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