The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Emperor Decius
d. AD 251 · Roman Emperor (249–251) · First universal persecutor · Rome → the Danube
External witness
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Who Emperor Decius was
The emperor whose edict of 250 required every inhabitant of the empire to sacrifice to the gods and obtain a certificate (libellus) proving it — the first empire-wide, systematic persecution, aimed not at killing Christians but at forcing their apostasy. It broke over an unprepared church that had known forty years of peace: bishops Fabian of Rome and Babylas of Antioch died, Cyprian and Dionysius went into hiding, and multitudes “lapsed,” sacrificing or buying certificates — creating the crisis over the readmission of the fallen that would produce the Novatianist schism and Cyprian’s On the Lapsed. Decius fell in battle against the Goths in 251; Lactantius gloated that his body was left unburied. His name became the church’s byword for the great testing.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and roman emperors.
Common questions
When did Emperor Decius die?
Emperor Decius is dated d. AD 251 in the archive, which places Emperor Decius in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
What did Emperor Decius write?
Emperor Decius has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Edict of universal sacrifice (text lost — known from the libelli).
Which early sources mention Emperor Decius?
Emperor Decius is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Cyprian of Carthage, Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Emperor Decius from?
The archive associates Emperor Decius with Rome, the Danube. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (1)
Edict of universal sacrifice (text lost — known from the libelli)
AD 249–250…and now, in your presence, in accordance with the edict's terms, I have sacrificed, poured libation, and tasted the offerings, and I ask you to certify this below. (From a surviving certificate.)Read the interlinear source text →
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Cyprian, On the Lapsed 8
c. AD 253At the first words of the threatening foe, a great number of the brethren betrayed their faith… nor did they wait to be apprehended ere they ascended, or to be interrogated ere they denied.Cyprian of Carthage · 8 · source text
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 4 ('an accursed wild beast')
c. AD 315There arose, after many years, an accursed wild beast, Decius, who should harass the Church.Lactantius · On the Deaths 4 · source text
Ecclesiastical History VI.39 (the edict and its martyrs)
c. AD 325Decius, on account of his hatred of Philip, commenced a persecution against the churches.Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History VI.39 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
- Fabian of Rome
- Babylas of Antioch
- Cyprian of Carthage
- Dionysius the Great
- Emperor Valerian
- Novatian of Rome
- Emperor Maximinus Thrax
- Emperor Philip the Arab
- Denis of Paris
- Pionius of Smyrna
- Saint Agatha
- Saturninus of Toulouse
- Austromoine of Clermont
Events in this lifetime
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
- AD 235 · Maximinus Thrax targets the clergy, AD 235
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Emperor Decius, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Rome
- 2the Danubeprovince only