Page 107 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

Triumph and Trouble

every throat that Polycarp must be burnt alive.… The rest followed
in less time than it takes to describe: the crowds rushed to collect
logs and faggots from workshop and public baths.…

When the pyre was ready,… Polycarp prayed: “O Father of thy
beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we have come
to know thee, the God of angels and powers and all creation and of
the whole family of the righteous who live in thy presence; I bless
thee for counting me worthy of this day and hour, that in the number
of the martyrs I may partake of Christ’s cup, to the resurrection
of eternal life of both soul and body in the imperishability that is
the gift of the Holy Spirit.…” When he had offered up the Amen
and completed his prayer, the men in charge lit the fire, and a great
flame shot up. (Ecclesiastical History, 4.15.18–36)

Many Christians in Africa have faced a reign of terror, and persecution
exists in many places. Congar suggests that the response to terror
should be a “torrent of love” (quoted in Rees, 34). God’s love was not
a trickle but a torrent. The twenty-first-century Christian must choose
between the destructive and the constructive. The church must not be
passionless or lukewarm. Instead, it must be on fire with Pentecostal
power that will persevere even unto death.

Christianity Becomes the Of cial Religion

In the fourth century, the Roman Empire underwent major changes
that had a significant impact on Christianity. For example, at the beginning
of the century, the Emperor Diocletian persecuted the church severely.
As we have noted earlier, professing to
be a Christian could lead to torture and
death. But within this same century,
Christians and all religions were given The church must
freedom of worship within the empire.
Christianity thus went from facing lions be on fire with
in the amphitheatre to receiving state Pentecostal power
approval. What brought the change?
that will persevere
A partial answer to this question even unto death.
relates to events in the life of Constantine.
Both Maxentius and Constantine aspired

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