Fierce persecution of the church by Decius; Birth of saints (jan 1, 249 – jan 1, 251)

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A general from the Danubian frontier, Decius was determined to have no nonsense from Christians. In his eyes, they were enemies of the empire. Their atheism was responsible for the many troubles in the realm. Thus Decius commanded all citizens of the empire to sacrifice to the traditional Roman gods. Those who did so were given certificates (libelli in Latin) as evidence that they had obeyed the order. Those who refused to comply and were unable (or unwilling) to obtain false libelli from sympathetic or corrupt officials faced death.
To save their lives, many Christians complied.

Shelley, Bruce L.. Church History in Plain Language, Fifth Edition (pp. 86-87). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.

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