The Persecutions of
Valerian and Aurelian
Upon first coming to the imperial throne in 253 Valerian was friendly to
the Christians, allowing Pope Lucius I to return to Rome and ending the
last vestiges of Gallus’ persecution. He was generally a man of high morals
who appreciated what was good in Christianity. So many Christians were
actually in his service that St. Dionysius of Alexandria could say that his
palace was almost a church. However, in 257 Valerian’s policy towards the
Christians abruptly changed, a change that seemed connected to the severe
trials afflicting the Empire.
The year 257 was indeed a bleak one for Rome: plague was continuing to
ravage; barbarian tribes were attacking Greece, Asia Minor, crossing the
Rhine, sweeping through Hungary and penetrating into northern Italy all at
the same time; and the Persians were still relishing their burning of Antioch
in 256. Valerian met these challenges head on, with he and his son
Gallienus leading armies to expel both the barbarians and Persians east and
west. The economic cost of fighting these battles and rebuilding Antioch
was staggering, emptying the imperial coffers. Taxes, already confiscatory,
rose further, while inflation skyrocketed causing a 98% drop in the value of
Roman currency.
While under these pressures, Valerian began to listen to the whispers of
highly placed enemies of the Christians, especially the magician and
general Macrianus, that they were secret traitors who hoarded vast amounts
of wealth that could be used for the Empire’s survival. The Christians were
therefore an alien element, whose organization, the Church, must be
crushed and its wealth confiscated for the sake of imperial defense.
Christianity also provoked the old gods, and the disasters that afflicted
Rome were signs of their wrath. So, in the mid-summer of 257 Valerian
issued his first persecuting edict, ordering all bishops to sacrifice to the
pagan gods or be exiled. Christians found gathering in cemeteries (i.e., the
Catacombs) would be arrested and put to death.
The first bishops sent into exile were St. Cyprian of Carthage and St.
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