.

(From Maryr’s Mirror and The Voice of the Martyrs)

King Hunneric ruled the western part o the Roman empire from 477 to 484. The leader of a vicious band of East Germanic peoples, King Hunneric took the title of King of the Vandals and became known for his brutal oppression of Christians. He fearfully defended not only his throne but also his Arian theology. During his reign, hosts of Christians were butchered.

At first, King Hunneric allowed a new bishop of Carthage to be elected, but soon he turned against them. He tried to make church property a part of the state. The resulting protests caused him to banish a number of clergy from his kingdom. In addition, Hunneric deprived Christians holding posts at the court or those belonging to the army of their positions and pay.

King Hunneric eventually gave orders for drastic restrinctions against the church. The first to suffer persecution were bishops assembled at Carthage. They were expelled from the town with nothing and were obliged to beg. The inhabitants were forbidden to give them shelter or food under penalty of being burnt alive with their whole families. His cruelty was not limited to Christian leadership. Noble ladies were stripped naked and suspended in the public streets with heavy weights attached to their feet. Their bodies weere burnt with red-hot irons, their arms and other body parts cut off and hot tar was applied to their back, front and sides. The king hoped to extort confessions of immorality that he could use against the bishops and clergy. Many perished under the torture and survivors were often maimed for life.

A collection of nearly 5,000 Orthodox bishops, priests, deacons and laity became victim to King Hunneric’s vendetta. They were commanded to swear against their previous claims to Christ. In the interest of survival, some declaired an oath. Some elders resisted, however, citing jesus Christ’s words, “swear not.” These elders of the church were sentenced to be banished or killed for not swearing. the others, having followed the king’s demand, did so in vain. They, too, received punishment because they swore against the command of the Scripture.

Other Christians were cruelly beaten, hung and burnt alive. Some had their eyes put out, others their hands, feet, noses, or ears cut off. Hunneric ordered some of the cruelest scenes of torture to be enacted in the streets he passed through on his way to the palace.

The persecution raged until Hunneric died, on December 11, 484.

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Related Content

• Martyrdom – Select Quotes
• The Martyrdom of Polycarp
• Christian Persecution & Martyrdom
• 100 Most Important Events In Church History
• Affliction and Glory, by A.W. Pink
• The Genesius Medallion

The following are helpful resources from Christian History magazine on Christian persecution and martyrdom:

Persecution in the Early Church: Recommended Resources
Recommendations provided by Kenneth R. Calvert, Th,M. candidate in patristics at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The “Edict of Milan”
Selections from an agreement, made in 313, that changed the course of history

Nero’s Cruelties
An account from Roman historian Tacitus (C. 115)

Emperor Hadrians moderate policies
This rescript, c. 124, protected Christians

Persecution in Early Church: Did You Know?
by EVERETT FERGUSON — Dr. Everett Ferguson is professor of Bible at Abilene Christian University and author of Backgrounds of Early Christianity

Tomb of the Unknown Christians
KEVIN A. MILLER

Persecution in the Early Church: Did You Know?
Beginning as a despised, illicit religious sect, Christianity endured 300 years of hostility to emerge as the dominant force in the Roman Empire.
by Dr. Everett Ferguson

When Christianity Triumphed
The achievement brought new difficulties.
Dr. William H. C. Frend, clerk in holy orders for the Diocese of Peterborough (U.K.), is professor emeritus of ecclesiastical history at Glasgow University and author of Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church

Perpetua & Polycarp: Two Heroic Martyrs

The Piety of the Persecutors
In the Roman mind, there were valid religious reasons to halt the spread of Christianity.
Dr. Robert L. Wilken is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Virginia. He is author of The Christians as the Romans Saw Them

Rome’s Religious Ferment
The first-century Empire swirled with an exotic mix of religions.
by Dr. Herbert Schlossberg, Project Director, Fieldstead Institute.

Persecution in the Early Church: A Gallery of the Persecuting Emperors
by Mark Galli, associate editor of Leadership Journal.

Controversial Constantine
The famous emperor ended the persecution of Christians. But was he a true believer, or merely a superstitious political opportunist?
by David F. Wright, Dean of the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh.

Constantine’s Famous Emblem
The chi-rho symbol he adopted is now displayed in churches throughout the world.
David F. Wright

Persecution in the Early Church: A Christian History Timeline

How the Early Church Viewed Martyrs
Christians held a theology of martyrdom that gave them courage to endure.
by William G. Bixler

The Gallery: Martyrs and Confessors
by Dr. John 0. Gooch, editor of youth/adult curriculum for The United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, Tennessee.

Cowards Among the Christians
by JOHN O. GOOCH

From the Archives: Cyprian’s Letter to Banished Christians
Encouragement for believers sentenced to the Roman mines.

Persecuted Christians Today
by JAMES REAPSOME , Evangelical Mission Information Service

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The tradition originated in the fourth century AD with a young man named Genesius. He was an accomplished stage actor and comedian during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. A lover of the Arts and a hater of Christians, the emperor enjoyed watching plays that ridiculed all things Christian. When he commissioned a new play on the stoning of Stephen, Genesius was hired to write, direct and produce it. The writing of the play, however, would change Genesius forever.

In researching the martyrdom of Stephen, Genesius discovered how a person accepts Christ as Savior and gets baptized into the church. On opening night, friends of the normally fun-loving prankster Genesius found him backstage writhing on the floor. When asked what ailed him, he is said to have replied, “A great weight is upon me.” As the play began, he came onstage in terrible agony. Acting the role of the martyr Stephen, he deviated from the script and began exclaiming to the other actors onstage, “I am resolved to die as a Christian. I pray that God may receive me in this day of my death as one who seeks His salvation by turning away from sin and superstition.” Then, in a way his fellow actors had never seen him behave, Genesius stood upright and addressed not just the spectators but Diocletian himself.

All his pain vanished as he confidently spoke: “All my life I have reviled and detested Christianity and, like you, have sought to ridicule and defile the beliefs of the Church and the people who follow them.” In agreement, and seemingly pleased with such a passionate portrayal, the emperor smiled and began to clap, but Genesius raised a hand to silence him. “I therefore desire to receive the grace of Jesus Christ and to be born again, that I may be delivered from my sins.”

Trying to get back to the script, one of the actors playing a priest began to pour the baptismal water over Genesius. As rehearsed, he began spilling it clumsily and pouring it around in an irreverent manner, but Genesius humbly requested that he conduct the sacrament correctly. Then Genesius faced the emperor.

Having waited for a joke that was clearly not coming, Diocletian stood to stop the play. Genesius, however, began weeping and, through his tears, told the emperor that he had seen a vision of angels bearing a book with all of Genesius’ sins inscribed and that the angels then plunged the book into the water of his baptism. At that moment, he pleaded for the emperor and all present to believe with him that Jesus Christ was the only true Lord and that only through Him could they have forgiveness from their sins and receive eternal life.

The emperor, now finding Genesius to be in earnest, was furious and ordered that he be beaten. As several soldiers descended upon him, Genesius cried out that he would cling to Jesus even if it meant dying a thousand deaths.

After a brutal beating and a cruel stay in prison, Genesius was executed. At his beheading, he is said to have cried, “Bitterly do I regret that I once detested His holy name and came so late to His service!”

The medallion that bears his name and likeness shows Genesius with a cross (sometimes a scepter representing the reign of God) on his right and the comedy/tragedy masks on his left. Traditionally, the medallion can only be given by someone who has already received one.

(Author unknown)

Click on the following links for something to think about.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=4b0f404d4219625ca24c

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1b5bd6e3e034d00b4f73

“All religions have periods in their history which are looked back to with retrospective fear and trembling as eras of persecution, and each religion has its own book of martyrs. “

Richard Le Gallienne

I ran across this qoute online, Richard was an English “love story” writer that lived from 1866 – 1947. After reading about the persecutions during the Thrid Century and reading this qoute it really created an awareness that other religions view their dead patriarchs as martyrs. A term that I associated with only Christians before, I now see that the word can be used on both ends of the sword. (imgage of Valerian, Emperor who persecuted Christians during the 3rd Century)

“Come fire, cross, battling with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of limbs, crushing of my whole body, cruel tortures of the devil—only let me get to Jesus Christ!”

Hardly the stuff of Sunday morning conversation in the 21st century. Ignatius, a bishop in Antioch, wrote these words in a letter to the Roman church in the early second century. He had been arrested for being a Christian and knew that a grisly death probably lay before him. Yet he looked forward to it almost joyfully. Why?

Ignatius and many other believers in his time were dealing with dilemmas most American Christians will never have to face: “Should I go to the local executioner and volunteer to die for my faith, or should I try to avoid being arrested at all costs? Is it okay to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods just once, if it means staying alive? Does martyrdom bring me closer to the sufferings of Christ? Are martyrs more special than the rest of us?” Questions like these shaped early Christianity.

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