The Roman Emperor Diocletian issued an edict on February 23, 303 that initiated a severe persecution of Christians. It was the first in a series of laws aimed at purging Christians from public office, destroying Christian churches and scriptures, and punishing those who refused to offer sacrifice to traditional Roman deities. It was the most severe of the waves of persecutions that Christians in the empire had suffered. Persecutions ended in 313 when Emperor Constantine published the Eedict of Milan granting Christians a place in the empire.
Gracious God,
we pray for all those who have suffered during various persecutions down through history.
We pray for the Rohingya in Myanmar and Uyghur people in China – Muslim communities that are enduring persecution at the present time and for all minority peoples who are denied a proper place in society.
We ask that a spirit of tolerance and understanding might prevail.
Amen
By Fr Pat O'Shea - Lower Hutt
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