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Category:Church history
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For about 250 years after the death of Jesus there was almost a constant threat of persecution against Christians. Christians suffered from persecutions for various reasons, including their refusal to worship the Roman emperor who was the leader of all the land surrounding the Mediterranean from Spain to Israel (which was were where the majority of evangelism and church growth was occurring). Failure to worship the Emperor was considered treasonous and punishable by execution. There were persecutions under Nero, Domitian, Trajan and the other Antonines, Maximinus Thrax, Decius, Valerian, Diocletian and Galerius. Many Christians were willing to die for their faith.
The first martyr known of was the [[apostle Stephen]] who was stoned by the Jewish religious leaders - the story is told in [[Acts 7]]. The response of early Christians ranged from seeking martyrdom to acceptance of martyrdom to hiding or fleeing persecution to apostatizing (renouncing their faith). A number of Christians began to circulate writings aimed at explaining Christianity and calling for Christians to be treated justly. These were people were known as [[apologists]].
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[[Category:Church history]]
