Diocletian’s Persecution Begins
February 24, 303
For Egypt’s Coptic Christians, 2026 is year 1743 in the “Era of the Martyrs” —they count year 1 as AD 284, when Diocletian became emperor. In 303 he decreed a widespread persecution of Christians. There had been martyrs throughout the previous three centuries, but nothing like under Diocletian.
Diocletian was a “semi-divine” ruler bent on restoring a declining pagan empire. At first, Christians continued in relative safety, growing in numbers and influence. But they did not adhere to the old Roman practices and beliefs. The historian Eusebius notes that “little by little persecution began against us.”
There were isolated incidents; in 298 pagan priests in Antioch blamed unsatisfactory auguries on Christians who happened to be present at their sacrifices. After a visit to the oracle of Apollo, Diocletian decided that on February 24, 303, a pagan feast day, he would issue an edict to force Christians to conform. While he insisted that no blood be shed, he ordered churches throughout the empire to be destroyed, Christian books burned, and Christians removed from public office.
Next, clergy were arrested and imprisoned if they refused to sacrifice. The death penalty was a last resort for resisters, of whom there were many. Diocletian became ill; in 304 his colleague Galerius issued an edict requiring all Christians to sacrifice to the gods on pain of death. While the edict was not universally enforced, it is estimated that between 3,000 and 3,500 Christians were executed.
Diocletian abdicated in 305. An edict of toleration in 311 by an ailing Galerius did not prevent intense persecution of thousands in Egypt before Constantine’s victory in 312 and the Edict of Milan in 313. The Copts have never forgotten.
James M. Kushiner is the Director of Publications for The Fellowship of St. James and the former Executive Editor of Touchstone.
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