The Christian
Persecution under Emperor Severus Septimus (145 - 211 AD)
Ø Introduction
Ø His early life
Ø Rise to power
Ø Christian Persecutions Under Severus
Septimus
Ø Conclusion and End of Severus’ Reign
Introduction:
Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire
occurred intermittently over a period of over two centuries until the year 313 AD when
the Roman
Emperors Constantine the Great and Licinius
jointly promulgated the Edict of Milan which legalized the Christian
religion. The persecution of Christians in the Roman
Empire was carried out by the state and also by local authorities on a
sporadic, ad hoc basis, often at the whims of local communities.
Starting in 250, empire-wide persecution took place by decree of the emperor Decius. The edict
was in force for eighteen months, during which time some Christians were killed
while others apostatized to escape execution.
These
persecutions heavily influenced the development of Christianity, shaping Christian theology and the structure of the Church.
Among other things, persecution gave rise to many saints' cults and
these contributed to the rapid spread of Christianity and
sparked written explanations of the Christian religion[1].
Here we shall focus on the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Severus
Septimus from 193AD to 211AD.
His early life:
Lucius
Severus Septimus was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa (a
prominent city in Roman Libya). His father Publius Septimus Geta held no major
political status but he had two cousins, Publius Septimus Aper and Gaius
Septimus Severus, who served as consuls under the Emperor Antoninus Pius (138 –
161). He had Italian Roman ancestry from his mother’s side, Fulvia Pia and
descended from Punic – also Libyan forbears on his father’s side.
Septimius
Severus grew up in the town of Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic
language fluently, but he was also educated in Latin and Greek,
which he spoke with a slight accent. Little else is known of the young Severus'
education, but according to Cassius Dio the boy had been eager for more education
than he had actually got. Presumably Severus received lessons in oratory: at age 17 he gave his first public
speech.[2]
Rise to Power:
Around
162 Septimius Severus set out for Rome seeking a public career. At the recommendation of his
relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus
Aurelius (reigned 161-180) granted him entry into the senatorial ranks.
Membership of the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions
within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. At
the time of Emperor Marcus Aurelius he was the State Attorney (Advocatus
fisci). In 191 AD Severus was made Governor of Pannonia Superior by Emperor
Commodus at the advice of Quintus Aemilius Laetus, prefect of the Praetorian
Guard. However, commodus was assassinated the following year. Pertinax was
acclaimed emperor, but he was then killed by his Praetorian guard in early 193.
In response to the murder of Pertinax, Severus was proclaimed Emperor at
Carnuntum by his region XIV Gemina. As an emperor he took the name Caesar
Lucius Septimius Severus Eusebes Pertinax Augustus. He was the 21st Emperor of
the Roman Empire.
Christian Persecution under Severus Septimus:
At
the beginning of Severus’ reign, Emperor Trajan’s policy toward the Christians
were still valid, that is, Christians were only to be punished if they refused to
worship the emperor and the gods, but they were not be sought out. Therefore,
persecution was inconsistent, local and sporadic. But faced with internal
dissidence and external threats, Severus felt the need to promote religious
harmony by promoting syncretism and by possibly issuing an edict that punished
conversion to Judaism and Christianity.
A
number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman Empire during the
reign of Septimus Severus and are traditionally attributed to Severus by the
early Christian community. Early church historian Eusebius
describes Severus as a persecutor,[3] but the Christian apologist Tertullian
states that Severus was well disposed towards Christians,[4]
employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to
save several high-born Christians known to him from "the mob".[5]
Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the
fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those
known in the Roman martyrology as the martyrs of Madaura and Perpetua and Felicity in the Roman province
of Africa, but these were probably as the result of local persecutions rather
than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus.[6]
The
most famous martyrdom of that time is that of Perpetua and Felicitas, which
probably took place in 203AD. The account of their martyrdom comes from the pen
of Tertulian. The martyrs were five catechumens – this agrees with what is
known of the policies of Septimus Severus, which prohibited the conversion to
Christianity. Some of the five people were in their teens – they were charged
not with being Christians, but with recently converting, and thus disobeying
the imperial edict. Perpetua was the heroine of the martyrdom of Perpetua and
Felicitas. She was a well-to-do woman nursing her child. Her companions were
the Slaves Felicitas, and Revocatus and two other young men, Saturninus and
Secundulus. A great deal of the text of martyrdom is placed on the lips of
Perpetua, and it is believed that she has spoken most of these words.
Another
significant martyrdom during the reign of Severus was the martyrdom of Leonides
ho legomenos Origenous Pater (popularly known as Origin’s father), according to
Eusebius probably at the tenth year of Severus’ reign.
Conclusion and End of Severus’ Reign:
Severus’
campaign cut short when he fell fatally ill. He withdrew to Eboracum (York) and
died there in 211 AD. He is famously said to have given to his sons: “be
harmonious, enrich the soldiers, and scorn all other men” before he died at
Eboracum on Feb. 4, 211.
Upon
his death in 211, Severus was deified by the senate and succeded by his sons,
Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna.
REFERENCES
Gonzalez, Justo L. (2010), the
Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, Cambridge:
Cambridge
University Press.
Tabbernee, William (2007),
Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments: Ecclesiastical and Imperial reactions to
Montanism (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae) Brill. ISBN 978-9004158191.
http://www.wikipedia.com/persecutions_in_the_Roman_empire/html
[1] http://www.wikipedia.com/persecutions_in_the_Roman_empire/html
[2]
Cf. Birley, Anthony
R. (1999) [1971]. Septimius Severus: The African
Emperor. London: Routledge, pp 34 -35.
[5]
Cf. Tabbernee, William (2007). Fake Prophecy and
Polluted Sacraments: Ecclesiastical and Imperial Reactions to Montanism
(Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae). Brill. P.184
[6]
Ibid.
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