# How Atrociously The Sincere Christians Were Treated During This Persecution.

[Previous page: Of the Fourth Persecution of the Christians, under Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, which was Commenced about the year 166.](/en/stories/mm-of-the-fourth-persecution-of-the-christians-under-marcus-aurelius-and-lucius-verus-which-was-commenced-about-the-year-16/) · [Book contents](/en/sources/martyrs-mirror/#book-contents) · [Next page: JUSTINUS, FIRST SCOURGED, AND THEN BEHEADED, FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, A. D. 168.](/en/stories/mm-justinus-first-scourged-and-then-beheaded-for-the-testimony-of-jesus-christ-a-d-168/)

Everywhere, in all the cities, writes P. J. Twisck,
the imperial edicts and decrees against the Christians
were posted up; by reason of which the magistrates
108and officers proceeded very cruelly against
them, persecuting them even unto death, with great
atrocity and fury. For, no mode of torture, punishment,
or death, however great, severe, and unmerciful,
could be devised, produced, or planned,
by these wicked men, these tyrants, and instruments
of the devil, but what it was thought, that the Christians,
as accursed, as enemies of the Kingdom, and
as the cause of all misfortune, deserved a thousand
times more. To be publicly mocked, eternally imprisoned,
exiled, scourged, stoned, strangled,
hanged, beheaded, and burned, was deemed far too
little.

They began, at this time, to ply the poor people
with red hot plates until they were dead; to tear
the flesh from their bones with red hot tongues; to
place them upon iron stools over a slow fire; to fry
them in iron frying pans; to roast them on gridirons
at a slow fire; to cast them, enveloped in close netting,
before wild bulls, to serve as sport for them,
and be tossed into the air by their horns.

All this was accompanied with still another cruelty.
The bodies of the slain were thrown before
the dogs, and guards placed beside them, to prevent
the Christians from taking away and burying
these bodies. In short, the misery was so great,
that at Lyons alone bishop Irenus with nineteen
thousand of his sheep were cruelly butchered. Thus
far P. J. Twisck, in his Chronicle, 2d book, for the
year 162, page 43, col. 2, from Chron. Mich. Sac.
fol. 103. Chron. Sebast. Fra. Also, Tyd. Thresor
P. Mernlæ.



## Original source

[Read this passage on Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/65855/pg65855-images.html#Page_108)

[Edition details](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65855)

[Previous page: Of the Fourth Persecution of the Christians, under Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, which was Commenced about the year 166.](/en/stories/mm-of-the-fourth-persecution-of-the-christians-under-marcus-aurelius-and-lucius-verus-which-was-commenced-about-the-year-16/) · [Book contents](/en/sources/martyrs-mirror/#book-contents) · [Next page: JUSTINUS, FIRST SCOURGED, AND THEN BEHEADED, FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, A. D. 168.](/en/stories/mm-justinus-first-scourged-and-then-beheaded-for-the-testimony-of-jesus-christ-a-d-168/)

---

Page: https://history.truechristian.church/en/stories/mm-how-atrociously-the-sincere-christians-were-treated-during-this-persecution/

[Contribute a correction or addition](https://github.com/trueChristian/history.truechristian.church/issues/new?title=Correction%3A+How+Atrociously+The+Sincere+Christians+Were+Treated+During+This+Persecution.&body=%23%23+Page+or+topic%0AHow+Atrociously+The+Sincere+Christians+Were+Treated+During+This+Persecution.%0A%0APage%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fhistory.truechristian.church%2Fen%2Fstories%2Fmm-how-atrociously-the-sincere-christians-were-treated-during-this-persecution%2F%0A%0ARecord%3A+mm-how-atrociously-the-sincere-christians-were-treated-during-this-persecution%0A%0ADate+currently+shown%3A+2nd+century+%28source+section%29%0A%0A%23%23+Correction+or+addition%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Sources+and+evidence%0APlease+include+book%2Fpage+references%2C+archive+links%2C+or+first-hand+documentation.%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Image+credit+%28if+applicable%29%0ACreator%2C+source%2C+and+permission+or+public-domain+basis.%0A%0A%0A%0ASubmitted+for+review%3B+this+issue+does+not+publish+changes+automatically.)