Primary source · Latin
The Edict of Toleration of Galerius
Emperor Galerius (with Constantine and Licinius) · 30 April AD 311, Serdica
What this text is
The dying persecutor's capitulation: the author of the Great Persecution concedes its failure, grants Christians the right to exist and assemble, and asks their prayers 'for our safety.'
Interlinear passages
Word-for-word glosses of the original; the complete public-domain translation is linked below.
The preamble (Lactantius, DMP 34)
InterAmongceterathe other thingsquaewhichproforreiof thepublicaecommonwealthsemperalwayscommodisbenefitatqueandutilitateadvantagedisponimuswe arrange
Public-domain translations
William Fletcher (ANF, 1886)
Wherefore, for this our indulgence, they ought to pray to their God for our safety, for that of the republic, and for their own; that the republic may continue uninjured on every side, and that they may be able to live securely in their homes.
Manuscript witnesses
Lactantius, De mortibus 34 & Eusebius, HE VIII.17 (carriers)
c. 313–325 (medieval copies)The edict survives in Lactantius's Latin and Eusebius's Greek translation — a Roman law preserved only by the church it had failed to break.
Provenance
Serdica, 30 April AD 311 — the dying persecutor's edict of toleration
Editions & scholarship
Critical editions and standard translations behind the text above.
- Lactantius: De Mortibus Persecutorum (OECT)J. L. Creed, 1984Critical text of the Latin carrier.
- The Empire of the TetrarchsSimon Corcoran, rev. 2000The standard study of tetrarchic legislation.