The Great Persecution
By Thomas V. Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | May 11, 2026 | In Lives of the Popes (Podcast)
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The first decade of the fourth century, from about 302 to 313, is one of the most remarkable in history. In that short time, the Church would go from the worst of persecutions to the beginning of an unprecedented new era of peace and favor. In what we might consider a foreshadowing of the Church’s trials and final victory at the end of the world, the Great Persecution was merely the labor pains for the birth of Christendom.
This installment covers popes #29-32: Sts. Marcellinus, Marcellus I, Eusebius, and Miltiades.
Links
Article version of this episode https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/great-persecution/
Phillip Cambell, “The Public Apostasy of Pope Marcellinus” https://unamsanctamcatholicam.com/2024/01/15/the-public-apostasy-of-pope-marcellinus/
Way of the Fathers on Donatism https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/410-heresies-rebaptism-and-donatists/
Thomas V. Mirus is President of Trinity Communications and Editor-in-Chief for CatholicCulture.org, hosts both the Catholic Culture Podcast and Lives of the Popes, and co-hosts Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast. See full bio.
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