In A.D. 64 more than half of Rome burned to the ground. The Emperor Nero, blaming it on the Christians began the first major persecution of the Church by the State. These persecutions would last, on and off, till 313 A.D. with the Edict of Milan, which finally legalized Christianity.

Three particularly heroic martyrs of the early Church were St. Polycarp, St. Ignatius, and St. Lawrence.

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