Posted on 03/21/2019 4:46:32 AM PDT by Antoninus
Through the centuries, the name of Diocletian has become practically synonymous with the persecution of Christians. But is it possible that members of Diocletians own family, specifically his wife and daughter, were Christians themselves? The answer to this question is: Yes.
Whether they were good Christians or notthat is another question all together.
There are numerous legendary acts of the martyrs which identify the wife of Diocletian as a Christian. These tales, however, are unreliable at best. They identify the consort of Diocletian as "Serena" or "Eleuthera" or "Alexandra". As all of these stories were written long after the events, few scholars consider the details contained therein as facts. These tales do, however, seem to contain a kernel of truth.
There is one contemporary ancient source that mentions the wife of Diocletian by name. This work was lost for most of antiquity, having been rediscovered again only in the 17th century. This singular source is entitled: On the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died and it was written by the early 4th century Christian apologist, Lactantius. As primary sources go, On the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died is outstanding, even though it was clearly not written by an objective observer. Lactantius was prominent in the court of Constantine the Great, to the extent that he was appointed tutor to Constantines eldest son, Crispus. But to be fair, Lactantius makes no pretenses to objectivity and presents his work not as a history but as a Christian polemic. On this blog, I have cited from this source at least half-a-dozen times in previous posts on topics such as the destruction of the church in Nicomedia, on the death of Constantius Chlorus, on the persecution of Decius, on Constantines vision of the cross, and on the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.
Following is the sad story of Prisca as related by Lactantius. In the first passage, Diocletian's junior emperor, Galerius, has fled the imperial palace in Nicomedia due to two fires which, he said, were set by Christians seeking vengeance for the persecutory edicts. As a response to these two fires, Diocletian sought to purge all secret Christians from his household, forcing everyone to sacrifice to the pagan gods:
And now Diocletian raged, not only against his own domestics, but indiscriminately against all; and he began by forcing his daughter Valeria and his wife Prisca to be polluted by sacrificing. Eunuchs, once the most powerful, and who had chief authority at court and with the emperor, were slain. [Lactantius, On the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died, Chapter 15]Strictly speaking, this passage does not prove that Prisca and Valeria were Christians, but if they werent it would be strange for Lactantius to mention them with such specificity. The obvious implication is that both Prisca and Valeria were secret Christians who lapsed into apostasy when forced by the emperor to sacrifice.
Valeria, too, who for fifteen months had wandered under a mean garb from province to province, was at length discovered in Thessalonica, was apprehended, together with her mother Prisca, and suffered capital punishment. Both the ladies were conducted to execution; a fall from grandeur which moved the pity of the multitude of beholders that the strange sight had gathered together. They were beheaded, and their bodies cast into the sea. Thus the chaste demeanor of Valeria, and the high rank of her and her mother, proved fatal to both of them. [Lactantius, On the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died, Chapter 51]As mentioned above, Prisca name is not found in any other ancient source aside from Lactantius. She does not even appear on any Roman coins of the age, though Valeria does appear. Scholars have speculated about this, and the two possibilities seem to be: 1.) that Prisca was merely a concubine and that Diocletian was not legally married to her, or 2.) that her memory was condemned (damnatio memoriae) by Licinius after her execution. The latter case seems more likely. If so, it is interesting to speculate about Lactantius's motive in mentioning Valeria and Prisca so specifically in a work written before Licinius's ultimate fall in AD 324, and even more interesting to consider why no subsequent writer, Christian or pagan, mentioned them at all.
Can someone define what a "good Christian" is? And do that by sticking with reality instead of spouting idealistic pap that infers we aren't all mortals with sinfulness oozing from our pores and the only reason we aren't doomed to Hell is because Jesus payed for all our sins: past/present/future and that God, as promised, opts to not recognize our continued sinfulness once we offer ourselves to Jesus and accept His incredible gift???
But there is nothing wrong to mention those who run the race.
For those people and at that time, the “good” Christian was the one who allowed themselves to be martyred rather than make the sacrifice. Making the sacrifice disheartened those Christians who knew what the women were.
Still saved, but hurting the cause of Christ.
True, but many consider themselves above others and ignore their own sinful natures even though they were never taken away - the penalty was paid for and removed from us and God told us He would “Forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more...” under His New Covenant with us...He sees us as pure and holy saints despite our continuing sinfulness because Jesus paid the penalty and it would serve no purpose to forgive us and then keep telling us how bad we are.
I suppose the term can have different interpretations depending on the time...even Peter denied Christ, as Christ predicted, rather than “face the music” at the time....even though he did make up for it later on down the road by asking to be put on an inverted cross for his betrayal.
Domine, Quo Vadis?
Christ is gracious, but we should try very hard never to make the same mistake twice.
Sorry, my mistake. The traditores were those who handed over the Sacred Scriptures, other books and vessels to the Roman authorities, or gave them the names of other Christians. The ones who made the sacrifice (or else attempted to purchase a fraudulent certificate saying they made the sacrifice) were called the “lapsi”. Both classes were the subject of debate as to how they should be allowed back into the Church.
Yeah - and maybe add that one doesn’t blaspheme the Holy Spirit to the list.
True - it’s the only unforgivable sin....many believe that once one gives himself over to Christ, it’s the only sin that one cannot commit...I’d like to believe that but human nature is capable of so much evil that I won’t assert it.
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