Diocletian's edicts launch the Great Persecution: churches demolished, scriptures burned, clergy arrested, sacrifice demanded of all; the last and worst of the Roman persecutions.
Tagged: Persecution Christian
The Event
- Date
- 303–311 (exact)
- Era
- Patristic; Standard ecumenical periodization
- Location
- Empire-wide
- Traditions
- Christianity
- Key figures
- Diocletian, Galerius
- Key texts
- Eusebius, Martyrs of Palestine
Primary Sources
- Eusebius, Martyrs of Palestine
- Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors
Secondary Sources
- Frend, The Rise of Christianity (Fortress, 1984)
- Chadwick, The Early Church (Penguin, 1967)
Provenance: HIST-0011; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-26.
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