Chapter 10 "Persecution in the Third Century" "The present confession of the faith before the authorities has been all the more illustrious and honorable because the suffering was greater. The struggle intensified, and the glory of those who struggled grew with it."
~ Saint Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, North Africa, AD 251. "[Emporer] Decius' goal was to promote the worship of the [pagan] gods, rather than to kill Christians...What the authorities did was to arrest Christians and then, through a combination of promises, threats, and torture, try to force them to abandon their faith." (History of Christianity, Justo Gonzalez, p86) It is under this strain that Cyprian wrote these words of encouragement.
