For more than two centuries those who claimed themselves to be Christians were sporadically persecuted by the Roman Empire. Thousands of them suffered painful tortures and punishments, making some of them true martyrs who would go down in posterity for their unwavering faith and courage, directly influencing the development of Christianity.

Since Emperor Nero initiated all these persecutions in 64 A.D., this deadly harassment of the followers of Christ always had a purely political and theological motivation, as it threatened the authority and importance of the state and the emperor, while going against all the polytheistic beliefs of the time, earning the discontent of the Roman people.

Today we will gather to pray, hide and flee for our lives with all those faithful people, while the angry heathen mobs are hot on our heels. Welcome to Copernicus’s Galaxy.

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk0AzhXSZds