| The Christians were well-organised, they recruited thousands of new followers, but, worst of all, they refused to take part in the Roman state religion, claiming that they worshipped only one God. They were beginning to look less like a bunch of harmless and superstitious eccentrics and more like a movement of defiant subversives who could no longer be controlled. The Roman elite had in the past tolerated foreign gods, but they were always clear that whatever people's private beliefs, public loyalty to Roman religion came first. After all, the fortunes of the city were at the mercy of the pagan gods - snub them and the consequences could be catastrophic. So if a group like the Christians failed to pay due respect, how would the gods react? The fate of the city and its Empire hung in the balance. And in the third century, it seemed as if their fears were justified. The Roman Empire was beset by invasion, civil war and economic depression. It was on the verge of collapse, until the reign of a new emperor - Diocletian. |
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