Laws Ending Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire

Audience

The Edict of Galerius is preserved in two versions, the original Latin in Lactantius's On the Deaths of the Persecutors and a Greek translation in Eusebius's Church History. It is probable that the former copy is the one that was posted at Nicomedia in Bithynia and that the latter is the one that was sent to Palestine. The document appears to have been published only in provinces directly controlled by Galerius, namely the eastern half of the empire. The Letter of Licinius is also preserved in two versions. The original Latin text in Lactantius's On the Deaths of the Persecutors is the copy sent to the provincial governor of Bithynia. The Greek translation incorporated in Eusebius's Church History presumably depends on the copy sent to the governor of Palestine. The law had practical effect in the territories that Licinius took from Maximinus Daia—Asia Minor, the Levant, and Egypt. Both laws follow common practice by requiring provincial governors to publicize them under a governor's publishing edict.