third century a decision of the
imperial tribunal awarded to the faithful in the great Western
metropolis a plot of ground for the erection of one of their religious
edifices. [282:3] At length about A.D. 260 the Emperor Gallienus issued
an edict of toleration in their favour; and, during the forty years
which followed, their numbers so increased that the ecclesiastical
buildings in which they had hitherto assembled were no longer sufficient
for their accommodation. New and spacious churches now supplanted the
old meeting-houses, and these more fashionable structures were soon
filled to overflowing. [282:4] But the spirit of the world now began to
be largely infused into the Christian communities; the Church was
distracted by its ministers struggling with each other for pre-eminence;
and even the terrible persecution of Diocletian which succeeded, could
neither quench the ambition, nor arrest the violence of contending
pastors.

If we stand, only for a moment, on the beach, we may find it impossible
to decide whether the tide is ebbing or flowing. But if we remain there
for a few hours, the question will not remain unsettled. The sea will
meanwhile either retire into its depths, or compel us to retreat before
its advancing waters. So it is with the Church. At a given date we may
be unable to determine whether it is aggressive, stationary, or
retrograde. But when we compare its circumstances at distant intervals,
we may easily form a judgment. From the first to the fourth century,
Christianity moved forward like the flowing tide; and yet, perhaps, its
advance, during any one year, was not very perceptible. When, however,
we contrast its weakness at the death of the Apostle John with its
strength immediately before the commencement of the last imperial
persecution, we cannot but acknowledge its amazing progress. At the
termination of the first century, its adherents were a little flock,
thinly scattered over the empire. In the reign of Diocletian, such was
even their numerical importance that no prudent statesman would have
thought it safe to overlook them in the business of legislation. They
held military appointments of high responsibility; they were to be found
in some of the most honourable civil offices; they were admitted to the
court of the sovereign; and in not a few cities they constituted a most
influential section of the population. The wife of Diocletian, and his
daughter Valeria, are said to have been Christi