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The Edict of Serdica, also called Edict of Toleration by Galerius, was issued in 311 in
Serdica Serdika or Serdica ( Bulgarian: ) is the historical Roman name of Sofia, now the capital of Bulgaria. Currently, Serdika is the name of a district located in the city. It includes four neighbourhoods: "Fondovi zhilishta"; "Banishora", "Orlandov ...
(now Sofia,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
) by Roman Emperor Galerius. It officially ended the
Diocletianic Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rig ...
of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
in the
Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...
. The Edict implicitly granted Christianity the status of '' religio licita'', a worship that was recognized and accepted by the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
. It was the first edict legalizing Christianity and preceded the
Edict of Milan The Edict of Milan ( la, Edictum Mediolanense; el, Διάταγμα τῶν Μεδιολάνων, ''Diatagma tōn Mediolanōn'') was the February 313 AD agreement to treat Christians benevolently within the Roman Empire. Frend, W. H. C. ( ...
by two years.


History

On 23 February 303, on the Terminalia feast, Emperor Diocletian, on the proposal of Galerius, issued a persecutory
edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu Proc ...
. The edict prescribed: * Destroying churches and burning the Holy Scriptures * Confiscation of church property * Banning Christians from undertaking collective legal action * Loss of privileges for Christians of high rank who refused to recant * Arresting some state officials. In 305, Diocletian abdicated and was replaced by Galerius, his successor, who continued persecution in the East until 311, when he granted Christians forgiveness, freedom of worship and (implicitly) the status of ''religio licita''.


Full text

Promulgated in the name of the other official members of the Tetrarchy, the edict marked the end of persecutions against the Christians.


References

{{reflist 310s in the Roman Empire 311 4th century in law 4th-century Christianity Constantinian dynasty Edicts of toleration Galerius Roman law Diocletianic Persecution