification. Only Valerian (253– 60) pursued the
idea again, in 257, by explicitly attacking Christians (Eus. HE7.10 –11; Cyprianus,
Epist.76 – 81). His first edict aimed at the clerics, who had to make sacrifices; in
addition, whoever performed service in churches or cemeteries was to be punished
by death (Eus. HE7.11; Acta proconsularia Cypriani1, 4). The second edict was
directed against Christians in general. Those who persevered in their habits – there
were even senators and equitesamong them – were to lose their property together
with their dignity and, in the end, their lives, if they did not renounce their belief.
Women of high standing were deprived of their property; imperial officials and
imperial freedmen had to be sent to the mines (Cyprianus, Epist.80).
These edicts were obviously focused on the Christian elite, on the elimination of
clerics and of Christians from leading families. In fact, many Christians died. Among
these was Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, whose letters give a lively impression of the
plight of the persecuted Christians, and Sixtus II, bishop of Rome. In contrast, Denys
of Alexandria, having been exiled, survived.
In 260 Valerian suffered a heavy defeat against the Persians and was taken
prisoner himself. In Christian eyes this evidently resulted from God’s vengeance.
The Christians were confirmed in their belief that even a bad emperor was not able
to destroy their religion.
Old Religions Transformed 101