On 23 February 303, on the
Terminalia feast, Emperor
Diocletian, on the proposal of
Galerius, issued a persecutory
edict. The edict prescribed: • Destroying churches and burning their
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==