Free Republic

Through the centuries, the name of Diocletian has become practically synonymous with the persecution of Christians. But is it possible that members of Diocletian’s own family, specifically his wife and daughter, were Christians themselves? The answer to this question is: “Yes.” Whether they were good Christians or not—that 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,...