Though the gospel continued to make great progress in the metropolis,
there was perhaps no city of the Empire in which it encountered, from
the very first, such steady and powerful opposition. The Sovereign,
being himself the Supreme Pontiff of Paganism, might be expected to
resent, as a personal indignity, any attempt to weaken its influence;
and the other great functionaries of idolatry, who all resided in the
capital, were of course bound by the ties of office to resist the
advancement of Christianity. The old aristocracy disliked everything in
the shape of religious innovation, for they believed that the glory of
their country was inseparably connected with an adherence to the worship
of the gods of their ancestors. Thus it was that the intolerance of the
state was always felt with peculiar severity at the seat of government.
Exactly in the middle of the third century a persecution of unusual
violence burst upon the Roman Church. Fabian, whose appointment to the
bishopric took place, as already related, under such extraordinary
circumstances, soon fell a victim to the storm. After his martyrdom, the
whole community over which he presided seems to have been paralysed with
terror; and sixteen months passed away before any successor was elected;
for Decius, the tyrant who now ruled the Roman world, had proclaimed,
his determination rather to suffer a competitor for his throne than a
bishop for his chief city. [354:1] A veritable rival was quickly
forthcoming to prove the falsehood of his gasconade; for when Julius
Valens appeared to dispute his title to the Empire, Decius was obliged,
by the pressure of weightier cares, to withdraw his attention from the
concerns of the Roman Christians. During the lull in the storm of
persecution, Cornelius was chosen bishop; but after an official life of
little more than a year, he was thrown into confinement. His death in
prison was, no doubt, occasioned by harsh treatment. The episcopate of
his successor Lucius was even shorter than his own, for he was martyred
about six months after his election. [355:1] Stephen, who was now
promoted to the vacant chair, did not long retain possession of it; for
though we have no reliable information as to the manner of his death, it
is certain that he occupied the bishopric only between four and five
years. His successor Xystus in less than twelve months finished his
course by martyrdom. [355:2] Thus, in a period of eight years, Rome lost
no less